Well....

It has been over a month since I have posted my last blog. I have had a lot going on. My wife and I, are expecting our first baby July 22nd. A date which is quickly approaching. We could not be more thrilled to be parents! I am growing more and more exited knowing that I am going to be a dad. I am especially exited knowing that the baby is going to be a little boy!

I think it is safe to say that life in the Klein house has been on the busy side of things this past month or so. People keep telling me that I need to enjoy these last few days of being able to relax and do nothing if I so choose. While I realize that this is true, I feel like those days of just "relaxing" have already passed.

I guess it goes without saying that I have had a lot of things on my plate lately. And some of those things have brought added stress. This stress has taken it's toll on my gut which has led to a flare up.



It has been a reminder to me on how this is a condition that I need to be very proactive with in order to maintain any sort of remission with. I have incorporated into my daily regiment of supplements a stronger dose of pro-biotics, boswelia, and cod liver oil. I had already been taking probiotice but I have decided that a plunking down the extra cash for a some better quality supplements is worth it when it comes to bringing my gut into check.




I have found that the supplements in liquid form, rather than pill form seem to be more effective. I could do without taking the liquid form of the cod liver oil though...nasty!

I plan on keeping up with this blog more and hopefully soon I will have better news to share in regards to my my f****ng colon.

Settling in a bit

It has been a crazy last couple of weeks! Between moving, running a 10k, work, getting ready for a baby and to top it off we spent the first couple of nights in our new place without power. It was supposed to get turned on that Friday, but because of some technical difficulties it did not happen until Monday.

Did I mention that I moved the same day as the race? In case you were wondering...the race went off without a hitch. Well....just one pit stop at about mile #3. One thing I love about this race is the way that it brings out the community.


Me before the race....after my final morning bathroom trip...or at least so I thought..

crossing the finish line..what a good feeling!

In the process of moving and all of the other stuff I have had going on I have been not eating the best. For example...

fries and ice cream!

Ya, I know bad idea and believe me I have been paying the price. This week I have been getting more on track with being pro-active regarding my UC.
One thing that I have been doing is only drinking warm water. That has been something that I have seen drastic improvement from doing.


I was skeptical at first but I figured maybe there is something to this so I gave it a shot and much to my surprise it has been very helpful. I hope that others can find this helpful as well.

As with any method or diet that I have tried, I have found it important to remember to have a balance. In other words even though I have been drinking cold water most of the time it is not the end of the world if I have something cold sometimes. I try to remember this with my diet overall.

While I know that I need to be very intentional about what I eat and don't eat. It is okay if I sway away from that sometimes. I learned this lesson in the early days after being diagnosed with UC. I felt like I would never again be able to eat anything that I once enjoyed. It was very frustrating and at times very depressing. I love a bowl of ice cream sometimes.

Nothing hits the spot on some days like a cold beer. I know that after having these things my colon more than likely will pay the price. Again I come back to what I said about having a balance. The weather is getting warmer so these are hard to turn down sometimes and that's just fine. Having UC or not. I just need to know that if I do....a bathroom should be nearby!

Race day Saturday!!

This Saturday I will be running a 10k race. I know, I know...those of you reading this that do not live in United States might have a chuckle at me calling it that. Most Americans when they think of a race that is 10 kilometers, scratch their heads at first and say, "Now just how long is that in miles?" Before I ran it, I was one of those people. Until all of us Yanks get it together and start using the metric system, you will just have to bear with me here.

I ran it last year with my wife and a close friend of ours. I was very proud to have achieved such a feat. My wife and I trained for about three months to condition ourselves.

One concern I had a year ago is the same concern that I have for the race on Saturday. I'm not worried about twisted ankles, or not as worried, anyway. What tops the list of my race day nervousness? I hope I can make it through the whole race without shitting myself. For my fellow UC sufferers I bet you saw that one coming right?

From what I know, there will be over 30,000 participants on Saturday. I wonder if the people who organize this event factor in the amount of people who suffer from a "spastic" colon? From the way it looked last year it certainly did not seem to be the case. I guess maybe I should bring an extra pair of pants?

While these are all valid concerns, I think that things will be fine race day. Last year things were just fine and man....

it was the best feeling crossing that finish line!




I have been doing better the past few days than I have been in a long time. Just in case though....don't think I will be wearing shorts!

Glass half full?

I usually try to view things that happen with a positive attitude. While sometimes this is easier said than done, I think it is safe to say that I am fairly successful at doing this.

As someone who suffers from UC I have had many days of feeling depressed or down. I am blessed to have the support of a loving amazing wife. I also have some close friends and family who I know love and care for me deeply. As much as they care and may try to understand, they just can't.

At times it can be discouraging..... especially when I am throwing away another pair of boxers in the trashcan of some public bathroom. While I can look back and have a chuckle about it, nothing is more humiliating or emasculating. It's the little things in life that are taken for granted. I never would have thought that having the option of choosing when and where I crap, would be such a luxury.

I have come to realize that I have slacked off a bit with my diet and being pro-active about managing my UC. I have a bit of a sweet tooth. It often gets the better of me and my colon pays the price. I love ice cream. It is so hard to turn down.

These past couple of days I have resolved to try some new things in regards to healing my gut.

Here are some different things that I am supplementing my diet with:

- mushroom root tea 3x daily

- calendula tea 3x daily

- Ginger root tea 3x daily



All of these I combine and make into one tea brew. So far doing this seems to be helping but I wonder if having a bowl of ice cream at night nullifies all of this.

All in all things are good. I am grateful that I am not worse off with my UC. I have good days and bad but today I did not have to throw any boxers away! That's right....my glass is half full!