So the rundown seems to be I don't have to go to an all liquid diet. Yay!!! I love food too much to just eat soup and baby food for the rest of my life. So here is a list of foods that will aggravate my symptoms, at least from what I have gathered. I will meet with a dietitian on Monday, and will post the results of that meeting in a following post.
Angry Tummy List:
Fiber
Broccoli
Apples
Berries with seeds
Coconut flesh
Seeded jams and jellies
Figs
Prunes or Prune juice
Oranges
Persimmons
Brussels Sprouts
Green Beans
Legumes
Beans
Potato peels
Tomato skins
Sauerkraut
Fatty Foods
Flax seed
Miso
Tempeh
Popcorn
These foods can lead to formation of a beazor, which is a nasty ball of unprocessed food that can make you very sick, and can even require surgery to remove. Gross! So in an effort to not have that happen, no more broccoli cheese baked potatoes. Bring on the milkshakes! Just kidding. Kind of. My incredibly generous and supportive Mumsey bought me a juicer, so I have been getting some good veggie juice. Carrot is good, cucumber is good. My son and I made plum-apple-orange juice, and that was soooo much better. I will get used to this, and I know I will find better ways to put them together in a way that won't kill me. Spinach-cucumber-carrot-onion juice with a splash of balsamic vinegar just tasted like a salad, and wasn't bad. Not the best either, I must confess. I'm taking multivitamins, as my constant puking has put a bit of a damper on me being able to process healthy foods. Plus the whole my body refusing to digest anything that is usually seen as healthy has probably put me into a nutritional deficiency. I tried cucumber juice this morning for breakfast and that was actually really good. It tasted like chlorophyll so hopefully I won't smell as bad either. We shall see! Until next time, may your guts not start a riot!
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Diagnosis - Life!
I was recently diagnosed with Gastroparesis. This news may not have been so scary if I knew what my doctor was talking about at the time. Gastroparesis is a disease with some unknown causes. What it means is that the muscles in my stomach don't push food through my digestive tract the way they are supposed to. There are several treatments, my doctor recommended for me to control what I can with diet, and if that doesn't work we will try some medication. I started a food journal today, to see what I am eating and hopefully control my symptoms. My lovely supportive mother bought me both a juicer and a Magic Bullet (blender) to help me on my journey, Thanks Mom!! As soon as I got home, like any self-respecting 20-something, I hit the internet. There is not very much information about Gastroparesis on the interwebs, and I think that sucks. In an effort to show that we are not alone, and to maybe help others live with this disease, I started this blog. Also I'm hoping it will keep me on track with what I need to do, since this is a lifetime diagnosis, at least for me.
I started throwing up every morning when I was in the 4th grade. My doctor told me it was allergies. I have had this problem, not everyday but most, where I wake up, throw up, and get on with my day. I've had it checked out by several doctors (one of which called me a drama queen) and I got several answers, mostly consisting of "Quit smoking and whining. You'll live." and so I did. I am 27 now, and about July of this year (was it only 3 months?) I got really sick. I had a massive lower abdominal infection, and I didn't get better. I just kept throwing up, and I would do it all day. It was totally debilitating. Headaches, exhaustion, sweats, feeling cold, and throwing up stuff I had eaten even 2 days before (gross right?) were the norm. I kept thinking about I friend I had named Marcy. Marcy had been feeling run down for about 6 months, and went to see a doctor. He told her she was just tired. A few doctors later she found out she had stage 3 cancer, and was dead in 2 years. She told me several times, "Don't listen to someone that says there is nothing wrong with you when you know there is. You know your body best." Thanks Marcy, I finally took your advice. So here I sit with a glass of water, and am very thankful. Now I know what I can do to keep myself healthy and operational. I truthfully was expecting cancer, or at least a brain tumor. At least this is something I can live with. So, onward and upward!
I started throwing up every morning when I was in the 4th grade. My doctor told me it was allergies. I have had this problem, not everyday but most, where I wake up, throw up, and get on with my day. I've had it checked out by several doctors (one of which called me a drama queen) and I got several answers, mostly consisting of "Quit smoking and whining. You'll live." and so I did. I am 27 now, and about July of this year (was it only 3 months?) I got really sick. I had a massive lower abdominal infection, and I didn't get better. I just kept throwing up, and I would do it all day. It was totally debilitating. Headaches, exhaustion, sweats, feeling cold, and throwing up stuff I had eaten even 2 days before (gross right?) were the norm. I kept thinking about I friend I had named Marcy. Marcy had been feeling run down for about 6 months, and went to see a doctor. He told her she was just tired. A few doctors later she found out she had stage 3 cancer, and was dead in 2 years. She told me several times, "Don't listen to someone that says there is nothing wrong with you when you know there is. You know your body best." Thanks Marcy, I finally took your advice. So here I sit with a glass of water, and am very thankful. Now I know what I can do to keep myself healthy and operational. I truthfully was expecting cancer, or at least a brain tumor. At least this is something I can live with. So, onward and upward!
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