GERD

All posts tagged GERD

Sometimes You Just Have to “Eat”!

Posted by Mildred Jane on March 20, 2013
Posted in: Diet, Gastroparesis, GERD, health, Inspiration, Life, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , . 4 Comments

fancy-food-2

There comes a time in the life that you are offered such an amazing food selection that you just have to try it.  You have to throw Gastroparesis caution to the wind and try the detectible dish that is placed in front of you.  You know that the odds are high that you will pay for it later.  You know the amount of Prilosec you are going to have to consume to keep the GERD at bay.  You know the amount of Zofran you have to take to keep from vomiting.  You know that in spite of all this that consuming the dinner placed in front of you will be completely worth it.

The conference I am attending has a legendary dinner.  Considering this is my first time at the conference I wanted to partake in it rather than bringing in my smoothie to consume while everyone else dined.  (I have been known to do this and have become immune to the stares that it gets.)  The menu contained a fish option, which I knew was going to be a really horrible decision.  (Fish doesn’t go well for me at all.)  Another option was Antelope which was quite intriguing.  Yet another option was cocoa covered steak.  Considering I had never had antelope (who has?), I had absolutely no idea what the damage would be.  I decided to go with the controlled damaged of steak.  It also had a side of potatoes that I knew I could stretch out over the course of the evening.

The dinner came and it was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!  I decided that for the next 60-90 minutes that I would be “normal”.  I was going to forget that I had Gastroparesis.  I was going to forget that I would likely end up with stomach cramping, horrible GERD, and nausea.  I was going to enjoy this dinner no matter what the consequences were.  (Sorry to everyone reading this on TPN & Feeding tubes!)  I decided that I could lessen the potential damages by consuming bites of food that were the size of a pencil eraser.  This also helped to stretch out the consumption which allowed me to “finish” at the same time as everyone else.  Even though my plate was more than half full, I was done eating at the same time and the server was more than happy to whisk my plate away with everyone else’s.  No one noticed.  No one asked questions.  No one cared.  For one night I was “normal” and enjoyed a taste of my pre-GP life.

Now I am going to try to fall asleep as fast as possible before all of the Gastroparesis symptoms kick in.  Hopefully they work themselves out before I wake up in the morning!

~Millie

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Test Driving Acupuncture

Posted by Mildred Jane on March 13, 2013
Posted in: Acupuncture, Energy, Gastroparesis, GERD, health, Inspiration. Tagged: , , , , , , . 4 Comments

acupuncture

Through the various Gastroparesis message boards, I have heard that some people have had some success with acupuncture for symptom relief.  Continuing on my adventure of trying anything to feel better, I decided to take acupuncture out for a test drive.

I have been waiting a month for this appointment and have anxiously been anticipating the results.  The acupuncturist is fr0m the center where I receive my digestive massages (aka belly rubs).  I completed all of the usual intake paperwork:  complete with adding extra spaces and writing on the backs of pages.  Four lines available for medications & supplements?  Child’s play!  Please turn the sheet over for a detailed list of medications, dosages, and times of day taken.  Two lines for medical procedures?  Hmmm….maybe I should just type up a medical resume to staple to these forms.  I’m not sure if all GPers are this way, but I get extremely detailed on my intake forms.  I view it as a time bonus.  (I even say “Time Bonus” as if a video game is playing in my head.)  The more information I give the medical provider, the faster he or she can appropriately help me.  (In theory, anyway.)

My gusto for detail was noticed!  The acupuncturist commented and stated that it was one of the most detailed forms he had ever received.  He said it was going to be a lot easier to dive right in to helping me.  SUCCESS!  Let’s get this ball rolling and stick some needles in me to get rid of this nausea and cramping.

The next step was a big disclaimer about the needles and how they were going to feel.  My response, “I just had an IV on Saturday that finally was able to use the large gauge, so these little guys are nothing.”  (On a side note, I squirm like a giant wimp with every IV I get.  I think it is because it usually takes 4 tries.)  At this point I wasn’t sure if the doctor appreciated my gusto or thought I was completely nuts.

Woohoo!!  Finally some needles going in & getting this party started.  I couldn’t feel the ones in my stomach or legs at all.  My thought is the following:  when your stomach hurts like hell the majority of the time, how on earth would you ever feel a pin sized needle?  Then came the needles in the wrist….OUCH!!  I’m not sure if he was teaching me a lesson, but those little guys hurt…at first.  However, the pain quickly went away.

The doctor was so impressed that I “handled it like a pro” that he asked if he could keep going even though it would be more than the usual amount of needles for the first time.  Time Bonus!  Already advancing and skipping ahead!  He then covered me with what looked like a blanket of tinfoil and left the room for me to relax and let the needles do their work.

I fell asleep and then woke up with the nausea gone and less cramping in the stomach.

SOLD!  I am not sure if it was all coincidental or if it really did work, but either way I will be back to the acupuncturist over the next few weeks.  I will keep writing about my pins and tinfoil to let you know if it is indeed working.

Oh….and I “borrowed” a needle to stab those pesky GP elves with whenever they decide to rear their ugly heads.

~Millie

Please Note:  Before trying any acupuncture procedure (or anything mentioned in these blog posts) please consult with a trained medical professional.  My experiences should not be substituted for the guidance of a trained medical professional.

Please Also Note:  No GP Elves were harmed during the writing of this post.

Did I Swallow Razor Blades?

Posted by Mildred Jane on February 26, 2013
Posted in: Gastroparesis, GERD, health, Inspiration, Life. Tagged: , , , , . 10 Comments

For the entire day I have felt like I have swallowed an entire box of razor blades.  It has felt like someone is dragging their fingernails ever so slowly down my entire esophagus.  Perhaps the GP Elves have decided to scrape off all of the wallpaper from the inside my esophagus and are making sure that the job lasts for the entire year.  Pick an analogy, any of them.  All of them would be an understatement to the extreme pain and discomfort caused by GERD.

You might be saying WOW, another acronym?! Yippie!  Whatever does it stand for?  GERD stands for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease.  It basically means an extreme version of Acid Reflux.  Think of the old movie “Twins” staring Arnold Schwarzenegger & Danny DeVito.  Normal acid reflux is Danny DeVito & GERD is Arnold Schwarzenegger.  GERD is the super sized, extreme version of Acid Reflux.

GERD leads to a lot of serious issues (on top of the normal adventures with Gastroparesis).  Simply stated, GERD erodes your esophagus.  Think of what happens to a hillside after a rain storm; part of the hillside is gone and will never come back.  This same concept is what happens to your esophagus after a boatload of acid has washed over it; part of the esophagus rips away and does not return.

When you begin to have enough rips, tears, or erosion of your esophagus you are labeled with yet another medical issue (and corresponding term).  So let’s add Esophagitis to the mix.  Now the fun part about Esophagitis is that you can achieve anywhere from a Grade A to a Grade D rating.  Thankfully I am holding steady at Grade A Esophagitis which is the least severe of the 4 ratings.

GERD & Esophagitis are extremely common in GPers.  The concept behind this is pretty simple and is best illustrated with the help of the photo below.  Gastroparesis means that our stomach is paralyzed and does not expand and contract like a normal muscle does.  This leads to any “food” that we consume to be laying in our stomach for extremely prolonged periods of time.  (This goes for liquids too.)  This creates a build up.  (Imagine the yellow food in the photo below rising all the way to the Esophagus.)  This creates very little space for acid production within the stomach, so that acid has nowhere to go but into the Esophagus.

gerd_stomach_image

Yes, I am on prescription medication to limit my acid production.  Even with my three doses per day, I still have a severe ripping sensation in my throat.  When this occurs, it means that I have to sleep sitting up to have gravity help pull the acid back down.  It is extremely difficult to sleep in this manner and usually results to not falling asleep.  This leads your brain to wonder which is dangerous for GPers.  (More on this in future blogs.)

So as I attempt to sleep sitting up, I start to feel those GP Elves ripping away at the wallpaper on my Esophagus.  When I feel the ripping, I worry that they are going to cause it to be downgraded for Grade A to Grade B.  I guess I’ll find out how much progress those elves have made next year in my Biennial Endoscopy.

~Millie

Please note…I am NOT a trained medical professional.  All medical terminology is based on the insane amount of medical research and knowledge that GPers are forced to understand (more on this in future blogs).  A formally trained medical professional should be sought out in regards to your specific medical situation & treatment plan.