More food diary

I've been doing really well, watching what I eat and paying attention to avoid foods that upset my stomach. Today my stomach was feeling really great, and mom brought home some Klondike bars so I thought I'd try one. The thought of it didn't really sound delicious, but I decided to eat one anyway.

A few bites into it, my stomach started to feel ishy. I didn't even finish the bar because it was so unappetizing. That's a big deal- I always finish desserts.

If I hadn't eaten one, I wouldn't feel gross right now. Just another instance of my body telling me that I shouldn't eat something- because it won't like me back.

Let that be a lesson to me.

experiment

I've decided to chronicle my new experiment on this blog.

Here's the basis: It's no secret that most ailments and diseases can be cured or prevented by a simple healthy diet and exercise. I mean, as Celiacs we especially know that.

Personally, I have problems with overactive hydrogen pumps in my stomach, resulting in a condition with symptoms similar to acid reflux. The doctors call it dyspepsia. Basically it leaves me with a constant severe sour & upset stomach which is not good if you want to have any sort of life at all. I know if you're reading this you're probably no stranger to that.

For over 5 years, I have taken two over-the-counter Prilosec OTC tablets daily. They have worked fabulously, and have literally given me my life back. The only thing is, the long-term effects and higher-than-normal dose are starting to kinda make me nervous.

My experiment: Now that I am gluten free, I have wondered just how much of my discomfort was a result of the Celiac symptoms, and not just the dyspepsia. I am going to see if I can lower, drastically reduce, or eliminate the dosage of Prilosec and manage my symptoms solely through diet and exercising.

So far, I have reduced the dose to 1 pill a day for a little over a week with few problems.
I had a particularly bad day today. I didn't eat anything out of the ordinary, but I felt like I did in my pre-Prilosec days. Even my trusty pepto bismol pills did little to settle my stomach. I wound up taking another Prilosec, and within 30 minutes I felt like a new woman.

I was going to call it quits and go back to the regular dosage, but then I decided that I can't just give up. I really am tired of taking drugs every time I don't feel well.

I did some research, and come across some home remedies and foods that will naturally raise the pH in the stomach. Here are a few:

• Fruits and veggies- they're part of a healthy diet anyway, I eat tons of fruit but I should be eating more veggies. Some fruits and veggies are more alkaline than others, like apples, brocolli, cucumbers, green beans, and celery.

• Apple cider vinegar- surprisingly I've heard a lot about this stuff. You mix it in water and drink it. I think it smells terrible. I don't know if I'll be able to choke it down on an already upset stomach, but what have I got to lose?

• Baking soda came up a lot in my research, naturally.

• Activia- I hate yogurt, but if I'm going to really be serious about this, I'll try it. I'll take suggestions on how to jazz up yogurt!
  

• I need to learn to EAT SLOWER. When I sit down to a meal, I admit I am guilty of wolfing it down. That can't be helping my digestion.

Anyway, these are just a few things I saw, and I don't know if they'll all work for me, but we'll see how it goes.

If you're reading this and you have similiar problems, let me know what you did that works!

evil lurking

You know how I'm big on listening to what your body is trying to tell you.

Well today my stomach was feeling fine- really great actually, then I ate a small bowl of mashed potatoes and gravy.

Bam, just like that, a few minutes later I got stomach pains. Was it the potatoes? The dairy? Cross contamination? I have been light on dairy for a while. I can usually do cheese without much trouble, but milk is no bueno. I have happily not touched the stuff in over a month. It's not like I ever liked it to begin with.

I have started eating my cereal dry, because I can't quite get used to the alternative "milks" in my cereal. My new favorite is the Cinnamon Chex. Tastes like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which I always liked dry better than with milk too.

Anyway, there was milk in both the potatoes and the gravy, so I betcha that's what it was.

This has been another episode of playing food detective.