I haven't been doing too much blogging lately or even visiting my favourite blogs to read or leave comments because well ~ here I go again with more health issues ~ digestive and stomach problems.
A while back I posted that I had a pet gallstone 4mm to be exact. I have nursed this little guy for quite a few years, but last year due to stomach pain my doctor sent me for an ultrasound. No inflammation, but my pet is still in residence.
I struggle with a yeast overgrowth in my gut which I constantly must be wary of, watching sugar intakes and using a product to keep the overgrowth down to a manageable level.
Over the past couple of years, it seems that no matter what passes my lips causes me some type of digestive distress ~ pain ... bloating ... distention ... gas ... a feeling of always having eaten too much, yet a constant gnawing feeling in my abdomen, gastric reflux, heartburn ... etc... And these problems flare my asthma which just add to the cacophony of issues I'm dealing with by impairing my breathing.
So in my quest to try to discover just exactly what the heck is my problem, I have researched Celiac's disease and tried eliminating gluten from my diet. I definitely had some success with this, the bloating and subsequent gas was easier to cope with.
I've questioned ~ could it be IBS, could it be diverticulitis, could it be leaky gut syndrome, could it be a gallbladder attack, could it be gastritis, could it be colitis ~ the list goes on and on. Symptoms will subside for a bit, but then come back with a vengeance. At this point after quite a few months of pain, I am nervous whenever I pick up something to eat. Will it cause me pain? Will it make me bloat? Worse yet will it give me gas and cause me embarrassment?
I've been in crisis for the past few weeks with this pain and am now unable to determine just what foods are causing this discomfort. All my symptoms seem to point to my gallbladder and knowing that I have a large pet stone, it seems quite reasonable to me that this is what it could be.
I must interrupt my rant here to mention that I recently had a consultation with a gastroenterologist who has me scheduled for an endoscopy on March 26th (Happy Birthday to me). He is planning to take a biopsy from my stomach and small intestine. His opinion from my symptoms is that I have a problem with my stomach muscles not naturally contracting. Apparently there is a condition called Gastroparesis where the stomach muscles are paralyzed due to the stomach not getting nerve impulses from the vagus nerve. His recommendation in the interim is to eat more and smaller meals. I've been doing this for about 10 days now, but even a few bites this week are causing me great discomfort.
So my quandary at this point is do I just sit and wait until March 26th for the endoscopy, or do I trundle off to the emergency room at my nearest hospital with this problem where I know I could have the on call specialist most likely pursue some immediate testing to determine the cause of this pain.
A while back I posted that I had a pet gallstone 4mm to be exact. I have nursed this little guy for quite a few years, but last year due to stomach pain my doctor sent me for an ultrasound. No inflammation, but my pet is still in residence.
I struggle with a yeast overgrowth in my gut which I constantly must be wary of, watching sugar intakes and using a product to keep the overgrowth down to a manageable level.
Over the past couple of years, it seems that no matter what passes my lips causes me some type of digestive distress ~ pain ... bloating ... distention ... gas ... a feeling of always having eaten too much, yet a constant gnawing feeling in my abdomen, gastric reflux, heartburn ... etc... And these problems flare my asthma which just add to the cacophony of issues I'm dealing with by impairing my breathing.
So in my quest to try to discover just exactly what the heck is my problem, I have researched Celiac's disease and tried eliminating gluten from my diet. I definitely had some success with this, the bloating and subsequent gas was easier to cope with.
I've questioned ~ could it be IBS, could it be diverticulitis, could it be leaky gut syndrome, could it be a gallbladder attack, could it be gastritis, could it be colitis ~ the list goes on and on. Symptoms will subside for a bit, but then come back with a vengeance. At this point after quite a few months of pain, I am nervous whenever I pick up something to eat. Will it cause me pain? Will it make me bloat? Worse yet will it give me gas and cause me embarrassment?
I've been in crisis for the past few weeks with this pain and am now unable to determine just what foods are causing this discomfort. All my symptoms seem to point to my gallbladder and knowing that I have a large pet stone, it seems quite reasonable to me that this is what it could be.
I must interrupt my rant here to mention that I recently had a consultation with a gastroenterologist who has me scheduled for an endoscopy on March 26th (Happy Birthday to me). He is planning to take a biopsy from my stomach and small intestine. His opinion from my symptoms is that I have a problem with my stomach muscles not naturally contracting. Apparently there is a condition called Gastroparesis where the stomach muscles are paralyzed due to the stomach not getting nerve impulses from the vagus nerve. His recommendation in the interim is to eat more and smaller meals. I've been doing this for about 10 days now, but even a few bites this week are causing me great discomfort.
So my quandary at this point is do I just sit and wait until March 26th for the endoscopy, or do I trundle off to the emergency room at my nearest hospital with this problem where I know I could have the on call specialist most likely pursue some immediate testing to determine the cause of this pain.
This week is probably the worst it has ever been ~ I have lost nearly 6 pounds due to cutting my caloric intake by half. I continue to drink my aloe vera juice and take my diglicerized licorice (DGL) to sooth my digestive tract but with little success. I've resorted to chewing on Gaviscon tablets which do help a little, but I don't want to continue this for too long due to the aluminum content in this product.
Well, the silver lining in this cloud is the weight loss. I've been wanting to lose weight for years, but just can't seem to get it off ~ severe lack of will power, not to mention a husband who seems to love me just as I am.
So here's to stomach problems that last long enough for me to knock off about 30 pounds!
5 comments:
I hope you find out what the problem is soon. Loosing weight by not eating is never good because as soon as you are able to eat again your bodies metabolism will be out of whack and you will likely gain it all back plus more. You should try to make sure you are eating at least 1600 calories per day.. even if it's in liquid form and don't go more then 4 hours without eating.
Oh my, I hope you find out soon what's wrong and that you'll be on your way to feeling much better.
I am so sorry that you are having problems with your digestive tract. I hope you find out soon what the problem is. My thought are if the pain keeps getting worse and you cannot eat (or drink food in a liquid form like suggested by sunmamma) to go to the emergency room. If it is the gallbladder, the last thing you want it to have it rupture and spill bile. Diego has gallbaldder issues too and this is what the DR suggested. Good luck and keep us posted! Sending a big hug.
i hope you are feeling better soon aunty barb! i just got back into blogging because i just moved home.
sorry i had not heard about this sooner and wished you the best of luck earlier. i hope you find out what the problem is so you can enjoy food sooner!
<3
I suffered for years with similar complaints. I just never felt well. A naturopath doctor turned me on to the blood type diet. The best books on it are by Dr. Peter D'Adamo (I think that's the spelling) Anyways, might be worth a look. It was definitely the click moment for me!
Feel better!
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