I haven’t been blogging much because I haven’t been feeling well. I’ve actually haven’t been feeling well for a long while.
I’ve struggled with an upset stomach for years. I’ve seen numerous doctors. Removed gluten for a while. Removed beans for a while. Tried meditating. Yoga. Removed onions. Removed garlic, nightshades, etc … It doesn’t matter what I eat because everything seems to be giving me an upset stomach. It sucks.
And not just an upset stomach but crazy bloat. I wake up in the morning looking like a normal person and by the time I go to bed I am so bloated I look like I’m 8 months pregnant. It’s uncomfortable and I feel like crap.
The only time I’ve felt good this last year was when I went to Banana Island and only ate bananas for a week. So that makes me think this issue is food related. 🙁
It finally came to a head this summer when we were moving the Sarah’s Place store to the new location. I think all the stress, plus not eating well or being able to eat anything that didn’t make me feel sick has added up. I found blood in my stool (yikes) and went to see my doctor right away. Without even examining me he diagnosed me on the spot. He said “You have IBS” and he gave me a sample of Zantac. That’s when I realized I needed a new doctor.
I finally found a great doctor who is taking my stomach concerns seriously and has worked towards finding out the cause and not just giving me Zantac and sending me on my way.
I’ve seen my naturopath, my doctor and 4-5 different specialists and now I’m seeing a gastroenterologist. I told him about my family history of cancer and about how my stomach/bowels are not my friend and he immediately booked me for a upper endoscopy and a colonoscopy. Yikes.
So I had the Endoscopy (tiny camera goes down my throat into my stomach) yesterday. I was super nervous … I don’t like hospitals and I have control issues (ha ha) but my doctor assured me that he would give me lots of drugs and I wouldn’t know anything that’s going on. 🙂
The trouble started when the nurses couldn’t find a vein for my IV. Oh god. I was soooo cold and I had to take a cold shower that day (cause the furnace was on the fritz) and so they couldn’t find any good veins in my right hand. I had 2 different nurses stick me 4 different times. No good. One of the nurses (a grumpy one) kept saying “where are your veins??” like it was my fault.
They finally wrapped my arms in hot towels and a 3rd nurse came and put in the IV in my left hand and then wheeled me to the procedure room. I was SO NERVOUS! The doctor came in and I told him I was really nervous and to give me ALL the drugs. He laughed and said I would be fine. He’s a really nice guy. Makes eye contact. Lets me ask lots of questions. Makes sure I understand what he’s saying. He’s cool.
The nurse gave me my sedative and I started to feel dizzy. I told her I was going to close my eyes and she patted me on the shoulder and that’s the last thing I remember. I woke up in the recovery room feeling like I had the best nap of my life. *laugh* Actually I do remember gagging/coughing at some point but it’s like a dream memory. Fleeting and foggy.
Gerry picked me up and I crashed on the sofa (sitting up) and slept for another 4 hours. Man oh man. I haven’t felt that relaxed in years. Opiates are awesome! 🙂
I had a tiny sore throat during the day and an upset stomach so I drank some Gingerale – burped like a trucker and immediately felt better.
The doctor is testing me for Celiac and looking for other things like cancer/ulcers etc. Part of me hopes he finds something – but that it’s something simple like “Don’t eat spinach” and then it will be over.
I’ve decided to pull back on doing events at Sarah’s Place until we figure out what’s going on with me. So the next few months will be event-free but I’m hoping to do more events in spring.
Tell me about your guts. Are you having issues? Have any suggestions? I’ve been to Banana Island so it’s pretty obvious I’m desperate and will try anything. 🙂
Hey!!!
 
Hey UK friends!!
