I have never been as sick in my life as I have been over this last week and a half. I’m starting to feel like there’s some improvement on the horizon though. I wasn’t able to make it to work today, but I did, so far at least, keep my bathroom visits under 10. I don’t know what the deal is but I seem to be the sickest in the middle of the night. Starting around 1 or 2 I’ll be up every few hours with some severe cramping and the usual toiletry images. This happened again last night but I was able to go about 6 hours today without a painful visit. Hopefully things continue to improve. 

I’ve been sipping on some bone broth daily, trying to get some nutrients. I swear this is a superfood. Thank you to @mangiapaleo for introducing me and @zucchiniandcarrots  for encouraging me to drink it (look them up for awesome paleo and autoimmune protocol dishes). Also thank you to everyone else on instagram and otherwise who has been encouraging my healing and sending positive thoughts and well wishes my way.  The floodgates of the IBD community support have opened since I started feeling so terribly, and I don’t know what I would do without this encouragement and cheer. Every single word helps and gives me hope that we will all heal. This disease, like any autoimmune disease is hard. It’s hard emotionally, physically, mentally, spiritually, it makes you think about every answer you had in your life previously and what you thought you used to know. It challenges you to see any sort of positive outcome when your in the depths of pain and depression. But there is light out there. And that support is out there. 

If you’re suffering from an inflammatory bowel disease, or any autoimmune disease in general, I really encourage you to reach out to support groups, online forums, Instagram communities or even other bloggers. I personally don’t have a Facebook but I’m sure there are support groups out there as well. There’s only so much understanding that your loved ones can provide. And believe me, I am blessed enough to have a very supportive, loving and encouraging support system. My family and my boyfriend have been my rocks through this, listening to me when I cried out of fear or pain, making me smile or laugh when I needed some light, calling to check in, or just wrapping me up in their arms when I wasn’t feeling strong enough. Even my dog has spent the last week snuggled up behind the back of my knees, offering comfort and love. Oh boy, here come the tears. I am so lucky to have and so grateful for all them. There have been times over the past few days that I wanted to just give up. But I didn’t. Mostly for them, because I knew that they were cheering for me. 

 Seriously though, you HAVE to surround yourself with love and beauty in these situations. If you don’t have the physical support system that I do, look elsewhere. I’ve made so many connections with my #ibdfamily on twitter, instagram and through this blog. Your family and friends can be there for you as you go through this, but it’s very hard for them to understand what it’s really like. They certainly try, but there is something to be said about talking with someone who knows exactly what your going through and can relate to your fears, side effects, pain and attempts to heal because they are going through it to. And I really think it helps when you can support them as well. We are all in this together, and the more we support each other, the more awareness we spread, the more positive impact we have, and the more opportunities we create for a cure to be found. 

“It is important that we share our experiences with other people. Your story will heal you and your story will heal somebody else. When you tell your story, you free yourself and give other people permission to acknowledge their story.” Iyanla Vanzant.

What is your story? What are you going through right now? How can I help give you hope?

Share it with me.