Update

Just a quick update before I take a much needed nap! Colonoscopy results were 100% normal! I don't even have diverticuli (the infection of these colon wall "pockets" is know as diverticulitis) so they don't know exactly what caused my pain on Oct 31st but unless it returns, I can carry on as usual. Nothing to indicate cancer, no cause for special diets that exclude my favorite things (popcorn, poppyseed salad dressing, strawberries, etc..). Thank you all for your prayers and support! To bed I go!! 😃

Superstitious

Today (in about 4 hours actually) I have my first colonoscopy.  We'll leave it at, it is thus far unpleasant. If you find yourself in my shoes and have any questions I can answer, ask away. Until then, hold on to your innocence. Hahaha. But seriously, the prep is what everyone always says is the worst, I believe that. The good news is, after about 12 hours of not eating, you do eventually stop feeling hungry. The bad news for me is, I plan to have a lot of these. Why? I'm very superstitious.

 What most of you probably don't know is that I lost my father to colon cancer. One week ago today marks the 10 year anniversary of his death. It's too coincidental for me that I should be having my first colonoscopy right now. Originally the Dr tried to schedule it for Dec 16 but that was too much. So, starting at age 40 I will begin having these lovely procedures every ten years, religiously, in the hopes that if I do inherit my father's disease, I will have a fighting chance to beat it. Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men and women combined in the U.S., it's scary stuff. Luckily, if caught early (stage I or II), the 5 year survival rate is 90%. With a first-degree colorectal cancer relative, my chances of getting it go up from 5% to 10-15%. So, as unpleasant as this may be, it could always be worse. If these tiny blips of discomfort and unpleasantnes over the course of my life result in early diagnosis and treatment of a deadly disease, then why wouldn't I get screened? I'd do it every 5 years if the Dr thought it was necessary. My life is worth it. And that's what's at stake. 

Colonoscopy: go out and get yours today! ;-)

I would like to note, I am getting this as a result of my diverticulitis diagnosis, even though the Dr came back and said he doesn't think it's really diverticulitis, not because of my family history with cancer. I just have a hard time not believing they'll somehow be related, because as I said, I'm very superstitious. 

My husband assures me that I'm going a bit crazy with all my superstitious stuff these days and he insists I'll be fine and they won't find anything resembling cancer today. I know he's probably right. 

Blessings

I didn't realize this post didn't publish immediately so the dates are all sorts of off...sorry! It was written the week of November 18th sometime. 

I realize for some of you, I've left you hanging for a while. So sorry! Monday was the big day, I had my hysteroscopy in the office and my Dr was able to see what was going on. The IUD had indeed perforated (it looked to have done so on insertion in May 2012) my uterus. Everything looked normal and uncomplicated so he went ahead and tried to pull it out using the scope. He couldn't quite get it so he removed the scope and then just tried pulling it out "blind". I was told to let him know if it became too painful and he would stop. About the time it was too painful and I told him to stop, he held up the stupid little thing. Just like that, it was over. He checked with the scope to make sure I wasn't bleeding internally and that nothing looked out of place and then actually asked if I wanted him to put in another one. I told him thanks, but no thanks. The pill would be good enough from now on, so he gave me a prescription and sent me on my way with some ibuprofen. It's been 5 days and everything is going great. I have no complications and no more pain. No surgery, and he said this wouldn't have any bearing on my ability to have more kids in the future. Next stop, gastroenterologist on Wednesday. 

I also went on Thursday and had my labs redone to make sure everything was back to normal with the diverticulitis and everything they found on that fun trip. They came back fine. Overall it's looking up and I'm praying it keeps going that way! I have learned a lot about counting my blessings this month. It's only fitting that it's November! Here's a fun little picture of what Halloween looked like for me (minus the 1:20 appointment that I blew off for obvious reasons!)