Bowl of Air

First of all, let me preface this by thanking all of you who have been praying for me over the past few months in my quest to figure out what was making me "just not feel well." I've had a lot of people asking me for an update, so I thought I'd go public with it for all the world to see. The Dr. believes that she has it narrowed down to a few things, so here's the punch list:


1) I have stomach ulcers. That- in itself- is the biggie. I'm on new meds combined with a pretty bland diet over the next three months should allow them to heal themsleves. After going off the meds, my symptoms shouldn't return. If they do, its a different type of ulcer which requires a different battery of treatment. We'll jump off that bridge when we come to it. Funny how, since I'm lactose intolerant, I've been eating a lot of citrus and tomato based items. Basically, I was my own worst enemy.

2) I have acid reflux. This condition is not helped by the ulcers, and will improve as the medicine is in my system. It will also continue to improve as I continue to loose weight. I didn't have any burning associated with this- just a constant choking lump in my throat- which is gone now. Thank goodness.

3) These two conditions caused some anxiety- which caused heart palpitations. Apparently incredible amounts of GI pain can mimic a heart attack and produce tons of anxiety. Dr.'s say my heart is fine...just had a LOT of palpitations- not enough to require additional meds. Since being on the new GI meds, they've almost ceased. Good times.

4) Allergies. Essentially, I'm allergic to my house. There's a large amount of mold and mildew in this house since its so old and there's carpeting in the bathroom (really- WHO puts carpeting in the bathroom?!?!). We're also testing a few spots for black mold, but there's still other mold present. The boys and I are all showing signs of allergies- me through not being able to breathe and dizzy spells, A. has hearing problems due to a clogged Eustachian tube and eczema, and C. is showing sinus issues and food intolerances. Basically, the faster we get into the addition, the better. In the meantime, we're researching the best air purifiers, I'm dusting, vacuuming, and changing bed linens twice a week, and we're all on allergy meds.

5) Vitamin D deficiency. The GI issues have caused a malabsorbtion issue with a few foods. That, combined with my affinity to dairy- I now have a Vitamin D deficiency. This is rectified by additional supplements.

There's a few others in there, but these are the biggies. Thank you to everyone who has prayed for me (and the family) and helped guide us in the right direction. Thank you to Dr. Chan who believed that these really were physical symptoms and not just in my head. I really feel like I"m on the road to recovery, hopefully gaining more strength soon, and looking forward to "feeling normal" again. In the meantime, it's time for breakfast and I must pull up to a bowl of air. :)