OT - Back home again ! (long, possibly boring medical details)

Hello dear RCTQ folks,

I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at just before my 20th birthday
in 1992. So I've lived with it for about 17 years now. In the
beginning, I had a permanent ulcer and my colon looked like hamburger
meat (I have photos). The flare-ups of my condition went down to 3 a
year, then twice a year, then annually, then once every couple of
years.... I think my last flare-up was about 5 or 6 years ago. I took
part in a dietary study of ulcerative colitis patients at Ninewells
Hospital in 2003-2004 and that really helped to isolate which foods I
should not eat, which in turn improved my condition. I cannot thank the
staff at Ninewells enough because I see a gastro-intestinal specialist
there once a year to assess my condition, and with the help of the NHS I
can afford to take the medication, daily, which I need. When I moved to
the UK 15 years ago, that medication cost 10 times as much in the US
(after converting dollars to pounds and so on). So I not only was able
to receive the best medication for my condition, I was able to be
monitored and ultimately, vastly improved. My condition was so improved
by 2002 that a biopsy was ordered, to make sure I had actually been
correctly diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.

Fast forward to 2010. Apparently during pregnancy, there are so many
hormones floating around in the pregnant woman's system that conditions
such as ulcerative colitis improve! Who knew? However, after the baby
is born and the body goes through a crash course in normalising hormone
levels back to pre-pregnancy levels, the ulcerative colitis can
flare-up. I didn't know this, no one explained it to me. Two weeks
ago, I picked up the Noro virus in the hospital while we were there with
Tristan for his 6-week check-up; we hadn't been anywhere else that was a
public place and even though I washed my hands before we left the
hospital..... well, I had sickness and diarrhea within 36 hours, and my
body worked for 2 days to clear itself of the perceived "poison".
Afterwards, I was left with all the symptoms of an ulcer - lots of blood
loss and an inability to be too far from the loo for very long. After
this had gone on for 10 days it occured to me that it might not be
gastroenteritis, it might be an ulcer. So I went along to the GP for an
appointment, which was cancelled (long story) and by the time I was seen
it had been 2 weeks since I had contracted the Noro virus. The GP
wasn't used to seeing an ulcerative colitis patient, and couldn't pick
apart if it was 1) a flare-up, 2) a reaction to the baby being born and
the colon just needing to calm down again or 3) a reaction to the
effects of the Noro virus. So she called Ninewells and they insisted I
be admitted to the Gastro-enterology ward. And that ward said, "No
babies- the risk of picking up MRSA is too great".

Therefore, I fed Tristan on Thursday before he left, and then I was
given steroids to calm the colon down. I had another big dose of
steroids in the morning, but by then, I had had blood tests, an ECG,
x-rays of the colon, etc and the consultants had come to the conclusion
that the colon looked fine, I didn't fit the profile of a person having
a flare-up, and I could be discharged. Also, they changed their mind
and said it would be fine to breastfeed while on steroids (and I'd only
had 2 doses anyway), and that I wouldn't have to taper off of them
either, because it hadn't been a long course of the drug. That was why
Tristan blissfully breastfed during the ward round when 3 consultants
and 2 nurses trooped in; he was wearing his "Superbaby" blue velour
suit, which went down well with the staff, who were also impressed with
his size (!)

So we're home now, trying to catch up on sleep and Tristan is feeding
like we've starved him for about 3 weeks. He and I didn't feel well
when he was 6 weeks old and supposed to be having a growth spurt, so I
suspect he's having it now, though he's always been a "hungry baby" and
seems to eat continuously. Mark's mum is flying up to Scotland today
and we are going to have her help until Thursday I believe. We may even
get the house cleaned. Then we will go down to visit Mark's parents,
and his brother and sister (along with her 2 small boys and husband)
will all be there for the Easter weekend. That will be exciting,
because only Mark's sister and Mum have met Tristan so far.

Thank you so much for all your thoughts and good wishes. I hope that I
can really recover now from the pregnancy and birth experience. It is
not nice to be in low-level pain of some kind for 2 months, as I'm sure
that many of you on here will agree with.


Love, Jo in Scotland


P.S. Tristan has started to say "ello" occasionally when we say "Hello"
to him. Can an 8-week old really speak or are we just hearing what we
want to hear?

Great to hear that you are home again and feeling better! Please take care
of yourself and Mark and Tristan. I'll be in touch.

Megwen

Bath, England
"Jo Gibson" wrote in message
...
Hello dear RCTQ folks,

I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at just before my 20th birthday in
1992. So I've lived with it for about 17 years now. In the beginning, I
had a permanent ulcer and my colon looked like hamburger meat (I have
photos). The flare-ups of my condition went down to 3 a year, then twice
a year, then annually, then once every couple of years.... I think my last
flare-up was about 5 or 6 years ago. I took part in a dietary study of
ulcerative colitis patients at Ninewells Hospital in 2003-2004 and that
really helped to isolate which foods I should not eat, which in turn
improved my condition. I cannot thank the staff at Ninewells enough
because I see a gastro-intestinal specialist there once a year to assess
my condition, and with the help of the NHS I can afford to take the
medication, daily, which I need. When I moved to the UK 15 years ago,
that medication cost 10 times as much in the US (after converting dollars
to pounds and so on). So I not only was able to receive the best
medication for my condition, I was able to be monitored and ultimately,
vastly improved. My condition was so improved by 2002 that a biopsy was
ordered, to make sure I had actually been correctly diagnosed with
ulcerative colitis.

Fast forward to 2010. Apparently during pregnancy, there are so many
hormones floating around in the pregnant woman's system that conditions
such as ulcerative colitis improve! Who knew? However, after the baby is
born and the body goes through a crash course in normalising hormone
levels back to pre-pregnancy levels, the ulcerative colitis can flare-up.
I didn't know this, no one explained it to me. Two weeks ago, I picked up
the Noro virus in the hospital while we were there with Tristan for his
6-week check-up; we hadn't been anywhere else that was a public place and
even though I washed my hands before we left the hospital..... well, I had
sickness and diarrhea within 36 hours, and my body worked for 2 days to
clear itself of the perceived "poison". Afterwards, I was left with all
the symptoms of an ulcer - lots of blood loss and an inability to be too
far from the loo for very long. After this had gone on for 10 days it
occured to me that it might not be gastroenteritis, it might be an ulcer.
So I went along to the GP for an appointment, which was cancelled (long
story) and by the time I was seen it had been 2 weeks since I had
contracted the Noro virus. The GP wasn't used to seeing an ulcerative
colitis patient, and couldn't pick apart if it was 1) a flare-up, 2) a
reaction to the baby being born and the colon just needing to calm down
again or 3) a reaction to the effects of the Noro virus. So she called
Ninewells and they insisted I be admitted to the Gastro-enterology ward.
And that ward said, "No babies- the risk of picking up MRSA is too great".

Therefore, I fed Tristan on Thursday before he left, and then I was given
steroids to calm the colon down. I had another big dose of steroids in
the morning, but by then, I had had blood tests, an ECG, x-rays of the
colon, etc and the consultants had come to the conclusion that the colon
looked fine, I didn't fit the profile of a person having a flare-up, and I
could be discharged. Also, they changed their mind and said it would be
fine to breastfeed while on steroids (and I'd only had 2 doses anyway),
and that I wouldn't have to taper off of them either, because it hadn't
been a long course of the drug. That was why Tristan blissfully breastfed
during the ward round when 3 consultants and 2 nurses trooped in; he was
wearing his "Superbaby" blue velour suit, which went down well with the
staff, who were also impressed with his size (!)

So we're home now, trying to catch up on sleep and Tristan is feeding like
we've starved him for about 3 weeks. He and I didn't feel well when he
was 6 weeks old and supposed to be having a growth spurt, so I suspect
he's having it now, though he's always been a "hungry baby" and seems to
eat continuously. Mark's mum is flying up to Scotland today and we are
going to have her help until Thursday I believe. We may even get the
house cleaned. Then we will go down to visit Mark's parents, and his
brother and sister (along with her 2 small boys and husband) will all be
there for the Easter weekend. That will be exciting, because only Mark's
sister and Mum have met Tristan so far.

Thank you so much for all your thoughts and good wishes. I hope that I
can really recover now from the pregnancy and birth experience. It is not
nice to be in low-level pain of some kind for 2 months, as I'm sure that
many of you on here will agree with.


Love, Jo in Scotland


P.S. Tristan has started to say "ello" occasionally when we say "Hello"
to him. Can an 8-week old really speak or are we just hearing what we
want to hear?

Jo, although you've certainly had a rough time of it and have my
sympathies for that, I'm doing a happy dance that you're home with Mark
and Tristan and feeling so much better! We're glad you're back!

--
Louise in Iowa
nieland1390@mchsi dot com
http://community.webshots.com/user/louiseiniowa

Jo Gibson wrote:
Hello dear RCTQ folks,

I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at just before my 20th birthday
in 1992. So I've lived with it for about 17 years now. In the
beginning, I had a permanent ulcer and my colon looked like hamburger
meat (I have photos). The flare-ups of my condition went down to 3 a
year, then twice a year, then annually, then once every couple of
years.... I think my last flare-up was about 5 or 6 years ago. I took
part in a dietary study of ulcerative colitis patients at Ninewells
Hospital in 2003-2004 and that really helped to isolate which foods I
should not eat, which in turn improved my condition. I cannot thank the
staff at Ninewells enough because I see a gastro-intestinal specialist
there once a year to assess my condition, and with the help of the NHS I
can afford to take the medication, daily, which I need. When I moved to
the UK 15 years ago, that medication cost 10 times as much in the US
(after converting dollars to pounds and so on). So I not only was able
to receive the best medication for my condition, I was able to be
monitored and ultimately, vastly improved. My condition was so improved
by 2002 that a biopsy was ordered, to make sure I had actually been
correctly diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.

Fast forward to 2010. Apparently during pregnancy, there are so many
hormones floating around in the pregnant woman's system that conditions
such as ulcerative colitis improve! Who knew? However, after the baby
is born and the body goes through a crash course in normalising hormone
levels back to pre-pregnancy levels, the ulcerative colitis can
flare-up. I didn't know this, no one explained it to me. Two weeks
ago, I picked up the Noro virus in the hospital while we were there with
Tristan for his 6-week check-up; we hadn't been anywhere else that was a
public place and even though I washed my hands before we left the
hospital..... well, I had sickness and diarrhea within 36 hours, and my
body worked for 2 days to clear itself of the perceived "poison".
Afterwards, I was left with all the symptoms of an ulcer - lots of blood
loss and an inability to be too far from the loo for very long. After
this had gone on for 10 days it occured to me that it might not be
gastroenteritis, it might be an ulcer. So I went along to the GP for an
appointment, which was cancelled (long story) and by the time I was seen
it had been 2 weeks since I had contracted the Noro virus. The GP
wasn't used to seeing an ulcerative colitis patient, and couldn't pick
apart if it was 1) a flare-up, 2) a reaction to the baby being born and
the colon just needing to calm down again or 3) a reaction to the
effects of the Noro virus. So she called Ninewells and they insisted I
be admitted to the Gastro-enterology ward. And that ward said, "No
babies- the risk of picking up MRSA is too great".

Therefore, I fed Tristan on Thursday before he left, and then I was
given steroids to calm the colon down. I had another big dose of
steroids in the morning, but by then, I had had blood tests, an ECG,
x-rays of the colon, etc and the consultants had come to the conclusion
that the colon looked fine, I didn't fit the profile of a person having
a flare-up, and I could be discharged. Also, they changed their mind
and said it would be fine to breastfeed while on steroids (and I'd only
had 2 doses anyway), and that I wouldn't have to taper off of them
either, because it hadn't been a long course of the drug. That was why
Tristan blissfully breastfed during the ward round when 3 consultants
and 2 nurses trooped in; he was wearing his "Superbaby" blue velour
suit, which went down well with the staff, who were also impressed with
his size (!)

So we're home now, trying to catch up on sleep and Tristan is feeding
like we've starved him for about 3 weeks. He and I didn't feel well
when he was 6 weeks old and supposed to be having a growth spurt, so I
suspect he's having it now, though he's always been a "hungry baby" and
seems to eat continuously. Mark's mum is flying up to Scotland today
and we are going to have her help until Thursday I believe. We may even
get the house cleaned. Then we will go down to visit Mark's parents,
and his brother and sister (along with her 2 small boys and husband)
will all be there for the Easter weekend. That will be exciting,
because only Mark's sister and Mum have met Tristan so far.

Thank you so much for all your thoughts and good wishes. I hope that I
can really recover now from the pregnancy and birth experience. It is
not nice to be in low-level pain of some kind for 2 months, as I'm sure
that many of you on here will agree with.


Love, Jo in Scotland


P.S. Tristan has started to say "ello" occasionally when we say "Hello"
to him. Can an 8-week old really speak or are we just hearing what we
want to hear?

I am so glad you are home and doing better Jo. I can't even imagine how
happy your guys are! Woohoo. My dh has UC and has for 35+ years. It has
gotten better for him with the better meds and diet control but still is not
good. Any tummy bug can set UC off. Stress sets UC off. He came home from
the hospital with a flare up 3 weeks ago too. For folks that don't know
there really is more too. UC is an auto immune disease and there can be a
lot of joint pain and inflammation. There are a lot of steroids that are
very unpleasant. It is not easy to deal with in many ways. Besides feeling
rotten and lots of meds travel and eating are often problematic. Folks
don't generally talk about UC or Crohns but a lot of people deal with them.
It isn't easy. I hope they figure it all out and come up with a real cure
in our lifetime.
Hugs, taria
"Jo Gibson" wrote in message
...
Hello dear RCTQ folks,

I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at just before my 20th birthday in
1992. So I've lived with it for about 17 years now. In the beginning, I
had a permanent ulcer and my colon looked like hamburger meat (I have
photos). The flare-ups of my condition went down to 3 a year, then twice
a year, then annually, then once every couple of years.... I think my last
flare-up was about 5 or 6 years ago. I took part in a dietary study of
ulcerative colitis patients at Ninewells Hospital in 2003-2004 and that
really helped to isolate which foods I should not eat, which in turn
improved my condition. I cannot thank the staff at Ninewells enough
because I see a gastro-intestinal specialist there once a year to assess
my condition, and with the help of the NHS I can afford to take the
medication, daily, which I need. When I moved to the UK 15 years ago,
that medication cost 10 times as much in the US (after converting dollars
to pounds and so on). So I not only was able to receive the best
medication for my condition, I was able to be monitored and ultimately,
vastly improved. My condition was so improved by 2002 that a biopsy was
ordered, to make sure I had actually been correctly diagnosed with
ulcerative colitis.

Fast forward to 2010. Apparently during pregnancy, there are so many
hormones floating around in the pregnant woman's system that conditions
such as ulcerative colitis improve! Who knew? However, after the baby is
born and the body goes through a crash course in normalising hormone
levels back to pre-pregnancy levels, the ulcerative colitis can flare-up.
I didn't know this, no one explained it to me. Two weeks ago, I picked up
the Noro virus in the hospital while we were there with Tristan for his
6-week check-up; we hadn't been anywhere else that was a public place and
even though I washed my hands before we left the hospital..... well, I had
sickness and diarrhea within 36 hours, and my body worked for 2 days to
clear itself of the perceived "poison". Afterwards, I was left with all
the symptoms of an ulcer - lots of blood loss and an inability to be too
far from the loo for very long. After this had gone on for 10 days it
occured to me that it might not be gastroenteritis, it might be an ulcer.
So I went along to the GP for an appointment, which was cancelled (long
story) and by the time I was seen it had been 2 weeks since I had
contracted the Noro virus. The GP wasn't used to seeing an ulcerative
colitis patient, and couldn't pick apart if it was 1) a flare-up, 2) a
reaction to the baby being born and the colon just needing to calm down
again or 3) a reaction to the effects of the Noro virus. So she called
Ninewells and they insisted I be admitted to the Gastro-enterology ward.
And that ward said, "No babies- the risk of picking up MRSA is too great".

Therefore, I fed Tristan on Thursday before he left, and then I was given
steroids to calm the colon down. I had another big dose of steroids in
the morning, but by then, I had had blood tests, an ECG, x-rays of the
colon, etc and the consultants had come to the conclusion that the colon
looked fine, I didn't fit the profile of a person having a flare-up, and I
could be discharged. Also, they changed their mind and said it would be
fine to breastfeed while on steroids (and I'd only had 2 doses anyway),
and that I wouldn't have to taper off of them either, because it hadn't
been a long course of the drug. That was why Tristan blissfully breastfed
during the ward round when 3 consultants and 2 nurses trooped in; he was
wearing his "Superbaby" blue velour suit, which went down well with the
staff, who were also impressed with his size (!)

So we're home now, trying to catch up on sleep and Tristan is feeding like
we've starved him for about 3 weeks. He and I didn't feel well when he
was 6 weeks old and supposed to be having a growth spurt, so I suspect
he's having it now, though he's always been a "hungry baby" and seems to
eat continuously. Mark's mum is flying up to Scotland today and we are
going to have her help until Thursday I believe. We may even get the
house cleaned. Then we will go down to visit Mark's parents, and his
brother and sister (along with her 2 small boys and husband) will all be
there for the Easter weekend. That will be exciting, because only Mark's
sister and Mum have met Tristan so far.

Thank you so much for all your thoughts and good wishes. I hope that I
can really recover now from the pregnancy and birth experience. It is not
nice to be in low-level pain of some kind for 2 months, as I'm sure that
many of you on here will agree with.


Love, Jo in Scotland


P.S. Tristan has started to say "ello" occasionally when we say "Hello"
to him. Can an 8-week old really speak or are we just hearing what we
want to hear?

Jo:
Jo;
While I don't read anyone's medical details (Thanks for the warning ... I
really appreciated that,) I skimmed this briefly to see you are doing okay
again. Good to hear! I've kept you and family in prayers, and wish you all
the best of health.
Can an 8 wk old infant speak? Yes, certainly! (Who am I to argue with a
new, just out of hospital mom?)
Pat in Virginia

"Jo Gibson" wrote in message
...
Hello dear RCTQ folks,
Thank you so much for all your thoughts and good wishes. I hope that I
can really recover now from the pregnancy and birth experience. It is not
nice to be in low-level pain of some kind for 2 months, as I'm sure that
many of you on here will agree with.


Love, Jo in Scotland


P.S. Tristan has started to say "ello" occasionally when we say "Hello"
to him. Can an 8-week old really speak or are we just hearing what we
want to hear?

Glad to see you back home again! I'll bet your "boys" are happy, too! Take
good care of yourself! - We're all thinking of you and sending positive
vibes your way!
ME-Judy

"Jo Gibson" wrote in message
...
Hello dear RCTQ folks,

I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at just before my 20th birthday in
1992. So I've lived with it for about 17 years now. In the beginning, I
had a permanent ulcer and my colon looked like hamburger meat (I have
photos). The flare-ups of my condition went down to 3 a year, then twice
a year, then annually, then once every couple of years.... I think my last
flare-up was about 5 or 6 years ago. I took part in a dietary study of
ulcerative colitis patients at Ninewells Hospital in 2003-2004 and that
really helped to isolate which foods I should not eat, which in turn
improved my condition. I cannot thank the staff at Ninewells enough
because I see a gastro-intestinal specialist there once a year to assess
my condition, and with the help of the NHS I can afford to take the
medication, daily, which I need. When I moved to the UK 15 years ago,
that medication cost 10 times as much in the US (after converting dollars
to pounds and so on). So I not only was able to receive the best
medication for my condition, I was able to be monitored and ultimately,
vastly improved. My condition was so improved by 2002 that a biopsy was
ordered, to make sure I had actually been correctly diagnosed with
ulcerative colitis.

Fast forward to 2010. Apparently during pregnancy, there are so many
hormones floating around in the pregnant woman's system that conditions
such as ulcerative colitis improve! Who knew? However, after the baby is
born and the body goes through a crash course in normalising hormone
levels back to pre-pregnancy levels, the ulcerative colitis can flare-up.
I didn't know this, no one explained it to me. Two weeks ago, I picked up
the Noro virus in the hospital while we were there with Tristan for his
6-week check-up; we hadn't been anywhere else that was a public place and
even though I washed my hands before we left the hospital..... well, I had
sickness and diarrhea within 36 hours, and my body worked for 2 days to
clear itself of the perceived "poison". Afterwards, I was left with all
the symptoms of an ulcer - lots of blood loss and an inability to be too
far from the loo for very long. After this had gone on for 10 days it
occured to me that it might not be gastroenteritis, it might be an ulcer.
So I went along to the GP for an appointment, which was cancelled (long
story) and by the time I was seen it had been 2 weeks since I had
contracted the Noro virus. The GP wasn't used to seeing an ulcerative
colitis patient, and couldn't pick apart if it was 1) a flare-up, 2) a
reaction to the baby being born and the colon just needing to calm down
again or 3) a reaction to the effects of the Noro virus. So she called
Ninewells and they insisted I be admitted to the Gastro-enterology ward.
And that ward said, "No babies- the risk of picking up MRSA is too great".

Therefore, I fed Tristan on Thursday before he left, and then I was given
steroids to calm the colon down. I had another big dose of steroids in
the morning, but by then, I had had blood tests, an ECG, x-rays of the
colon, etc and the consultants had come to the conclusion that the colon
looked fine, I didn't fit the profile of a person having a flare-up, and I
could be discharged. Also, they changed their mind and said it would be
fine to breastfeed while on steroids (and I'd only had 2 doses anyway),
and that I wouldn't have to taper off of them either, because it hadn't
been a long course of the drug. That was why Tristan blissfully breastfed
during the ward round when 3 consultants and 2 nurses trooped in; he was
wearing his "Superbaby" blue velour suit, which went down well with the
staff, who were also impressed with his size (!)

So we're home now, trying to catch up on sleep and Tristan is feeding like
we've starved him for about 3 weeks. He and I didn't feel well when he
was 6 weeks old and supposed to be having a growth spurt, so I suspect
he's having it now, though he's always been a "hungry baby" and seems to
eat continuously. Mark's mum is flying up to Scotland today and we are
going to have her help until Thursday I believe. We may even get the
house cleaned. Then we will go down to visit Mark's parents, and his
brother and sister (along with her 2 small boys and husband) will all be
there for the Easter weekend. That will be exciting, because only Mark's
sister and Mum have met Tristan so far.

Thank you so much for all your thoughts and good wishes. I hope that I
can really recover now from the pregnancy and birth experience. It is not
nice to be in low-level pain of some kind for 2 months, as I'm sure that
many of you on here will agree with.


Love, Jo in Scotland


P.S. Tristan has started to say "ello" occasionally when we say "Hello"
to him. Can an 8-week old really speak or are we just hearing what we
want to hear?

On Mar 21, 12:32*pm, "ME-Judy" wrote:
Glad to see you back home again! I'll bet your "boys" are happy, too! *Take
good care of yourself! - We're all thinking of you and sending positive
vibes your way!
ME-Judy

"Jo Gibson" wrote in message

...

Hello dear RCTQ folks,

I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at just before my 20th birthday in
1992. *So I've lived with it for about 17 years now. *In the beginning, I
had a permanent ulcer and my colon looked like hamburger meat (I have
photos). *The flare-ups of my condition went down to 3 a year, then twice
a year, then annually, then once every couple of years.... I think my last
flare-up was about 5 or 6 years ago. *I took part in a dietary study of
ulcerative colitis patients at Ninewells Hospital in 2003-2004 and that
really helped to isolate which foods I should not eat, which in turn
improved my condition. *I cannot thank the staff at Ninewells enough
because I see a gastro-intestinal specialist there once a year to assess
my condition, and with the help of the NHS I can afford to take the
medication, daily, which I need. *When I moved to the UK 15 years ago,
that medication cost 10 times as much in the US (after converting dollars
to pounds and so on). *So I not only was able to receive the best
medication for my condition, I was able to be monitored and ultimately,
vastly improved. *My condition was so improved by 2002 that a biopsy was
ordered, to make sure I had actually been correctly diagnosed with
ulcerative colitis.

Fast forward to 2010. *Apparently during pregnancy, there are so many
hormones floating around in the pregnant woman's system that conditions
such as ulcerative colitis improve! *Who knew? *However, after the baby is
born and the body goes through a crash course in normalising hormone
levels back to pre-pregnancy levels, the ulcerative colitis can flare-up.
I didn't know this, no one explained it to me. *Two weeks ago, I picked up
the Noro virus in the hospital while we were there with Tristan for his
6-week check-up; we hadn't been anywhere else that was a public place and
even though I washed my hands before we left the hospital..... well, I had
sickness and diarrhea within 36 hours, and my body worked for 2 days to
clear itself of the perceived "poison". Afterwards, I was left with all
the symptoms of an ulcer - lots of blood loss and an inability to be too
far from the loo for very long. *After this had gone on for 10 days it
occured to me that it might not be gastroenteritis, it might be an ulcer.

We are all just so happy to have you back home and on the mend. What a
brave daddy Mark is. My own DH would have just stood in the front doorway
and yelled 'Help' until someone can to his aid. Polly

woooohoooooo!!!! (quietly of course so as not to wake the wee lad).
welcome home, Jo.
so very glad to hear you're home and ok again.
i am a firm believer that wee babes can indeed speak.
we mostly dont hear it tho.
i recall when the 3 month old baby of a good friend was fussing and not
happy and we'd done all that needed to be done and she shouldnt have been
tired but apparently was and we didnt pick up on it until...
i said, for goodness sake just put her to bed to fuss. the baby immediately
shut up, stared at me and said 'put me bed'. i nearly fainted. mum was out
of the room for a second and didnt hear it.
she did not repeat it but i'd heard it and as soon as she was put in her bed
she went right to sleep. omg!!! i told the mum about it and she was
sceptical for sure but i know what i heard the wee lass say clear as a bell
to me.
so yes an 8 week old baby can speak if only we listen carefully we'll pick
up more than we ever thought possible.
i'm really glad the break didnt upset his breastfeeding too.
now back to being such a great mum and we'll all wait for anymore pix you
care to put up for us to drool over.
big hugz to all of you.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
jeanne

"Jo Gibson" wrote ...
Hello dear RCTQ folks,

I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at just before my 20th birthday
in 1992. So I've lived with it for about 17 years now. In the
beginning, I had a permanent ulcer and my colon looked like hamburger
meat (I have photos). The flare-ups of my condition went down to 3 a
year, then twice a year, then annually, then once every couple of
years.... I think my last flare-up was about 5 or 6 years ago. I took
part in a dietary study of ulcerative colitis patients at Ninewells
Hospital in 2003-2004 and that really helped to isolate which foods I
should not eat, which in turn improved my condition. I cannot thank the
staff at Ninewells enough because I see a gastro-intestinal specialist
there once a year to assess my condition, and with the help of the NHS I
can afford to take the medication, daily, which I need. When I moved to
the UK 15 years ago, that medication cost 10 times as much in the US
(after converting dollars to pounds and so on). So I not only was able
to receive the best medication for my condition, I was able to be
monitored and ultimately, vastly improved. My condition was so improved
by 2002 that a biopsy was ordered, to make sure I had actually been
correctly diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.

Fast forward to 2010. Apparently during pregnancy, there are so many
hormones floating around in the pregnant woman's system that conditions
such as ulcerative colitis improve! Who knew? However, after the baby
is born and the body goes through a crash course in normalising hormone
levels back to pre-pregnancy levels, the ulcerative colitis can
flare-up. I didn't know this, no one explained it to me. Two weeks
ago, I picked up the Noro virus in the hospital while we were there with
Tristan for his 6-week check-up; we hadn't been anywhere else that was a
public place and even though I washed my hands before we left the
hospital..... well, I had sickness and diarrhea within 36 hours, and my
body worked for 2 days to clear itself of the perceived "poison".
Afterwards, I was left with all the symptoms of an ulcer - lots of blood
loss and an inability to be too far from the loo for very long. After
this had gone on for 10 days it occured to me that it might not be
gastroenteritis, it might be an ulcer. So I went along to the GP for an
appointment, which was cancelled (long story) and by the time I was seen
it had been 2 weeks since I had contracted the Noro virus. The GP
wasn't used to seeing an ulcerative colitis patient, and couldn't pick
apart if it was 1) a flare-up, 2) a reaction to the baby being born and
the colon just needing to calm down again or 3) a reaction to the
effects of the Noro virus. So she called Ninewells and they insisted I
be admitted to the Gastro-enterology ward. And that ward said, "No
babies- the risk of picking up MRSA is too great".

Therefore, I fed Tristan on Thursday before he left, and then I was
given steroids to calm the colon down. I had another big dose of
steroids in the morning, but by then, I had had blood tests, an ECG,
x-rays of the colon, etc and the consultants had come to the conclusion
that the colon looked fine, I didn't fit the profile of a person having
a flare-up, and I could be discharged. Also, they changed their mind
and said it would be fine to breastfeed while on steroids (and I'd only
had 2 doses anyway), and that I wouldn't have to taper off of them
either, because it hadn't been a long course of the drug. That was why
Tristan blissfully breastfed during the ward round when 3 consultants
and 2 nurses trooped in; he was wearing his "Superbaby" blue velour
suit, which went down well with the staff, who were also impressed with
his size (!)

So we're home now, trying to catch up on sleep and Tristan is feeding
like we've starved him for about 3 weeks. He and I didn't feel well
when he was 6 weeks old and supposed to be having a growth spurt, so I
suspect he's having it now, though he's always been a "hungry baby" and
seems to eat continuously. Mark's mum is flying up to Scotland today
and we are going to have her help until Thursday I believe. We may even
get the house cleaned. Then we will go down to visit Mark's parents,
and his brother and sister (along with her 2 small boys and husband)
will all be there for the Easter weekend. That will be exciting,
because only Mark's sister and Mum have met Tristan so far.

Thank you so much for all your thoughts and good wishes. I hope that I
can really recover now from the pregnancy and birth experience. It is
not nice to be in low-level pain of some kind for 2 months, as I'm sure
that many of you on here will agree with.


Love, Jo in Scotland


P.S. Tristan has started to say "ello" occasionally when we say "Hello"
to him. Can an 8-week old really speak or are we just hearing what we
want to hear?

J* wrote:
woooohoooooo!!!! (quietly of course so as not to wake the wee lad).
welcome home, Jo.
so very glad to hear you're home and ok again.
i am a firm believer that wee babes can indeed speak.
we mostly dont hear it tho.
i recall when the 3 month old baby of a good friend was fussing and not
happy and we'd done all that needed to be done and she shouldnt have been
tired but apparently was and we didnt pick up on it until...
i said, for goodness sake just put her to bed to fuss. the baby immediately
shut up, stared at me and said 'put me bed'. i nearly fainted. mum was out
of the room for a second and didnt hear it.
she did not repeat it but i'd heard it and as soon as she was put in her bed
she went right to sleep. omg!!! i told the mum about it and she was
sceptical for sure but i know what i heard the wee lass say clear as a bell
to me.
so yes an 8 week old baby can speak if only we listen carefully we'll pick
up more than we ever thought possible.
i'm really glad the break didnt upset his breastfeeding too.
now back to being such a great mum and we'll all wait for anymore pix you
care to put up for us to drool over.
big hugz to all of you.
xoxoxoxoxoxo
jeanne


Nothing disrupts Tristan's breastfeeding. The whole house could fall
down and he wouldn't notice. The trouble is, I've been dehydrated, so
I'm not making as much as he would like. This has not pleased HRH
Tristan. Master Tristan is making his likes & dislikes known just now
to Mark, as the baby monitor is letting me know.

Grandma has arrived and shown him the parrot and the elephant on his
"baby gym" and Tristan has decided he prefers the elephant, and Grandma
is okay as well.


-- Jo in Scotland