Cats, mini flares and C-RP levels

Sorry, feel like being a Chatty Cathy today. Read for your amusement, or not, whatevs.

I had appt with my GI doc yesterday and he's satisfied with results I'm getting with Humira. It's not perfect, there's been bumps in the road but he feels I'm continually improving. I had a C-RP test and I was at 2.6 in April and I'm now at 1.2. We discussed moving me to weekly injections but I did my blood test right at a mini flare...which I'm sad to say was completely self inflicted. 😳

Ive never been a huge drinker and since being dx'd, I hardly drink. I can occasionally have a drink or 2 without a prob, no beer or wine, both too gassy, so I opt for cranberry juice, vodka and lime. I went home to the Bay Area for a wedding, had a couple of drinks there, got my buzz on with no ill effects. The next night, got together with some friends in SF and got exceedingly destroyed. Ugh, woke up totally hung over but no bowel probs but I had a horrific headache. As it happens, my friend has an exotic breed cat that she can't keep anymore, so crazy cat lady that I am, we arranged for kitty to come home with me...in addition to the 2 cats I have. Ok, this is a Savvanah cat, super long body, freaky long legs and just all around cool looking. He has the best personality of a cat I've ever seen and so far, it's been ok with cats I have, 2 females and they seem to be ok with him once he got over the initial freak out of his new surrounding...but back to my headache. I was at the airport, with a freaked out cat in his carrier with a horrific headache that Tylenol was doing nothing for, so I said screw it, I'm taking ibuprofen, even though I knew the ramifications. And wow, when you bring an animal in a carrier through airport security, they make you take it out of the carrier. It was a job to get this cat in the carrier in the first place and that was with dosing him with kitty Kat tranquilizers. So I got him out, got him and all my stuff through security and then the TSA people don't even freaken help me get him back in the carrier, just tell me to get out of the way. Thanks, so helpful. And mind you, a lot of people passed me by, just staring at me trying to get freaky cat back in the effing carrier. Finally, a couple of young girls stopped and helped me get him in the carrier. By then my headache was raging and I was feeling nauseous, so I made the executive decision to take a couple of Advil with a Zofran chaser. I felt so much better about 20 mins later, sweet relief, nothing like ibuprofen for bad headaches. Kitty Kat and I, both sufficiently drugged, got on our flight home.

Later that night...oh bloody hell in the toilet. 😱 I was so mad at myself, shoulda just sucked it up and not taken the Advil but at the time I didn't care. I suffered the ill effects for a couple of days but thankfully the blood subsided and I'm mostly back on track. Given the mini flare, my GI doc might test my blood again in a month to see what my levels are, given the mini flare might have affected my numbers. If they are the same, we'll revisit weekly injections but for now, I'll stick with the every two weeks schedule.

I think I've been doing OK, my sinuses are hell though and still on and off having gas problems. My doctor didn't have a lot to say about that, except that it wasn't a side effect of Humira. I've been drinking peppermint tea and taking a special for gas probiotic and that's helped some. I think with a constant stuffy nose, I've been mouth breathing and probably sucking in and swallowing more air than normal. I dunno, the gas is annoying, so are the sinus probs but I'm so much better than before I started Humira.

One final thing, after my appointments, my clinic notes get posted online for me to see and I noticed the doctor put " patient was very interactive and relies heavily on humor to diffuse anxiety" Bawwwwhahaha, ain't that the truth. When I first started seeing him, I was total deer in the headlights 0_0 but now I don't care, I say whatever comes to mind.

I know, I love my cats. I was down to one and I had to let him go after 20 wonderful year. Not long after, I adopted 2 sister kittens because I just missed having a cat. And now I have Ninja Kitty in the mix and they all wear themselves out playing but Ninja kitty definitely lets sister kitties know when he's had enough.

OOps I meant "flair" the pun was unintentional. :D

pics please of these "alleged" felines, otherwise they don't exist

Here is my new addition. I call him Ninja Kitty. He's a blur, jumping up and down everywhere

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Here is Abby and Ilana. If anyone is a fan of Broad City, the names are recognizable. 😄

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I couldn't post pics directly from my iPad into this forum, had to use imgur app. I'll have to crack open my laptop later to put them in here so everyone can see.

@ewawfromwarsaw, my cat I recently had to let go would have never tolerated other cats, like yours, spoiled, entitled and egotistic.

Very beautiful Cats!!! Had to take a peek at Harrison Ford too

I have been rescuing rabbits as my home companions for many years. I'm getting old now so I am down to one poor widow Spooky. She is a very pissed off house rabbit intent on destroying my apartment. I bought her a teddy stuffie and she's trying to chew his head off as I write this. Here she is with her now deceased beloved.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=901579919933110&set=pb.100002433303592.-2207520000.1468673122.&type=3&theater

Not sure you can access this link but she's a tiny Silver Martin house trained companion rabbit.

Best

verucasalt - your cats are nothing but sweetness, great to find a kin cat lady soul on the forum :)
'rescuing rabbits' = you are wonderful zegrrl (what i've always suspected anyway :)

"iPoop, are any of those parrotlets yours, or just samples to give us an idea?" A sample to give you an idea of what one looks like. I have a male in the typical green color, they don't have varying patterns like cats do. They're known colloquially as "pocket parrots" and I can confirm that he he's small enough to hide in my shirt pockets, and fleece pockets. He's a rescue from a local shelter (they scream, are messy and destructive and often given up). No matter what type of pet you get, think rescue.

I had cats while growing up. Always a big fan of their personality, and having a warm cat on my lap on cold days. Currently cat-less, DW's not a cat person, and I doubt the bird is either lol.

Parakeets and parrots are a world apart, and share few similarities. I had a parakeet before my parotlett. Parakeets sing nicely, stay close to their cage, don't chew or shred things, and mostly ignore people and avoid their fingers when you try to handle them. Parrots can't sing, instead they make lots of weird noises and enjoy shrieking and screaming (some bigger parrots over a hundred decibels). Parrots are super clingy, love to be handled and tickled, they're always climbing on you and can't be away from you for long. They love to chew and tear everything. They love making holes in shirts, tearing paper, and most anything they can get their beaks on. They poop a lot lol. They can get moody and bite for no reason (they haven't really been domesticated).

They're little comics that hang upside down and do silly things, innately curious and smart, and have outgoing, social, and friendly personalities. They're very single-minded and once they set their mind on something (like making holes in your shirt) their persistent about it.

They're fun but just be aware of their other less desirable traits. (The reasons they're often given up) lol. The little parrots are easier than the big ones are. At least I can cup him in my hand and put him in his cage when he's throwing a tantrum, the bigger ones can really hurt you and are much harder to control whenever they become belligerent.

Except for the screeching and hanging upside down they sound pretty similar to my Spooky bunny. I will definitely look into it. Rabbits are physically a challenge--high maintenance and constant cleaning but continually a source of comedy and curiosity they are definitely NOT cuddly which is often the reason they too are given up. It is a rare rabbit that actually likes being groomed or handled. I need my bunny comics every day or I get grouchy...

@ipoop, love those birds, so cute!

Yes, a sense of humor is needed for our disease. I love your UCisms in your sig, hilarious, you should be collecting them for a book.

I was so axious and uptight when I was first diagnosed with UC, more so than all the other crap wrong with me. Going to the GI doc was a real source of anxiety and stress at first but now...pfffft. My GI doc is ok, he seems to genuinely care about his patients well being. He has a somewhat serious bedside manner but an amazing smile when I make him laugh. He knew I was stressed out about the cost of Humira, so he did inquire if I worked it out financially. Lol, I told him the Humira company wanted me to have the real drug deal experience, so I scored my Humira pens from a dude in a rusted out van behind a middle school in a sketchy nieghborhood, Hey little girl, want some Humira? Everybody is doing it, it's really cool" , " I'll give you the first ones free." 😆😅