Exciting times

Yes, very exciting times.  I'm still struggling with daily life with full-blown gastroparesis.  My Fitbit Flex goes off three times a day to remind me to take my GP meds.   I'm constantly evaluating whether I'm having a regular old "blah" moment in my day or if I'm getting nauseous, and if I'm nauseous how bad it is:  Do I need some anti-erp meds and it will pass or am I headed for a trip to the ER?  I've got that going on right now.

A day where I eat two actual meals is a good day.  Three meals makes for a stellar day.  When the stomach muscles aren't working properly, I get full very fast, and thankfully I'm learning that even a few bites too many can mean the difference between feeling alright and feeling like I'm going to erp.  I'm getting good at boxing up food to go or putting it back in the fridge or just tossing it out, rather than surrendering to the "you must clean your plate" mentality so many of us grew up with.  I'm eating lots of ramen noodles and drinking lots of protein shakes.  Today I'm at about a five on a scale of 1 to 10.  I had a protein shake for breakfast and I expect to have an Everything bagel with salmon cream cheese and chicken noodle soup for lunch.  Dinner could go either way, either "real food" (like a grass fed beef burrito or salisbury steak with mashed potatoes) or ramen.  At this minute, I'm thinking ramen will be all I can handle.

Keeping hydrated is a big challenge.  I saw my GI on Tuesday and spent a lot of time waiting in the little room so I studied the charts on the wall.  Quick anatomy refresher:  A few things are absorbed through your stomach and a few through your large intestine, but most is absorbed through the small intestine which is last in line.  I can drink but the fluids just don't get that far in a timely fashion and so I get easily dehydrated and stay that way longer.  I just filled my 32 ounce cup with water and got some sparkling water but I'm feeling like I'll be lucky to get through the 32 ounces today.  Oh, and an extra added bonus:  when water isn't being absorbed properly into your system, it causes -- shall we say -- some congestion issues?  GP is the gift that just keeps on giving.

I ended up not running Shamrock and I think I'm going to skip Rock 'n Roll as well.  I am doing a 10K this Sunday though.  The weather is supposed to be beautiful and the race is part of the local tulip festival so I'm heading up Saturday to tour the tulip fields and then spending the night. to race in the morning.  Kind of a mini-break for me.  I'm looking forward to having hopefully something of a normal weekend.

Cheers,
the CilleyGirl