First, a big THANK YOU to my family, friends, and LAB readers for all the comforting and encouraging words over the weekend!
If I said that the colonoscopy prep and procedure experience was enjoyable, I would be lying, but I will say it wasn’t too, too bad… Monday morning I arrived at the doctor’s office an hour early to complete all the pre-op paperwork. After waiting for over 30 minutes, I was informed that my doctor was running at least an hour behind [arg]. When my name was finally called, I was taken back into the pre-op room to change into one of the very fashionable hospital gowns.
The nurse who took my vitals was super friendly and created small talk, asking me how my prep experience was… I told her that other than feeling tired and weak it wasn’t that bad and that I felt fortunate that I didn’t experience any of the symptoms that people warned me about such as having to wear a diaper or needing to run to the restroom.
I could tell by the look on the nurse’s face that my prep experience wasn’t normal. She seemed worried that I was not “emptying” like I should have been. Within a few minutes my doctor was standing by my side, asking me to describe my prep experience… I told him I followed the directions from start to finish: I consumed nothing but liquids, took a couple of laxatives, and drank both of the prep concoctions. Despite having solid stools, the doctor decided to go ahead with the procedure and see how far he could get but if my intestines were not completely emptied, he would have to abort.
Within moments of being wheeled back into the operating room I fell into a deep sleep… About 30 minutes after the procedure was over, I woke up and was given a drink and some pretzels while I waited anxiously for the doctor.
All in all, the doctor only got 22cm into my intestine before having to abort the procedure. I felt frustrated and let down. Despite not being able to fully complete the procedure, the doctor reassured me that I did nothing wrong, rather my body just didn’t respond like it should have. All in all, we did learn something: my body’s digestive system is SLOW, which could be a result of the Lupus or it could be a result of IBS.
So what now? The doctor recommended that I have another colonoscopy within the coming month and prep for two days and in the meantime I need to take laxatives to help speed things up… Fun [oye].
After having a tough morning, there was only one thing on my mind: food. I had planned what I wanted as my first real meal after a day of purely liquids, something delicious and hearty… Panera! I could eat Panera every day, every meal 
I went with the “You Pick Two” combo and got a classic salad, a chicken noodle soup bread bowl, and an apple. I love dunking the doughy bread into the soup and eating the soggy bowl after consuming all the soup. Who doesn’t love a meal that they can eat their dishes and not have to clean them?!
The rest of my Monday was less than stellar. Soon after gobbling up Panera, I began to experience all the typical prep symptoms and spent the afternoon in the restroom. This continued through Tuesday morning and finally I started to feel some relief last night… I quickly learned why people cringe when they hear the word “colonoscopy.”
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Successes Sunday
I didn’t have much luck this week accomplishing my goals [similar story to last week]. Seeing “Nope.” after each goal for two weeks in a row does not make me feel good to say the least. Last month when I set these goals, I thought that they would help motivate me but in reality, I feel like they have done nothing but put pressure on me TO HAVE TO do something. With that in mind, I think it’s time for me to take a new approach to goal-setting… Rather than making specific tasks for each goal, I am going to purely focus just on the three main goals:
1. Listen to my body.
2. Save money.
3. Train Charlie.
I’m not giving up on my goals, rather I am amending them to better fit my lifestyle. If during a specific week I want to make a mini goal for one of the three main goals then I will. If I don’t, I won’t.
“Yesterday is but a dream, and tomorrow only a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope.”
~Wellsphere Daily Motivational Quote
Daily Memorable Moments
February 20: Sinking my teeth into a doughy bread bowl…
February 21: Setting up and confirming consultations with potential wedding vendors!
February 22: I rearranged my classroom! The students are no longer sitting in pairs, I moved materials from one bookshelf to another, and I added a table to the side of my desk so now I have more room to spread out [and cover with papers].
Question: What’s your fave thing to order at Panera?
Question: What successes have you had recently?
