Long Road

It was a long road getting here, but I feel good about the fact that I have a diagnosis for all my GI issues. Gastroparesis is a slow emptying stomach. I continue to fight my bile reflux and gastritis (and he says I do still have IBS, but it can come and go as well), but this new one is totally fitting. Once the diagnosis was finally confirmed with the emptying studies I had a few weeks ago, I actually couldn't stop smiling. Funny huh? I was so grateful to have the source of my major issues found. Plus, it is difinitive. Unlike IBS, which is diagnosed through ruling out other things, without a real test for it. Gastroparesis is seen in an actual set of scans. It totally fits. The pain and bloating after eating. The not eating cause I didn't know why it hurt so badly. Also, I never really realized how much I was dealing with pain-wise until I started making myself have a very clean diet.


Strictly clear liquids (save for my morning coffee), low fiber fruits and veggies. Stripped out many of the carbs I used to eat. No more mini wheat cereal, no fatty foods. 


My diet for the past three months....


Morning is usually 1/4c Plain Greek Yogurt/1 1/2 tsp Chia Seeds/1/4c Oatmeal/1/3c Non-fat Milk/1/4c Blueberries (made the night before, and fabulous, I CRAVE it when I wake up). Sometimes I'll poach an egg and put it on whole wheat muffin (can only do whole wheat in mornings, late day is too hard to digest) with Canadian bacon. Or just some scrambled eggs. Lunch is almost always a salad. I either make it or I LOVE the Half Size Wendy's Berry Salad with grilled Chicken. Can't do the vinaigrette though (gastritis), I have to do the low fat ranch.  Dinner I was eating, but it was ALWAYS painful afterward. ALWAYS. Whereas breakfast is usually never painful, lunch is hit or miss, depending on the day. Dinner always hurt after. So, I was doing a grilled veggie sandwich. Love eggplant with spinach and portobello's. YUM! Sometimes I'll put a thin slice of a white cheese on there. For the past 5-6 days I have had a protein shake for dinner. This gets me all my nutrients. I have felt much better cutting out dinner for a time period. This won't be for long. I am hoping to get my meds straight and get back to eating a healthy dinner each evening.


It is amazing to me that they diagnosed this with me fasting in the morning, them giving me scrambled eggs with tracer considering my morning meal is usually my most easily digested one. Can you imagine what they would find on a scan of an evening meal!?!?


I am still running, however some days it has to be a light modified run. My maintenance run is about 4 miles. That is to the Galveston Bay and back on the trails. I am slow right now due to the heat. I can only do the run either early morning or 730ish at night. Otherwise the heat kills me. My stomach ALWAYS feels better after a run. Not to mention my whole attitude is happier when I get that good 35-40 minutes of cardio in. My weight has dropped quite a bit, but I am trying hard to find healthy calories where I can without being in pain. 


As for the meds, well...hmmm. I have debated about talking about this, but most people have said is there a medicine to help you? Yes, there are a few that help with stomach motility. My GI put me on Reglan (many of you know that as the drug to help mother's milk come in). It was thought that I would tolerate it well since I took it for Blair, for milk production a couple of times. I never needed it with Skylar, as I made too much milk for her. The Reglan has not worked for me, and I experienced some not so great side affects. Luckily, my dad is walking this path with me and he is helping me through it. I am on something else now. Just like everyone else in dealing with a new diagnosis, it'll take time to figure out what works for me particularly.


I am thankful that I have some resources to tap into. For a disease I had never heard of before all this, there are surprisingly a few things for me to get help with. There are a few books I ordered on eating as a GP sufferer. There are also a couple of support groups.


This can come and go without warning. I know that better than most! Things could be SO MUCH WORSE. This is nothing compared to what others have to deal with day to day. I am going to do what I need to in order to take care of this body. I am thankful for it and will take care of it.

Some Wrap Up

Pictured are some long weekend quickies. We took the kids to the Blue Bell Ice Cream factory. For those of you in Ohio, it's the best ice cream on earth. We learned that technically, it's 3rd in the nation behind bryers and something else, however those two are distributed nationwide, blue bell is only in 20 states. So, it's the greatest as far as we are concerned. Ugh, so good. The tour was fun, then we had a short hike and picnic at the large lake close to that area. Chris and I camped there pre-kids. It was weird to be there with two kids, fun!

The next day we headed to the Battleship Texas and San Jacinto monument which is only 20 minutes from us. We wanted to give the kids some understanding of the military and what they do for us, well, as much as they can know. Again, we took a nice picnic.

Since my diagnosis I have paid close attention to my diet, even more so. I find myself not minding at all about skipping the bad stuff altogether. I FEEL so much better with a clean diet! Amazing. I'll talk more in another post about this whole thing. It's a life style changer, that is for sure. Totally manageable at this point. I can see my only big issue will be gaining enough calories to continue on my long runs. Anything past four miles requires me to find extra calories to sustain me.

Anyhow, Chris had a trip yesterday the kids and I went to a friends cookout, then called it a night. Today we took it easy, grocery and the park. I let them each have a cupcake after dinner as a treat. I am always surprised when they only take a few bites of anything sweet, then throw it out. Fine by me! Maybe because we don't really keep sweets in the house.

Anyway, happy four day week!

A diagnosis!!!

Finally! I have a diagnosis for all my issues! Gastroparesis! My gastric emptying study found I don't digest solids very well. Thankfully there is a med to take to help.

It's happening too fast

Love Him

I really adore him...

Blair Bear on Saturday morning, he is so full of  mosquito bits, poor baby!

Me and Baby Mila, she was staring at my earrings. She is such a sweet little pixie!

The kids had a GREAT time with the sitter and her daughter, we are so blessed to be able to ask one of the daycare gals to help us out sitting on weekends. Her daughter is SUCH A BEAUTY!

Kai and his better half, Amanda

Chris on his birthday present!

Skylar on Sunday. I could just eat her up. She was a little ham all day long. She was running down the sidewalk and laughing at the birds in the trees at this point.

Where to begin! Last week was a whirlwind. Work was a success and now onto the next thing! We had THE head of the Orion program here in the lab and we showed him all our work. He was very impressed and I got some photos of him watching us executing the demonstration on the console. I then proceeded to strain my ankle. At first I thought it was a real sprain because I went for a night run and came back and it was HORRIBLE PAIN. I laid in bed and it started, it was awful. But, after a couple of days of icing on and off, along with a brace, I was better and back to running. All is good now. I am pretty sure I have a high pain tolerance (nothing more than motrin post c-section) however, I am apparently a baby when it comes to strains on muscles. 


Thursday we went to Rock the Dock with our friends Nikki (a super pregnant Nikki, more on that in a minute), Travis and their son Aiden. The Kemah Boardwalk has this every Thursday in the summer. It was a great evening. Met Nikki there with Aiden at 530 for dinner at The Flying Dutchmen while the kids played on the playground (seriously, every restaurant that kids are welcome should have that feature!). Then Travis arrived, grabbed a bite to eat a couple beers and we headed to the stage where a 'classic rock' band played. Ok, seriously people. I am 34. Am I THAT OLD that the music I listened to in High School is now CLASSIC ROCK! HELLO! It was a great band. We had a blast, the kids had a total blast. Blair and Aiden were like two peas in a pod and played in the water fountains. Skylar's bedtime is 7pm, but she was a total trooper. She stayed in her stroller for about a half hour then played right around our chairs for another hour. We stayed until quarter till 9 I think. 


The next day I emailed Nikki something for her dad and right away she emails me back that her contractions are like 2-3 minutes apart and she is at home! Say WHAT! I didn't hear back from her, the rest of the message was something about Travis just getting there and he was moving a tad slow, tee hee. They DID make it to the hospital and she DID get her epidural, thank goodness! I was a little worried for her, but was not about to start texting them, as I know that would totally annoy me if I were in her place.She had baby girl Mila by I think 330 or 4pm after only 5 pushes!! Go Nikki!!! So proud of her. She was a bit worried about having a long labor since her son Aiden was a tough delivery. 


Friday night I proceeded to make the most involved Carrot Cake EVER for Chris. He went off with a friend to the Dave Matthews Band Concert and had a great time. The kids helped me with the cake and it was FABULOUS. I could only eat a small bite this weekend (stomach issues abound) but what I had was unreal and Chris LOVED IT. That night I was able to go on a 4 miler thanks to our wonderful neighbors. I handed the monitor to them, along with Blair after having put Skylar down for the night. It was a nice cool (well, 80 instead of 90 anyway) run at twilight. 


Saturday was a big day. We headed out early to get some shopping done. After giving daddy his cards and many hugs and kisses for his birthday, we went to get him his present. We went to get some things from the mall (my mom sent him a gift card to his favorite store), then headed to Baby Gap where we got a cute outfit for new Baby Mila. I swear I would wear the hat we got her it is so cute. Nikki is going to have so much fun dressing her daughter. Then, we headed to the bike shop. Chris has very much wanted to get into cycling and now has a fabulous new bike to get going with it. He did lots of research on this and he got the perfect fitting bike. 


Next up was me visiting baby Mila and boy was she sweet! I guess she slept a lot the first 24 hours, and I was there when she did her first major episode of being awake for an extended period and she was a sweetie pie! Skylar did very much the same thing and was a snoozer. Nikki looks wonderful and says she feels so much better the second time around. You end up hearing that a lot from mommy's. I am sure it is because the stress level is so much better knowing what to expect. 


That afternoon was the last soccer game and it was stressful, neither kid had a nap. Ugh, I am glad that is over for now. The coach missed THREE of the practices/games and I was a little disappointed. I didn't really feel like Blair learned a lot. He is already at a 5 level anyhow, we are discussing skipping fall soccer and getting him in on the 5s next spring instead.


That evening we had a sitter and we went out to a fancy schmancy dinner with friends. It was originally 12 of us, but we ended up with 5. Ah, the life of a pilot! Two of the couples had to pull out due to trips that got pushed, the other two had their baby! It ended up being fabulous despite missing our dear friends.We went to Cullen's and Chris had what he calls the best steak in Houston so far, which is saying a lot since Chris has eaten a MANY fancy places. I am pretty sure he could be a reviewer for the consistency of all the Ruth's Chris's across the country. Ah, again, the life of a corporate pilot! One of the many differences of being a corporate versus a airline pilot. WAY better meals. After our fancy dinner we headed to a club they have and listened to a band and watch a HILARIOUS girl doing Latin dancing to lite rock music. It was odd.


Sunday was nice, I cooked a big meal for our friends that were arriving home with Mila that day. I love to do this because I know I just want a nice home cooked meal and snuggle in bed when I got home with my two. Oh, and to be left alone for just a bit to get situated with my new little one. So, I made a salad, bread, a big Italian casserole and a Paula Dean Peach Cobbler. They were grateful to not have to worry about a meal for that evening. If you are ever wondering what to do for friends that have a new baby? A home cooked meal is the way to go! Even supply the paper goods and drinks. It really helps to take dishes and everything OFF their to do list for the day. 

Happy Mother's Day

Skylar enjoying daddy's pre-birthday cake from work.

This made my heart melt...this is exactly why everyone should have more than one. They will always be there for one another if something happens to us! Love this!!!

Last week Chris had a meeting with his clients' assistants and the chief pilot. I don't talk (nor will I) much about Chris's job any longer because he flies for very very wealthy folks and they are super private. They even privatized the tracking of their aircraft. It is a fabulous job and one we hope is a very long relationship. They like the same people around them, so that is wonderful. They seemed to like Chris the instant they met him, even discounting the other 3 individuals they had interviewed in favor of him! Anyhow, back on track. The two assistants for the clients gave him an early little birthday celebration and he came home with a cake on Thursday. The kids really enjoyed it even though they didn't eat too much of it. Come to think of it, they don't really eat much in the sugar department. A couple nibbles and they are done. 


Friday I can't even remember much, a lot of working, in the lab very early. It was a long day, but I did take off a bit early and took my main man to the theater to see The Avengers. We shared popcorn and skittles and lots of ooohhhs and ahhhhhss. I needed some Blair time, as he needed mommy time. It seems the older he gets, the more 'boy' he becomes and he desires to be doing stuff mainly with daddy. Skylar is impervious. She mostly just does whatever Mommy and Daddy are both doing. But, as she grows, she is obviously becoming a girly girl. It tickles me to death because I want her to embrace that feminine side. She LOVES walking through the doll aisle at the stores, she hugs her babies and she covers them with blankies. She is clearly a nurturing soul. 


Saturday we had a rain out of the field for soccer, so we went shopping for a couple of things for me, and for a birthday gift for a buddy of Blair's. We had missed this event on our calendar until THAT MORNING. Seriously, I need to put my personal stuff on my work calendars to remember anything anymore. Blair was all too excited to go to his friends party, so we made sure he got a nap. Lately he has been skipping naps on the weekends. Our boy is growing fast!!!


It was really fabulous to catch up with friends. We stayed for several hours, a little past Skylar's bedtime. 


Sunday I did a longish run. I did 6.4 on the trails and it felt great. I was surprised to feel at the end that I could have kept running. My guilt over being gone that long was getting to me though, so I headed back. 


I decided to run to the grocery on my own and then shop again (I didn't have much success the day before). I got a couple things and loved looking around the grocery sans kids. It is not the easiest keeping two occupied while perusing the grocery. 


After relaxing for a few hours, we headed out for a quick something at the store (again) and Blair started to fall asleep. Chris and I ended up driving through some neighborhoods while Blair snoozed and Skylar was snacking. 


Dinner was EASY. I made a jello mold (FIRST EVER) that was fab. It was strawberry, sugar free jello with chopped strawberries and bananas. Skylar and Chris liked it, Blair not so much. That kid takes like 10x of being exposed to something new to like it. Stubborn little soul. I have no idea where he gets that from...



Chris heads to LA tomorrow for a couple days. I have a HUGE thing at work to get through and then more deadlines by weeks. Should be a long one. I hope I can fit some runs in. They keep me sane. Lets face it though. I am excellent under pressure.

Tired

It has been a rat race of a week. Not only has my heart been torn away and sent up north, but I have been so busy at work. I feel like I can't get caught up anywhere in my life. 


Yesterday I had part 1 of my Gastric Emptying Study. It was boring. Chris and I got caught in traffic and then we couldn't find our way around the maze that is the Houston Medical Center. Then, the registration lady was a bit difficult to deal with, then I FINALLY got up to my study and I had to lay there for 90 minutes while the machine took photos of the eggs making their way through. Today, its liquids. Of course I have had to fast. It is not so bad for me. The only difficult thing is that my energy is pretty low, so I am not looking forward to doing the drive by myself. I'll have to take 20 minutes post test to sit at the cafe and eat something to get my energy levels back up. 


Then, I have to go back in to work and get a lot done. There is a HUGE sync point on Tuesday that I am a part of and am responsible for some objectives and I HAVE to be finished tomorrow. WEEEEE!! I love the ride that work gives me, but when it clashes with my personal so much, it makes things a bit stressful. Oh well, I'll get it all done. Always do!!!


Pray pray pray for my family. Today is James' funeral. My end of the fam is getting a large tree installed at their farm. I am excited for that. I wanted to make a contribution somehow, a lasting one...