Doctor Update

Well – today went exactly as planned but I found much better deals than I thought I would! Isn’t that great? I got 3 cute pairs of dressy sandals for work for a total of $35 – summer stuff is super marked down everywhere right now. Also, Victoria’s Secret was having a great sale on their Sexy Little Things panties – 3 for $25 so I loaded up and got 6 different pairs. I laid them all out on the bed for Brian to drool over – he lik-ey! A trip to Bath and Body works for some Wallflowers and pillow spray and my goodies at Sephora rounded out the day.

I also got to talk to Lynne for about 45 minutes this morning before I left. That is literally the longest I have talked with her, one on one in well over a month. It was really nice to catch up.

So – the doctor’s appointment. I decided before I went to the doctor to type up everything that has happened this month and print it out to take with me. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get my whole story out to him verbally without him tuning out in about 20 seconds.

After answering some of his questions and discussing some other possible symptoms, he believes that I did have a stomach virus at the beginning of the month and it just has hosed up my digestive system. We talked about some things I ate right after I was sick and I did eat a lot of very fatty/sugary foods that week – he thinks that is why I got sick again. He wants to get me back on track and I told him I was very confused about what I should and shouldn’t eat. Here were his recommendations for the next 2 weeks:

1) Stay away from all fatty/sugary foods. They are very hard on the digestive system.

2) Stay away from raw fruit and veggies. Cooked is fine but raw ones cause too much work and gas for the delicate state of my stomach right now.

3) Alcohol in moderation is OK as long as it doesn’t bother me but he said it can be very irritating to the stomach for many people and if I could abstain for the 2 weeks, it might help.

4) Caffiene is fine as long as I have no more than 1-2 servings per day. 1 can of pop, 1 small cup of coffee – no giant tubes of pop like you get at 7-11 and the movie theaters, no giant Frappachinos from Starbucks. Like I drink those anyway!

Other than that, I can eat anything else I want. He said any kind of lean meat was fine, grains and dairy products. He actually told me to leave dairy off the list for the 2 weeks as well but I have had milk, cheese and yogert this past week and haven’t had any issues at all. So, he suggested picking up that Activa yogert – I guess this shit really works to help balance your digestive system, which is what he thinks I am struggling with right now.

If I have another bout of stomach cramps and “bathroom issues” in the next 2 weeks, then we will have to talk about additional tests he may need to do. Otherwise, after 2 weeks, I can start adding back the above items very slowly and see how I tolerate it.

I think we are on the right track, I could tell he was concerned I had lost so much weight (107 pounds on the scale this morning) but was pleased to hear I haven’t had any bleeding. I guess those are the main signs of Crohn’s and colitis.

So – we are in a “wait and see mode” now, I guess.

Back to work tomorrow – damn it. But, it’s Friday so hopefully the day will fly by. We have a grown up night planned with our friends, Andy and Chris – the Little One is spending the right with her grandma and our friends rarely get out on their own. Ever. So – dinner and a trip to the bookstore for all us geeks (me, Andy and Chris – definitely not Brian, as he hates to read just about everything) sounds like the perfect night to me!