Every since I was a kid I have always had “low energy”. According to my mother I was the perfect child 🙂 . . . . Not because I was an only child ;), but I was never hyper. I was very shy and reserved, and also anemic as a child. I remember in elementary school going to the nurse office every morning to take my iron pills.
As a child I do not recall feeling tired, but I do remember my lips bleeding. I’m pretty sure that’s the reason why I’m obsessed with lip balm/gloss to this day. I have this fear of my lips being chapped that they will split and bleed. Prior to being diagnosed with colitis, I noticed my lips started to bleed again and I was tired. . . . a lot.
I had a feeling something was wrong just by looking at myself in pictures from last year. I had a very active lifestyle in 2014 but when you look at my eyes in photos, they were always heavy and sometimes red. I immediately thought, maybe I’m just getting older and starting to look differently, gotta get used to the bags under my eyes. . . .But my second thought was, maybe i’m sick? And even though I’m very active and eating healthier, I am always tired . . . . . .
This week has been a true test for my condition, not only do I have colitis, but its been a very stressful week at work and Aunt Flo came to visit. “Pmsing” is the worst, and with Colitis it feels like a flare-up x 100 for me. At a staff dinner last night, I remember sitting at the table in pain and in a daze, completely absent and exhausted. And when I got home today, my knees buckled right before I collapsed on the bed.
My goal this weekend is to sleep as much as I can, but even when I do, I don’t feel rejuvenated. I guess it’s something I have to get used to.
I was very curios to know if having an IBD affects your menstrual cycle. I found the below fact- sheet from CCFA.org titled Women and IBD, very interesting. http://www.ccfa.org/assets/pdfs/womenfactsheet.pdf
Tummywoes 