I’m off coffee, which wasn’t too difficult because I only
drank a cup a day and that I nursed along all morning. More out of habit than for the caffeine kick
it would seem. I’ve switched to Dandy
Blend and like that very much. I almost
never have any citrus. I think I miss
that the most, I used to have lemon or lime in my water all the time at home,
and grapefruit and clementines every day during the winters. I use zest instead of juice in recipes to get
the flavor without the acid.
Tomatoes I do have occasionally; when I eat pasta, I usually
put a tablespoon or two of sauce on my pasta, then embellish it with some olive
oil. That seems to work well. Alcohol is trickier. I seem to be OK with beer, but not with
wine. I haven’t had a mixed drink with
liquor since before May. Oh, that’s not
true, I did have a small glass of the mint julep liquor I made and it seemed to
go ok. But my favorite cocktail was the
Sidecar: lime juice, sweet and sour mix,
brandy, orange liquor. Doubt I’ll ever
have one of those again.
I do still cook with onions and garlic, but I find I’m
cooking less because I have less time to do it in. I find we’re eating more pre-prepared meals: frozen
veggies, a burger, and another easy to prepare side. Tacos from a kit, just veggie chopping. A frozen chicken spinach lasagna. Chicken on the grill with 2 sides. Bagged salad.
Applesauce we canned last fall.
For anything more than this, planning and prep needs to go into it, and
I am the only one in the house that does that.
So, it is all on me. Another
stressor.
I’m going to the gym once a week for their BodyFlow class,
which I love. A mix of Tai Chi, yoga,
and Pilates (heavy on the yoga, though).
I can’t believe it, but I started running with Tillman a few weeks
ago. Right now it is only once a week
for about half an hour. We run until I
can’t breathe, then walk until I recover.
Rinse and repeat. I may add a 2nd
gym trip in each week, but I want to talk to the doctor first.
Ah, yes. The
doctor. I’ve decided to get a 2nd
opinion so I have an appointment this week with another GI specialist. This one is a DO, not an MD, so we will see
if he is willing to play ball with me in my decision to get off my meds. I have a LOT of questions and the thought of
going back to my other GI did not appeal.
Last time I was in there and asking questions, he did a lot of head
shaking and Tsking. It really rubbed me
the wrong way. I like him, and I like
the “get you off all meds” stance, but don’t treat me like that when I have
questions!!
I did a lot of research about the Omeprazol (Prilosec,
Nexium) that I’ve been on for 15 years.
I don’t like what I’m reading.
Besides deficiencies in B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, and others, it
also appears that if you stop taking it cold turkey you get what they call “acid
rebound.”
It is better explained here, but basically your stomach goes into overdrive
making more acid than ever before, which means your symptoms are worse than
ever before. Most people go back on the
meds immediately when this happens. It
also happens with H2 meds (Pepcid, Zantac).
So, the only thing to do is to wean yourself off or bear the
brunt of 3-6 MONTHS of intense burn. I’ve
been weaning since September. I’m now at
a half dose, 10mg 2x/day, and things seem to be going ok. I’m having a bit more heartburn than had on
40mg/day, but barely. It is manageable with
diet and that’s the whole point. It is
much much much more difficult to change your diet and lifestyle than to just say
“Oh, I can take a pill for that!” but that’s what I’m trying to do.
The new GI also does nutrition and diet counseling, and that
is half the reason I’m excited to switch.
I want to lose more weight, I want to eat better so I don’t have to take
these meds. I don’t understand why steak
one night is fine but another night causes me problems.
So, I’m excited! I
will let you know what he says.
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