OK. No raw veggies (blended or not) for a while.

In fact, no solid food since Friday at noon, when some vegetable soup led to pain and an overwhelming exhaustion. I sent an email to my boss a little after 3 telling her I had to stop for the day. I went to bed and stayed there, ice on my tummy. The Lortab didn't help much.

In addition to pain and exhaustion -- nothing, which is really not that good. I've been there before. It sometimes means an obstruction that could land me in a hospital. Yuck! And once I get to the hospital, they hold me hostage and drip steroids into my veins while I pace the halls for three days until the blockage resolves. Something I would rather avoid. To say nothing (but I will anyway) about how much more the hospital costs. A tapered run of Prednisone pills costs less than $3. Three days in the hospital with an IV can cost almost $20,000.

Which makes more sense to you?

Then there's always the chance it won't resolve if I wait too long to get help. Then it could mean surgery. No thanks.

When I realized where I was headed I called my GI doc to see if he would prescribe a short, tapered run of Prednisone to compliment a liquid diet to nip it in the bud. Unfortunately, it was the Friday before the 4th-of-July weekend. None of the doctors were in the office, and mine was out of town. Good for him. Bad for me.

When the medical assistant called me back, she told me that the doctor on call couldn't prescribe Prednisone for me, since he isn't familiar with my history. Understandable, but disappointing. He said I needed an office visit, or if the symptoms got "really bad" (I wouldn't have called if they weren't) I should go to a hospital emergency room.

Hooray. Just what I wanted to hear.

When the GI specialists couldn't help me, I left a message at my primary-care physician's office. Thankfully, the medical assistant called me at about 6 p.m. to tell me she'd called in a Prednisone prescription from my doctor.

Hooray! (This time I mean it!)

Prednisone has its drawbacks when used long-term -- insomnia, weight gain, false hunger, "moon face", facial hair. But sometimes it's just the ticket short-term to prevent an emergency, quickly quelling inflammation.

I took the first dose last night. After the second dose this morning, the Lortab can handle the pain and things are moving a little. Crisis averted, I hope. I'll try something solid for lunch, pray, stay hydrated and see what happens.

Fingers crossed!

Thanks for reading,

- Beth