Tummy Troubles

"I am so rumbly in my tumbly."  -Pooh

But in my case it wasn't due to hunger.  Yes, my stomach bug got worse.  Yes, I almost ended up in the hospital due to dehydration.  I've had a CT scan which came back fine and a stool sample done.  Still waiting on the results of the latter.  It seems I can only eat chicken soup, eggs and fruit or I start to feel sick again.  At least I managed to stay home.  I got my appetite back today again.  I ate a real dinner instead of soup.  It remains to be seen if it messed me up again.  I do need to make more soup since it is very healing for the guts.  I'm now seriously considering doing GAPS since I'm barely eating anything anyway.  It would hardly be a stretch for me to do intro GAPS for a week and build back up to full WAPs.

My being sick got me reading about gut health.  In my travels, I ran across this series of articles on GERD and gut health which is very very interesting and explains why I'm starting to have so much trouble with my guts of late.  I have now been on Celebrex for two years straight which is the longest I've ever been on it continuously and I've been taking hydrocortisone since the spring.  Both of which damage the lining of the stomach. Gee I wonder why I'm having so much trouble!?!  So without further ado I give you:

What Everybody Ought to Know About Heartburn and GERD
The Hidden Causes of Heartburn and GERD
More Evidence That Bacterial Overgrowth is Responsible for GERD
How Your Antacid Drug is Making You Sick (part A)
How Your Antacid Drug is Making You Sick (part B)
Get Rid of Heartburn in Three Simple Steps

While some of these articles don't apply to me since I was only on proton pump inhibitors for a very short time, the rest of the information rings true.  Some things I can vouch for:

• drinking water makes me worse (dilutes what little stomach acid I have)
• drinking lemon water or kombucha makes me feel better or at least doesn't make things worse
• eating yogurt makes me feel better
• drinking raw milk makes me feel better
• lying on my stomach will often bring stomach acid up (it forces the valve to open due to pressure and bloating)
• going almost grain free has helped
• going almost sugar free has helped
• drinking peppermint tea helps
• drinking/eating ginger helps

Now I'm wondering if I can go without my pain meds for an extended period of time so I can get my guts working properly again.  That would be wonderful!!  I love food and would really like to be able to eat again.