Monday, June 8, 2015

The Gutsy Walk 2014

Every year there is an amazing event called the Gutsy Walk. The Gutsy Walk is your typical charity walk, pledges donate money and we walk a nice 5km walk. The Gutsy Walk focuses on Crohn's and Colitis, and obviously I just have to walk in this.

I'm actually really glad that there is a walk dedicated to these nasty diseases. I know when I first got sick a lot of my friends and family had no idea what colitis was and felt uncomfortable talking with me about it. It's a "yucky" disease and some people just feel uncomfortable talking about it. Regardless, we do deserve a walk.

So anyways, the first year I walked the Gutsy Walk I ended up walking by myself. I found out about the walk too late for any of my friends and family to make time to walk with me. I get it, it's early on a Sunday and some people like to sleep in and relax. Who in their right mind shows up at 10 in the morning to warm up for a 5km walk? Well my first year I did.

So before I talk about the walk I should just mention my horrible sense of direction. For those familiar with Hamilton you'll understand how crazy I am, for those not familiar with Hamilton, you're probably just as great as getting around as I was.

I had taken a bus down to the new MacNab terminal and figured I would just take the Bayfront bus to Bayfront Park. You'd think that the bus would go relatively close to the park, right? 

Nope, it goes down to Pier 8. Pier 8 is a nice little place. It has William's Cafe, Scoops (best ice cream in the world), roller skate or ice skate rentals (depending on the season), a grill, boat tours, and some nice fishing spots. It's actually a great place to go and hang out with friends or for family fun. It's great except it is not Bayfront Park. 

I knew enough about Hamilton that Bayfront Park is near Pier 4 and I asked someone for directions. Great idea if the person knew directions. They totally pointed me in the wrong direction and I ended up walking past the old Lakeport factory to some indoor skating area before I realized how lost I was. 

So here I was freaking out. I knew the event started officially at 11 and it was already 10! I was going to be late if I didn't figure out where the hell I was going soon (and if you don't know me, I freak out about being punctual).

So finally I find a sign at a public park, the kind with the map of local parks in the area. I had a general direction of where I was going and where I should be going. FINALLY!

So after knowing where I had to go, I book it over to Bayfront Park. On the way I pass a few other events, such as the Juvenile Diabetes Walk, and a few others that I can't quite recall. I knew I was on the right track and I could see some red and white signs that belong to the Gutsy Walk. After all the chaos of my horrible directional skills I was there. I had made it to the Gutsy Walk in time to do the walk. 

So when I got the the registration place I was shocked to see how the Gutsy Walk was laid out. It was a really nice set up. They had tents with snacks and drinks that you could eat before the walk or after, and after the walk they had pizza coming after. I was really impressed. I thought that we would just walk and stuff, that there would be some events after. But food? Woah man. That is just amazing. I was used to the Terry Fox Run (or walk with my cardio skills) and a Freezie at the end of the day. 

So after a very pumped up warm up we began the walk. It was gorgeous out that day and the walk was along the Harbour Front Trail, so that was just a beautiful walk. It was actually a walk that my family and I had done for fun. We are very outdoorsy people. In fact, this walk was very relaxing and something I could see myself doing on a regular basis.

Anyways, while I was on the walk an older gentleman started talking to me. He was doing the Juvenile Diabetes Walk that I mentioned earlier and was curious about what walk I was doing. I told him about the Gutsy Walk and a bit about Crohn's and Colitis. It turns out that a friend of his son's was really sick with Crohn's. The man was really surprised that there was a walk for the disease that struck him so close to home. It was then I realized that a lot of people are afraid to talk about things that involve the grosser workings of the human body.

Anyways, I finished the walk in a relatively fast time. My dad had told me walking 5km would take a few hours to do. It took me about an hour to finish, and I'm a slow walker. After the walk I was drawn to a couple white food tents by the smell of delicious pizza. This was before I had discovered Pizza Pizza's gluten free delight and was used to Domino's bland options. I had asked if they had any gluten free but I guess a lot of other people there were gluten free as they had run out fairly quickly. No worries, I ate a bunch of bananas. Probably better considering the fact I walked back to the terminal after the walk. 

Yeah, I must be a masochist. After my earlier mishap with directions and a 5km walk I decided it would be a good idea to walk about 3km to the terminal. Wow. This was definitely a leg day.




Friday, June 5, 2015

Gluten free? Is it actually good?

Let's start with my favourite gluten free go-to place, Burrito Boyz: Amazing gluten free corn tortillas, and the staff is well aware of what foods on the menu are gluten free. Great price for gluten free food and fresh tasting toppings. Another bonus; they can even do dairy free and vegan options! 11/10.

Pizza Pizza: Very nice topping selection. Decent tasting crust. A great feature when ordering online is when you select the gluten free crust all options that contain gluten disappear from their menu for that pizza alone. Not that bad of a price either. 9/10.

Domino's Pizza: I prefer their crust to Pizza Pizza's crust marginally. However, the toppings and sauce selections are very limited and not my favourite. The price is not worth the product in my mind. 4/10.

Kelsey's: I'm a huge Pesto Pasta fan. Good choice for gluten free and non-gluten free people. Their salad with the blood orange sauce and chicken is very good too. They have ice cream as their gluten free dessert, which I kinda can't eat. They also have steaks there for you gluten free red-meat eaters. I really do like this restaurant as a gluten free option. It's just a little too pricey for a casual dining place. 9/10

Red Rocket's: They said the honey garlic sauce is gluten free, and I hope it is. The non-breaded wings are decent, but my favourite part of their chicken wings when I was younger was the breading clumps covered in sauce. They have AMAZING potato wedges, so even if their sauces aren't gluten free you have those to look forward to. I'll give their wedges a 10/10 and the wings 7/10. Their salads? 4/10.

Spring Sushi: Don't even get me started. I love sushi. I'm a big fish lover and I love rice. And their eel? Mmmm <3 I'm not sure how much of their menu is gluten free. Just avoid soy sauce. I love it. It's beautiful in their. Beautiful decor, food, and overall atmosphere. This is by far my favourite place to eat. Oh did I mention all you can eat? Hell yeah! 100000/10!

Spring Rolls: They have good gluten free options. It's not my favourite sushi restaurant but I do like it and would eat there again. 7/10.

The Works: They have great gluten free options. Great red meat free options. I love the food there... except the gluten free bun. I find the gluten free bun a little spongy and eggy tasting. If you're very picky about the taste of the bun I recommend getting a bunless burger. Buns: -1/10. Everything else: 8/10.

South Pacific: Well I really don't like Chinese take out food. It's not bad or anything, we just sued to eat it at least once a week and I'm very sick of it. I like the fact they advertise no MSG. However, the only gluten free food is the pineapple rice and mixed veggies. 6/10.

Tim Horton's: Well, I just love your gluten free macaroons. That's really all I can eat there. The macaroon are pretty good though. Keep it up and maybe start including more options. 8/10 for the macaroons.

Dating the sick girl really must suck

So as mentioned earlier I have a very wonderful and supporting boyfriend. He understands how crappy (pun intended) have colitis can be. Usually it doesn't cause any problems. Sometimes my stomach really hurts and I'm not up for hanging out, but I usually manage me symptoms.

So what's the biggest, and pretty much only problem, with going out on dates? My damn food restrictions. Imagine a life without gluten, dairy, and red meat? Yes I can eat very small amounts of these foods, but I pay dearly for it.

The biggest challenge is finding a restaurant that I can eat at, that I like, and that he likes. Take out food also delivers problems too (another horrible pun, I'm sorry). Have you guys ever eaten gluten free food? If not I really don't recommend it and if so, I'm so sorry that you had to have eaten that stuff. 

Don't get me wrong, rice is pretty good. So are veggies and stuff. But a lot of good food has gluten, and waaaaay too many sauces do. You know how gross sauce-less chicken wings are? Or gluten free pizza without sauce and cheese is? Gluten free spongy burger buns? Yeah, no thanks.

It also sucks trying to go to places that my boyfriend and his friends love. The guys all love this place called Burger Barn, and I'll give it to them, the burgers are great. Except now I can't eat burgers. And they don't have any salads I can eat there, so they improvise. The salads aren't bad either, I'm not knocking the place. It's just called Burger Barn, not Salad Saloon (kudos to Will for that lovely joke).

So anyways, it's pretty hard even finding a place to eat at. Some places do gluten free, like Kelsey's and Boston Pizza. Those are good places to eat at, and Kelsey's pesto pasta is the best gluten free dish I've eaten at all, but only eating a few dishes over and over again gets really boring. Kelsey's does have a lot of other options, but the whole dairy and red meat free takes those away from me.

There are other places that do gluten free, like my favourite burrito place Burrito Boyz. I ate there before I was gluten free and gladly switched to their gluten free options, and the prices are pretty cheap. It just really sucks because pretty much that's our go-to place to eat. 

So anyways, once a place is found then comes the lovely part of paying the bill. You know how expensive gluten free specialty items are? Holy crap, I should be getting freakin' lobster for that price.

Sometimes I do cheat on my diet, but it's not worth it anymore. My body is finally used to avoiding my trigger foods and then bam, I decide to eat a normal pizza. That pretty much puts an end to date night early and even takes me down for the next day or two. Nothing more romantic than horrible stomach pains, gas, nausea, and bloody waste.

Even something as simple as going to the movies presents a problem. First of all, I'm supposed to be caffeine free (my Starbucks and Monster cravings really kill me) so picking a pop to drink is hard. I meant I always hated Coke and Pepsi so that's not too bad. Canada Dry, Crush, and Mug are caffeine free so that's not too bad as long as the place carries those drinks. But popcorn? Butter makes me sick, the fake butter makes me feel like I'll puke, and overly salted popcorn will make me feel sick the next day. Oh yeah, did I mention heavily salted foods will make me sick? Bye bye potato chips and salted nuts. Not worth the nausea. Like wtf body? I just want to eat junk food that isn't soy milk ice cream. 

It's okay though, I'll eat Skittles. Gluten free and trigger food free. And the Tropical Skittles are amazing. None of my friends agree with me so I don't have to share.

Also, Maynard's candy is trigger food free, but I worked at a candy factory that handled their brand. I've seen enough candy to last me a lifetime. I swear I gained weight just by smelling the candy. Want to stop eating your favourite junk foods? Work at the factory that produces them. You won't want to eat the junk food ever again.

Anyways, once we're on a date it's perfectly romantic. After all those stupid troubles I'm a normal teenage girl on a date. No worries, I won't get sick on the date as long as I don't cheat on my diet. I even offer to pay for my half of the meal, not that my boyfriend lets me unless it's my turn to pay (every other date I pay, I'm not the type of girl that expects my boyfriend to pay for every date).

The best part about the date? I won't get you sick since colitis isn't contagious. 

Monday, May 11, 2015

"You f*cked up"

So one of the major tests needed to diagnose colitis is a colonoscopy. You know, the lovely camera shoved up into a very intimate place. Well, without getting into gory details, I'll fill you guys in on why this actually sucks and there should be a better method for testing and checking out your intestines.

You start out by getting this powder that you have to mix into four liters of water. It smells a little funky, but there are worse smells; the green cart on a hot summers day; one year old baby diapers; cat vomit; and that soy factory near the old Lakeport factory. But this powder has a taste worse than its smell.

I don't quite know how to describe this taste. It's a sour and salty taste. Chemically too. I once accidentally got shampoo in my mouth and it tasted so bad I vomited it up. The colonoscopy prep tastes like salty shampoo pretty much. It's brutal. They suggest that you mix it with flavouring like Crystal Light or Mio. Well we didn't exactly have that on hand. So stupid me just drank it as is.

I'd also like to point out that my lovely boyfriend was there that night. He not only came over knowing I had to drink a bunch of nasty liquid to thoroughly cleanse my colon, but he spent the night to make sure I was okay. He's totally a keeper. Men, take a note on how to show your ladies love.

So after the first glass of the nasty liquid I began gagging. By the fifth glass I was about to puke. My poor tongue had never tasted something like that before. Even pouring lime cordial, courtesy from my mom's friend who rented the basement, did not help at all. In fact, it made it worse. I didn't see how I could finish the liquid.

So that's when the darling boyfriend came up with a brilliant idea. You're not allowed to eat solid foods, but you can have pickle juice. I'd quickly chug down a glass of the nasty juice, and Ryan would give me a piece of pickle to suck on and chew a bit. This killed the aftertaste and made the task a little more bearable. So with his help, I did manage to finish the nasty prep.

After a brutally long night, most of it in the bathroom, my colon was cleansed and I was ready to go to the hospital. Ready to not only have a colonoscopy, but also an endoscopy.

Before everything  they hook you up to an IV and get you relaxed. That part isn't so bad, enjoyable even. They even numb your throat with a nice spray. The spray tastes like the way hot batteries smell. It's an acidic metallic taste. If you've ever had braces (and I have) and accidentally had tinfoil in your food you'll know the taste.

I'm sorry to digress, but I do have to point out about my bad teeth. I have a smaller jaw and too many teeth. It's a curse. I've had my fair share of dental surgeries, all being put under full sedation. I've become used to sedation. So now, being sedated for the scoping, my body was already used to it.

So back to the scope jobs. I had fallen asleep and the endoscopy went fairly well I assume. I slept through that one. The colonoscopy did not go well.

I remember feeling pressure in my gut. It was a heavy pressure and it hurt. In fact, it really hurt. I began to try to speak and ask what was wrong. I remember opening my eyes and still being in the room and the doctors were around me. I tried to move away from the pain. I started to whine and try to speak. I was awake. Prematurely awake.

After a few minutes the nurse began to notice I was awake, She tried telling me to calm down and the began pushing more drugs. I quickly faded back to sleep.

I start to come to in a lumpy bed and realize I must be in recovery. I hear the nurse tell my mom they had a slight problem and had to give me extra sedation and to expect me to be asleep for as long as another hour. Well, clearly they underestimated my body again.

I groggily pull myself up and stare at the nurse. I open my mouth and spit out "you f*cked up". And yes, they really did.

Being diagnosed with colitis, more than just a punch in the gut

I'd like to say that one day I woke up sick and was immediately diagnosed with this nasty disease, in fact I'd love to say that I have it pretty much under control by now. But of course, nothing is ever that simple and life really does kick you when you're down. No biggie though, I'm tougher than I look.

The hardest part is feeling constantly sick and no one believing you. In fact, it took over 5 years of being really sick before my parents and doctor took me seriously enough to start giving me tests. That was the worst part, being told to suck it up and to stop making things up. It was hard to have your parents tell you to stop freaking out when you start finding blood in the toilet or your food runs through you within half an hour of eating it for three weeks straight. So that's why I'm writing this; so that other people who feel sick know they aren't overreacting and have the courage to tell their family "I'm actually sick and you really need to take me to the hospital" and to not cry when their doctor tells them that they are "too fat to have a digestive disorder" and that "you're too young to be that sick". News flash, I really was sick so ha!

Anyways, as far as I can remember I always had a "sensitive tummy", or at least that's what my mom always said. My dad would tell me to suck it up most of the time. Sometimes, for no reason, I'd either be constipated (really painful and the relief was almost as bad) or having the runs. Sometimes I'd vomit for no reason. Stomach cramps, gas pains, nausea, and burning feelings were common. I got used to them. I never had a fever, only had the flu once in my life, and food poisoning definitely wasn't the cause. I assumed that I really had a sensitive tummy and just had to get used to it. Bye bye heavily salted foods, hello vegetables.

That did help a little. My mom was always a healthy cook. I was probably the only kid who loved brussel sprouts, go figure. I grew up loving stir fries with plenty of veg, salads, fish, and whatever fruit I wanted to eat. If I wanted to eat a cactus pear or dragon fruit I was allowed. However, Kraft Dinner and fast food was a big no-no. I used to sneak over to the KFC down the street with my brother and use my babysitting money to buy us lunch. To this day I still haven't eaten Mr Noodles and my mom flips on me if I eat canned soup.

After a few years of being sick I just accepted it and was drilled constantly about eating healthier. And to my surprise, I was getting worse. Suddenly I began noticing dairy made me really sick. Oh well, my dad is lactose intolerant. My family and doctor assumed I was as well. Didn't bother with tests. What's that saying about assuming? Yeah, shouldn't have assumed.

I avoided dairy for a long time. It wasn't worth the pain or embarrassment. Trust me on that. But even avoiding dairy I was still getting sick. No big deal. I can handle it. And then the blood came.

At eleven years old I was still a little too young for a period, which is what my mom assumed the blood in the toilet was when I first noticed it. But nope, it wasn't that. The next time I started bleeding my parents assumed it was just hemorrhoids. What eleven year old gets hemorrhoids?! Yeah I spent a long time in the bathroom, but I definitely wasn't straining.

For the longest time, every time I saw blood I would start crying and panicking. Looking back, I know it was an okay reaction. Who wouldn't cry when they see blood coming from places it shouldn't? I should have gone to the doctors right away. I knew I was really sick.

Whatever, right? Suck it up and stop crying. Grow up. Everyone bleeds once in awhile. Yeah, right.

This continued on for a about five more years. The constant sickness and occasional blood. I just accepted this as my new normal. When I would be walking to school and puke, I'd simply rinse and spit with water and chew some gum. If I was close enough to home I'd go a brush my teeth. I became a gum fiend because the peppermint made my stomach feel better sometimes and also hide any vomit breath. You adapt. My new normal was being sick. Can't drink black teas because those seem to make me really sick. Herbal tea is fine for me.

So one day at school my social worker notice that I looked a little sick. I told her about how I was feeling sick and started telling her how I was always feeling sick. She actually was the one who told me that it was serious. She called my family doctor and made him actually do something. Go figure, a social worker caring more about your health than your parents. Who would have thought?

So with Janet lighting a fire under my doctor's ass I actually started getting some testing done. I saw a G.I specialist and Doctor G was pretty cool. After a barium x-ray and some horrible scoping I finally was given my diagnosis of colitis. After years of being sick and being told that I wasn't I could finally scream back "I told you so!" Despite the fact I had a disease that can be treated (with horrible steroids and a plethora of other medication that makes you sick in other way) and not cured, I actually felt relieved. I mean, yeah colitis sucks and it'll eventually get worse, but it isn't colon cancer (yet) and I can still keep all of my intestines (ditto). I know eventually I'll have to face these factors, but Doctor G hopes that with a very strict diet I can prevent the disease from progressing. In fact, despite the fact that I was sick for so long, I am relatively healthy enough to stay off the medication. I flare up sometimes and I hate being sick. I also rarely get enough calcium and have low iron and b-vitamins, but those can be managed with multivitamins and dark leafy greens.

Don't let anyone tell you that you aren't sick. You know your body better than they do. Stick to your guns. If I didn't finally grow a pair and tell my amazing social worker I would probably still be getting sick and wondering if my life was just going to be a miserable state of needing to be within close proximity to a toilet.