Tough times ahead

Well its been an eventful week with mixed emotions. Last week was an uncomfortable week with the Colitis. The week ended with a visit to the gastric specialist to see what he suggests as the "flare ups" seem to be getting more frequent, in fact it seems to be every 2 months now. I have been put back on some extra medication on top of the normal stuff to settle things down again. After South Africa I am to start a new form of medication called Azathioprine used in conjunction with my current medication. This stuff is a bit nasty and will wipe out my immune system by reducing the number of white blood cells in my body. The result is I will be highly likely to catch every cold/flu/virus that's going around this year. I have to do a 3 month trial on the drug to see how it affects me, I also will have to have weekly blood tests to monitor my health at the same time. If it goes OK then I will go onto a 3 year course of the drug and then try to come off it at the end. There are lots of side affects that I will have to watch out for but the doctor says as an athlete I am more in tune with my body than the average Joe and will know quicker if things are not right. I also had a shock when he suggested that another alternative is surgery to remove the bowel completely and spend the rest of my days on a colostomy bag or an internal sack connected to the large intestine to replace the bowel but its not as efficient and I would have to make much more regular toilet visits. I have to say I'm not keen on this idea and think I will try out all the medication options before it gets to that stage. It has come as a shock and made me realise how serious my illness is. Lets hope for an improvement on the new medication next month.

On a lighter note, I got the all clear to try some running from the physio on Thursday last week. I have ran a three mile, 4 mile, 5 mile, and a 10k since then. My ankle is still stiff but seems to be holding out so I hope things are on the mend. I had a big day on Sunday, 1500m swim and a 10k run in the morning and then I did the big one again, another 112 mile turbo session. I did it in 4 hours 52 this time but used a bit more resistance than last time. Today I did an 18 mile ride, 5 mile run and then down the pool this afternoon for a 3.8k time trial. I managed a 1hr 5min 08 secs for the swim which I am pleased with.

I must at this point thank Sags for all the motivational texts I have received over the last week or so, they have helped me out when I have been feeling rather down. Thanks mate.