I decided to keep a record of my progress on my probiotics diet.

First, a little background: I developed IBS about 2 years ago. At the time, it seemed to arrive out of nowhere. I saw a G.I., who very helpfully told me that it happens to a lot of women around my age, there's no cure and it may go away one day as quickly as it arrived. OR it may never go away. Regardless, I can take some over-the-counter meds and I should be fine.

I bought these meds. They helped a little. I sought some more natural remedies. They worked better. Regardless, I still HAD to take these meds, in conjunction, every day or I would not be able to go normally. Even WITH the meds, I would still have alternating bouts of diarrhea and constipation. They always seemed to come at inopportune times, though I don't know when an opportune time to have these problems is.

I was concerned about having to take meds every day and wondered what they were doing to my system. I called the G.I. He said it was fine. Nothing to worry about. I asked my OBGYN. She also said it was “probably” nothing to worry about.

Flash forward two years later, I am still having these issues, still taking the meds every day, and the pain when I have problems has gotten worse. I have also seen some blood. I was getting ready to go on a whirlwind tour of Seattle G.I.s and, possibly even a naturopath when Brugos' friend Joey saw me taking my meds and asked me about them.

She told me she had the same problem several years ago. She developed this problem after a year of having taken antibiotics. For me, this triggered a memory. I had an unusual number of UTIs the year before developing IBS and had taken a lot of antibiotics for them.

She went on a treatment of probiotics (the opposite of ANTI! HA!) and had eliminated sugar and yeast for a month. This had re-developed the bacteria necessary for normal digestion into her body and she hasn't had a problem since.

I jumped all over the prospect of being rid of this issue. No sugar or yeast will be a nightmare for me, especially since I don't eat meat, but I am willing to try anything once if it means having a normal digestive system once again.

So here I am, Day One. I haven't had any sugar or yeast in almost 24 hours now. I am feeling a bit light-headed and kind of hungry. I am going to the store after work to stock up on beans, potatoes, low-sugar fruits and nuts. I may lose some weight over the course of this month. Especially since I can't drink wine, beer or cocktails either.

It's about to get weird. But, hopefully, it's for the best.

January 22, 2007
Categories: Dear Diary . Tags: health . Author: Baxter . Comments: Leave a comment

My miracle cure whenever I've felt a cold coming on has long been to shoot some Nyquil and retire to bed early. Apparently, this backfires if you have any sort of anxiety on your mind. Last night was such a night for me. In retrospect, it may still have worked if I'd taken more than the recommended dosage. But, as I only took the suggested amount, the anxiety (and the equally restless cat in the bedroom) fought off the Nyquil coma. When I finally did fall asleep, I had an astoundingly realistic nightmare. So realistic, in fact, that when I woke up (crying), it took me several minutes to realize that it had been only a dream. This was a far cry from the pleasantly bizarre fever dreams Nyquil usually induces. It was difficult to get back to sleep after that.

The good news is that, lack of sleep aside, I did seem to stave off the impending cold. The bad news is that I otherwise feel and look like hell. I contemplated staying home from work, but, as I've only been working here 3 months and have already called in sick twice (albeit for legitimate reasons), I decided against it. Sitting here at my desk, a ghostly version of myself (in appearance and demeanor), I am beginning to regret that decision. I only hope I can pull it together to see Andrew for his One-Night Only appearance.

December 22, 2006
Categories: Dear Diary . Tags: health . Author: Baxter . Comments: Leave a comment

STOMACH-GATE ’05 UPDATE

Once again, my insides baffled the doctors. They took a whole bunch of unpleasant tests and left me with only theories as to what the problem could be. I am supposed to hear the results of the tests today. Her theories included appendicitis, ectopic pregnancy, some dealy where your ovaries get caught on a ligament and then twist and twist back, causing a bruise, and a complication with IBS. With the snagged ovaries, she said she has no way of knowing if this happened once the ovaries twist back, but if that’s what happened, the only thing I can do is wait and heal. She did say that she didn’t think it was anything immediately life-threatening, because, if it were, I would probably have a fever and be throwing up.

The doc put me on a liquid and soft food diet for the next 24-48 hours (depending on how I’m feeling). This is a bummer because you can’t put a birthday candle in a bowl of broth. At least the real party isn’t until Saturday. However, on account of my health) or lack-there-of, perhaps I will do a bit less of the tying on than in past years.

Later today, I will hear the results of the tests. Her leading theory is that it’s something related to my IBS. Ah, lovely. My attractiveness points are skyrocketing. Come and get ‘em, boys.

Today, I definitely feel better but my guts just feel sore. Which is a weird feeling. At least my appetite is pretty low. Otherwise I doubt I would be OK with just feeding myself hearty cups of tea and snack packs.

TOMORROW: OASIS with the illustrious Ryan!

September 8, 2005
Categories: Dear Diary . Tags: health . Author: Baxter . Comments: Leave a comment