Pizza for Dinner
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
You are my fire
On my drive up to TC I found a fabulous/horrible radio station. The 7p DJ seemed to play only schmoopy dedications with strong religious overtones. One woman called in to play a dedication for her husband, whom she has been with for 8 years, and was currently overseas in the military. After a touching if diabetic tribute to him she dedicated the song I Want it That Way by The Backstreet Boys. Number 1, I'm old enough now that married couples have The Backstreet Boys as their song? And two, um, the lyrics seem to think it's a break-up song.
This gave me a fabulous idea, though. Wouldn't it be fun to dedicate songs to your loved ones that were wholly inappropriate or just plain awful? Hilarious. Too bad for me and my friends that NPR doesn't do dedications.
Labels: bad radio, great ideas
boo
I found out a few hours ago that I have celiac's disease. That means no wheat, barley or rye. No shredded cheese or some lunch meats. Nothing cooked in a toaster or deep fryer that previously had something with gluten in it without being cleaned. Etc. It's completely zero tolerance and lame. Thank you to everyone for thinking of me as I've felt so horrible. I should be feeling better very soon.
Labels: health
Thursday, April 24, 2008
good days
Today the endoscopy went well, they gave me less anesthetic so I was out for only about half an hour. I'm annoyed I can't seem to get my tongue ring back in myself though. I'll get some help with that tomorrow. It went in after last time and I've had it for 2 years so I don't think there'll be a problem. Lame though. I have a follow up on May 5 to get the biopsy results. I shouldn't try to be gluten free until then since it's a major diet change, the doctor told me. But I can avoid it if I need to, unlike the past week when avoiding gluten could give a false negative on this test. Ugh, I'm ready for a diagnosis.
Yesterday was a good day at work. My monthly informal science talk time for our group (Pharmacogenomics Kaffee Klatsch) is going over well with my colleagues and bosses, so that's good. I've had some good feedback from my boss that he's heard from other people in the department and outside the company so I feel really good about that. It's always nice when your work is appreciated.
Monday, April 21, 2008
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Monday, April 14, 2008
Hurray for dairy!
I went completely dairy free (no chocolate, no baked goods with dairy, no cheese-flavored chips or crackers) for five days and tried it again today. No appreciable difference in my symptoms, huzzah! In that time I was also mostly egg free (some eggs in baked goods) and had meat three times (beef broth, sushi and shrimp angel hair pasta). I suspected the meat was my problem and tried to stay meat free but thought that I needed a control in this experiment and more options in my diet. The meat did upset my GI tract quite a bit. Adding dairy back in, not so much. I'm going to try eggs straight (fried egg sandwich or something) in a few days then meat again a few days after that. I think that the protonix for the acid reflux is helping as well, which is awesome. I also haven't heard about my blood test results so I'm betting I don't have Celiac's or Crohn's (I'll have to call tomorrow) so that leaves IBS I think. It's going to be a bummer if I can't have fried food or meat that much and that I'll have to take another drug after eating them but after this mostly vegan experience I'll take it. I'd rather be mostly vegetarian than lactose-intolerant. Milk is everywhere: crackers, cookies, cakes, mashed potatoes, chocolate, all sorts of sauces, lobster risotto (evidently) etc. This area has some good cuisine and it was impossible to eat vegan. I could do vegetarian or dairy-free but not both.
Anywho, it's nice to have an unofficial diagnosis.
Labels: health
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
OK but not great
Health update! My gall bladder is fine, I found out today. I'm actually a little annoyed because it means a lack of diagnosis and continuing pain. My gastroenterologist gave me a Rx for the reflux which has helped some so far and should help more as I take it a little longer. He also gave me a Rx for something when the pain is worst and took some blood to check for Celiac's and Crohn's. I'm also supposed to be dairy free for 4-5 days to see if that is the problem. Sidebar: Can you imagine me without cheese? The horror.
So I sort of feel like I'm back at square one with all the frustrations that brings. On top of that I've gained a little weight back, despite eating very little. It could be all the sleeping I've been doing (which if you're wondering why you haven't heard from me much lately is the explanation). Also I've started sleeping in two shifts which, fun fact, I found out people used to do before electricity. They'd go to sleep after sundown for a few hours, wake up for a while in the middle of the night, and then sleep more until sunup. Which is why I write to you now, internet, despite working 8a-5p every day.
Also I have a chest cold. Third time's the charm this winter! Although it's spring now so hopefully this is my last cold until next winter.
Despite all this (the frustration with not eating anything comfortably and not doing much beyond work because I'm tired when I get home; and the usual charming family issues) I'm actually feeling pretty good. So that's a good thing.
Before I try to get more sleep, the doctor did tell me what each of the photos was from my endoscopy, so that's awesome. If I sent it to you the two on the left are my stomach (with a view of the camera in the bottom one), the upper right is my small intestine and the lower right is the esophagus with some signs of reflux. Awesomeness! (The photos not the reflux.)
Labels: health
