Hi, my name is Molly Ander, I’m 39 y/o, I’ve been married for 16 years, I have a 24 y/o step son, and my constant companion, Boogie the kitty.  I have had GP since I was a teenager.   I was born w/ type 1 diabetes that the GP was secondary to.  I’ve had symptoms that have, “waxed and waned,” over the years.  Periods when I was completely unable to eat, and periods when the symptoms were much less prevalent.  When I’m not busy being sick, I’ve developed a real interest in playing w/ our digital camera; I like to read, have become a big movie buff, love music and have always got a crossword puzzle in the works.  I’ve also become completely reliant on my email account. 

After a number of years of being unable to control my blood sugars, b/c of the GP symptoms, I went thru a long series of what I think of now as being attempts at, “surgical fixes,” for my GP.  A solitary pancreas transplant (that sadly rejected, soon after surgery,) G and J tube placements, ostomies, stomas… and the end result of those attempted fixes, basically, was a belly full of adhesions, 8 bowel resections,  chronic anemia and years of my life in a hospital bed.  I used TPN therapy a number of times, to build my basic body chemistry back up, but have had a string of line infections, sepsis, and a general scarring of my blood vessels, that makes placing another line very difficult and another attempt at using TPN unlikely- at least in the near future. 

I mention all of that to make a point- GP can become so completely life-altering, and it’s very difficult to treat, when many specialists still don’t understand the disease well, or how to treat it properly.  I was very fortunate to have found a local GI doctor who’s well versed in GP, and its common treatments.  The problem, of course, is that there are not many treatments available, and the ones that are available, are not always successful.  

GP can affect so much more than the GI tract, in the long run.  It went from my belly, to the rest of my abdomen; to my ability to work- and my HUSBAND’s ability to work! (He’s got to be at home w/ me most of the time now.)  I’ve been very fortunate to have a husband who’s been willing to stick this out with me- it’s not an easy thing to watch someone you love be sick so often.  (I have to make sure I make that point.) 

 He’s been very supportive, and lucky for me, has an outstanding sense of humor (when pooping and barfing are your primary source of daily conversation, you’ve GOT to have a sense of humor.)  And, lucky for me, he also has a wonderful curiosity about finding some solutions for me- including finding G-PACT, and her sister support group for those w/ GP.  I’ve learned so much from these folks, and received even more support from them- it’s been an incredible resource for me, and a real sanity saver.  I don’t know what’s going to be next for me, for my health, but I do hope that I will have some healthy and active days again soon. (In the mean time, I’ll have to work on gathering more pooping and barfing jokes…)