This week so far...

Even though tomorrow is already Friday, it feels so early in the week for me because I didn't make it back to school until Wednesday morning. I was feeling very miserable all the beginning of this week because the steroids hadn't started to work on me yet. I am a little angry and sad that I had to start taking the Prednisone (40mg) again because I thought for once I might get to take a break from it. Now, I am currently taking 40mg of Prednisone, 3mg twice a day of Tacrolimus, Probiotics, and regular vitamins. I should also start taking Bactrum once a day now that I am back on the high dose of steroids.

So I finally got the name of the medicine I am waiting on and googled some information…

Vedolizumab: 

is a humanized monoclonal antibody that inhibits adhesion and migration of leukocytes into the gastrointestinal tract by preventing the alpha4beta7 integrin subunit from binding to mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule-1 (MAdCAM-1). It was developed as a treatment for patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD) who have failed at least one conventional therapy, including tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists.

As of now, it still says that it will be available late May for patients with UC, like myself.

I only have 2 more weeks of school left!! and I'm hoping I can actually complete this year without having to withdrawal from any classes (like I had to do last year… ugh) That will keep me on track for my class in the summer and classes in the fall so I can apply for the nursing program in the fall as well!

I realized this last summer as I was miserable from this condition, but it really makes you stop and realize how many great things you have in your life that you take for granted. You never really think about people who suffer from diseases or illnesses everyday and how it can affect so much. Even though my disease can get rough at times, I still feel for those people who battle something much worse everyday. Health is something that is so easily forgotten about to appreciate until something major happens. Even after being in the hospital before, I still forget from time to time to stop and think about how lucky I am to be this healthy. 

-- JKL