So I know since I had the flu, I’ve kinda been MIA on the blog. My stomach/whole digestive system has been really bothering me and it’s totally screwed up evvvverythingggggg!
Disclaimer: I’m such a girly girl. I hate talking about poop and anything related to it. If you ask my family they’ll tell you how much I HATE it. Studying to be a health coach I realize I need to get over this squeamish reaction. This topic is hard for me to write about… but, if I’m going to possibly have digestive problems now, I’m going to need to get over it for that as well. Soooooo… this is my first step for trying to get over it haha!
I’ll start back at the beginning. The first week of February I attempted to add dairy back into my diet. The first time I tried dairy I tried sheep’s milk cheese. It was from a local place in Richmond, Va (I was down visiting my best friend). I won’t lie, I had some issues with digesting it, but I figured hey- my system hasn’t had it in awhile. So when I got home I tried a different kind. Well, let’s just say, 10 minutes after I ate it I thought I was going to DIE.
Heartburn. Stomach cramps. Headache. Running to the bathroom every few minutes.
You name it, I had it.
Since it was such an intense reaction, that continued for over the next week, I thought maybe I had food poisoning or something of the sort. I was nervous, since my immune system is already suppressed, that I may not be able to fight it off. My doctors and my health coach both agreed that I should wait it out and my body should eventually readjust.
Well. My digestion was never the same after that. Week after week I accumulated a new symptom and I even began to notice that my lower abdomen would be swollen at different points. I tried to pin point if it was after certain foods or during certain time periods. If I touched on certain parts of my stomach I could get liquid to move from one side of my abdomen to another with a LOUD gurgling noise. I felt like I was always waking up with bad heartburn, but once I’d go to the bathroom then it would dissipate. My elimination habits continued to get looser and looser (ugh, kill me, I can’t believe I’m writing this- gross).
By the end of March it was annoying, but not to the point of interfering with my everyday life. As April got underway, I realized that I was seeing an increase in the foods that I was eating coming out whole on the other side. Thaaaaat didn’t seem normal to me. I also started noticing that if I would move fast (say, from a laying position to a standing position) I would feel everything in my abdomen move and hear a loud gurgling noise as I felt everything moving around inside. Supppper weird feeling. I can only imagine that having a baby inside there, kicking, would be comparable.
Then, on April 11th, I feel like everything changed. I woke up with bad heartburn, as usual, but it didn’t seem to be getting any better as the day went on. I could feel liquid moving all in my intestines and I just felt discomfort all morning. Around lunch time I cut up a pear and tried to eat some. I ate a few slices and stopped (I never stop eating! haha). My stomach started making really loud noises… louder than usual. And I felt like my insides were on a ship rocking back and forth. Then came on the pain. Oh, it was horrible! When I was back in high school I used to get really bad stomach aches and this one reminded me of it. I started getting chills and just truly didn’t feel well.
That night I was supposed to go and see my cousin’s band play. I laid down hoping that if I slept the afternoon away I’d wake up feeling better. 3 hours later I woke up and didn’t feel a whole lot better. I tried to eat something, but landed curled up on the basement floor trying to convince myself that I needed to stay home. I basically started chugging Digestzen – hoping that it would help give me some relief.
Needless to say, I didn’t get too far that night. The next morning I woke up feeling 10 times better. I spent the morning working on some yoga to help massage my inners. It helped, but the following week my stomach aches and pains kept growing and growing and growing. I always had a pain in the lower left part of my abdomen, but at different times I’d have different sensations all throughout. Nighttime was especially difficult and I found it hard to sleep. I slept with my heating pad and a garbage can next to my bed. I started throwing up every night and was really starting to feel dehydrated. It was during this week that I went to see my doctor. I also ended up in the ER later in the week because I was in so much pain and really needed liquids.
So far I’ve had stool sample tests, blood tests, a sonogram and a CT scan. All of them came back negative, with the exception of the CT scan. The scan showed a large amount of fluid in both my large and small intestines – which is completely abnormal.
Yesterday I had an upper GI/small bowel follow through and haven’t received the results yet. Tomorrow I have a colonoscopy at 6:30am (yup… currently doing the prep and I couldn’t be more pleasant :P)
I’m CROSSING MY FINGERS tomorrow brings answers. I’d take knee pain over stomach pain ANY DAY. At least I can push through knee pain, stomach pain is a lot harder.
Hopefully I’ll have some news to share after my test. Anyone have any advice?? I’m looking for any and all!!!
Wishing You A Pain Free Day!
