Today it’s not the kids’ wellness, but mine. (The kids seem to be well, in case that’s why you stopped by. Thanks for asking. You probably don’t want to read the rest of this post. It’s kind of a grumpy one. And gross.).
Sooo…back to my wellness. Thanks to the Lord’s healing through prayer at Serenity Retreat, I’m much healthier.
But I’m still figuring out what healthy means. Most of my health issues seem to lead right back to my diet/digestion. (Truly, you can see where this is going. Click away, if you’re not up for this chat.) My Chronic Fatigue doctor mentioned the possibility of Leaky Gut Syndrome (I have no idea the medical name for this, if there is one. I hope there is. Leaky Gut sounds like something Benjamin Franklin may have struggled with, but really? In 2012?)
So, yes! Leaky Gut. With the thought that I might feel better eating healthier, I recently gave up all processed foods. And, man, what a difference. Seriously. Like flipping a switch. I only ate organic meat and organic veggies and felt WONDERFUL.
But here’s the problem with only eating organic meat and veggies. You can’t keep it up. At least I couldn’t. So, I got tested for food allergies, and found out I’m sensitive to gluten and eggs and dairy and soy. Which left me with the question…what CAN I eat?
That question led me to a GI doctor. Oh, how I didn’t want to go a GI doctor. Oh, how I was terrified that she would spend ten minutes with me, write me three prescriptions for strong antacids, schedule an endoscopy and colonoscopy and send me on my way. And I was SO DONE with traditional medicine and doctors who don’t listen and who only want to give some strong medication that leads to fourteen other symptoms.
But I went to the GI Doctor. Because I was more SO DONE with my leaking gut and not knowing what to eat and losing weight and avoiding foods like enchiladas because I was afraid of what was in them and how I would feel afterward.
SO! Today I went to the GI doctor. Upon my arrival, the office staff asked me to fill out reams of health history questionnaires. Lots of lists about which symptoms I have. Difficulty Swallowing? Headaches? Fatigue? Bloating?
Really? Again, has modern medicine not come any further than this? C’mon, America, we can do better. Do I have headaches? Yes. Every day. Seriously, doesn’t everyone? Between seasonal allergies or PMS or not enough sleep the night before or missing lunch or four kids yelling at each other, there’s always a headache on the edge of my brain.
But if I check “yes” what does that mean? Will she want to do the dreaded colonoscopy?
And difficulty swallowing? Since I’ve really only been eating organic veggies, yeah, lots of difficulty swallowing (ha ha). Same with bloating and fatigue…all non-specific symptoms that my friends would all admit to over a glass of wine (if a glass of wine didn’t give us all a headache and bloating).
Finally (an hour after my scheduled appt time) I was face-to-face with the doctor. She clearly hadn’t even glanced at the reams of paper I had filled out about the non-specific symptoms because both she and the nurse asked me the same questions I had just answered on the forms.
BUT! How thrilled I was to finally be talking to the DOCTOR! After two hours of driving and office-hunting and forms and nurses and waiting, we were finally together.
She looked at my folder and announced, “I’m 100% sure that food allergies are the cause of your port health history. You have Leaky Gut, caused by the damage food allergies have done to your intestines. We will test you for allergies to 70 different foods. We will check to see what nutrients you’re missing because of your Leaky Gut. We will check your thyroid and we’ll also look for candida. We will do a colonoscopy and endoscopy and a biopsy of your small intestine to check for Celiac disease.”
“No colonoscopy,” I said.
(I realized later that this was a lot like telling your dentist, “You’re not looking at MY teeth!”)
The doctor wasn’t having that answer.
She and I went around and around about the colonoscopy.
UGGHHHHHHH. I think she won. I think I have to do it.
On the plus side, she did spend about 15 minutes talking to me, instead of 10. On the negative side, she sent me off with lab orders for FOUR DIFFERENT blood draw places, and a prescription for a strong antacid. Oh, and then asked for $1200 for the tests and colonoscopy.
So, in a few weeks, I’ll have some nice snapshots of my colon.
And, don’t worry, I won’t post them here.
Tina, I have had a lot of gastro problems over the last several years and the first relief I got was taking Aciphex. It works really well for me. When I later had a very stressful event and had intestinal spasms and couldn’t eat except for bread, chicken noodle soup, and water, my gastro doctor prescribed a medication that is invaluable to me. The generic name is Glycopyrrolate. I take Aciphex in the morning on an empty stomach, wait 30 minutes, and then eat breakfast. I take the Glycopyrrolate with my other medications in the morning after breakfast. I couldn’t do without those two meds. However, Aciphex does mess with your digestive enzymes or whatever and contributes to an imbalance in the acid in your mouth that helps regulate/prevent cavities (simplified explanation.) Unfortunately, some of my anti-depressants cause dry mouth, which causes problems in the balance of stuff in my mouth, which leads to a predisposition of cavities. So I am supposed to drink a lot of water. Beth S. (Katie’s sister)