Discovering that my stomach cramps were Ulcerative Colitis

At the end of my trip In Europe, I started to have very bad stomach cramps.  I was suppose to stay in New York for a few days to welcome my little sister back from a cross country bus trip, but I was feeling so bad, I decided to go home early.  A few days of rest, my mothers cooking  and I felt much better.

After a couple of weeks, I was off to the University of Texas, to start my freshman year.  As one can image, the excitement of going off to University, moving 1000 miles away from home, and making all new friends, was great.  I came to Austin 2 weeks early to go through sorority “rush”.  Now, I really did not have nay idea what all of that was about, but I was told it was a great way to meet friends, and as I went to Texas with out knowing anyone, except my older sister, who was at school there as well, I thought it was a good idea to see what it was all about.

After a week in Austin, I noticed that when I went to the bathroom, I had blood in my stool.  I called my Mom, who was concerned immediately.  As I was not feeling bad, I didn’t understand why she was upset.  She had been diagnosed with Crohns Disease 7 years earlier, so she had a better understanding of what might be ahead of me.

I went to the Gastroenterologist to do some tests.  My Mom decided to fly into Austin to be with me when I went in for the diagnosis.  Little did I know what the causes of rectal bleeding might be.  Thank goodness, it was not Cancer, but I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis.

I was put on high doses of prednisone to get it under control.  With in a month, I had blown up, in more ways than one.  My face became round, what is called the Cushing look, in the medical world.  The steroids play with your hormonal levels and that is one of many side effects.  I often thought I suffered more from the side effects of Prednisone than from the disease itself.

All of my joints hurt me; it was difficult to go up and down stairs.  I gained 15 pounds. My skin stretched, I still have until today terrible stretch marks on my legs. Hair growth in unwanted places, exhaustion, I slept all time.  I missed three weeks of school that first semester.  I has also taking sulfur drugs, and had a bad reaction. I was basically always trying to catch up with the classes I had missed.  I pretty much stopped my social life, for any time or energy I did have I had to focus on just trying to pass.  My first round of tests all came in at C’s and D’s.  Once I realized that passing had to be my priority,  my grades started to improve, each test I went up a level. I was totally shocked when I finished the semester with straight A’s!  I had never done that before.  (See how there is always something positive in everything!) It was the year 1977 when the University went to the Cotton Bowl, with an 11-0 record . Earl Campbell won the Heisman trophy!  I never made it to a football game, but I did manage a little after game celebration up and down the drag.

When I went home for Christmas Vacation, I passed friends in the mall, and most had no idea who I was.  That is when I stopped looking in the mirror at myself, until today.

It also made me start to really think about life, who I am. My appearance changed, but did that mean I had changed?  I became aware of how people related to me differently, and whether I relate to people by the way they look.  Some very interesting questions started to pop up for me.