Monday, May 31, 2010

blog the eigth: A personal interlude to the Barefoot Experiment...

I've been asked a lot about why I want to walk around barefoot. I've talked earlier about reasons why it's healthy, reasons why the health risks aren't as bad as people often think, but that doesn't really explain why I'm doing it...

The simple answer:

I want to!

The long answer:

Last year, after several years of denial, avoidance and misdiagnosis, I was hospitalized and diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC). In the ongoing battle to keep my colon and recover some semblance of health, I spent a little over a year on corticosteroids. When I was on high doses, I was exercising, eating tons, and generally driving my girlfriend a bit nuts with my level of manic energy (not to mention the mood swings!). As I've made the switch from prednisone to immunosuppressants, my energy level has significantly dropped and since December I've found myself unable to exercise, either because of a lack of energy, or fear of the massively increased recovery time that I have to suffer through(and work through! Massage therapists that read this will all attest to the amount of physical effort involved in even a moderately busy day of massage).

Doing a little research, I found that the most likely cause of my woes was withdrawal from prednisone, combined with common side effects of the immunosuppresant azathioprine (Imuran). If the literature is correct, it looks like I could be out of action athletically for anywere from two months to two years. Just three weeks ago, I talked to my family doctor about managing these symptoms. His response was that I needed to be patient and stick to walking. Well, as followers of my blog will know, I've been talking about barefoot walking/running for a while now, and since it looks like I won't be lifting weights or sparring anytime in the near future, I've been walking barefoot more and more because I need a project!

Let's face it, the best way to combat the apathy, lethargy and depression that come along with extended periods of illness (and the unpleasantness of fairly serious medication!) is to find something to do. That same lethargy makes my brain a little slow sometimes, and I can't always concentrate well enough to get my thoughts down, so I've been a bit frustrated with my other project: This blog! However I can always walk... Even in the hospital I walked around and around the circular corridor of St. Micheal's gastrointestinal ward. So I'm continuing to walk, and the process of learning to walk barefoot in an urban environment is providing some mitigation of the frustration I've been experiencing.

I've had some insights into the world of barefooting that I'll share in a separate entry.

For more details on just how unpleasant UC can get, see my friend Katy's blog (bathroombound) to read her account of her battle. She's quite bravely being very detailed and personal in her posts, but it really does show just how deeply this illness can affect one's life. My struggle hasn't been quite as agonizing to this point, but it's fairly likely that I'll go through the same things at some point in my battle. With a bit of luck (and a lot of work!) I'll be much much older, but at the same time, what happens happens, and I'll deal with it as it comes. I'm certainly very interested in seeing the improvements in her life as her story progresses. She's been a great source of information and support all through my battle, and I'm keeping every finger (and toe) crossed for her.