Pizza for Dinner
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Feeling better!
I'm finally feeling significantly better. It took a week for the abdominal pain to go away and about 3 weeks for me to feel like I've gotten any energy back. That was last week. Don't get me wrong, I still sleep a lot on the weekend and am not up to running yet but thankfully I'm feeling better. The past few days I've also felt my brain fog lift. I've been under an increasingly heavy brain fog for at least a year now and there's nothing that could make you feel less like yourself than, you know, not being able to be yourself.
I just saw a nutritionist who gave me some helpful information but told me I was way more prepared than most people. I'm most excited about the list of vitamins and minerals and sources to get them. I'm at a greater risk for osteopenia and osteoporosis so I have to make sure I get enough vitamin D and calcium. I also need to make sure I get enough of the B vitamins since they're usually found in the whole grains most people get with whole wheat bread, etc.
I'm completely turning into a health freak. I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, rice, yogurt, cottage cheese, and nuts. I'm also able to eat meat again which rules because meat is delicious. Also, a grilled piece of meat may be my only out-of-house option other than salad, which would get old fast. Gluten is in all sorts of sauces and foods you wouldn't think of (licorice, I'm talking to you) so I may have to play it safe at times. I've also been eating my largest meal at lunch. This is mostly because I need it to get through the work day. I'm sort of like a baby in that I need to eat a little bit every 4 hours until dinner when I'm fine until morning. It makes sense when you think about it, despite being overweight for me I don't think I have energy stores really built up. Also, the extra weight I've gained that I just couldn't get off should come off easier now, so that's something to look forward to. It's not a lot of weight but it's enough for me to notice and to impact my health. (Although all that exercise wasn't for nothing, every time a nurse takes my blood pressure and heart rate they're full of positive exclamations.)
Ooh, also it should be ok for me to have any distilled liquor. Beer is still out, except for the hard-to-find gluten-free stuff (unless I brew it) but I should be able to have liquor from any source without a problem. I don't think this is 100% proven yet but if I eventually don't have to worry about it that would be great. One less thing to worry about in this whole mess. Also I think I've decided (about 90% there) to make my own kombucha. It's so expensive but it seems to be helping me and I like it. I'm still thinking about it though.
Hurray again for feeling better!
Labels: health
Sunday, May 25, 2008
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Saturday, May 24, 2008
What I'm reading
I spent the last few hours lazing around my apartment with my copy of the May-June Mental Floss and then cracking open Steven Pinker's The Stuff of Thought. Mental Floss is a trivia magazine and The Stuff of Thought looks at how language relates to meaning and the images in the speaker's head. They're both perfect examples of why I like language---English and foreign---and in a greater sense my sense of humor and amateur interest in psychology. I think details are important; nuance can completely change the tone of an exchange. (It's why most modern stand-up comedians are successful, finding a subtlety and exploiting it for an audience.) Why did someone choose a particular word over another? With so many ways to convey 'small' why aren't puny, little, wee, tiny and meager all completely interchangeable? Learning the concept of connotation was, retrospectively, a turning point for me in my understanding of why I like language and literature. It's also why you can't hand a foreigner a grammar pamphlet and a dictionary, not all words are equal out of context.
Similarly with trivia it's the details that make something memorable. A biography can include important milestones and achievements but without the color commentary the subject doesn't truly become a person in our minds. A figure instead of a character, perhaps. Trivia is something to connect to.
Plus, having a cache of trivia on hand makes the teller sound really interesting.
Labels: books, language, trivia
Thursday, May 22, 2008
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Sunday, May 11, 2008
Learned from Simpsons commentary
Apparently, the guidelines for character names note that a name can be used if it is either completely original or a name held by more than 5 people. The only time this was violated on The Simpsons was for Armin Tanzerian. Once an insurance adjuster for a writer on the show (who had an accident his first week in LA) and at the time of the episode airing a, luckily, Fox lawyer, Principal Skinner's alter ego is apparently the only person in the country with the name.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
I'm thinking that blood test will show some nutrient deficiencies
So is this guy:
I think that's impressive even for me.Other updates from my appointment yesterday---it may take a few months for me to feel better, I may also have IBS in addition to the Celiac's and acid reflux, I'm to see a nutritionist, I have a contact (another patient) in the area to talk to about label reading, grocery shopping, etc, I joined the Celiac Disease Foundation and will go to meetings in the area (ish) once they get rolling. Apparently the CDF meetings are less boo-hoo for me, I can't eat anything convenient and more practical, finding vendors that sell good food, etc. Which is nice.
I'm going to bring food in to work tomorrow to give to coworkers and get out of my house. The refridgerated stuff might be harder to get out of the house. Anyone hungry?
Labels: bruises
