Tuesday, December 31, 2013

What A Year It Has Been....

This time last year I was in a less than optimal spot. I was down, I was out and I was ready for a change.
A full year and a whirlwind blur later here I am, sitting in my same chair, waiting for the same ball to drop in Time Square.
Yet I feel different.
I feel happy, hopeful, educated.
My head is in a better place.
This past year I have learned so much. So much that sometimes I feel as if my head might explode. But it doesn't. It's just my future swimming around in there no biggie, right? WRONG! I worry if I know enough. There are so many scenarios in the real world that school just can't prepare you for. Real diseases, uncooperative patients, lineups and numbers. Oi vey....
But I can do it! I have faith! Because THIS is my job. THIS is my future. And I love it.
I love the job and skills and people that I have met over the past year.
My life is in a good spot.
Now the job hunt begins.

Keep smiling!
And Happy New Year!
:)

Friday, December 20, 2013

Well I Did It....

School is done.
Practicum is done.
Just waiting for my marks and diploma.

Keep on smiling,
Keep on graduating!
:D

Monday, November 4, 2013

Pros and Cons....

Pros of the day: Got 100% on my exam, got confirmed for my practical.

Cons of the day: Interpersonal skills for the healthcare professional is not going to be as easy as I thought, I almost got ran over by a bus.

Both a Pro and a Con: I burnt my tongue on the first Tim Horton's white hot chocolate of the year.

You win some, you loose some....

Monday, October 14, 2013

So Much To Be Thankful For....

My loving family. Ones I see everyday and ones I only just met.

My awesome friends. Near, here, and far far away.

My education for a better life. And my non-existent fear of needles. Or finals.

My health- scratch that. Free healthcare, especially on the weekend I get a raging kidney/UTI infection.

And everyone reading this.
Thank you!
:)



Sunday, September 15, 2013

Invisible Illness Week Post 4...or 7...Whatever...

Sooooooooooo I got Bronchitis this week and I didn't make it through Invisible Illness Week. It's alright. This year's posts are few and far between anyway.

But I did not want to pass up this opportunity to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY 3rd LCB!

Three years ago today I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease and my life changed forever.

To celebrate here are some pictures of you on the day you were born.

The terrible two's are over! Hallelujah! May your third year be good to both you AND me....






Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Invisible Illness Week Post 3: Appearances....

Appearances can be confusing. They can also be misleading. If you were to see me on the street and say hello you would never know what I have or haven't been through in my life or day. In much the same way as I do not know about you. It is not until we sit down and truly discuss what makes us different (or the same) that we can understand and appreciate each-other's journeys. I'm not saying my life path is on a downward trajectory that is one day going to reach oblivion and I will have no choice but to curl up in the fetal position and die. Not at all. What I mean is that I may have more ups and downs in my life than the average person.
Take the spoon theory. I've posted a link before but for those of you that have never heard it I will briefly recap (but I suggest reading the whole thing for yourselves for the full effect).
The spoon theory says that everyone wakes up each morning with an allotment of spoons. Some have more and some have less. Those that have a chronic illness tend to have less. Every time you must perform a task you lose a spoon and once your spoons are gone you are done for the day. This isn't a major problem for most "normal" people as they have an abundance of spoons to get up in the morning, go to work, pick up the kids, make dinner and still have enough to walk the dog and clean the house. But us invisible illness sufferers have to pick and choose when things get done. If we cook dinner tonight will we be too tired to eat it? If we clean the house will we have to skip tucking our kids in to bed? Budgeting your spoons is a very delicate task.
As of late I have been very blessed with my spoon allotment. There seems to be enough to go around work, school and even some left to get ahead on homework and projects.
So next time you see me on the street don't just assume that I'm being a snob and don't want to get coffee with you. Maybe I just can't afford a spoon loss that day.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Invisible Illness Week Post 2: Doctors....

I owe my life to my Gastroenterologist. She single handedly brought me from a very frail, can't keep any food down, 117 pound withering mess to a healthy, enjoy (most) foods strong enough to enjoy life patient. And as much as I hate the stigma "patient" brings I'd rather be a "patient" than a "corpse" of a person that never got to enjoy her life.
Dr. P is my Gastroenterologist. She is a great doctor that truly cares for her patients. I can't count the amount of times that I have come home to a message on my machine that my labs have come back wonky and she has left a prescription at my pharmacy to correct the problem. She is very accommodating.
Take today for example. I had an appointment with her and at the end of my appointment I was mentioning that I am doing a project about Crohn's Disease for school and she gave me pictures that she had taken at my first colonoscopy to share.

My advice when dealing with an invisible illness is to find yourself a really good doctor. I have and it really does make your life that much easier.

Monday, September 9, 2013

Invisible Illness Week Post 1: Invisible....

My invisible illness is Crohn's Disease. It is  called invisible because you can't see it as you can, say the big red target that is Lyme Disease. Instead, the only way for you to know that I am different than you, your spouse, your parents or your neighbours Paul and Betty down the street is for me to tell you. 

Well here I am. All 160 lbs. of me. And I'm alright with that weight. It means I have been eating. You see quite often there are days when I don't eat. It actually gives me pain to eat. This is called an invisible symptom. And while it is invisible for you it is quite real to me. Think of it like this. Imagine you had to go about your day with a very infected finger nail. The really annoying kind that throbs, is red and you can feel your heartbeat in.  And every two hours you had to go to the sink and pour rubbing alcohol on it. While it may hurt and sting your finger while you pour and for a little while after it is what's best for your body.

This is what Crohn's is like, only 10,189,748,829 times worse.

Now imagine that fingernail is the whole right side of your abdomen, front and back, and you are coming up to the two hour mark. You are dreading even the thought of having to eat and even though you know it's not what's best for your body you skip eating anyway. This is the invisible struggle. To eat or not to eat. I ask myself this every minute of everyday. But I have been blessed as of late. Lately I have been feeling good, eating well and keeping that "finger" pain in check.

And such is the unpredictable and sometimes irrational life of a Crohnie....

:)

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Invisible Illness Week 2013

This week is Invisible Illness Week.
As last year, I plan on participating. There are some prompts that have been set out for participants and I am going to do my best to uphold them. I might be juggling them around a bit as I have a special day coming up on the 15th.  See you tomorrow everyone!

:)

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Remicade-versary!

Happy 2nd Remicade-versary to me!

:)

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

My First Non 90....

I never liked high school. My grades were rarely to never good. I think I finished my high school career with an overall average of about 62%.

My current college overall average is 96% and I've never gotten anything below a 90%.

Today I got 86% on my practical assessment.
And I'm angry about it.
It was stupid questions that I knew too.
Oh well.
Accept it, shake it off, and study my butt off for my exam on Friday.


Keep on smiling and don't be so hard on yourself.
:)

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

A Bigger Favour Could Not Be Asked....

If everyone could do me a HUGE favour I'd like you to watch the video I and two of my classmates have made. We are trying to win a contest put on by the OSMT(The Ontario Society of Medical Technologists) and we worked REALLY hard on it. Every share, like and view on YouTube gets us closer to winning!

A super massively huge big ginormous thank you!
 

*WARNING: Keep in mind that I am in a medical school program. If you're squeamish about needles this may not be the video for you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AK3llsnxbc

Saturday, June 22, 2013

One Whole Year....

....has passed since you've been gone.
It's strange. When you first left I feel like I was put through the full gamut of emotions. I was in shock, angry, guilt ridden, annoyed, and somehow relieved. All of the emotions one would expect to experience in such a situation. I think I cried more between the dates of June 25th and July 7th 2012 than I have in the entirety of my life. My heart had also never felt so broken and so joyous either. Knowing that you were in another place, a happier place saddened me and made me smile at the same time. All of the heartache you had to endure still weighs heavily on me to this day. I feel like I could have done more. I feel like I could have helped you. But mostly I just feel like I wasn't a good enough friend to you.
Now I realize that if you were here you would stare at me with that blank look on your face, maybe scrunch up your nose in that funny little way that indicated that that was the most absurd statement I could ever come up with at that present moment. But it's true. And even a year of mixed and mangled emotions can't ever change it.
It's strange. I feel like the tears I want to cry while writing this aren't coming but like they are superficial tears that are preventing the real ones from coming. Maybe it's my subconscious knowing that that would mean a sleepless night and I have a lot to do tomorrow.
School is so hard Bubba. I wish you were here to talk to. Family is family but I miss the way that you could spin everything into a way that made me understand and appreciate. I know you would volunteer to come into my classroom to be a ginny pig for my awesome phlebotomy skills (even if you did hate needles).



I have been trying to push off this post all day. I didn't know how I was going to start or end it. I was hoping that I would forget, be too busy, what have you but nevertheless here I am an hour later still writing. So this is how I will end my one year later post.
With a song and an elephant. Given to me by my friend's mother on the one year anniversary of her death.

I love you Aly Bubba.
And I'll never stop, or forget.



Tuesday, June 4, 2013

The Doctor Called....

.... and left a message on my cell phone. There's something wrong with my bloodwork. Anyone want to place bets? WBCs, platelets or iron saturation? #crohnsproblems #remicadeproblems #hemochromatosisproblems 

P.S. You can follow me on Twitter. @ChaoticKylee

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Updates, Updates and....... Updates!

I feel like such a bad, terrible, horrible, no good, very bad blogger. I have been totally neglecting my readers and it makes me sad. And I'm not even going to try to say that "I tried" and "I was just so busy with school and homework and yadda yadda yadda...." because honestly, even though school is incredibly hectic, and stressful and everything you sign up for, I probably do still have time to blog. Maybe not everyday, or even every second day, but I know I should be able to be on here at least once a week updating my life. Not just for all of you but as a record for myself. Kind of like an electronic diary that I can look back at what I thought was important at one point of my life or another. I miss it....

UPDATES:

Blog Makeover: I have made over the blog layout for spring and I tried a little something different with the header. Let me know if you like it. Personally I think it is a bit tacky but I have been assured it's good. Here's hoping. Also, the background is now a road because I am currently booking it down the highway of life at mach 328980945959492104 and boy does it feel good. I thought it tied in nicely with the corny header. *SIGH*

School: School is awesome! It's so fun, I can't get enough. I work ahead and even start studying different modules before the class starts studying them. I have poked a fake arm too many times to count now. I have about 27 tubes of water that I have drawn off of "Bobby" the fake arm (although we think his name should be "Armand"....) On Tuesday I get to do my first real draw! EEEEE!!!! I'm so incredibly nervous, excited and petrified at the same time! Am I qualified to do this? I don't know but I'ma do it anyway. We also did Capillary Puncture. It's when you take an incredibly sharp object and poke your finger with it and squeeze tubes of blood out, who knew? I've got Order of Draw down pat and what each tube contains and does, just not how many times to invert the tubes but that should come in time. Did you know that each tube has different effects on a blood sample? I do now! So great. I will update regarding my first REAL draw after I do it. Bobby says I'm smooth as silk but we shall see.

Health: Surprisingly I've had no really bad pain since school started in January. Mini flares but nothing a night of rice and Gatorade can't extinguish. I thought for sure all of the changes in schedule, timing and workload would send me for a good loop. It could not be more opposite. I'm so proud of my body for adjusting. Of course Remicade helps too. ;)

Work: ....is work. It's daycare. It's tiring. Kids are hilarious. Same old, same old.

<- u="">Sidebar:
If you look over to your left you will see that I added a small ticker entitled "Kangoo kms. Counter". I have set myself a goal. By the end of summer I want to have jumped 100 kms. on my Kangoo Jumps. No real reason other than I need to exercise and if I don't set myself a goal and be accountable I will never get down to business. I started on May 3rd and I will be done before the first snowfall. Follow along if you wish. I'm at 10.3 as of tonight. I will update as I go along.
One last thing,
Happy World IBD Day!

 

Keep smiling! (And blogging. I really need to remember that one....)
;D

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Happy Mommy's Day to the bestest mom ever! We love you!

Keep smiling and loving your mama!
:D







Monday, April 29, 2013

You. Just. Can't.

What makes you think that you can do that to people? Social rules don't apply to you? You are special? You thought it was alright? You can't control yourself?

BS.

Complete and utter BS.

I hate you.
I hate you.
I hate you!!!!

And to find out that there are more of you in this world?! IT MAKES ME SICK!!!!

Hate is a harsh word. But you are a horrible human being. And tonight I hate you more than ever. It has hit close to home again and while it didn't kill anyone this time a part of my faith in humanity is gone.

And I am sad.
And mad.
And am full of anger.

And I hate it.

And I hate that I hate it.

And I hate that I hate that I hate it.

Times infinity.
+1.










I love you.
<3

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Like Clockwork....

It's no April Fools joke. April 1st, EVERY April 1st since the beginning of time my allergies kick into overdrive. I'm talking two to three sneeze in a row mornings to five to ten sneeze fits all day long. The occasional watery eye to the full on fiery rage of an inflamed and histamine filled tear duct. The subscript of an itch here or there to the unquenchable feeling of ripping open flesh!
You get the picture.
Anyway, moral of the story is don't take Benadryl before class or you might just fall asleep during the Endocrine System and have to scramble to Google to be able to finish your homework. Lesson learned.


P.S. I know I've been slacking with posting as of recently but the last five weeks have been an endless cycle of body systems, word lists to define, reviews to be completed and summaries to be written. Anatomy and Physiology, ugh. I promise I'll be a better blogger next week when I start Lab. Safety.

P.S.P.S. I got a copy of my latest labs from Dr. P and I plan on sharing them with you and filling you in that health way this weekend.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Why Thursday March 28th 2013 Will Forever Stick Out In My Mind....

What I did today....
•Put my finger through a man's aorta.
•Saw how an internal pacemaker works(from the inside!)
•Held a brain AND a spinal cord along with feeling every vertebra in a spine.
•Saw what dying young in a car accident does to your body.
•Dug metastasized tumor out of organs in an abdominal cavity.
•Played with a titanium knee.
•Pulled a tendon in an arm and moved each finger on a hand.
•Learned to appreciate life and how beautiful it truly is.
 

If you haven't guessed yet I spent this morning at the cadaver lab. It was really great and very informative. And being in the middle of my Anatomy & Physiology module in school it really helped to actually see how it all comes together and fits in the body. Don't get me wrong, I was petrified in the days leading up to the field trip. Especially after my teacher said that one girl got Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from entering the lab. So last night at midnight I was madly googling pictures and videos of dissected bodies. But besides the formaldehyde smell it was not bad at all. They don't even look like bodies and most of them didn't even have heads anyway. It looked in a way....fake, but not fake at the same time. It was very cool and still feels like kind of a dream. It truly a day to remember and cherish for the rest of my life. No pictures as this would have been disrespectful and who really has time when they're elbow high into someones abdominal cavity..

I did however take a picture of my afternoons activities....

Friday, February 22, 2013

Long Story Short....

.... Iron is now too low. Discontinuing phlebotomies for two weeks. I am super white. Almost ghostly. And oh so tired.
Also my white cell count has plummeted for some reason. So it's massive hand sanitizer and anti-bacterial wipe city around here. It probably doesn't help that I'm currently fighting the SARS that has set in in my chest, the permanent pink eye that has set up residence in both of my eyes and the bladder infection that I am slowly losing the battle with. I see Dr. P. in two weeks and we will have lots to talk about. But until then I am sleeping.

Keep smiling and goodnight!
:)
*SNORE*

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

It's A Great Day....

....to build a snow moose!
With one eye.

.)

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Such A Good Juggler....

What was I worried about? Four ball juggling is easy. I'm an awesome four ball juggler. I'm tired. Of course I'm tired. But what four ball juggler isn't.
Circus school....
Such a worry wart....

Keep amazingly juggling and smile!
:)


*NOTE: I still can't juggle. That would be amazing if I had learned to juggle with four balls in less than 24 hours.

**Also, here is a picture of my arm. It would seem as though my Tegaderm/tape allergy is getting worse. Hmmmm....

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Maybe I Should Be In Circus School....

I have three balls in the air. I am juggling. Anyone can juggle with three balls. Three balls is easy. One in each of your hands, let go and throw it up when you must catch the third. It's when you add a forth that it begins to get complicated. Two in the air, two in your hands? One in the air, three in your hands? Just throw them all up and hope you can catch them before they hit the floor? Yes, four balls is very hard.

My three balls are as follows; my job, my schooling, my phlebotomies. Right now I am doing alright. I balance my throws so that I am only in fear of dropping one at a time. Then I catch it just in the nick of time and pay attention to the next free floating ball. This is the way you are SUPPOSED to juggle. And this is the way it is working for me. I three ball juggle very well.

BUT tomorrow I add a fourth ball. Tomorrow is the first Remicade after starting school. I go at 9 am and then go to school for 1 pm. I'm not sure how this is going to work. I feel horrible after my infusions and know I won't feel like going to school after. Thankfully it's computer week so I only have to stay until 3 pm (and not 5 pm). And I did most of my tomorrow's work today because I had a lot of extra time. Thinking ahead. That's how one juggles!

I hope I juggle four as well as three. Here's hoping a fifth doesn't soon join the mix!

Keep smiling and juggling!
:)



*juggling is being used as a metaphor for this particular post. I can not juggle, three balls or four. But that would be very cool.

Thursday, January 31, 2013

My Thursday....

Keep in mind that after this I have to go to work, go to school, then come home and do 4-6 hours of homework. Ugh. Phlebotomy at it's finest....





P.S. Thank you to my loverly sister for coming with me, keeping me company and taking these pics.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Wow What A Week....

Obviously I underestimated the whole college thing. With at least 4-6 hours of homework every night and an exam(that I totally aced! Woot!) I might be in a little over my head here.
The whole week is sort of a blur so just to give you an idea of my plight here are my Facebook statuses from the week....

"4 hours down, 1026 to go."

"5 assignments for homework? Done!"

"The best part of today? I can write in the textbooks! It still feels weird though..."

"Mmmm! Scrubs and lab coats!"

"Only four days in and already an exam tomorrow! Good luck Kylee!"

....just to name a few. But the best part?! I got a friggin' 100% in the course! AND ON THE EXAM!!

THAT NEVER HAPPENS!!!!

Maybe I didn't give myself enough credit in high school? Maybe I was just too sick? Whatever it was it doesn't matter. Bring on college! I can take it! Student Success Strategies was a sinch and Professional skills will be too. With marks like this there's no way I can fail!

Keep smiling! I know I sure am!
:D

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Catching My Breath, Letting It Go....

I was a bit hesitant to write about this because I hadn't dotted my i's and crossed my t's. But now that I know I've signed my life away and can't back out I think it's the right time.
I. Kylee. Am going to college. I know, right? How cool is that?! And I start tomorrow. EEEEKK!!!!

What am I going for? At the end I hope to become a Medical Laboratory Technician. That is to say I'll be able to draw and test blood and other bodily fluids.

What has me choosing this path for my life? Three major things have driven me to decide to go back to school.
1) I have always said I was going to post secondary education. I didn't know for what or when but I knew I would someday. And having been so sick over the past two years my inspiration sort of got thrust into my lap. Or I suppose arm. With a needle. It doesn't matter. I'm inspired!
2) My best friend is gone. If there is anything that losing my best friend has taught me it's that you can sit on your butt and dream and wish for the thing you want to magically fall into your lap or you can go and get it. I want this. And I won't stop until I get it.
3) There was a soother in my pocket. I am not even kidding you. I was shopping in late November and went to reach into my coat pocket and I pulled out a soother. I don't have a child. It was that day when I decided that I was getting out of daycare.

Those are my main three reasons for going to school. And besides daycare was never supposed to be a forever thing. It's something that I just kind of fell into after high school. And recently I've become too comfortable. It's time to shake it up. I need to grow up. I need to have grown up conversations. I need to make a difference in the world.

And that is why I'm going to college.
And I'm excited!
But I'll let you know after tomorrow's class.
;)

To end off on an optimistic note I heard this song on the radio a few weeks ago and I think it perfectly encompasses my newest endeavour....

Catch My Breath
By: Kelly Clarkson

"I don't wanna be left behind
Distance was a friend of mine
Catching breath in a web of lies
I've spent most of my life
Riding waves, playing acrobat
Shadowboxing the other half
Learning how to react
I've spent most of my time

Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told it's supposed to be right

Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so simple now

Addicted to the love I found
Heavy heart, now a weightless cloud
Making time for the ones that count
I'll spend the rest of my time
Laughing hard with the windows down
Leaving footprints all over town
Keeping faith kinda comes around
I'll spent the rest of my life

Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told it's supposed to be right

Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so simple now

You helped me see
The beauty in everything

Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told it's supposed to be right

Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of this show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told what's supposed to be right

Catch my breath!

Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so simple now (it's all so simple now!)

Catching my breath, letting it go, turning my cheek for the sake of the show
Now that you know, this is my life, I won't be told it's supposed to be right

Catch my breath, no one can hold me back, I ain't got time for that
Catch my breath, won't let them get me down, it's all so simple now"

Monday, January 14, 2013

Phle-butt-omy and Yay! I Still Don't Have TB!

Two part post tonight.

Part 1- Phlebotomy.
I started my Phlebotomy every week for 8 weeks course this morning. It wasn't as bad as I thought (apart from the 16 gauge needle) but let's start from the beginning....
I arrived at the hospital at 9:30am. Got in and asked where I was supposed to go for the "Outpatient Phlebotomy Clinic". The person I asked heard this as the "Blood Donation Clinic". So it takes my lovely Mama and I ten minutes to walk half way across the hospital and end up in the place where they come to pick up blood donations. We go looking for help and end up in the outpatient surgery area.

No thank you!

We ask again and there is a doctor going to where we describe so she offers to take us. Ten more minutes pass traipsing down two sets of stairs and BACK across the hospital; we finally make it. I take a number and sit down. Twenty minutes pass and I get called. "Did you sign in?" I get asked. "Um. I don't think so." I reply and go BACK OUT to the registration desk where I am #70. They are on #54 and must be related to Mountain Man from Duck Dynasty(hilarious show by the way. Highly recommended) because they are soooooo freakin' slow.

It's now 10:30am and I finally get to have this friggin' thing done. After a "small in comparison to how my morning has been so far" blip with paperwork mix up I'm sitting in a big old comfy chair with a nurse coming at me with a 16 gauge needle! AHHHH! Those suckers hurt! But whatever. Once it's in you don't feel in anyway.

Let me just take this chance to tell you that if you ever get the chance to watch 300ml. of your blood slowly drain out of your arm take it. It's such an odd yet humbling occurrence. So much so that I don't think I could describe it if I wanted to so I'm going to move on.

That's really about it. It drained out, they unhooked me. I had lemonade. And sat for ten minutes. Then went home. Where I crashed. Apparently losing that much of your blood tires you out. It definitely kicked my phle-BUTT-omy! I slept for an hour at lunch. Unheard of for me. But then I had to wake up. I had another appointment which leads me into part two....



Part 2- TB Skin Test
I had to go and see Dr. S and get him to sign some *AHEM* very important papers. More on that in an upcoming separate post. Anyway, I'm in Dr. S's office to get him to sign some papers and part of these papers is that I need to get a TB Skin Test. I wasn't worried because I had one in March of 2010 as a part of my pre-Remicade screening.

I hopped up on that exam table with such vigor, rolled up my sleeve and took that shot to the forearm like a champ! "I just got a butt load of blood taken out this morning. This is nothing." I brag to the nurse. Easy peasy right? Wrong! Apparently there is something in the stuff that they inject just under your skin that I'm allergic to. Whoops! One minute I'm fine and talking to the nurse next thing I know I'm just conscious enough to lay myself down before I black out. I never fully lost consciousness but it was touch and go for about a half hour. I would feel fine so I would try to sit up only to fall back over. This happened three times before I could actually hold my own self up.

The nurse figures since I didn't get hives or anything that it was the type of allergy that makes your blood pressure fall super low? Whatever that means. But if I ever have to have one again she said I should make sure to be in a place where they have epipens just in case? That's an "in case" that I don't ever want to encounter.

Anywho I got home and slept for another hour and here I sit. Feelin' icky and light-headed when I move my head. What better time to write an extremely long blog post, eh? I'm going to have something to eat and go to bed because despite all of the naps I've had today my body is feeling it.

Keep smiling!
:)

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Bu- Bu- But! I Haven't Even Had A Chance to Drink My Tea Yet!

I got a call from Dr. P's office today. My iron levels have now reached unsafe levels. I have to start Phlebotomy. Ugh. More needles. For those of you that don't know what Phlebotomy is here is a quick explanation....

Phlebotomy is the process by which one takes out a portion of their blood. Usually about 500ml. or the amount in a standard everyday run of the mill water bottle. By doing this the body is forced to pull extra iron stores out of vital organs to replenish the blood that has just been lost. An easier way to understand it is basically I have to go and donate blood. It's the same procedure, the same amount, the only difference is people without Hemachromatosis, that only have the iron their body needs, need 8 weeks to replenish their blood and can only donate this often. I have to go every week.

So all in all I think the "tea with heavy iron meals" idea is out the window. I'm going next Monday. and I'm a little scared. I'll be fine. Can't be worse than a three hour Remicade infusion, can it?

Keep worrying?
:S

Monday, January 7, 2013

Why I'm Now Going British....

And no it's not because of Hugh Laurie, David Beckham OR *SHUDDER* One Direction. Although the first two options run a close second and third. But no. The reason why I'm going British is because I saw the dietician today and apparently I need to drink more tea.

Ughhhhh.

I HATE tea. With a passion. Almost as much as I hate coffee. Tea is still better than coffee. But I still don't like it. At all. Ever. Except the occasional Timmie's Apple Cinnamon Tea. That's the absolute only exception to the "no tea shall cross Kylee's lips" rule.

UNFORTUNATELY my dietician told me today that I need to drink it. Ugh again. She said that if you drink tea with high iron containing foods it helps to inhibit iron absorption.

........

It couldn't be OJ that helps with the iron issue? Nope! Au contraire! It actually goes the opposite way. Orange juice (due to the high Vitamin C concentration) helps to absorb iron. Which, due to my Hemachromatosis, I don't need.

Bloody Hell....
My health is a bloomin' mess....

P.S. A big update is coming. My life is so crazy right now. Ugh. Again.