ving some serious stomach pain- enough to double me over and bring me to tears. And the migraines!!!!! I went from one every month or two to 7 in one month! (I used to get them once ever 2-4 weeks until I gave up diet soda.)After 3 weeks of this, I went to the doctor. He thought it was my stomach, maybe an ulcer. So he ordered an x-ray of my stomach and an ultrasound of the gallbladder and other such innards. After the ultrasound I went to the x-ray room. X-ray Dude said, "No, she has been ordered back to ultrasound", so back I went. Ultrasound Dude (ok, he's a doctor and may not appreciate me calling him that, so how about U.D. instead?)
So U.D. says, "We see something and we need to take a closer look." So the tech wiggles around and U.D. watches. Then U.D. says, "There is a 'good sized' mass on your liver. I don't think it is cancer, but it's in a bad place. You need to have a cat scan so we can see it better." It was a good thing I was lying down when he said this, or I'm sure I would have fallen down! The "C-Word" freaked me out.
I waited about 20 minutes while they call my GP, and then I'm in getting the cat-scan. Oh yea... and they wanted a REALLY good pic, so I got to drink yucky-creamy-orange-gatorade-tasting-stuff AND get dye shot in my arm. Then I got to wait for the results.
Results were that they wanted an MRI next! Had that a few days later.
A few days after that, I get the call from doctor to come in for the results. No... he didn't want to share them over the phone.
If my stomach didn't hurt already, it would have by then.
(By this time, I've lost about 15 pounds. I had thinking about changing my diet to no processed food and mostly veggie for awhile, and had been doing some research for the last 5-6 months. Now I'm pretty convinced this is the way to go. And it's easier now that I have absolutely NO appetite.)
I have several cavernous hemangiomas on my liver. What was freaking them out was that the largest one (though still only about 1" x 1") was up against the inferior vena cava. Thank GOD it was on the outside. They were concerned that it may on the inside. That would have been bad. The fatal kind of bad.
Oh yea. And it was NOT cancer.
The docs didn't think this was causing my pain, so I was sent to a GI doc and get a tube & camera stuck down my throat and into my stomach. Yea... fun.
He tells me my stomach looks fine, and sends me off to a hepatologist. He's a big time doc at the Cleveland Clinic, but I get an appointment in 3 days. He decides that the hemangioma is not putting enough pressure on the vena cava to cause problems (only about 10% blockage), my gall bladder looks fine, and he doesn't know what was causing these symptoms.
In the mean time, I've lost 25 pounds, I'm eating almost no animal products or processed foods, and I'm feeling pretty darned good.
Of course, all the docs agree that it's not my diet.
uh huh. right.
What I DO know is that I feel MUCH better, the headaches are about gone, and I'm even getting used to this new way of cooking and eating. My family is pretty open about trying new foods and they've been a huge support The kids RAVED about my bean burgers and have been begging me to make them again. I even got Tim and the kids to try kale!!!!
Eating out hasn't been too much of an issue as the other two times we've picked places that I can find something for me. Well, yesterday Tim & I went out to eat and for some reason I decided to have a burger with all kinds of crap on it, but substituted the beef patty with a Boca burger. And I had fries.
M-I-S-T-A-K-E!!!!!
I feel like crap today. I've felt sooooo nauseous, my tummy hurts, my head hurts, and my neck is stiffening up and threatening to turn into a migraine.
Yea, God. I hear you. I get it. Loud and clear.
I need to stay on the dietary path You've chosen for me.
Oh yea- and we shouldn't go out to eat. It's definitely not in line with the financial plan You've chosen for us.
Thanks for not being subtle!
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