TMI

You've been warned.

Poop talk is common in our house.  I guess that's what I can say about our journey thus far with ulcerative colitis. Orry is quite familiar with the Bristol Stool Chart.  Every once in a while I'll hear a little voice shout out "2!" or "3!" from the bathroom.

At the zoo before our doctor's appointment

There are other things to say about our journey thus far, like how high and how low you can get.  Seeing solid, bloodless poops can make you feel pretty good, especially if you haven't seen them for a long while.  Seeing loose, bloody poops can make you feel really lousy, especially if you just saw them a few months ago and really thought that this time you got it right and that things were on the up and up.

Isaac is in flare mode again.  He's breaking for the bathroom a couple of times a day (not too bad) and having long bouts of diarrhea.  Unfortunately, we are coming to the end of the list of things we can try.  At the beginning of this journey we had what seemed like a long list of options and medications that we could try.  Maybe it seemed long because we were so hopeful that we would never reach the bottom of that list.

Chicken running around the house at 6am...

What's in store for Isaac?  Currently we have increased his meds since he has gained weight.  No new meds. Not yet.  No steroids because clearly they don't do what they are supposed to do.  We are trying a high-potency probiotic called VSL 3.  We are reading up on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) and trying to pump ourselves up for such a drastic change.  And we have another colonoscopy scheduled for September 27th.  We are hoping to get a better diagnosis which will help us more effectively treat his disease.  We will also see if the flare is throughout his colon or if, fingers crossed, it is just in his lower colon, in which case we could try a medicated enema.

Don't feel too bad for Isaac, though.  He feels "great" and still has plenty of energy and is quite playful.

Now let's lighten the mood and talk a little bit about dinosaur poop.  The boys had a fun time reading, and re-reading, the book, Jurassic Poop: What Dinosaurs (and Others) Left Behind by Jacob Berkowitz.  We learned about coprolites and pretty much all things dino doo doo.  It's a really fun and informative read with some hilarious illustrations by Steve Mack.  I recommend checking it out from your local library.  It makes excellent bathroom reading.

Please keep Isaac in your thoughts and prayers as we get closer to the scope date.  Especially think about us on Monday, as we struggle with a 24 hour clear liquid diet.  No fun.  No fun at all.  We'll keep you posted!