July flew by, didn’t it? Which means it’s the first of August and it’s time to review and post my pain journal! How was July? Let’s find out.

There’s still a distinct discomfort at my staples if I eat too much or haven’t pooped in a day. Thanks bowel resection! Most days I poop at least twice a day; sometimes four to five times a day (not a single painful poop since early February!!) And what’s the Number One culprit in making sure I don’t poop? Having more than one alcoholic beverage in a day. Case in point:

The weekend of June 29th, my husband and I enjoyed some R&R at one of our favorite spots in San Diego County. And I sipped on four whiskey gingers throughout that Saturday. I didn’t poop that Sunday. At all…and the discomfort at the staples by Monday, July 1st, was a bit much. Before I administered an enema that morning, I weighed myself; and again after I completed my business. I lost three pounds while pooping!

And I had four beers on July 4th, you know, to celebrate! Did I poop at all the next day? Nope.

I really need to remember to have just one drink; no more than two if I’m enjoying it with friends.

And when I eat too much food? On July 10th, I ate a large dinner and went to bed with discomfort near my intestinal staples. The next morning (2:30am and 9:00am): I had diarrhea. I’ve gotten a lot better about understanding when enough is enough, but there’s totally room for improvement.

I only had a few moments of distinct actual pain in July. Once, I sneezed and had a hard, sharp pulling pain on the lower right of my abdomen. Scar tissue? Endometrioma? Who knows. It lasted a fraction of a second.

I wondered if I was going to skip yet another period as my projected start date (July 15th) came and went. But then on July 22nd, I had some lower abdominal cramps; not enough to even classify as pain. A few days later, I started my period! I had some cramping and lower back pain on the lower left of my abdomen that was deep enough for me to pop two Ibuprofen. Nearly 30 minutes later, it all disappeared! So, I silently thanked the skillful hands of my excision surgeon and went on with my day.

That same afternoon, I had my scheduled follow-up transvaginal ultrasound. I ended up taking one Naproxen that evening because the discomfort of the ultrasound wand bumping around my already-angry female bits enraged my uterus and my cramps swarmed in (at about a 4 out of 10). The pain ceased to exist for a few hours, but mild cramping came back before I went to bed. I didn’t take any more pills as it was just a 2 out of 10 on the pain scale. A few days later, on the 27th, I had a sharp cramp at that same lower-left abdominal location. But I didn’t need a pill.

And that was it for my pain. For the entire month of July! It’s uplifting, seeing as my July 25th ultrasound confirmed the presence of Endometriomas on both of my ovaries, my ovaries are both stuck to the sides of my uterus, and the suspicion of adenomyosis grows deeper.

A girlfriend of mine has sworn off meat and dairy for a month; I decided to join her and support her in this quest. It began on July 17th and I haven’t noticed a big difference, but then again: I haven’t been in a lot of pain this year. But, it’s been an interesting, difficult, and fun challenge!

If you’d like to review my journal of food, drink, pain, and poop, here’s the slideshow:

And if you’re intrigued enough to review my poop chart, here ya go:

Let August begin!