Another GI Update

I get asked a lot how I am feeling and for an update on my GI issues so I thought I'd post here. All of the testing from last year checked out fine. My gastrin hormone level was a little elevated but nothing of concern. I also had some spots on my liver that checked out fine on a MRI; they are just collections of blood vessels that cause no harm and do not become cancerous.

I am continuing to have episodes. They are becoming more embarrassingly frequent. I decline lunch appointments now for fear of getting sick and having to excuse myself from the table if I even make it that far. I do have a nausea pill that I pop immediately and then follow that up with a shot of my belladonna "juice." This takes care of the episode withing about 15-20 minutes but damage has still been done.

I went back to my doctor this week. He is ordering a head CT scan just to check and make sure I don’t have anything going on there. He mentioned something about abdominal migraines!? I think that’s the last part of my body that they haven’t looked at! That is scheduled for Wednesday morning.

In the meantime, he is putting me back on a low-dosage medicine that was originally prescribed for depression at high dosages—Nortriptyline. They have found that, in order to work for depression, they have to prescribe this medicine in such high dosages that it puts people in a zombie-like state. They use newer generation medicines for depression now (like Cymbalta). Why it works for the gut? 15% of serotonin is produced in the brain, the remaining 85% is produced in the gut and keeps the gut in order. So taking this medicine at low dosages helps get the gut in order. Some people have to stay on this for a few months, some for a few years. I was on this for a few weeks before and it did help with nausea.

In addition, he has prescribed me Xanax for anticipatory anxiety. He does not think that my attacks are from anxiety, however, I have grown so accustomed to having attacks that I grow anxious out in public about having one that it just irritates the matter. I will take Xanax about an hour before something that may set me off. It only lasts 4—6 hours and then it’s out of my system. But I need to help my body chill out and not think that it’s going to get sick anytime I go out of the house. I’ll probably be taking it a lot at first, but then can hopefully back off as my body is tricked and hopefully the Nortriptyline reduces the nausea.

I also talked with my doctor about Splenda and we’ve decided it best to cut it completely from my diet. There are lots of people that have many issues from Splenda (all types of GI from diarrhea to nausea to vomiting as well as other issues like headaches, etc.). I urge you to research Splenda. I was under the impression that it was sugar that was refined differently and that it was nothing like the other artificial sweeteners (like Equal and Nutrasweet). Wrong! Even if this doesn't make a difference with my GI stuff, I do not want that stuff in my body.

We’ll see how the CT goes. And hopefully eliminating Splenda, fixing my gut with the low-dosage depression medicine, and tricking my body out of thinking that I am going to have an attack every time I go out with Xanax will fix me! Because honestly, the next step is just becoming a recluse. If I do get sick at home, at least I will be at home.