[Quiet Man Cometh]

Diary keeping is pretty much what I had to resort to in some cases. I'm doing it now to weed out what is giving me problem and what isn't, because I've been having bouts of illness for long enough that don't seem related to the same things.

In some cases, I've just had enough tests that other doctors have found things by accident. The CT for my oncologist found the scar tissue in my abdomen that is likely responsible for my persistent nausea. The ultrasound for my urologist found the gallstone I didn't know about which now probably explains my icky reaction to high fat foods. That will be irritating later on.

IBS according to my doc is med speak for "yup, you've got a problem with your gut." That's what I was diagnosed with until we were able to narrow it down to the specific issues. IE: scar tissue, tumour, and slow stomach motility. Those three things need three different approaches to fix.


Remedy Stuff, sort of.

So far, for the nausea I use pu'erh tea unless it's bad enough that I need pills. Also drinkable yogurt helps.

There are pills for slow motility but they don't work so well for me so I use coffee now and then, and watch my intake of certain fibers. Pork is an issue, any leafy green (except kohlrabi to a point), and cabbage. Curiously, green beans have a funny fiber structure that makes them easy to digest. I can eat those to no end and now grow my own.

The reduced fiber of course means constipation can happen. I address that with a specific type of laxative (lots of laxatives are fiber based which will backfire in my situation), or more coffee.

Speaking of coffee, my gut is bloating because it didn't like something about my tuna sandwich. I shall go make a cup.

The tumour was fixed with chemo but it's mangled my intestines a little bit, and the scar tissue can't be removed without surgery that might well create more scar tissue so I'm stuck with those problems.