This morning I felt back to 'pre-treatment normal', so the only thing I had to whinge to J about, was that for the last few days, I've found it quite difficult to empty my bowels.
This is a little gross, but I find that I have to 'push' to poo, whereas usually, I just sit on the toilet and out it comes by itself, in an orderly fashion (unless I have diarrhea, of course).
J told me that this was a common complaint from patients; about 50% report it, often saying "I feel constipated, but I'm not actually constipated".
Apparently, this is just how healthy people poo! Who knew?!
(Well, me actually. As J was explaining, I got a sudden flashback to around the time I first got sick. I had noticed the change in poo habits, and as the 'unhealthy' way is...um, more efficient and civilised, I guess, I thought it was a sign that I was in good health. I actually kinda congratulated myself on it...if only I knew!)
Anyway, lots of poo transplant patients have been sick for so long, that they have forgotten what to expect from a healthy body. Wow, the "New Me!" surprises are coming faster than expected!
J reminded me that this improvement may be intermittent, for a while. She also didn't want me to get too excited, as I'm still a bit behind schedule so far as improvements go, due to ongoing mild nausea.
But hey - I've got proof that the transplants are doing some good, and that's more than I had yesterday! I can now stop wondering "Will this work?" and start thinking about "How much improvement will I get?"
Having said that, I'm not quite doing a happy dance yet. I'm picturing my feelings about it all as being a timid mangy mutt - my tail is still between my legs, but it is cautiously wagging in that 'abused dog' kinda way. I've been kicked in my flea-bitten bum too many times to jump on the celebration bandwagon just yet.
So...cautiously optimistic....
Anally retentive thoughts: Links I like!
Here are some sites that I've found helpful:
This is an awesome site that has a huge amount of information about the gut parasites Dientamoeba fragilis and Blastocystis hominis. It's author, Jackie, suffered hugely for years (far worse than me), dragged herself through many different treatments, and came up against much resistance from the medical profession (a fellow sufferer of the "How are things at home?" phenonomen!)
After much research on her part, and continual push push pushing, she got the treatment she needed.
Her story is pretty harrowing reading, and she's included some brilliant quotes, which I've stolen for you below:
"Research is to see what everybody else has seen, and to think what nobody else has thought."
Albert Szent-Gyoergi, winner of the Nobel Prize in medicine for his discovery of Vitamin C.
"Theories have four stages of acceptance:
i) this is worthless nonsense;
ii) this is an interesting, but perverse, point of view
iii) this is true but quite unimportant
iv) I always said so."
J.B.S. Haldane, 1963
"It's not that they can't see the solution. It is that they can't see the problem."
G.K. Chesterton — The Point of a Pen
"I have finally come to the konklusion that a good reliable set ov bowels iz worth more to a man than enny quantity of brains."
Josh Billings, American Humourist
Like Jackie's site, this is not specific to my condition, but rather specialises in discussing helicobacter pylori. Posts are regularly made by Dr Barry Marshall, who has proven that this bacteria is the cause of most stomach ulcers - by drinking a petri dish of the stuff, and then recording his symptoms!
Dr Marshall won a well-deserved Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine, along with his partner Dr Robin Warren.
Anyways, although this site is not IBS-specific, the topic does pop up from time to time.