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Posted 9/24/2009 11:42 PM (GMT 0)

Hello!

I'm Adam, I'm 26 years old and live in Tampa, FL.  I'm originally from New York but decided to move down to sunny Florida after I graduated college.  I currently work for a very large professional staffing company which is headquarterd here in Tampa.  I love sports, espcially this time of year when the NFL and Collgege Football is on.  I used to be very big on going out at night but since being diagnosed I've really turned in to a home body and /or hanging outside at the pool.  I'm very open about my disease(s), I feel like the more people who know about it, the more it's known to try and find a cure. 

I have one wish in life, which I'm sure you all have an idea what it is.

Good luck to everyone and stay strong!

Posted 9/25/2009 12:51 AM (GMT 0)
That is one thing I find still so fascinating about the internet...that we can connect to people all around the globe! But it's nice to come here to HW and share what we all have in common - our Uc. It's an added perk when we find out the person behind the screen name.
Posted 9/25/2009 12:56 AM (GMT 0)
I'm V, 22 years old from southern California. Finishing up my bachelor's in Computer Information Systems and working as a web developer at a local design agency. I live for heavy metal and travel often internationally to metal festivals across the world. With that being said, I guess it's no surprise that I have my own extreme metal band, where I play guitar.

Traveling is a big part of my life and you can imagine how UC manages to ruin that. I was in the middle of a flare in Norway earlier this year and I had no clue what UC was. It was terrible, and ruined my experience.

I also like to game and am a general computer geek
Posted 9/25/2009 1:57 AM (GMT 0)
I like my screen name as well...:-).  I am 37 years old and the mom of five terrific kids.  I have been married for 19 years to a wonderful and supportive husband.  We live in Texas and I have been blessed to be able to stay at home with my kids.  We love to travel, go camping, watersports, and I read a lot.  The most frustrating part of UC for me is having my family life, at times, revolve around my illness.  I absolutely hate that.  It is so nice to "get to know" everyone.

Posted 9/25/2009 12:30 PM (GMT 0)
Aned, 5 children???!! Wow, you are super mom! :) I'm also a stay at home mom now but I worked up until my son was 4 as a payroll accountant. I so missed his early years, his first step, his first word etc but I was there for my daughter when she made those milestones. Being a stay at home mom has it's perks for sure :) Every once in a while I think about getting back out into the working world but then I think nawwwww! Not unless I absolutely had to go like for money issues.
Posted 9/25/2009 12:58 PM (GMT 0)
I'm Pam. I'm 26 and have been married since December 24th. My son was born April 8 (which is also my birthday :)). I'm in Buffalo, NY right now, as I moved here after meeting my husband online. I'm from Michigan, though. I went to undergrad for Political Science at Northern MIchigan University, then went to law school at Michigan State University. After graduating law school, I wasn't sure I wanted to practice as an attorney, so I came to the University at Buffalo to work on my Masters in Social Work and will be done with that in May. I'm still not sure what I will do for a career. I passed the bar exam in February and kind of miss the legal field now that I am working on something else. Who knows.
Posted 9/25/2009 1:31 PM (GMT 0)
I'm Carol and was dx'd with UC when I was 45 years old; I'm now 50 1/2. ;-) I was just recently married (April) to a fantastic guy who keeps me sane. Since he came along, life has never been better! We met online too. I have a terrific job which affords me the chance to travel a lot and I really enjoy it. Pam, I just visited Buffalo (East Aurora) in August...beautiful! The people were so lovely. My hubby has two terrific grown children and we get along very well. I don't have any children of my own, but my two dogs are pretty special. Lacey is a Cocker Spaniel/Poodle mixture (or so I think) and Tully is an English Cream Retriever. Lacey rules the house and Tully does whatever she tells him to.

 

My favorite things to do are baking, cooking with my hubby, walking the dogs, reading, gardening...just about anything that I can do to keep life interesting...and that it is! What a pleasure it is getting to know all of you.....

Posted 9/25/2009 1:32 PM (GMT 0)
I am Lyn. I am 34 and have a three year old daughter. I have been married for 10 years to my precious husband and live in Texas. I have worked in the Healthcare field for about eight years. I have a master’s degree in education and worked in the school system for a few years before changing careers. I currently work in a large hospital system and am lucky to have a fairly flexible schedule that allows me to spend more time with my daughter and husband than many other working moms I know. We have three elderly cats and a sweet little Cairn Terrier. Our family loves to travel. I love the outdoors and especially enjoy hiking and trips to the New Mexico and Colorado mountains. My husband loves to cookout on the grill on the weekends so we often have family and friends over for cookouts. I also enjoy jogging, working in my flower beds, baking and reading but with a three year old and a full-time job outside the home I don't have much free time! We are actually preparing to start trying to have another baby before I get too old so I expect my free time to be cut down even more but it will be well worth it! I am looking forward to the upcoming holiday season. We have already bought a sweet pink poodle costume for my daughter to wear for Halloween!
Posted 9/25/2009 4:46 PM (GMT 0)
I'm Shannon and was dx'd with ulcerative proctitis in 2003, three years after I stopped smoking! It has now progressed to UC affecting my entire left side. I, ironicially, work for a Colorectal surgeon who actually dx'd me but then passed me on to another physician because my disease does not seem to respond to anything! I've been on them all. This past Tuesday I finally caved and started Remicade! I've been deathly afraid of it but it has come down to do it or lose my colon...

I'm an active (used to be) 41yr old. I'm a triathlete and have competed in triathlons in Hawaii, DC and Disney among others. I do this to raise money for the Leukemia & Lympohoma Society, hence my fear of Remicade! I love to camp and hike and be outdoors as much as possible but was recently dx'd with squamous cell caricinoma so I'm going to have to start being smarter about my time in the sun and being a Floridian that's gonna be a challenge! We were planning a trip to hike Macchu Picchu before this latest flare...

I am a diehard Dave Matthews Band fan!

I have three kids, 21, 13, and 11 and a wonderful husband who all support me in everything I do. I couldn't ask for a better support group.

I'm glad I found this board or I might still be questioning where to go from here. Thanks to you all for being here!!! Knowing there are people out there that understand what I go through from day to day helps immensely!!
Posted 9/25/2009 6:03 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Friends, I'm Linda from Northern Michigan. No kids, share custody of my 2 chocolate labs. Recently divorced, having UC didn't help ,my marriage and maybe could have been the cause of my divorce, either way my soul is well.. Four years with UC, tried every natural product and many holistic doctors, now taking Lialda, seems to help symptoms. I use to run all the time, I don't any more but bike and lift weights now, anything that makes my gut move up and down, is a no no, makes me poop. I look back over my life and say Thank You every day to GOD for what he's brought me to and what's he's brought me through. I know what it's like to think you can't take anymore, GOD hears you, don't stop praying and don't stop praising.

I believe in miracles, I am one. I believe in the impossible b/c I have had miracles happen in my life over and over again. I believe one day my body will stop fighting itself and the communication between my organs will be on one accord. I have faith. When there's constant rain in my life with this dis-ease (my body is not at ease) it doesn't have to stop raining,  I've learned to just dance in the rain.

Posted 9/25/2009 6:22 PM (GMT 0)
Very nice attitude Linda! :)
Posted 9/25/2009 6:33 PM (GMT 0)
Hello, I'm Denise!  I was diagnosed with UC 8 years ago, right after my 21st birthday!  Not fun! 

I live in Florida and have been married for a little over 4 years now.  My husband and I have a little Yorkshire Terrier that runs the household!  smilewinkgrin   

I work in Admissions for a private university.  When I'm not at work, I love to workout!  I enjoy outdoor activities, like surfing, but we all know that's not always possible with UC.  So most of the time I go to the gym, where a bathroom is near! 

I'm a HUGE football fan.  I attended the University of Florida for undergrad, GO GATORS!  And now that it's fall, I spend most Saturday afternoons/evenings watching college football with friends and family.

I have no problem telling others(co-workers, new friends, etc) about my disease.  Everyone has always treated my situation with understanding.  I love to joke about it, too.  When my co-workers see me running out of the office down the hall, I just tell them that "it's time to run for the border".  And when I'm out with friends and they need to use the restroom, I come in handy because I'm REALLY good at finding the closest one!

I'm so glad that I found this forum recently!  At times I feel like no matter how much I talk/complain about UC to friends and family, no one truly understands.  I'm grateful to now have a place where I can exhange info/encouragement with others who have "been there"!

Posted 9/25/2009 6:48 PM (GMT 0)
My names Amar and Im from San Jose, California. I own two dogs, a Pitbull named Dozer (my screen name) and a German shephard named Diamond. I got diagnosed with UC at the age of 24. Prior to UC I was very active and healthy and after going through a few years of depression and finally coming to terms with my UC, Im once again getting back to living healthy and thinking positive.

I work as an Automotive Tech at a family owned auto shop. The jobs nice because it allows me access to the restroom whenever I need it. Prior to that I was doing Software QA testing before the dot com bust. Outside of work I enjoy lifting weights, playing mmo's and hanging out with friends and family. Im also a big bbq person and an avid beer drinker :P.
Posted 9/25/2009 7:13 PM (GMT 0)
Hello! I am Laura, I am 34 and I live in MD. I have been married for 9 years this Wednesday, and my DH and I have 2 daughters, ages 4 and 3. I used to be a school library media specialist in an elementary school before quitting to start a family. Now I am a SAHM, which I love...most days. ;)

I had 2 breech births-first was an emergency-and both were c/s. I had terrible recoveries and had to take a lot of antibiotics. I am allergic to pen., so I had limited options. Symptoms for me started a day after coming off of antibiotics after the birth of my younger daughter, and the one concensus is that it was that overuse of abx that triggered my disease. My dad has psoriasis and my brother has vilitigo, so there is a genetic component with autoimmune, I suppose.

I am scared to death of what Humira might be doing to me, but scared to death to go off of it, so there I am with that. I have been told it is possible I have a crohns/UC combo, so I want to avoid surgery.

I used to have a lot of hobbies, but now I have kids. But I do love to cook, my hubby's parents have a farm and we have a vineyard over there (we are harvesting this weekend), and I ama singer. I cantor at my church and sing weddings and such.

We want more kids-but we are on hold. I need to lose weight-I never lost from being on pred-and I am not sure what to do on the meds front. If I get pg I will obviously be out of the Humira trial. They said my GI can probably get it covered (especially if I do in fact have the crohns component too), but if not, I would have switch to remicade, and I am even more afraid of that than Humira. So we'll see what happens. Of all the horrible things about this disease, that is the one that bugs me the most. I hate that our family may never feel complete to us because this disease has forced us to stop having children, and who knows if it will even be possible! The pred really screwed up my cycles and I don't even think I am ovulating anymore, more than a year after being off of the pred.

All in all though, I feel blessed and fortunate. I am hoping that someday there will be a better understanding of all of these AI diseases, better treatment, and most importantly, steps for prevention. One can hope!! The only thing worse to me than deaing with this would be watching my children suffer through one of these horrible diseases. My hat is off to those of you who are parents to a UC child, and all parents of sick children.
Posted 9/25/2009 7:32 PM (GMT 0)

Supa (Laura) - My UC started after the birth of my daughter as well.  I also had a difficult birth (mainly a problem with the placenta not detaching correctly) and I had to be on some heavy duty antibiotics a few weeks after giving birth.  I have asked my doctors many times if that could have been the trigger to activate this disease and have not gotten much of an answer...however, I have seen so many women post that their UC started after giving birth.  Many of those women had no problems with the birth and still ended up with active UC.  I also wanted to say that I can emphasize with you about considering getting pregnant again.  I have one child and want another.  We are preparing to start trying but I am concerned about the effects of this disease on my ability to not only conceive but to have a happy and healthy pregnancy.  Wishing you the best of luck as you and your husband work through your family planning decisions!  Know you are not alone in your fears!

Posted 9/25/2009 7:52 PM (GMT 0)
It's good to know that there's some other people in MD, or in the DC metro area. I live in MD, about 15 minutes away from DC, or 15 minutes from Northern Virginia too.

I've lived in England, Asia, and Africa, and have spent about 10 years in the USA. I spent most of the past 2 years back in England completing an MBA (and flaring severely for a lot of that time!)...and it's nice to be back 'home' again. My family lives in other parts of the world, so I'm the rebel who made it all the way to the USA. I was in New York City for about 3 years before moving to the DC metro area.

I never fell ill before UC, so after a lot of initial denial (and refusing to take meds -- especially rectal meds!) I got to grips with everything and just got focused on getting well.

I have been doing my own investment consulting work since 2005 -- structuring investments in small businesses or advising start-ups.

Lots of hobbies: Working out (I used to run a lot), reading, writing, exploring new parts of the world....and lots more.

Goal: Make enough money to find a cure for UC (...or die trying!)...but first I've obviously got to make sure I make enough money to fund my probiotic habit.
Posted 9/25/2009 8:50 PM (GMT 0)
hi im jane i live in england im 49 married and have 3 grown up kids age 28 27 25 and a mad jack russell dog called libby my husband and 1 son work on the farm my eldest son is in building trade surveying and my daughter is a office manager.i work with 2 young adults with learning difficulties i love my job its such fun,I notice that most of you are from the us,we love to travel there and have been to florida new york boston california next stop will be san francisco but not sure when been having a few probs since i had food poisoining end of may hoping it settles down soon too get the flights booked.i think this forum is great thanks xxx
Posted 9/26/2009 12:19 AM (GMT 0)
Well Jane, if you want to visit a truly beautiful place in the states then I highly recommend the upper pennisula of Michigan. It is absolutely awesome up there! Or even Mackinaw City. Many of our great lakes are compared to the oceans because they are so vast. I've lived in Michigan my whole life and I absolutely love it here. I have travelled some around the states - Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, Mississispi, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Alabama and truthfully the only other state that I wouldn't mind seeing more of is Kentucky (though I'm sure the other states have their fair share of awesome things). :)
Posted 9/26/2009 12:36 AM (GMT 0)
thatfield (Lyn)-it has been surprising to me also to see how many women have been diagnosed after the birth of a child! The first time around, I was on a few things, but ended up on cipro, and I wonder if that kept the UC from coming around then-I don't know. But my current GI was quick to tell me that the heavy antibiotic use was definitely a factor in triggering the UC-and I had been on a lot of antibiotics for the few years prior to having kids because of sinus problems.

I am very grateful this happened after my second rather than my first. I think I would be in an absolute tizzy if we had only one now and knew we wanted another. I will be wishing you good luck on the TTC and pregnancy front-hopefully when you conceive, you will be one of the people who feel great throughout. And hopefully you won't have problems again with recovery. And thank you for your kind words. It is nice to know there are others who understand, most people in my life don't get it and either say we should just go for it or that we are lucky to have two we have and should just give up.

I will say that when I talk to my acupuncturist (her daughter has UC and is college aged), I feel so lucky. Having to navigate college and dating and everything else would be so hard to do with UC. I feel so much for the youngsters who have to deal with this while trying to find their way in the world.
Posted 9/26/2009 9:07 AM (GMT 0)
My name is Malinda, I'm born and grown in California. I am 27 years old. I work with pre-schoolers and have been working with children since 2000. I've been married for 4 1/2 years to a wonderful man who's there for me when I need him the most. My hubby is on his last semester of College and will graduate as a Civil Engineer. I, like Sherry am an on the go type person. I like to constantly have something to do or go somewhere when I'm off of work. I'm also a "sew aholic," I've decided that I'm obsessed in learning every type of purse/bag pattern out there and make all of them for my pleasure. LOL I have random people noticing my bags and commenting on them. But I don't want to start a side business because it's too costly and I'd get sick of it after a while...... I guess that tells all about me. smilewinkgrin
Posted 9/26/2009 2:09 PM (GMT 0)
I am Mitzo (I like my forum name), in Canada. I am 52, male, a university professor. I have lived in several other countries in the past, have travelled a lot. I am an almost daily runner, have been for many years, even in winter, although this past year it is looking like my knees may not be happy with that any more. Aside from that, I am the most un-outdoorsy person, content to read, couch potato, and go to eat or to the movies etc. with friends.
Posted 9/26/2009 11:32 PM (GMT 0)
Hello!

My name is Susie and I live in the Sierra Nevada mountains in Northern California.. It's very pretty where I live and rural too. (only 2 stoplights... I LOVE IT)... I live on a small ranch and have 2 horses, 26 Chickens (yes, I keep track..lol) 5 dogs (3 German Shepherds, 1 Austrailian Cattle Dog, and 1 Brussels Griffon dog who has COMPLETELY Stolen my heart.. I mean really... it's sickening.. LOL...)... And a 40 gallon fishtank in my room which is SOOOOO Soothing when I'm not feeling well. I am a horse and hay broker and my husband and I own and operate an auto repair shop in aour little town.... Between my husband and I, (both our second marriages) we have 3 kids. I have a son who is 23 and serving in the Army and is in Korea right now... My husband has 2 daughters, One is 22 and is married to an Army Soldier and she is moving to Germany in 3 weeks to be with him. His other daughter is 21 and going to college to be a phsyical therapist.

I've been married for 10 years and we've definately had our ups and downs, but we're still hanging in there. That's it in a nutshell!!!
Posted 9/27/2009 1:53 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Everyone!

I am 54 years old and holding. I just got diagnosed with some kind of colitis this year in January. I have been married for 6 years in October to a kind, wonderful and understanding man. Bless his heart, he has been through it with me these past few years.  We have 3 pound puppies that we have adopted in the past 3 years. They rule the house and keep us laughing and entertained. They are the center of our lives since we don't have any kids. We like to travel and haven't decided where we want to live when we retire. We live in south georgia now and want to probably go closer to the beach or the mountains. It won't be that long! Since we have the dogs, maybe we will rent an rv when we retire to see some of the country. I really want to see more of out west like the grand canyon, everybody needs to see Vegas once, Napa Valley and the entire west coast. Would also like to see Canada. Maybe after we see all that, we can see a few places in Europe.

I love photography, like to scrapbook and make jewelry. Want to learn some other crafts too!

 

Posted 9/27/2009 5:11 PM (GMT 0)
Hi all,

My name is teresa (treej), and  I live in northern NJ. I have been on and off the forum for years, I was diagnosed in early 90's with UC. I just turned 50, HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?!

I am happily remarried to a great guy, have two terrific step sons at Penn State, two dogs, and a few friendly outdoor koi in a pond. Have traveled a lot over the years, and now have settled into a vacation home in marco island FL. The beach there is just what the DR ordered when I need a break cool  ! Except for this current flare,life is good!!!  It is so nice to have the support of the great people on this forum, we can help each other get thru'! 

Posted 9/27/2009 8:11 PM (GMT 0)
:) Kathy here--not the Mom of Kats. I am however the mom of 2- a 16 year old daughter, about whom I stress, and a 14 year old son. Daughter 's illness brought me to the forum. Live in the suburbs of Chgo., and get our care at the U of C. Have a highly rated doc who is just a little too busy.
This site has given me the right questions to ask and made her think that I was a medical professional. When I worked full time, I was actually a Human Resources-Training professional. I work part time now as a consultant to the Restaurant industry. I also do inspections for restaurants to ensure food safety.. Mainly I make and keep doctors appointments.
Have a wonderful husband and a loving dog-what more could I need? A cure for UC would be nice....
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