My stomach problem has gotten so bad this last month that I am afraid to venture from home. Honestly, I'm afraid to get out of bed. I manage to get to the medical fitness center twice a week during "good weeks".
I've tried following the Monash Low-FODMAP eating plan. To quote an expert who administers the LowFODMAP Recipes and Support Facebook page, "in the elimination phase you simply only eat animal protein, leaves, and berries". This actually made my vomiting, bloating, and nausea worse.
I've gained 25 pounds in the last 2 years so retaining calories is not a problem. Blood tests have revealed that I am not malnourished from the constant vomiting but no one can tell me what is wrong with me. I'm tired of doctors telling me that whatever is wrong with me is "not MERELY IBS". Then What is it?????
I'm scheduled for a gastric emptying studying in 10 days and a colonoscopy 2 days later, yeeepie! The purpose of the gastric emptying studying is to determine how long it takes a meal to leave my stomach. My gastroenterologist thinks that is what is causing my early morning vomiting. You see, my vomiting doesn't seem to be triggered by what I eat, but it does occur based upon when I eat. If I do not eat before 7 AM Daylight Savings time, now 6 am since we turned the clocks back this morning, when I finally do eat I throw up.
I'm not looking forward to this gastric emptying studying test. It's scheduled for 10 am so that's already 4 hours after I should be eating. The test consists of eating a scrambled egg and 2 pieces of toast laced with a radioactive isotope. After you eat, a special camera takes pictures of your stomach to follow the food through your upper GI. If you throw up, the test is terminated and you have to reschedule. They tell you not to eat before the test. I see this as a disaster in the making. Hopefully, when the facility contacts me to confirm the appointment, we can think of a compromise where I can eat a bare minimum to keep me from vomiting during the test.
The doctor won't tell me what he is looking for but, my sister-friend is a doctor. I was talking to her about my health and the upcoming test. She told me it sounds like the doctor is looking for gastroparesis. This is a malfunctioning of the Vagus nerve in the stomach. The Vagus nerve controls the movement of the stomach muscle.
I'll do some research and discuss gastroparesis in a later post. For right now, I'm going to try to eat a bite or two of something for breakfast. Let's hope it stays down.
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