Still in exile, call back later.
Well, not entirely. I did spend most of last week going straight home after work and resting some more. Got a few extra-long nights of sleep, too. Tho on Thursday I was home sick b/c of a ridiculously painful stomach upset + sleep dep late Wednesday nite.
And Friday night I actually managed to go out with an old friend for dinner and then Nerd NYC's boardgame night, which I'd forgotten about until he started steering me towards the cafe. Late in the work day, my brain basically sat up and said "If we don't go out tonight in some fashion, I will make you MISERABLE to be home alone." So... went out. I have really forgotten how to socialite, but my friend saw my whiny tweet and was available for noms.Was very fun! Got to catch up with my buddy, have good noms including a milkshake b/c I was tired of not having milkshakes (had pills, so no negative consequences, yay), and then I learned to play three new card based games with a brain that is usually made up of gf mush. Yay!
The weekend was fail again, b/c of me being stupid about what I ate (considering new stomach problems), and over-working myself on chores, so I didn't have the spoons to go to my friend's holiday party on Sunday nite. So the weekend started really good, and then ended with me feeling like a jerk and a dummy. Oh well.
There was a recurring theme of dietary and stomach stuff all week. I'd made my lunches for the week out of just chicken and vegetables, with chocolate chips for dessert, and no rice. And nothing bad happened. In fact, by the end of the work day on Wednesday I was surprisingly alert, tho unable to focus really well. On the train ride home I usually have a Ricola honey cough drop, sometimes for my throat but mostly to settle my hungry stomach for another hour if possible. And then I get home feeling all crashed out. This time I decided not to have one, and didn't crash out immediately upon getting home. Yay! And then had chips with dinner and crashed out again about an hour later. So nothing constructive happened, but I'm starting to get a handle on how carbs make me crash out.
However, eating a few probiotic candy gummies (I forget which night) right before bed revved me up again. So I need to not do that. Likewise, I'm not sure why I didn't crash out like usual after my lunches since I was still bringing chocolate to work. Why would carbs and starches knock me out but not refined sugars?
Unfortunately, I've also been feeling a lot more heartburn and acid reflux symptoms. But this is after one of my aunts at Thanksgiving told me that she used to have similarly odd sleep cycles of randomly waking up for no reason, and it turned out to be an acid reflux condition that she couldn't actually feel when it happened. So I'm not sure if I'm noticing symptoms I've had all along, or if I'm actually psyching out my stomach. And the stomach is very easy to psych out, I've noticed.
Also, my diet was a bit different last week. I picked up some sugared coconut chunks that didn't work out for their intended use, but were fine to snack on. Every night. And then I also binged on bacon almost every night of the week. That's probably why on Wednesday night I woke up with horrible lower-digestive symptoms, plus obvious acid reflux problems. And didn't sleep much because OW PAIN OW. So was home sick in Thursday.
I've noticed that bacon really fills me up, I'll have it for breakfast at 10 or 11am and not feel hungry again until 5pm. Now I'm wondering if its not actually filling me up, but making my stomach so acidic that I *can't* feel hungry. And that's been going on since before my Thanksgiving brainstorm. More questions for the GI, but at least I'm already seeing her this Tuesday.
I looked at dietary hacks for acid reflux, and decided that if that's a new problem for me then I should just give up all food forever. B/c that would be a lot easier. Ugh, no more pls.
Low oxalate is going ... OK? I've pretty much just given up nuts, aside from just almond butter, b/c its easier on my brain. I found some Low Oxalate Diet (LOD) groups online, but their food measurement charts are really confusing. Also, while some frequent users are in the same boat as me with chronic illness or digestive issues, there's also a sizeable and loud faction of ppl trying to cure their child's autism with LOD. And ... that group kinda creeps me out, b/c people on that quest sometimes also go staunchly anti-vac. Not the most scientifically literate of demographics.
At least one person read my account and said my immediate, intolerance-like reaction to some super high oxalate foods might be my body going into oxalate-toxicity super fast. Which is better than "Wow that's weird. I have no idea." but ... I don't think this person has a medical degree either. Its really hard figuring out the science when nobody's done a study yet.
I think I'm going to stick with it tho, and see what happens. Which means next on the cut list will be chocolate, b/c I really can't go halfsies on it. I've tried and failed to just cut back, and its really got to be all or nothing. Ima eat thru my current stash for the rest of the month, and then afterwards that's it. *Maybe* I'll still do hot chocolate on the weekends, but b/c that requires cooking and cleaning up it may be enough to keep me off it. I've already wanted to quit chocolate for over a year (mostly b/c of the sugar) and iz just time to let go already.
I've now read many accounts of the 'dumping' reaction to LOD. The idea (I think? Non medical opine here :-P) is that the oxalate levels of my tissues will notice the incoming supply has decreased, and b/c of homeostasis the tissues will start flushing it out. My body will violently 'dump' all the oxalates. Supposedly. Leading to aches and pains, headaches, brainfog, fatigue, and skin & tummy troubles. So... more of what I'm used to. I've noticed a few more aches and pains and muscle spasms lately, but nothing unmanageable. Then again, said bloggers recommend going very slowly to avoid a more dramatic detox, so maybe I'll beat the curve?
I did find some accounts of ppl with rashes similar to the one I had in November, after trying to eat sweet potato chips without exploding, as an ox dumping system. But mine didn't seem to go away until after I started the steroids, after the UC doc said it was a viral rash. *shrugs* Tho it would have been nice not to go on the steroids. I've had individual little bumps like the ones I had en-mass that week, since turkey week, but the UC doc also said a condition like that could last for weeks. *more shrugs*
My GI didn't call back about the celiac test, so I don't know if that means it was negative, or the results haven't come back yet, or if her office is just super disorganized. I really hope I don't have to go thru the testing process again, b/c NO never again. Ima write up a list of questions for my appointment Tuesday afternoon so I don't forget or get lost in a brain fog. Tho I guess the new (?) symptoms might require a new (different) procedure, hopefully not as hardcore as the other one. Eeek.
I also really need to see a dentist soon. Will try to remember to look it up while on break, but probably won't be able to line up an appointment that quickly. Will see.
Tomorrow's appointment is in Union Square at 3:30, so Ima do the last of my holiday shopping around there, too. And maybe, finally, pick me up some snow boots. With luck I won't need them tomorrow :-P Then Ima meet up with a friend after she gets off work, for Burgers & BPAL (well, technically BPTP, but close enough).
And my giant BPAL order finally shipped today, so I hope the postal gods will be favorable. Cuz our mail room will close 3pm-ish on Friday, and not open again until Jan 2nd, and I won't be back until Jan 5th. But four days seems to be the average. Been stalking the forums to see how far along they are in shipping people's stuff, and it looks like they just hit a huge bottleneck. And I only ordered on 11/30, supposedly the by-Xmas cutoff date was 12/12, I don't know how they're actually going to pull that off. Maybe Xmas miracle?
And their lower bar for free s/h is going back waay up next month, so I won't have temptations like this again. I hopes. And next year I'll stick to the original plan and order my Yules *after* Xmas like a sane person. Now at least I can stop whining about it until Friday, followed by a bout of sad whining if they don't show up, and then a sad acceptance that I won't see my order for another two weeks. I'm really embarrassed about my reaction to all of this actually. Its the holidays, so its about *giving* this season, and this is a small bizness doing the best they can. But I'm all AARGH WHERE'S MY STUFF??? *sigh* From now on, I resolve to chill the f@#$ out.
Was going to work a grocery shopping list out with the 'rents, so they could pick stuff up and I could cook Cris-friendly noms in their kitchen while I'm there for the holiday, but ... most of my fun baking recipes are almond based. So I need to email them saying that won't work out. They're pretty good at getting me shelf-ready noms tho, and I can still has chocolate (and fruits, & veggies), I certainly won't starve. Now I'm working on a list of LOD recipes I want to try out over winter break, but I hope I don't spend my whole vacation cooking. Or sick, for that matter. Sleeping all vacation would be acceptable, if not preferable.
Ugh, everyone in the library is coughing and its getting on my nerves. And I don't want to get sick right before my vacation. Ugh I hates it. Haaaaate it. And everybody is crazy studying for finals tonight, so I don't see how they're allowing the coughers to live.
Otherwise, no plans for the week. I supposed if I have another sudden ARGHNEED to go out I can actually call on ppl directly to see what's going on, and there's always improv theaters in a pinch. But my energy levels have been really random for the last few weeks, and my tummy is always unpredictable. So Ima just chill out, and hope these spoiled students don't all get me sick before I leave on Friday. I'm also out of stick days, so hopefully my tummy doesn't make me sick either. Only respiratory stuff is covered by my overly complicated FMLA claim.
I'm a bit sniffly today, but furiously fighting the could-be illness. Grrr. And its not like I haven't already been sniffly for weeks. Aside from that the outside-weathery-cold doesn't seem to be messing me up so far. Its still in refreshing-mode for me.
<3 Chrysilla
Crossposted from Dreamwidth, http://chrysilla.dreamwidth.org/
And Friday night I actually managed to go out with an old friend for dinner and then Nerd NYC's boardgame night, which I'd forgotten about until he started steering me towards the cafe. Late in the work day, my brain basically sat up and said "If we don't go out tonight in some fashion, I will make you MISERABLE to be home alone." So... went out. I have really forgotten how to socialite, but my friend saw my whiny tweet and was available for noms.Was very fun! Got to catch up with my buddy, have good noms including a milkshake b/c I was tired of not having milkshakes (had pills, so no negative consequences, yay), and then I learned to play three new card based games with a brain that is usually made up of gf mush. Yay!
The weekend was fail again, b/c of me being stupid about what I ate (considering new stomach problems), and over-working myself on chores, so I didn't have the spoons to go to my friend's holiday party on Sunday nite. So the weekend started really good, and then ended with me feeling like a jerk and a dummy. Oh well.
There was a recurring theme of dietary and stomach stuff all week. I'd made my lunches for the week out of just chicken and vegetables, with chocolate chips for dessert, and no rice. And nothing bad happened. In fact, by the end of the work day on Wednesday I was surprisingly alert, tho unable to focus really well. On the train ride home I usually have a Ricola honey cough drop, sometimes for my throat but mostly to settle my hungry stomach for another hour if possible. And then I get home feeling all crashed out. This time I decided not to have one, and didn't crash out immediately upon getting home. Yay! And then had chips with dinner and crashed out again about an hour later. So nothing constructive happened, but I'm starting to get a handle on how carbs make me crash out.
However, eating a few probiotic candy gummies (I forget which night) right before bed revved me up again. So I need to not do that. Likewise, I'm not sure why I didn't crash out like usual after my lunches since I was still bringing chocolate to work. Why would carbs and starches knock me out but not refined sugars?
Unfortunately, I've also been feeling a lot more heartburn and acid reflux symptoms. But this is after one of my aunts at Thanksgiving told me that she used to have similarly odd sleep cycles of randomly waking up for no reason, and it turned out to be an acid reflux condition that she couldn't actually feel when it happened. So I'm not sure if I'm noticing symptoms I've had all along, or if I'm actually psyching out my stomach. And the stomach is very easy to psych out, I've noticed.
Also, my diet was a bit different last week. I picked up some sugared coconut chunks that didn't work out for their intended use, but were fine to snack on. Every night. And then I also binged on bacon almost every night of the week. That's probably why on Wednesday night I woke up with horrible lower-digestive symptoms, plus obvious acid reflux problems. And didn't sleep much because OW PAIN OW. So was home sick in Thursday.
I've noticed that bacon really fills me up, I'll have it for breakfast at 10 or 11am and not feel hungry again until 5pm. Now I'm wondering if its not actually filling me up, but making my stomach so acidic that I *can't* feel hungry. And that's been going on since before my Thanksgiving brainstorm. More questions for the GI, but at least I'm already seeing her this Tuesday.
I looked at dietary hacks for acid reflux, and decided that if that's a new problem for me then I should just give up all food forever. B/c that would be a lot easier. Ugh, no more pls.
Low oxalate is going ... OK? I've pretty much just given up nuts, aside from just almond butter, b/c its easier on my brain. I found some Low Oxalate Diet (LOD) groups online, but their food measurement charts are really confusing. Also, while some frequent users are in the same boat as me with chronic illness or digestive issues, there's also a sizeable and loud faction of ppl trying to cure their child's autism with LOD. And ... that group kinda creeps me out, b/c people on that quest sometimes also go staunchly anti-vac. Not the most scientifically literate of demographics.
At least one person read my account and said my immediate, intolerance-like reaction to some super high oxalate foods might be my body going into oxalate-toxicity super fast. Which is better than "Wow that's weird. I have no idea." but ... I don't think this person has a medical degree either. Its really hard figuring out the science when nobody's done a study yet.
I think I'm going to stick with it tho, and see what happens. Which means next on the cut list will be chocolate, b/c I really can't go halfsies on it. I've tried and failed to just cut back, and its really got to be all or nothing. Ima eat thru my current stash for the rest of the month, and then afterwards that's it. *Maybe* I'll still do hot chocolate on the weekends, but b/c that requires cooking and cleaning up it may be enough to keep me off it. I've already wanted to quit chocolate for over a year (mostly b/c of the sugar) and iz just time to let go already.
I've now read many accounts of the 'dumping' reaction to LOD. The idea (I think? Non medical opine here :-P) is that the oxalate levels of my tissues will notice the incoming supply has decreased, and b/c of homeostasis the tissues will start flushing it out. My body will violently 'dump' all the oxalates. Supposedly. Leading to aches and pains, headaches, brainfog, fatigue, and skin & tummy troubles. So... more of what I'm used to. I've noticed a few more aches and pains and muscle spasms lately, but nothing unmanageable. Then again, said bloggers recommend going very slowly to avoid a more dramatic detox, so maybe I'll beat the curve?
I did find some accounts of ppl with rashes similar to the one I had in November, after trying to eat sweet potato chips without exploding, as an ox dumping system. But mine didn't seem to go away until after I started the steroids, after the UC doc said it was a viral rash. *shrugs* Tho it would have been nice not to go on the steroids. I've had individual little bumps like the ones I had en-mass that week, since turkey week, but the UC doc also said a condition like that could last for weeks. *more shrugs*
My GI didn't call back about the celiac test, so I don't know if that means it was negative, or the results haven't come back yet, or if her office is just super disorganized. I really hope I don't have to go thru the testing process again, b/c NO never again. Ima write up a list of questions for my appointment Tuesday afternoon so I don't forget or get lost in a brain fog. Tho I guess the new (?) symptoms might require a new (different) procedure, hopefully not as hardcore as the other one. Eeek.
I also really need to see a dentist soon. Will try to remember to look it up while on break, but probably won't be able to line up an appointment that quickly. Will see.
Tomorrow's appointment is in Union Square at 3:30, so Ima do the last of my holiday shopping around there, too. And maybe, finally, pick me up some snow boots. With luck I won't need them tomorrow :-P Then Ima meet up with a friend after she gets off work, for Burgers & BPAL (well, technically BPTP, but close enough).
And my giant BPAL order finally shipped today, so I hope the postal gods will be favorable. Cuz our mail room will close 3pm-ish on Friday, and not open again until Jan 2nd, and I won't be back until Jan 5th. But four days seems to be the average. Been stalking the forums to see how far along they are in shipping people's stuff, and it looks like they just hit a huge bottleneck. And I only ordered on 11/30, supposedly the by-Xmas cutoff date was 12/12, I don't know how they're actually going to pull that off. Maybe Xmas miracle?
And their lower bar for free s/h is going back waay up next month, so I won't have temptations like this again. I hopes. And next year I'll stick to the original plan and order my Yules *after* Xmas like a sane person. Now at least I can stop whining about it until Friday, followed by a bout of sad whining if they don't show up, and then a sad acceptance that I won't see my order for another two weeks. I'm really embarrassed about my reaction to all of this actually. Its the holidays, so its about *giving* this season, and this is a small bizness doing the best they can. But I'm all AARGH WHERE'S MY STUFF??? *sigh* From now on, I resolve to chill the f@#$ out.
Was going to work a grocery shopping list out with the 'rents, so they could pick stuff up and I could cook Cris-friendly noms in their kitchen while I'm there for the holiday, but ... most of my fun baking recipes are almond based. So I need to email them saying that won't work out. They're pretty good at getting me shelf-ready noms tho, and I can still has chocolate (and fruits, & veggies), I certainly won't starve. Now I'm working on a list of LOD recipes I want to try out over winter break, but I hope I don't spend my whole vacation cooking. Or sick, for that matter. Sleeping all vacation would be acceptable, if not preferable.
Ugh, everyone in the library is coughing and its getting on my nerves. And I don't want to get sick right before my vacation. Ugh I hates it. Haaaaate it. And everybody is crazy studying for finals tonight, so I don't see how they're allowing the coughers to live.
Otherwise, no plans for the week. I supposed if I have another sudden ARGHNEED to go out I can actually call on ppl directly to see what's going on, and there's always improv theaters in a pinch. But my energy levels have been really random for the last few weeks, and my tummy is always unpredictable. So Ima just chill out, and hope these spoiled students don't all get me sick before I leave on Friday. I'm also out of stick days, so hopefully my tummy doesn't make me sick either. Only respiratory stuff is covered by my overly complicated FMLA claim.
I'm a bit sniffly today, but furiously fighting the could-be illness. Grrr. And its not like I haven't already been sniffly for weeks. Aside from that the outside-weathery-cold doesn't seem to be messing me up so far. Its still in refreshing-mode for me.
<3 Chrysilla
Crossposted from Dreamwidth, http://chrysilla.dreamwidth.org/