Life Update!!! (December 07)

[sacausa]

So I'm still doing really well on Cytotec! And my IC pretty much doesn't interfere with my college classes at all :)

This past semester was really rough despite my IC though. My roommate had a breakdown and threatened to kill both me and my two other suitemates, so I along with the university had to file 3 police reports.. and she was ultimately removed from my room... I also had to file for a restraining order which gave me more life experience than I would have necessarily liked! My dorm room also flooded, and a lot of my stuff was destroyed and the university had to put us in a hotel room for a while until they had everything cleaned up!!! Craziness... so because of that drama, I withdrew from two of my classes... and ended up with an incomplete in another one... but over all my grades were decent and I frankly have no idea how that's even possible :)

On a positive note, I've had some major life changes. I'm doing STUDY ABROAD in Mannheim, Germany next semester!!!!!!!!!!!!! I leave January 11th and I couldn't be more excited :) I never knew that this would have been possible when I was first diagnosed with IC! I'm planning on seeing as much of Europe as possible and I absolutely cannot wait...

I also started dating a really awesome guy, although we've kept it fairly non-serious because I'm leaving for 6 months to go to Germany. So life is good on the romantic front as well....

And I got bangs! Lol that's probably not that big of a deal, but it was a pretty big step for me :) ooooooooooooh and I started learning German. Ich liebe Deutsch ;)

Hmmmmm, health-wise I'm still taking Cytotec 200mcg twice a day.... along with Allegra, and then Ortho-Tricyclen Lo and Toprol XL (for my heart).

Pictures from my birthday:
http://i17.tinypic.com/6yyhjxc.jpg
http://i3.tinypic.com/8gg96b5.jpg --> boy I'm dating
http://i19.tinypic.com/80weyx4.jpg

[sacausa]

Pictures from my phone (my non-crazy suitemates!)
http://i1.tinypic.com/6nuzp1j.jpg
http://i9.tinypic.com/85bkk6g.jpg

Random favorites from this semester:
http://i12.tinypic.com/6x7bkue.jpg
http://i4.tinypic.com/8ab6j3p.jpg --> the roommate that replaced my homicidal one... happened to be SUPER SHORT :)

OOOH and I got a new dog, his name is George:
http://i4.tinypic.com/8g6asev.jpg

[lisabar36]

wow, thats great! I am happy for you! Nice pictures to, and what a cute dog! I wish you the best of luck on your travels! I hope its fun and exciting. :)

[yvette]

WTG Kid! Love the pics, all you gals look fantastic! The BF...he's a doll and the dog....honestly I just want to squeeze that adorable face! This is wonderful news about your life's adventures and going-ons...Hooray! Have a fantastic time abroad, you certainly worked your tail off and deserve it :D

[kari1980]

It's so nice to hear some good news! I'm excited for you and I hope your travels abroad are spectacular, you'll create lots of wonderful memories that will last a lifetime I'm sure. Good luck and I hope you stay healthy and pain free!!

Kari

[dg2901]

Awesome!! Enjoy every minute of your studies abroad--what a great opportunity!! :woohoo:

Best wishes....
Diana

[blendno14]

Hallo,

I hope you enjoy your time in germany ..:smile tee:smile tee.mannheim is quite close to where I live....

Und viel Spaß beim deutsch lernen....

Regards from Frankfurt.....

[Bessie]

Glad to hear all of your great news. I love your new bangs. Good luck in Germany and I hope you have a great 2008 :smile tee

[ABliske]

I am so happy for you!!! That's great that you are going to travel. How exciting! What a crazy college experience. I went to a university for a year and didn't have any stories like that. I liked it, but I don't know if I could have handled school with IC.
How long were you on Cytotec before you noticed changes? Also, I see there are risks for women of childbearing age. Do you know any specifics on this?

[SharonA]

You really have been through a lot this year and are going to experience a lot over seas. What fun you are going to have. Love the pictures. The guy is very cute. George for a dog is very unusual. (I once had a Boxer named Fred.) How did you pick that name? He really looks like he is very sweet.

[sacausa]

Thanks guys! My mom picked the name "George" it's because he's so curious... so it's short for "Curious George" the cartoon monkey! Do you know what I'm talking about?

I was on Cytotec for a few months before I noticed results. You can look at my old threads to see more details.

[Berkshire Road]

Hey, how great to hear from you, and especially to hear how well you're doing! Okay, a little drama in your life, but it gives you something to talk about at least, LOL. I remember when I was in college, in one semester one of my suitemates had a nervous breakdown and left (although she was not homicidal, thank God), and the kitchen caught on fire. This was, oh, 21 or 22 years ago, but I still pull it out once in a while as a conversation piece!

WOW, so cool that you're going to Germany. You had better be learning some German, girl. What will happen to George while you're gone, does he stay with your parents? I hope you get to see and do everything you want to. Do you have a plan in place for getting six months worth of meds? (I know, I sound like a mother; can't help it, I am one :)). It might be a good idea to have some contingency plans in place, just in case of the very unlikely event that you do have a flare. Maybe pain meds, or rescue instillation supplies, that you can bring with you? I brought all that stuff into France, and no one seemed bothered by it.

Anyway, I'm so happy for you and wish you all the best. And you know they have the Internet in Germany too, so give us a shout once in a while!

BTW, I think the bangs make you look younger. They're cute, but are you old enough yet to want to look younger? Well, you look great whatever way you do your hair, so why not have fun experimenting? :)

[glassd18]

Glad to hear you are still doing so well Saucasa!! Good luck in Germany!!

[sweetangel2080]

Hi Saucausa

that's brilliant!!
Looking at ur signature, we have identical conditions - same med problems - I hope to find my magic bullet soon!

just wanted to say i did a year abroad in Germany (from UK) and it was great!! Don't worry about the German as I found most Germans speak English and French perfectly- better than us I think! Same with the French...

and here I am a languages teacher struggling to get pupils to learn even German/French for 'where is the nearest train station'

lol..but things like 'a beer, please' and good old synonyms for get lost etc..come in handy for college nights out!

If you have any Qs feel free to ask me- are there a few of you going? I went alone in my 3rd year and it was a little daunting but was working so had contact with supervisor and girl whose position I was taking..

If you have a quad band phone it will work there- will need to be unlocked if you want to get a german SIM - otherwise food and cost of living is relatively cheap in comparison to the UK at least

So have fun partying - oohh and studying of course!!