bloating

All posts tagged bloating

Acupuncture has Changed My Life

Posted by Mildred Jane on April 24, 2013
Posted in: Acupuncture, bloating, Diet, Energy, Gastroparesis, GERD, health, Inspiration, Life. Tagged: , , , , , , . 2 Comments

Acupuncture1

As mentioned in previous posts, I will try almost anything in an attempt to feel better.  Hands down, the best thing I have tried is acupuncture.  (Gluten-Free is running a close second.)  I was going twice a week to start and felt the benefits almost immediately.  My reflux was lessening.  My nausea was diminishing and I was developing more energy.  I was also noticing a reduction in bloating.  I would still become severely bloated but the bloating was not as painful.

Now I am going once per week and am still noticing a benefit from the acupuncture.  I notice that I am actually hungry after a session.  Hunger is something that doesn’t happen very often for me.  I also feel more grounded and as if my head is in a better place not only for battling Gastroparesis but also for life in general.

My acupuncturist is wonderful.  He really takes the time to get to know the issues that I have in order to formulate a treatment plan for me.  He has also suggested some dietary changes that would work hand in hand with Chinese medicine and the healing process.  Oddly, almost all of these recommendations matched what my nutritionist had told me.  The acupuncturist also loves to hear feedback on how my body reacted over the week so that he can assess which treatment options are working best for me.

For anyone with Gastroparesis who would like to try acupuncture, I would say GO FOR IT!  Make sure that you do your research and find a credible acupuncturist in your area.  I would be skeptical if he/she did not ask several questions and really get to know your chief complaints or want feedback on how your body is reacting.

If you have been worried about the needles, do not!  When I get an IV, I squirm like there is no tomorrow, try to curl in the fetal position, and turn ghostly white.  However, I haven’t had an issue with the acupuncture needles at all.  They are so tiny that you will barely feel them.

I am curious if others have tried acupuncture and what their reaction is?  It seems that more and more GPers are giving it a shot.

~Millie

Uncomfortable Airplane Ride Ahead!

Posted by Mildred Jane on March 23, 2013
Posted in: bloating, Diet, Energy, expanding waist, Gastroparesis, health, i'm not pregnant, Inspiration, Life. Tagged: , , , , , , . 2 Comments

airplane

Later today I will be flying back home.  I’m not looking forward to the plane ride because I am severely bloated and feel like the woman on the left of the drawing.  Normally I feel like the woman on the right.  Needless to say, it is going to be hard to get comfortable.  I will admit that it won’t be as difficult to get comfortable as a 6’2″ body builder, but nevertheless it will be hard.

Part of the reason that it will be difficult to get comfortable is that when you have Gastroparesis and are experiencing extreme bloat it is hard to get comfortable anywhere.  Your clothes don’t fit, your constantly pulling them out from under your bloated stomach roll, and your constantly squirming in your seat to attempt to relieve as much pressure from your stomach as possible.

It also gets difficult to mentally deal with.  It is hard to see yourself increase by 2 sizes in a day by doing a basic human function:  eating.  I’m a delicate eater and have tiny meals so it isn’t like I ate everything in line at a buffet.  My grand total for yesterday was: two forkfuls of scrambled eggs, half a sandwich, some french fries, and a strawberry crepe.  That is it!  Not a lot of food by any stretch of the imagination and all of it was 100% organic.  I also walked around a city for about 4 hours, so I definitely burnt enough calories for the day.  So why the heck do I look 5 months pregnant?  I tried holding my stomach in as I walked around town, but it was getting too painful.  Then finally, I said to myself, forget it!  I’m going to walk around and let everyone think that I am pregnant.  Once I did this, I started to feel better.

Gastroparesis bloat is a vicious cycle.  There is always a low spot where you just want to lay in bed and cry.  You want to cry over having no control over your body any more.  You want to cry over needing clothes in 3 different sizes.  You want to cry over not having the body shape that you once had.  (Whether it is extreme bloating or extreme weight loss.  Several people with Gastroparesis fight long and hard to maintain a frame of 100 pounds.)  However, crying in bed will get us nowhere.  It will only cause us to miss out on the life that is out there for us.  It will only cause us to cry more over what we are missing in life.  It will only cause us to become more depressed.  It will take us down a road that is extremely difficult to climb out of.

I refuse to let Gastroparesis get the best of me.  Sometimes it does, but I try to fight it as much as I can.  I’ll just remind myself of what a Gastroparesis Sister told me about her recent trip, “Yes, I ate things I shouldn’t have.  Yes, my slacks now feel like the are sawing my body in half.  But it was worth every minute of it.  It was worth acting normal and experiencing things I would have normally experienced while traveling.”  So when I get home the first thing I’m going to do is put on my trusty yoga pants to limit the discomfort and pat myself on the back for not letting Gastroparesis slow me down on this trip and for not letting it make me depressed more than 30 minutes.

~Millie

Come One, Come All & See the Girl with the Ever Expanding & Contracting Stomach!

Posted by Mildred Jane on February 2, 2013
Posted in: bloating, expanding waist, Gastroparesis, health, i'm not pregnant, Inspiration. Tagged: , , , , . 2 Comments

One of the strangest things that happens for those of us with Gastroparesis, is how quickly our waistline expands & contracts.  It is utterly amazing & is something that should truly place us in a side show at a carnival.  For me, this morning has been a prime example of this.

My day started off with running errands to prepare for the week ahead.  I put on my jeans and they fit fine, however by then end of 2 hours of running errands they felt like a vice and I fully expected the button to shoot off across the room.  It felt like I was in a magician’s box and was being sawed in half.  In just 2 short hours, I would estimate that my waist expanded by a solid 12″ (rest assured, this is NOT an exaggeration).

bloat2

My waistline started like the photo on the right and in 2 hours time it looked like the photo on the left.  (The above photo is not me, but a stock photo from on-line.  Although it is not an exaggeration of the difference 2 hours can make in a GPers waist line.)

This phenomena happens at minimum 3 days per week.  At first I thought that it was just me, but I have had several conversations with other GPers who experience the same issue.  The most embarrassing part is when your stomach expands so far as to look 3 months pregnant & are mistaken as such.  Hey….we have the morning sickness of a pregnant woman so why not look the part!  Hmmm…maybe I could park in the expectant mother parking at IKEA and save myself a some energy with the shorter walk to/from the door.

Sometimes in the same day, it will also contract back down to “normal” size.  This requires some planning for the work-day or for going out for the day to run errands.  As a GPer, you have to be extremely particular about the clothes you purchase to look professional at work.  Your day could start looking nice in a pair of slacks and a fitted shirt.  Then out of nowhere…..heeeerrrreeee it comes….the waistline is growing….and growing….and growing.  (Jack & his beanstalk have nothing on us!)  Now you are at work, looking like you purchased your clothes 2 sizes to small and are pulling and tugging trying to adjust.

For me, the worst example of this would be the following.  I knew I was running a risk when I purchased a skirt that was already on the short side of appropriate for an office.  I wore it anyway, after all what is the worst that could happen?  Well, I should have known better than to ask that question.  My stomach started to expand and by the end of the day it was taking a significant amount of material to get over my GP pregnant looking belly.  This in turn caused the skirt to get shorter and by the end of the day the skirt was barely covering my bum.  Fortunately, I was able to hide in my desk the remainder of the day!

I have now decided to stick to mid-length dresses at work.  Slacks don’t have enough expand/contract room.  Short skirts are out for obvious reasons, so the answer is mid-length dresses that you hope don’t look too much like a maternity dress!

~Millie