Well, the good news is...

[justalurkr]

...that some of what's wrong with me is not anxiety related, which means depression/anxiety is not actually ruling my life.

The bad news, of course, is that some of what's wrong with me is not anxiety related, which means it's just wrong with me and calming the f#(k down isn't going to make it go away.

The worst news in the history of bad news is that my most favoritest fruit/vegetable (tomatoes) triggers nigh-debilitating heartburn (the kind that made me think I was having a heart attack a week ago Monday ,) especially when consumed with onions in...well, pretty much every tomato-based Italian pasta sauce ever or as a tomato/cucumber/onion antipasto salad thing.

The justalurkr-is-a-dumbass news is that I found most of this out by self-diagnosing anxiety-related acid reflux, deciding I'd calmed the f#(k down, ceasing to take a proton pump inhibitor last Tuesday, having a nice tomato/cucumber/onion antipasto salad thing on Wednesday and spending a great of of Thursday thinking I was going to die eaten from the inside out by what could only be the blood of an Alien queen implanted in my guts by vengeful cats who still haven't let go of being stepped on from time to time.

Of course when you put it that way? I'm lucky to be alive.

edited to correct verb agreement and pimp the links so the pop open in other windows

Comments

[nialla]

It's still manageable! Trust me, I have lots of experience in this, so listen to Dr. Nialla. ;)

Stress does play an important role (as does age in some cases [duck], but it can hit at any age), but unfortunately, it seems to be one of those things that once you have it, it doesn't truly go away completely, and definitely not in a week.

When did you have the salad? Lunch or supper? Eating trigger foods in the evening is so very not a good idea. Some may be bad enough to trigger at lunch too. If you know you're going to eat something that's a trigger, take your meds. Controlling it may be as simple as that.

Tomatoes are a trigger for me too, and while weirdly I can't eat them raw, cook them up into a tasty sauce and I'm there. But I know not to eat too late, in fact, I try to eat earlier in the evening, because going to bed with a too-full tummy is like telling your acid reflux to go nuts. Also, no booze late in the evening, which is something my vodka drinking father does and wonders why he feels like utter дерьмо.

If you start getting hungry before bedtime, eat something bland, like a piece of bread or some crackers. I've taken to chewing a few of the "fiber gummies" that also have vitamins in it for a three-fer effect. It gives the stomach something to digest other than itself.

I take something every night as part of my routine meds and I have since I was a 20 something. Just remember not to take anything with chalk or charcoal in the ingredients if you're taking other meds at the same time. They neutralize acid, but they can also neutralize some meds, which is just asking for trouble. I used to take "charco caps", until the other meds made that a no go.

Try taking a course of omeprazole (brand name is Prilosec, but the generic is cheaper). It's designed to take a two-week course to calm down a flare-up, but according to every doctor my father and I have talked to, it's perfectly fine to take regularly, though they recommend alternating with another med every so often, to decrease the chance of building a tolerance.

Also... calm the f*ck down about having acid reflux. I hate to be blunt, but worrying about it creates even more stress which makes things worse. I finally let go of that stress when other things demanded my attention because of other stress, and I don't want you to do that too. I take a pill and move on as far as it's concerned, so that's one less stressful thing on my plate, if you'll pardon the kind-of pun.

If it keeps going for more than a few weeks, especially after a two-week round of omeprazole, go see the doctor. You might have something else that's causing the issue. Can range from h. pylori bacteria in the stomach (leading cause of ulcers) to a hernia in the stomach or esophagus that keeps it from closing off the "up elevator" into your throat. I have no physical signs, despite two effing endoscopies, but my father does have a mild hernia. Not really the sole cause, but it doesn't help.

I think you still have my cell phone number, so call me if you want to call or text to rant and/or ask questions. If you don't have it, send me a PM. Though maybe you'll use your mysterious powers at work to find the number. ;)

Insert [thankful hug] here

[justalurkr.livejournal.com]

Though maybe you'll use your mysterious powers at work to find the number. ;)

See, that would be Wrong, and a violation of the Code of Business Conduct, and possibly Grounds For Termination. No employee of All Your Phones Are Belong to Us would ever abuse the sensitive CPNI available to us in that way, swear to whichever Higher Power or Concept we both honor. In other words, if I don't still have it in my Blackberry contacts, I'll get a co-worker to look it up (most likely a temp or contractor who doesn't know better or who at least has plausible deniability.) ;) Actually, if you've still got coverage complaints, it would be totally reasonable for me to look over your information in the process of creating a trouble report. 0:) I'm pretty sure you're still in my contacts, though. The RIM software forgets less than an elephant.

I feel much better on the cooked tomato and eating raw tomato earlier in the day front, thank you. Because raw and minimally dressed vegetables have zero points in Weight Watchers, they tend to be end-of-day fillers after I've squandered points on random chocolate (which so far thank-you-Sweet-Baby-Jesus does not appear to be a trigger, but I'll be careful) snacks throughout the day. That I'll need to return to thoughtful and systematic tracking of what I eat and when I eat it is likely the best news on the weight management front and a major silver lining in this situation.

Were you aware, btw, that a customer review (http://www.amazon.com/Vitafusion-Gummies-Weight-Management-90-Count/product-reviews/B002NPCML0/ref=cm_cr_dp_synop?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending#R1N42YGLLVSDS2) of sugar-free gummy fibers on amazon.com strongly cautioned pet owners against using it because it's sweetened with xylitol, which is deadly poison to cats and dogs? I don't make a habit of dropping any pill I take mainly because the prescriptions are all most heinously expensive and the OTC stuff is dosed for an adult human, not an animal 1/10 to 1/12 their weight, but didn't know if you knew. I'd never heard of this about xylitol, so ignore this if it turns out to be snopes-worthy.