Bye-bye, Entocort. Again.

I am down to two Entocort a day, down from three, starting today. I really will miss it. I feel so much better on Entocort, and it's hard to go off it. Oh well. I think it is better for me overall, though I heard that it's not so bad to be on it longterm.

So, I tried a little test yesterday: I ate an oatmeal cookie. I have heard that cooked oatmeal is generally good for Crohn's patients (assuming you can handle soluble fiber, which I can't), and I figured, since there's a small amount of oatmeal in these cookies and they look SO GOOD, I could try one. It wouldn't kill me.

Well, my husband called it my "intestines getting muscular, going to the gym," which is what fiber helps do for your intestines (helps them get stronger) but I called it pain. It hurt. Oh well. I tried.

I'm doing pretty well. Holy Week has begun, but because I'm not heading up a major ministry at my church this year, I am not feeling stressed out. My job this year is to support my husband (and participate in one of his readings). Shouldn't be too bad, if I eat cautiously and exercise and get enough sleep.

I did receive the IBD cookbook and wasn't as impressed as I'd hoped to be. A lot of her recommendations are best for those in remission, which isn't me. There are some good pointers and some great recommendations for fashioning meal plans, and some good recipes, but I can't just make whatever she recommends without worrying about the ingredients, which is what I was hoping to do, because she uses red meat and lots of fiber, which I can't do. Frustrating. A reminder that everyone's Crohn's is different.

Blessings on you this Holy Week.

"Almighty God, whose dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other that the way of life and peace; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."