Health Update -- Good News!

I thought I'd give everyone an update on my tummy issues.

As you read earlier, or maybe you didn't, I went to see a Naturopathic doctor in Irvine.  He told me to stop my Prilosec (my GI doctor had me on 4 capsules a day, 2 in the morning and 2 in the pm) and my Bentyl (which helps with my abdominal cramping).  He sent me home with 3 new supplements to take instead, just once before bed.

They are working wonderfully!  I never thought about taking supplements instead of prescribed meds, but you know what?  I feel like perhaps God made all of these natural remedies for us to use in these types of cases.  Why not use them and put natural things in my body instead of these man made, processed drugs?  I figure the older I get, the more my body is going to feel used.  I like to think that if I use more natural products, perhaps they'll help my body stay in a better stay and age slower?  Who knows, but I like my thought process!

In addition to fantastic natural tummy meds, I also started taking Nettle.  I went into Mother's Market one day because I was sick of spending money on Allegra and not being able to breathe.  I asked the helpful lady what is good for allergies and she immediately came back with Nettle.  Apparently, it is good for more than just allergies!  Who knew?  I bought the $7 bottle and within 10-20 minutes of taking my first capsule, I could breathe perfectly!  I was sneezing less, my nose was less inflamed, it was incredible!

As far as food allergy results, I finally got those returned to me.  The highest levels kind of floored me!  They include cranberries, whey (which makes sense, since milk products make me so sick), coffee and crab!  Weird.  But even though those were the highest levels, the were still low/within range.  This doesn't mean I don't have an intolerance though.  We know for sure I have an intolerance to milk, that's for sure!

The next step is my Adrenal testing.  The doctor is thinking that perhaps my Adrenal Glands are working too hard (possibly due to stress) and producing too much Cortisone.  This causes a number of side effects, including exhaustion.  So, I will do this test tomorrow and see what the results say.

Tomorrow I go in for a much needed deep tissue massage and then I get my hair done.  We'll see how stressed I am after that! :)  I was told several times by multiple massage therapists that I need to get a mssage at least once a week.  How often do I go?  Well, maybe once every 6 months?  I need to change that...

The Problem With IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome).

As I reached for my morning dose of prescription drugs, I stopped mid-reach.  My medicine cabinet is full of all sorts of drugs.  I can't even remember when I started taking so many pills.  I counted and came out with a total of 19 different labels.  This wasn't even counting the several vials I was waiting to refill.  I sighed and popped the pills in my mouth washing them down with water.

Fast forward to Super Bowl Sunday.  I was talking with a friend of mine and her husband.  She has always been such a great support and friend to me.  It took them 10 years to finally diagnose her with Celiac Disease.  She is one of the reasons I chose to go gluten free, after describing all of my symptoms to her.  I got a blood test and it came back negative.  So did hers.  It took several biopsies for them to discover she was a Celiac.  When I was getting prepped for my endoscopy, I asked them to take biopsies -- they stopped scoping after they discovered I had a hiatal hernia.  Anyway, after sharing my symptoms with them, they suggested I get a gene mapping test to check for Mitochondria Disease.  It was a fairly new discovery that this disease affects the gut , not only the nervous system.

The next day I called my GI Specialist to see if she could test me for this.  They told me this was something I would have to be referred to by my primary physician.  After several phone calls and 4 days later, I was told by my primary doctor (which I am no longer seeing) that he will not refer me to a Genetics Specialist because "he didn't see the point."  I was floored.  I was screaming on the inside.

What was the point?!  How about finding out what exactly is wrong with me instead of just giving me this non-diagnosis of IBS?!


For those of you who do not know, IBS is what they tell us patients with digestive problems we have because they have no clue what's wrong with us.  It's basically so they know how to get money from the insurance companies.  And so they feed us drug after drug, treating the symptoms.  Little do people realize that these medications are causing other problems, which we're prescribed more drugs for.

I was furious.  I immediately texted another friend of mine who saw a Doctor of Naturopath.  She is a doctor who combines modern medicine with natural supplements, etc.  I knew I would be paying out of pocket, but I didn't care at this point.  I was tired of feeling miserable and paying money on all of these procedures and drugs that were just causing other problems because of their side effects.

Today was my first appointment at The Institute of Progressive Medicine.   I liked what I saw.  I liked what I heard.  The doctor listened to me.  He heard what I said.  He read what I wrote down and spent a full hour with me.  When I told him I don't have a PPO, that I'm paying out of pocket, he understood.  He let me know that some of the tests I could do with my HMO and so he got me a prescription for those tests.

I left feeling more satisfied and hopeful than I've ever left the GI doctor's.  More than I ever felt with my primary physician who's seen me for more than just my tummy problems.  In the end, I had them draw blood for 2 full food allergy panels that test for more than they do at my primary doctor's office.  Things like black pepper and yeast, not just dairy, nuts and strawberries.  I also left with 3 supplements, including Melatonin, L-Tryptophan and Homocysteine Factors.  All of these together, every night at bedtime, should be replacing the 4 capsules of Prilosec I take daily.

Here's looking forward to a new treatment of helping my body heal itself!  I'll keep you all posted of my progress.

Discrimination.

(My apologies, but please note that this post is heavier than most.)

Cancer does not discriminate.  Cancer does not care who you are.  It does not care how much money you make.  It does not care about the color of your skin.  Cancer doesn't even care if you are male or female.  Cancer does not care how healthy you are either.

Cancer does not discriminate.

I did not know my grandfather, Joseph Phineas Dunham, who died of lung cancer, but he was the first person I'd ever heard of to die of this horrible disease.  We believe this is what helped my grandmother quit smoking.

I have known a handful of other people who have been diagnosed with different types of cancers.  Some have passed away and some have survived.  Some of them very, very close to me.  I remember talking to my sister in law a couple years ago.  Her very best friend, whom my niece was named after, died from cancer.  When talking to her, I discovered it was such a sudden thing that she still can't believe it.  My brother and I talked after that.  Her friend was a health nut, constantly running and keeping in shape.  Cancer found her anyway.

Cancer does not discriminate.

This morning I got a text message from my boss:

"So sorry to tell you this, Sue passed away this morning."

Sue began feeling symptoms only a week and a half ago.  Her boss finally talked her into going to the doctor's Friday afternoon.  She was admitted immediately.  She was only having symptoms of difficulty breathing.  We all figured it was pneumonia since that summer cold is going around.  It's amazing how quickly it happened.

Cancer does not discriminate.

TMI: More Medical Fun.

Sorry about being MIA!  it's been quite the busy life I've been leading and I am utterly grateful for such a full life!  All right, let's get straight to it.

Thursday after work, and after many phone calls, I picked up my prescription for Colyte (aka, GoLytely).  For those of you unawares, you lucky people have yet to experience such fun, this is the solution you make to prep your intestines for a colonoscopy.  Yup, my digestive problems had led me to go through this horrible procedure.  Thankfully, I had several people I could discuss this experience with.  And I thank them for their comforting words: "It's going to suck, but at least you're mostly asleep."

I began the Colyte at 6:30pm the evening before (my appointment was at 7:40am the next morning).  Oh yes, let's not forget I'd been fasting since that morning at 6:00am-ish.  Yup, not only do you have to drink this Colyte delight, but you have to fast a full 24 hours before your procedure.  Luckily, I was already having "incidents" and wasn't hungry one bit anyway.  So, I began the Colyte.  A nurse that had called me a couple days prior advised me to add a couple of lemon-lime Crystal Lite packets.  Thank you Maria, for they made the taste much more tolerable!  For the first 2-4 hours, after adding water to the Colyte powder making 4 liters worth of solution, I drank one 8oz. glass every 15-20 minutes.  For those of you doing the math, that's 3 liters of fluid in 2-4 hours!  And after not eating all day, it affected me very quickly.

The next dose of Colyte was to be taken 4 hours before my appointment.  This meant I had to wake up at 3:40am to continue the cleansing.  For the final liter, I had to repeat the 8oz glasses every 15-20 minutes to complete the cleansing in one hour.  Let's just say that by the time I got to my appointment (including while they made me pee in a cup to be sure I wasn't pregnant) I was squeaky clean.  To put it bluntly, ear-muffs if you are grossed out easily, I was passing only a clear fluid.  Nothing solid and nothing colored.  I couldn't wait for this to be over.

I was prepped with an IV and fluids, my vitals were taken and I was on my way.  Unfortunately for me, the doctor I saw was hot!  Really?!?  THIS is the guy who will be performing this procedure on me??  Wow.  To make things even better, when they perform a colonoscopy on you, not only do they enter via the rectum, but they have to inflate your intestines to see properly.

"Now, Hollie, after this scope is done you are going to feel bloated and may have a lot of discomfort.  You. Must. Fart.  DO NOT hold it in because then you will be very uncomfortable, in pain, and we're going to have to send you to ER.  Don't be embarrassed, it's part of the procedure.  DO NOT HOLD IT IN."  So many thoughts running through my head....

The anesthesia began.  I woke up a couple of times because I'm the lightest sleeper in the world (oh and because it was twilight sedation).  I recall looking up at the screen and asking what the white things were.

"Those are polyps."  And I was out again.  The next time I awoke, I felt pressure and mild pain as they were removing the scope.  Excellent.  This is the exact part I woke up when they performed the endoscopy on the opposite end and I woke myself up belching.  At least I was sure to say an infinite "Excuse me" before they began.

I finally woke up after about an hour because it always takes me a while to come out of anesthesia.  Maybe it's due to my low blood pressure?  Anyway, I had extreme pain in my abdomen as the air was still trapped inside of me.  Come to find out, he had scoped my small intestine as well.  No wonder the air was trapped.  I envied the patient next to me who had no problem releasing his bubble.  Nurses cheered me on when I was finally able to pass the air.  I left in pain anyway as the air would still not come all the way out.  I'm fine now by the way. ;)

Results, I know you're all on the edge of your seats here.  Turns out I had a few polyps, which they removed.  I also had some inflammation in one area as well as a red, blotchy rash in another area.  They took multiple biopsies and I should get those results in 10-14 days.  So, it's the waiting game.  For now they have me on a high fiber diet.  Insane, I have to consume 25-35 grams of fiber a day!  It's not easy when you're not hungry.

So we'll see how it goes.

More Doctors.

Health Update:

I have been on a gluten free diet since the beginning of June this year.  It has helped tremendously and really isn't that difficult.  I've lost some weight, which is nice, but that wasn't my goal.  Since I've been on the gf diet, I've felt about 75-80% better.  I have more energy, my moods are much more positive than negative, and I can focus more.

That is until about a month or so ago.

My newest symptom includes extreme exhaustion within 10 minutes after I eat anything.  It used to be I'd feel this way after eating glutenous foods, but now it's whenever I eat.  Period.

And so the next step is going to my family doctor and finally getting referred to a GI Specialist.  Yippee...  This means, more procedures, including ultrasounds and lower endoscopy (which I am really NOT excited about).  Hopefully it means less medications though.  So far I'm on Prilosec twice a day, Carafate four times daily, and Vicodin as needed for pain.  These meds are just for my GI issues.  They do not include the 2 other prescriptions I take for allergies, or other meds I take for my back.

And so my hope and goal is to find out what exactly is wrong with me; why I am having so many GI issues, and at last, to not be on so many medications!  Oh, and most importantly: I REFUSE to settle for IBS, which is nothing but a non-diagnosis!