Full of cold

Today, I'm full of cold: stuffed up, slowed down, and not hungry, which always frustrates me, because I usually look forward to every meal. My meals, even more so now that I have been through bowel rest (being told not to eat, to give your digestive system a break), help me to structure my day and make me feel comfortable. Thus, not feeling hungry makes me feel a bit alien in my own skin.

I have to admit, it also seems a bit odd to feel so ill without being really ill. By which I mean, not hospital-bound or life-threateningly ill, but still feeling downright awful. This is the first time I've been properly ill since my surgery in April and it took a good hour's of strained thought this morning (whilst I lay half-awake because I couldn't breathe regularly enough to sleep) before I convinced myself that it was okay to have the day off of work. I didn't want to, because we're really busy at the moment and I feel a little like I keep letting people down, but, you know what, it might be "just a cold", but it can still mean that you're too sick to go to work (let alone expose everyone else in the train, bus and office to it). That's okay. Just because I have inflammatory bowel disease doesn't mean that I have to "save up" my sick days in case I need them to cope with that.

So today, I'm sitting at home, wrapped up in multiple blankets and my favourite pyjamas, and looking forward to regaining my appetite before our planned Thanksgiving dinner on Friday (being in the UK, we've never had a Thanksgiving dinner before, but thought we'd give it a go).

I tell you something, though, nothing has prepared me for the bizarre sensation of sneezing with an ileostomy! Maybe it's just me, but I have to put one hand/tissue to my nose and the other across my stoma to support it. Nothing worse than a twinge of pain has resulted when I don't, but it feels more comfortable.