Baby D. 6/30/2010
19 inches
6 pounds 2 ounces
I haven't been online lately because I had my baby. I am exhausted, but doing well, still in remission. In fact, I am doing so much better with my recovery this time than I did with my first son and I believe the difference is because I was in a flare-up then and I am in remission this time.
After going through labor again, I still think that the pain I felt with my Ulcerative Colitis is worse than labor. Of course, I did get an epidural towards the end. Hmmm... do you think an epidural could be used for bad flare-ups?
In other UC news, I have stopped all of my medication. Thank you to everyone who weighed in with advice about continuing the medication while breastfeeding. For those of you who don't know, I have received conflicting advice from my doctors about whether it is safe to be on the medication while breastfeeding. Ultimately, since I was doing so well in remission anyway to just go ahead and stop and then if I start getting sick again, I could start up again. And hopefully if that happens, it will be after my baby is quite a bit older and the risk of allergic reaction is lower. I was on the medication when I breastfed my older son and he had no problems.
This isn't the first time I have stopped the medication. The last time I stopped, I went 11 blissful months with no symptoms. I am hoping to go even longer this time. I wonder if it might actually be beneficial to take a break from the medicine. I'm not a doctor or a scientist, but I wonder if it could make it so I don't build up an immunity to the medicine. I know with some UC cases, after a while the medicine just becomes ineffective. I don't know...what do you think?
Awww! Congratulations! Thanks for the update; I wondered how you were doing. :)
ReplyDeleteYes CONGRATULATIONS!
ReplyDeleteWell done.
Hi Skinny Girl, I'm relatively new on the UC blog scene. Fantastic news all around. I love the picture of baby D. and friend.
ReplyDeleteAs for your question--my doctor has told me that prednisone is sometimes less effective the second time around, which was the case with me. I'm not sure about whether other UC drugs become ineffective. I haven't been living with UC for too long. I'll be watching tihs space to see if others weigh in on this question!
Congrats....so glad to hear you still in remission too...remember to rest as much as you can and take it easy..I know having 2 can be a nightmare sometimes...but also very rewarding...lookign forward to you updates :D
ReplyDeleteI'm not a UC sufferer, SG, so excuse me butting in - I came here via Arkayeff's blog, so just to say: lovely kid, well done! And - many different sorts of drug seem to work more powerfully after a lay-off, don't they? But I don't know about your specialist area.
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in Ark's mission to see if he can help people with hypnotherapy, because anxiety and stress may be a root cause of UC (and so many other things.) 'Course, danger is we then think things are entirely mind-driven and we can simply think ourselves well. The problem is perhaps that we tend to polarise, i.e. holistic therapy good, antibiotics bad, or vice versa. When I narrowly avoided septacaemia some years ago, I was mighty pleased to be pumped full of antibiotics!
Maybe it's a mix - you can't thinkmend a broken ankle - but how you think may affect the healing processes, since apparently we know (in the scientific sense) that stress depresses the immune system. Surely how we live affects all our being, mind and body. The mind is after all part of the body, no?
Enough of my ramblings. It's good to hear you are in remission, I do hope that continues, and (in between the hard work) all joy to you with your two little men.
Hello again
ReplyDeleteJust to make a comment about Gloria's comment:
I don't think that hypnotherapy can really cure you of U.C., but if you can deal with anxiety better I think you will have less flare-ups. That was my experience anyway.
Hope it's all going well.
Awe... Congratulations! He is beautiful! It is so good to hear that you are still in remission and everything is going great! I'm really happy for you!
ReplyDelete