Tag Team - mile 186

It is always a good thing when you have a partner who can help you tag-team parts of your life. My wife and I have both been very busy with work this week. If taking care of our daughter, Jaixai, fell on only one of our shoulders it create a huge stress load; despite the fact that spending time with Jaixai is something we both enjoy. We both have deadlines and this weekend we tag-teamed care of Jaixai so that we could each have a day to be productive with work. Today I made a lot of progress and got in a 25 mile bike ride! I did miss spending time with them, but I know this will enable me to spend the weekday evenings together with them. My wife is amazing in helping with all aspects of my life so that stress can be reduced (of course a very important aspect of me staying healthy).

"Old-man's Disease" - mile 161

Ok, as a warning, this post is serving as a type of vent for something I overheard and frustrated me.

I was leaving my GI doctor's office and I overheard a conversation that one patient was having with a nurse in the waiting room (of all places). The patient was a man, probably in his mid-thirties, and was dressed well (successful business-man look). I overheard the conversation due to the brash tone with which he was speaking. Mostly because the tone and mannerism seemed unfitting for his appearance. However, it was his words that truly caught my ear.

Speaking with anger, the man stated that this was an "old-man's disease" and that he was too young to be experiencing it. Not knowing the rest of the conversation I assumed that he had recently been diagnosed with Crohn's, UC, diverticulitis or some other GI malady. I acted as though I had not heard anything; much like the faces of others in the waiting room. However, this comment was not something that left my mind easily.

My first reaction was one of agitation. Perhaps I was feeling self-conscience about my own difficulties. I am a good deal younger than that patient and his "old-man" comment hit home. I began to wonder if others in my life would view me as an incapable "pre-elder." I still have a lot of ambition and goals for my life and this comment made me revisit my own doubts (that life could be normal) when I was first diagnosed.

That is when my thoughts about the situation changed. I realized that the patient was probably recently diagnosed and going through the normal frustrations that come with the experience (although, the patient would have been better off discussing this in private with his doctor). Ironically, witnessing this event turned into further inspiration for me. I realized that, despite currently feeling well, I had once been in a poor condition. Coming out of that was something to my credit, but mostly it made me want to share my experience and hopefully encourage others to work through the rough periods. You can live a happy, healthy, active life with UC and an occasional reminder of that is helpful.

2006 USAT Ranking - mile 157

The official 2006 USAT rankings were published yesterday. I had a ranking of 79 points in the duathlon. The point system works by percentage (best = 100, worst = 1) and is formulated to consider individual times, places and the difficulty of the courses raced. The ranking of 79 is not too bad and means that I am in the top 21% even though I only did two races. This is a good improvement from last year's ranking of 73. I hope to improve my ranking again this year even though I will only be doing two races once again.

Back Outdoors!!! - mile 145

The New England weather is beginning to get warmer! I was able, for the first time in over a month, to do a workout outside. It felt good to be able to open my stride and get into a rhythm; something that just does not happen on a 200m track. Not only is the warmer weather exciting from a training perspective, but also from the family perspective. Jaixai, my 2 year old daughter, loves going to the park, going for walks, going to outdoor concerts...really just going anywhere outdoors. We did an indoor test-drive of a tent. I think she is going to enjoy camping this summer.

Presidents' Day - mile 135

My daughter's day care is closed for the holiday. This gives me the excuse to take the day off myself and just enjoy it with her. The current temperature is -6 F, so we will be indoors the whole day. Craft bucket here we come!!!

Tributes - Dr. K

My first tribute goes out to the first person who learned of my disease: my gastroenterologist. I'll call him Dr. K, for the sake of anonymity. I often stress the importance of a good GI specialist for any UC patient on this blog. Good communication helps to individualize treatment. As mentioned in an earlier post [link], good communication does not only mean articulation and thorough description, but also active listening. My appointments comprise mostly of me telling Dr. K how my condition is, any patterns I recognize, my suspicions about treatment or happiness about treatment, my eating habits, financial constraints, how UC affects my family life, how my research is going, how my training is going and how my condition is during different types of training, the level of stress that is in my life, and the list goes on... This is a lot to listen to for a busy doctor. I have been fortunate to find a doctor that does take the time to listen and even tease it out of me if I feel shy at the moment. He listens well and takes all of these factors into account when deciding and modifying my treatment. I know Dr. K does this because he then takes the time to explain how he arrived at the best treatment regimen for my life; including examples from the mostly one-way discussion I just had with him.

However, rather than just facilitating a good recovery and maintenance of remission through treatment, he also becomes a part of the treatment. Dr. K actively participates in my treatment by reducing stress. He is soft spoken and creates an open environment that allows me to speak freely about UC. Most importantly, this confidence translates outside of Dr. K's office. Being able to speak about UC in his office has gradually made me comfortable to speak about my condition with others in the various aspects of my life (family, friends, colleagues, etc.). This has greatly reduced my stress and improved my condition. Being apprehensive to discuss UC created more stress and worsened my condition. Fortunately, the practice in Dr. K's office has enabled me to over-come the apprehension, reducing stress and aiding my treatment.

Thank You Dr. K !

Year of the Pig - mile 126

Happy Chinese New Year!!! 2007 is the year of the pig (boar). Whether you are Chinese or not, the Chinese New Year is always fun to celebrate. The food, music, fireworks and dragon dances are always enjoyable and entertaining. However, an additional reason to celebrate is that the worst weather of the winter is behind us. The Chinese calender is a lunar calender and the New Year is a pretty good estimate as to when the temperatures will begin to rise. After the ice storms in New England last week, I am happy to see the new year!

Good Doctors Needed - mile 106

As I was leaving work in my lab last night I unexpectedly ran into my GI doc. Although this was the first time we have seen each other outside of his office, it is not that unusual (he is a medical school professor and I work in the medical school building). He immediately recognized me , called me by name and asked specifics about my research, training and family. With any health care provider it is nice if they know you on a personal level despite their many patients. I figure if they took the time to know me then they have probably taken the time to know my disease. This is a particularly good and necessary trait for a GI specialist to have with their UC patients. As I have mentioned many times before, UC is a very individualized disease. Having a doctor who takes the time to communicate (meaning active listening and thorough explaining) and individualize the treatment makes the path to remission much quicker and probably helps to maintain remission.

Welcome NeoEarth - mile 105

I added NeoEarth tool to the top of the blog yesterday. This is a tool that tracks the location of viewers of this blog. I mostly put it up as a fun and cool toy, but also to get an idea if people did visit this page. After only one day with the tool I had three location hits! I know one is my mom (Hi Mom!!!) and one is probably a friend of mine. Give comments on what you think about the tool.

Individuality of UC - mile 99

One of the most frustrating aspects of ulcerative colitis is the variation of the disease from one person to another. I was reminded of this individuality of UC a few days ago when a friend of mine, who also has UC, saw me eating a pasta dish and asked in surprise, "that doesn't give you problems?!" Not only has this dish never affected me, it has become a regular sure-bet food for me and a dish I have ~3 times a week. I later saw him eating a leafy salad and was astonished that he does not experience problems with salads (the last salad I ate resulted in a hospital visit).

People who know me well might wonder why this frustrates me; I never really liked salad. The inconsistency of UC results in mis-diagnosis, difficult treatment decisions (what works for one might not for another), and different types of diet restrictions. In today's world of modern medicine we expect that once a diagnosis is made the best treatment is known and, in the case of digestive diseases, the diet restriction are known. This is not the case with UC (although some common trends are evident) as each individual must closely monitor their condition, diet and medication and speak openly about each of these with there doctor to relate them to any health problems. The good news is that you can identify, and know, the specifics of your disease. No salads for me!!!

Colgate Hockey Player Unstopped by Crohn's - mile 87

Women's ice hockey player Carly McNaughton at Colgate University has become one of the nation's best collegiate players despite having Crohn's disease. Read her story here [link] on how she overcame a hard year in which she was diagnosed, had a rough surgical experience and had to skip a year of competitive hockey play. Even though she has led Colgate in two wins this year over Brown University (my Alma mater, and a great women's ice hockey program) I cheer for her the great success story that she has become. Congrats to you Carley and all the best wishes.

Tributes - Intro

I am able to maintain an active lifestyle with my ulcerative colitis for a variety of reasons. However, one particular factor has enabled me to keep my lifestyle: the many supportive people in my life. Whether they serve as somebody to talk with, someone who can relate, someone who helps in hard times, somebody who helps reduce my daily stress or just simply someone who is understanding, my support network has been instrumental in maintaining my health. This series will serve as a thank you to a few of those individuals.

Causes - Intro

The causes of ulcerative colitis are largely unknown, but many potential causes are hypothesized. I will write a series of posts that discuss the potential causes and how they relate specifically to my experiences. I hope these topics spark interest in the readers of this blog to share some of their own stories.

Happy Birthday Asacol!!! - Mile 85

Asacol, delayed-release mesalamine tablets, celebrated their fifteenth year on the market on Wednesday January 31st. This is longer than any other ulcerative colitis medicine! It is always comforting to see a drug pass the tests of time (you probably remember the recent Celebrex and Vioxx, used as medications for many inflammatory ailments, problems that hit the news after they were on the market for ~7 years). This is of particular interest to me as it is the medication that I used to induce remission of my UC and that I currently take to maintain remission and my active lifestyle. The Asacol brand, owned by Proctor & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, sent out a news release that was reported in many papers around the world. Check out the report and the cool quote by an ulcerative colitis patient, me ;-). It can be read here [link] in Yahoo! Finance.