…and I’m wide awake in my office.
It’s beautifully silent without any street traffic and one car going by every 5 minutes or so. It’s a Snapchat-worthy moment, but I don’t have my phone with me. Pity.
I’m going on Day 5 of struggling with digestion issues.
I finally food journalled last night and pin-pointed it to potentially be the fries, the garlic mayo, the Soho 7-Ups, and the tequila from Friday night. Along with not being more gentle with myself and my meals on Saturday, this likely triggered the next few days’ worth of bloating and heartburn/acid reflux symptoms. Luckily it hasn’t worsened to the point where I’ve been in the bathroom late at night, although today’s early blog is a first.
I got up at 2am and sat upright which I’ve done many a night. Instead of rushing to get a mug of hot water and lemon and reheat my heat pack, I decided to just sit and listen and say what’s up to my guides for a bit. It became clear to me that the essential oil, the bottle of kombucha, and the heat pack I’ve been using to combat the symptoms just aren’t strong enough. So what do you do when you need more solutions to a problem? You Google.
The strange thing about yesterday’s pain and the pain early this morning is that it was slightly to the left of centre, which is unusual. So I started Googling and came across all of these posts on pancreatitis. Since I don’t have the full range of symptoms, it likely isn’t that, but what I have now could eventually become that if I didn’t do anything about it, or so that’s my theory.
What I’ve had for the past 5, going on 6 years is still likely a more aggressive form of heartburn and acid reflux, so I decided to focus on that and relieving those symptoms. So I came across a few more solutions I haven’t yet tried:
- Avoiding fatty (junk) and spicy foods to begin with
- Not eating 3 hours before bed (about 8-9pm for me, even earlier than my already set 10pm New Year’s resolution)
- Baking soda in water (funny, that I’ve been using lemon juice in water)
- Avoiding peppermint (and I read somewhere peppermint tea was a relief for symptoms — the lies!)
- Licorice (sugar-free)
- Chewing gum (sugar-free)
Since I was up and wanted to try out the baking soda and water theory (it’s disgusting, by the way), I decided to do a blog because there’s always a lesson in suffering. A rainbow after the rain. Better times after rough patches. Right? And what would we do without Google?
I’m not saying Google is a suitable replacement for a doctor.
But I’ve done as many tests and solution suggestions that my regular doctor had, plus a few from a naturopathic doctor, including a food sensitivity test that has proven to be useful. Unless I’m out of solutions, I don’t feel I need to go back to re-explore and spend more money that won’t guarantee a solution.
It’s 3:59am and the pain is slowly receding.
I’m burping, and listening to the quiet sounds of the house and the typing of my fingers on the keyboard. I’m not quite sure if I’m ready to attempt going back to bed, but I at least feel better and now I have a few more tools in my belt for dealing with this. Some of you are probably up by now and getting ready for your day. So good morning!
There are gifts to be found everywhere and in every situation, at least that is what I’d like to believe.
