stomach ulcer

10 miles felt like home.

| cheriarmour

Yesterday, Super Bowl Sunday (WOOO WHAT A HALFTIME SHOW, but that’s another post,) I’d cleaned, and was laying on the couch watching the first season of Girls…

Girls

Side note:  I’m not sure how I feel about Girls yet because there are just so, so so, many uncomfortable scenes.  Lena Dunham is naked the entire first season, there is a crack incident, and the entire incident where Jessa is kind of getting involved with the Dad she’s babysitting for completely made me so uncomfortable.  More on them later.

Okay, so finally, with a ton of episodes of Girls finished, I had a choice.  I could either take a nap, or venture out and do my 10 miles in yesterday’s beautiful weather.

To be honest, I think I was a little scared to run 10.  I hadn’t run 10 since my marathon flop in October (where I barfed 18 miles into the race), and I was really concerned that my stomach might start hurting again, and I’d begin to lose motivation for the race.  But I suited up, filled up my water bottle, and off I went.

It was a beautiful day, and this was one of the first sights I encountered in the 60-degree weather.

photo (15)It was really freaky.  Last week, we got a good bit of snow and ice, and despite the fact that most everything was melted by the time we hit 60 yesterday, there were still areas that hadn’t been touched by light, and this little stream, House Creek was frozen to this milky white color.  It was so weird, I had to stop, just a few miles in.

I suffer from gastritis, and one of my fears is that it may flare up in the same way it had in October.  But I was careful with my tummy, only eating a PowerBar fruit smoothie pouch before, and avoiding alcohol and caffeine in the hours and days before, and my stomach thanked me kindly.  But the nicest part, after I got over the initial, paralyzing fear that I might get sick mid-run again, was that 10 miles felt just like home.  Was it easy as pie, no way.  But it was almost as if my body had retained some memory of having run that distance before, and it was so much easier than the first time I ever ran 10.  It actually felt good, and I’m starting to believe and trust in my training a little more.  Next week is 15, and here’s to 15 feeling like home as well 🙂

How did your run/workout go this weekend?  

I went to the gastroenterologist.

| cheriarmour

If you’ve been following along carefully, as I’m sure you have, you’ll recall that mid-26.2, I was halted by a sudden urgency to vomit.  And 18 miles into my second marathon, I left my DNA all over someone’s lawn somewhere between Elon and Greensboro North Carolina.

I’d been experiencing some GI discomfort since I got food poisoning in September, and my GP’s explanation just wasn’t cutting it for me.  Plus, anytime I ate anything, or even looked at food the wrong way, I’d wake up in horrid pain.

So, since I had the appointment, I didn’t have work, so I dressed extra cute for the occasion.  I so rarely look good in public due to the fact that I work out, so when I do dress like a regular human being, I really take it up a notch.  Even put on the Spanx under.   I felt so cute, in fact, that I took the requisite bathroom selfie for my viewing pleasure later on.

knit
Look at the sheer volume of running shoe that is behind my head…

“Work, honey!” I said to myself.

And off to the stomach Dr. I went.

Dr. H: Tell me what’s going on!

Me:  [I describe my symptoms to him] Sir, I also threw up in the middle of a marathon.

Dr. H: A marathon?! What is that, like twenty…whatever.  That’s extreme.

Me:  Well, bye, I never usually throw up when I run so…

Dr. H:  [points at the remnants of my green breakfast smoothie] What is that?  Does that bother your stomach? I bet! [I start to kind of wiggle from buttcheek to cheek here]. Do you drink alcohol?  [I wince right over here].  How about gum…do you chew gum? [I start to fidget in my seat, and bounce my ballet-flatted foot around]. How about coffee.  You drink coffee?

Then, being the brilliant, educated young woman I am, I have to explain to Dr. H that I wore Spanx to a gastroenterology appointment, and that he’ll have to excuse me while I wrangle my body out of the giant compression sock I sewed myself into that morning in order for him to you know, examine me.  I thought we were just gonna chat!  He looked really confused.  I’m sorry, dude.  I wasn’t thinking.

His verdict?

It’s acid-related (duh), either an ulcer, or some lovely hydrocholoric acid splashing to and fro in my stomach.  So the grand list of things I’m no longer allowed to do.

  • No ibuprofen.  I told you I just finished my 2nd marathon, right?
  • No gum. ::blank stare::
  • No more smoking cigarettes.  Okay, doc, gotcha covered. No prob.  That’s the one thing I know I don’t do.
  • Citrus is bad.  So that smoothie I drink every morning?  With pulpy delicious OJ as the base?  Apparently was just tearing my stomach to shreds.
  • No coffee/caffeine.  Is this a joke?  This is a joke, right?
  • No kombucha. My will to live is dwindling.
  • No mint and chocolate.  The only candy I eat is York Peppermint Patties.
  • No Italian, tomato-y food.  
  • No alcohol.  Is beer included in that?

And the kicker?  I have to get scoped the day before Thanksgiving, to see how bad my stomach lining is.  But on the plus side, it’s a pretty simple procedure, and they’ll IV me up with the same stuff that Michael Jackson used to use to get to sleep.  Lucky for me, Dr. Conrad Murray doesn’t have his medical license, so I think I should be decent on, you know, living and stuff.

Alright guys, I’ve already done really awesome, I’m chewing a piece of Eclipse as I write this, and I just slammed a glass of ice water with lemon as a garnish.  Jesus take the wheel.

Vegan?

| cheriarmour

I’m desperately trying to figure this out.

So we all know by now, unfortunately, that I’ve been having some GI issues, issues that culminated in me vomiting mid 26.2 last weekend.  Hey, it happens.  But it makes working out difficult.

So I’ve since scheduled a gastroenterology appointment, and in the meantime, I’ve been slamming Tums and Prilosec like my life depends on it.  An ulcer is the suspected culprit of my troubles, though.

I’ve been doing a little research, and I’m trying to eat foods that are gentle on my belly – so less booze, NO caffeine, and limited amounts of dairy.  I’ve made the switch from more pescatarian, to a full-on vegetarian diet, and the combination of all those things has proven only mildly helpful.  But as I do more research, signs are pointing to a gentle, possibly vegan diet, even temporarily, until we can get this all healed up.

So I’m thinking of trying it out, at least for a month, with extra emphasis on the dairy elimination part, as the dairy is the party that really makes things unbearable.

What do you guys think? Can any vegans out there help a brotha out?

(This means no eggnog lattes 😦 )