Sunday, July 25, 2010

post colonoscopy

Again please disregard if you do not want to read about my poop but this is for those who may be embarking on their first colonoscopy. Okay so the day after was more uncomfortable than I expected. You are painstakingly aware of what you are putting into your mouth, which I suppose is a good thing. I was still pretty exhausted and just had some slight crampage which was likely due to the biopsies that they took. I pretty much slept most of the day. We decided to head out for a bit cause I was going slightly stir crazy. We went to the movies and ate a bit before. All I managed to eat was some tomato soup and a grilled cheese. We went to see Salt which was a great flick but I was just as uncomfortable as I was when I was drinking the stuff and not going to the bathroom yet.

I finally was able to have a normal bm this morning and finally got some relief. Seems as though things are back to normal. I am going to work on finding a nutritionist soon. If anyone knows a good nutritionist back in the Boston area who may have some knowledge on IBS I would love it.

Made it out to the Solana Beach Triathlon today. I was so amazed watching the young kids who joined in on the action. They literally kept up with the elites. They all came flying off their bikes doing the same fancy dismount that I attempted a few months ago but fell on my ass. Stupid kids.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Its OVER!

I survived last night. I was pretty much up all night running to the bathroom but was properly flushed out by the time I left for my appt. I was more worried about my leg. I had been having a weird sensation/pain in my left leg that has slowly been traveling from my calf and is now in my thigh. I decided that since I would be at the hospital I would just swing by and have them check it out and make sure it was nothing like a clot. For some reason I keep hearing clot stories and was freaking out a bit.

I got to the hospital and told them that after the colonoscopy I wanted to have my leg checked out which meant that I would need to be somewhat coherent. This led to me telling the Dr that I didn't want any of the sedative. This quickly changed once I got wheeled in because I was getting a little anxious. They promised me that they would give me a minimal dose and if i needed more they could do that. I have to say I really don't think you even need the sedative. The only painful thing is that they blow air up there so its like a really bad gas pain that comes on really quickly. Nothing too bad and it was quick. It was also good to be coherent cause I could watch the whole thing on the screen which is pretty cool. It looked clean but they did take some biopsies just in case.

After that I took my slightly drugged behind to the ER with Bri and they did a quick ultrasound. It was clear so I likely just did something to my leg. Thank the lord for that one cause I was pretty nervous for that. I will chaulk it up to the meds that after the ultrasound we just left. I came home and passed out and the ER was calling my phone looking for me. OOPS!!

So now I am trying to eat a little, I was warned not to do anything fatty. I don't think my colon has ever been so clean!

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Colonoscopy Prep

I am writing this simply because I could not find any sites that spoke on this topic AND I like to talk about poop. Anyways I got the call from the Dr this morning as I was attempting to eat some egg whites that they could get me in for an early morning colonoscopy the next day. I had my gallon of stuff chilling in the fridge since yesterday so that was good to go. I was not as hungry today as I was yesterday. I think the two days of pretty much only liquids better prepared me for the lack of food. I didn't even imagine the dog to be food products.

I would say that I should have started the drink sooner. It was extremely difficult to keep up with. I was supposed to drink 8 ounces every 15 minutes. That lasted the first 45 minutes or so. At one point I considered putting it into my aero bottle and getting on the bike. It feels really strange to drink that much of anything and not be running mile after mile. Once you start drinking you could really care less about eating food anyways so its kind of okay.

It was extremely uncomfortable and nauseating. I was NOT a good time. I was super mean to Brian, hung up on my dad, and whined ALOT, oh and I was bossy. But really when you know you are supposed to drink something that makes you vomit almost every time you sip it, you really don't need someone telling you what you should be doing. I believe my quote was "bri when you turn 50 and have to do this, you will finally understand." But he can drink large quantities of stuff anyways so perhaps he would be okay. I should have just funneled this stuff like the good ol days.

I found that taking my time with it and having some nice warm tea to chase it helped a bit. I started it at 4. It is now midnight and I am not through the gallon yet. I do have to say the actual shitting part is CRAZY. It is like a powerhose. It is so effortless. It is so unlike all the attacks I have had as of late. At one point I was just lounging on the toilet. Sounded like running water but it was just me. It almost made it all worth it!!! okay not really but once you go the first time it is easier. It took until about 9 at night though for me to go so for about 5 hours I was in bad pain, kind of like gas/ass pains and awful nausea. I would say start early, take your time. I started to think I was never going to go, but rest assured that is not possible.

I am now waiting for the bowl to be just a clear yellow so I can go to bed!!! I have an early morning appt so this should all be over before lunchtime tomorrow and I should be coming off of my buzz from the anesthesia! Oh Boy!!!

(during this very short post I had to sprint to the bathroom twice actually 3 with editing.)

NO MAS!

I apparently have an addiction. It is an addiction to food. I am not sure if its because of constantly being in "training mode" but my body has become accustomed to eating small amounts about every two hours. I have been doing that for like 8 years. I have never missed a meal pretty much in my life and if I have its because I am ill or taking in gu's instead of food during a long race. Anyways my colonoscopy was scheduled for today BUT it was scheduled at 2 PM!!! So that meant that I was supposed to be on fluids ALL DAY yesterday, drink the nasty stuff to "clean" myself out, and then wake up at 5am like I do every day and not eat or drink ANYTHING until my colonoscopy at 2pm.

I was good, at work I just pretended the chicken broth was food. I got home and had some Jello and ginger ale and lots of clear stuff. At about 330 I went crazy. I was dizzy, I was starving, I was in pain. I could not conceive how I would get through another 24 hours. So I called the Dr for like the 3rd time that day. I kept calling and asking different people if they were sure I could not eat food. I begged them to take me in the am. I told them how ridiculous I get when I don't eat and how my dog was already looking more and more like an in n out burger. Seriously I was like homer simpson stuck in a desert where everything was an oasis of food. It wasnt pretty. I even cried on the phone. She told me not to give up and she would send an urgent message around to see if they could find a time to do it for me in the am. Well they never called and so around 7 last night I snuck into the fridge and ate. It didn't even feel that great, but it felt better than being starving.

I got up and the Dr called saying they could see me tomorrow morning at 730 am. Now THAT is more like it. This just means that yet again today I am on a liquid diet and will begin my liquid concoction at 4. I will just have to suck it up and get through it. I was just going to wait til I got back to Boston but at least my stomach will be a little more used to having nothing but fluids in it. I will chaulk yesterday up as my dress rehearsal, a run through for the real thing. So tomorrow morning at this time I will be all through with the madness and will either have a diagnosis or more tests in my future. Either way its one step closer to not having UD every other day. Amen to that!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

My wipeout review


So this is what ACTUALLY went down. I have been waiting to post this since October but we were under strict rules not to talk about the course until it aired. So here goes. Since I was only shown for a total of about 3 seconds here is my recall of what went down on my day at WIPEOUT!

So this was my battle cry, I did a karate kick and sang to vanilla ice's ice ice baby. "yo big red balls you can suck it!" and then I went backwards into my typical backbend and humped the air. Your typical graceful moves from yours truly.

I should back up a bit. My nickname was given to me at the initial interview and I was deemed the Master Pee-er. This was due to my story about how I suck at everything triathlon EXCEPT peeing myself during the race. It is a skill that develops for people and I just happened to be born for that skill. Basically I had a 10 minute interview with the host Jill in which I told her that she was in Bri's top 5 and how that was okay because I put every guy there that day in my top 5 for the day (if you saw the show you would know why that was funny). It came up that I was 30 and so was Jill so I did a WHS cheer and yelled GO HAWKS. My friends at the bar would have appreciated that. Thanks to the Waltham News Tribune for the front page coverage! News must have been lagging this week huh?! I said alot of other inappropriate things thinking that I gave them plenty to go on, but I guess not!! back to the course!

The diving planks were first up. This mud sucks. Like real bad. It gets in your lungs and is just nasty and cold and really tough to get through, kind of sucks you in. I fell and fell some more. But what great form!

I do have to say that most men finished the course AND PUKED. Like bigtime pusses. However alot of the second course relied on upperbody strength to hoist yourself back up on that platform. As you can tell by the lanky limbs my upper body strength is not a strong suit.


Next up was the punching wall. This was one of the only shots I got on tv, taking one in the face. For some reason I thought I got kind of far, but not so much. As people were coming back from the course I did notice they were covered in various colors. I should have known. It took about 3 weeks to stop finding this shit in my ears and other orifices of my body.

After the punching wall were the big red balls. I do not recall anything about those, judging by the pictures it looks like I hit one but fell to the side. Thank goodness. Next was the shakealator. I ALMOST made it across this when a wrecking ball took me out from behind. Last was the slide and as you can see I timed it perfectly to not hit any holes.

I finished up by doing an irish step dance on the circle and probably saying something really stupid judging by the way Jill is laughing.

I made it to the second round and although it looked like I never tried I assure you I fell off that frigin thing at least 20 times. It got so bad that at one point I swam up to the producer and asked if my eyes were bleeding. And I was not kidding. It was by far the most fun day I have probably ever had in my life. THe people were just hilarious and some totally weird. But most were those I never would have met and I can't wait to get together with them soon. We spent the ENTIRE day together so you really have to make the most of it. Its ALOT of sit and wait. As my friend LG can attest, when I walked to the car I was once again COVERED in mud cause I fell in the mud at the ranch while walking to the car. I was a real good time. I am sorry I didn't get more coverage cause I know you would have laughed but obviously I was way too cool for ABC. It was a suuuuuuuuper fun time and I am so glad I did something like this while I had the chance out here in Cali. YO BIG RED BALLS LETS KICK IT!

Monday, July 19, 2010

One more day!


The day we have all been waiting for is almost here! My WIPEOUT Debut is tomorrow at 8pm!
Here is a sneak peak! And at first I forgot that there was mud before this too and for a second I got nervous that I shat myself...

Saturday, July 17, 2010

NO NO NO YES YES YES!!!

I have never been a "no" person, but this year has brought me the challenge of having to say "no" or "i can't" to ALOT of things. I hate to miss anything, but when you live across the country apparently you can't go home every month like I pretty much did l
ast year. Today marks the last "I can't" of our time here in San Diego, and it is one that hurts the most. Today I am missing my best friend Dee's wedding. Its hard to believe that I won't be there. If anything this reminds me that going back to Boston is the right thing. I don't want to be the absentee friend, ESPECIALLY to those who have always been there for me. It really sucks letting finances dictate what you can and cannot do. Dee was the friend who let me make halloween costumes like this. ( I cannot post the after picture because it is obscene but we did win 3rd place that night AND were able to flag down cabs with our giant penae that were under these coats). I mean who doesn't love a nude leotard?!
I guess in a way though I am grateful that I have had this new experience of missing things and with battling with money because it has forced me to get COMPLETELY out of my comfort zone. When I come back to Boston I will be opening my own business. You heard it right people. I am what they call an entrepreneur (not even sure if I spelled that correctly)! I am going to be opening a pilates studio and am super stoked about it. This is going to be a challenge and something I have NEVER dreamed of doing until recently. I am so ready for the challenge and for the possibilities it will bring. I am most excited to get people moving and for them to believe in themselves as they challenge themselves through this difficult workout. I will share more details as they come but right now I just have to get home so I can make the next step and find a studio to do this in! As Bri put it, "we are risk takers and this is a risk but we have to go for it."

Before I go I have to thank my friends and family whose big moments i've missed. You have all been understanding of my situation and made it as easy on me as you possibly could. I thank you for that and hope that I will be there for not only all the big moments in life but for all the crazy fun little ones in between too!

September is right around the corner!!!
In the meantime to get through this day I am off to the Pride Parade!!!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

buh bye cali

So the word is out and Bri and I (& Belle) are moving back to Boston. Lots of factors that at this point no longer matter we are on to the next venture. California was something I NEVER thought I would do and it has been an amazing experience all around. Its time to go though and although it happened pretty quickly we are now embracing it and excited for the next chapter. We will be homeless and I am pretty much jobless but i'm sure things will work out. There are always ways of makin money....legally of course.

So we should be back by September and are looking forward to being a part of everyones lives again, but sad to leave all the friends we have made here behind.

I guess things got too boring and we thought another cross country trip would be fun....right?!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Cupcake crawl

LG and I finally made it out for our cupcake crawl in LA. She has been talking them up for some time. With the weather being sub par in San Diego this July we took off today bright and early for LA and literally opened up a few places. We did manage to walk a bunch on rodeo drive of course. I mean can anyone go to rodeo and NOT act out scenes from Pretty Woman...I think not. I had yet to go to LA so LG toured me around like a guide to the stars. We saw the hollywood sign, rodeo drive, the stars on the ground and I mostly sung the tune of 90210 in my head the whole time. It was great. At one point we realized that we had about 10000 calories of cupcakes in our cooler that we packed equipped for cupcakes and milk. We are two smart broads. Of course this Cali day trip could not have been complete without a trip to In N Out Burger so that was how we ended it.


Above is a picture of the chocolate marshmallow cupcake from Sprinkles that NEVER had a chance. This thing was like a hostess cupcake (which my mom packed for me almost every day with my lunch) on crack. It was amazing.


Our first stop to the Cupcakery was fantastic. We got some of their nublets and one was a salted caramel cupcake. The sweet and the salty was something like back in the day at Chadwicks when I would dunk my french fries in the hot fudge that would drip into the plate....yum

Many thanks to them for letting us take shots. Cause they DENIED us at crumbs.
I still feel sort of sick and I really only took in about 2 full cupcakes. Too much sugar in the ole system for me but sooooooooo worth it!




Thursday, July 1, 2010

F.O.C.U.S.

Sometimes you just need to call your psychic? Right? Doesn't EVERYONE have a psychic?! I have a real appreciation for those in the energy fields. I am quite in tuned with this stuff myself and love coming across those that I feel are truly gifted. I have had many readings through the years, some have been life changing (i.e. my first medium reading with my dad right after my mom died, room full of hundreds of people but WE got the reading), some have been just okay. It is no suprise that life typically brings me to those in the energy field. One of my favorite people on earth, my supervisor in graduate school Pearl happened to own her own holistic center www.theselfcenter.com . She then trained me on reiki which is all about energy and channeling it for healing. I have loved it all, but when I come across people who are gifted I have to share it. My friend referred me to Tamara Nolan www.energyinhealing.us I knew I had met a good match.

I have never had readings over the phone before and wondered how that would work. I should have known that energy does not need two people to be in the same room to make something like this work. I should know since I still find ways to feel the connection with my loved ones who are dead (really i could try to think of some other pc way to define them but they are in fact dead...i am not insensitive). I find myself at a bit of a crossroads currently and HATE the feeling of not knowing or not feeling settled. So what do i do? I call my psychic!

And thank god I did. She has a way of making me feel so at peace and for the first time in weeks I finally feel like I can breathe easy. Its funny how it sometimes takes someone else to tell you what you already know to really believe it. Everything in life is about believing it.
I will leave you with what she left me with tonight on our phone conversation. F.O.C.U.S. Follow one course until successful. Amen sistah!

And now I will just sit and enjoy this LONG weekend coming up! Oh and I should probably relish this time before my debut on wipeout on July 20th. I am pretty sure I will start to be spotted on a regular basis for being quite possibly the biggest ass on television.