A few friends of mine suffer from chronic illnesses – those nasty irritants that flare up and cause a lot of pain and lifestyle disruption. While understanding of their challenges, I’ve never related, because I have enjoyed good health.
Until now.
Since November 1, I’ve experienced a 90-day rotation of feeling poorly for two weeks, then good for one week. Body aches, chills, low energy, and a lot of gurgling and gas. Days of feeling normal…. and days wondering, perhaps, is this something life threatening?
I’ve had blood drawn twice, several virtual and in-person doctor visits, a full physical – plus, an EKG and ECG, two Covid and one antibody tests, an endoscopy, and a sonogram. Every measurement comes up fine. Yet the three-week circle continues.
Two days ago, I had the follow-up visit with my gastroenterologist. Looking me straight in the eye from behind his shield and mask, he said: “You have IBS, David. The bad news is you’re going to have days you don’t feel well. The good news is you won’t die from this.” Then he ordered one last test “to rule out everything,” so I’ll soon be having a “CT of the Adomen & pelvis with contrast” to make sure my gall bladder isn’t the culprit.
He also put me on a Low FODMAP diet to eliminate the inflammation that’s hanging out in my digestive system. Translation: all that stuff I ate without care all these years is no more. Wheat? Gone. Dairy? Out. Bananas and many other fruits? Nixed. Mexican food? Nope.
(Kudos to Kathy, who has to figure out how to feed me from the limited choices on Kroger, HEB and Whole Foods shelves.)
One of the best things to come out of this three-month journey is I developed tremendous empathy for all those who suffer debilitating health issues. Mine is just an inconvenience compared to what they deal with each day.
