Scotch Oats

Bought some scotch oats, also known as, Irish oats or steel cut oats, yesterday and had a bowl full for dinner. I moistened them with rice milk and used a bit of maple syrup as a sweetener. Tasted pretty good and went down well. This morning, however, I did have a bout of diarrhea, but just one and and as soon as it was over, all was well again. In fact, I felt really well. Been good all day in fact. So my thoughts are that this might be a solution for when my diet constipates me as it has done a couple of times, although only mildly and no longer than a couple of days.  And there's also the fact that oatmeal is one of the healthiest foods going.
This evening I made a stir fry using leftover chicken breast, and a stir fry veggie mix I bought at the market containing, red, green & yellow peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, and onions, the last item being the only one not on my edible list, but it was a small amount and I knew they'd add to the flavour considerably so decided to risk it. Used about a tsp of ghee to fry up the veggies (surprising how far a little bit of ghee goes), added the cooked rice and meat. Scooped out about half the mixture added a little soy sauce and gobbled it down.  Absolutely delicious.  Now about to enjoy a cup of peppermint tea and settle in for the evening.
By the way, I attended an open house at the arthritis Society this afternoon where there was an abundance of delicious looking treats but I ate nary a one. Wasn't easy but glad I resisted. I did bring a gingerbread cookie home which I may have with my tea. Better idea, save to eat next time I have ginger tea.

The above gadget is a Boa Constrictor strap wrench which I bought yesterday

 at Canadian Tire. In fact, I bought two of them; one goes up the a maximum of 4" and the other up to 10" or so.  The smaller one has already paid for itself by loosening the previously impossible to remove lid of the chopper attachment of my also recently purchased immersion blender (much lighter, smaller and easier to clean than a regular blender).  I also plan to use the smaller one in the shower to adjust the water temperature as I find it extremely difficult to turn the tap.  And since the water temperature never stays constant for more that a few minutes, sometimes seconds, at a time it should make showering a little more of a pleasant experience.

And since I'm on the topic of purchases, I also bought myself my Christmas present to me, a Fender Mustang II amp. Now if my neck and shoulders would jut heal, I could get back to playing guitar again.

New Recipe

In my research looking for alternatives to pasta with the traditional tomato sauce (not on diet), I discovered that fennel met the criteria for my current diet. The recipe included chile flakes/hot pepper which I didn't include, and a small amount of olive oil  which I also eliminated. Instead I pre-cooked the ingredients in a small amount f chicken broth.

The verdict- delicious. Admittedly I was a bit sceptical as I couldn't imagine anise (liquorice) flavoured spaghetti but the taste was very mild - perhaps because I went easy on the fennel seeds. In fact, if anything, the result was a little flat.  Perhaps  a little more parmesan, or mild spices.  Will definitely try this again but not before I try another recipe I found using carrots and ginger.

Generally speaking then, the diet is going extremely well. My stool is firm, having regular BM's and no longer am in fear of going out lest I have diarrhea. Better than I've been in months if not years. Life is good.

Oh yes, one item missing from my diet is snacks. Crackers are supposed to be okay but haven't had much luck with them.  Bought some pretzels today. Just had a few and they appear to have less salt than most which, I guess, isn't a bad thing.  Time will tell if they work for me.

January 18,2013 Update:
Made the fennell spaghetti again. Used Ghee to sauté ingredients and added some stir fry veggies.  Topped off with Asiago cheese.  Even better than the first time. Today I will finish it off and have added some cut up cooked ham to the mix.

Lesson Learned

This past weekend I thought I would try a little experiment and eat something not on my anti-diarrhea diet. I bought an organic type Kraft dinner.  Shouldn't be too risky I thought because pasta is allowed and cheese has never bothered me, even though my research indicated that all dairy products , with the exception of yogurt, should be avoided. I'll spare you the details and just say it was a big mistake. About two hours after eating my experiment I paid dearly. So back to the diet it was and I've been good all week.
I have also tried a less risky experiment. Had a panini sandwich today made with half a white kaiser roll, lean sliced organic roast beef and cheddar cheese. No butter or oil.  I know, the cheese was a risk, but like I said, I've never had a problem with it.  That was five hours ago and all's well. This morning I had plain yogurt with sliced banana and dried blueberries. Tasty and nutritious.  And I'm still hungry but will resist eating anything else this evening. Don't want to push my luck.

*Update: Thought I'd try another stab at fish baked with olive oil. Big mistake.  No diarrhea but pretty bad reflux. Won't do that again.  I don't believe I spoke about reflux being a consideration in my diet but it s almost as much as a factor as diarrhea.

Update #2:
Fish again, this time brushed with ghee, about a tsp, and baked in oven.  No reaction, so I think ghee might just be the answer to the oil dilemma.

GI Problems

After enjoying several months of eating on a daily basis with no real restrictions, I started having problems about a month ago with frequent diarrhea and vomiting. I can only guess that after indulging in a wide variety of foods my gut has a build up of undesirable flora causing my problems.  Last week I researched foods that are good to eat when diarrhea is a problem and consequently went out and bought some chicken broth, rice noodles, chicken breasts, bananas and applesauce. (BRAT diet- bananas, rice, applesauce & toast).  I was okay for a few days but then the problems returned.  I haven't eaten in a couple of days now, just a cup of tea each day, but will make another trip later today to replenish my supplies.  My shopping list contains the following:

applesauce
peppermint tea
dried blueberries
carrots
white rice
bananas
yogurt
potatoes
pasta (made w white flour)
rice noodles
white bread (for toast)
chicken breast for steaming/poaching
chicken broth
fish. also to steam/poach
white rice
rice milk
Bambu - a coffee substitute

All of the items on this list except the last one are purported to be helpful in easing or eliminating diarrhea.  The last one is just something I remembered from a few years back which I thought I would try as a drink I could enjoy since I miss my daily cup of coffee which I avoid due to its obvious negative effects on my bowels.

Won't be buying all of these today but will see what I can find.

Update: It's November 24 and I am pleased to report that my gut is doing much better. No diarrhea or vomiting at all this week and I am generally feeling much better. In fact, if anything, I may have been too successful as I am leaning towards constipation.  Guess I'll have to find a happy medium.
My diet this week has included the following foods:
bananas, yogurt, dried blueberries, mashed potatoes, rice milk, steamed fish, soy sauce, peppermint tea and Bambu made with rice milk, peppermint tea
I had some fish left from the other day so plan on reheating that along with some rice.
-put blueberries in yogurt
-mashed potatoes made with yogurt, no butter/margarine
-soy sauce to spice up the fish and rice a bit

Admittedly, it's a pretty bland diet but it's worth it and once I've been on it for a while, perhaps I can add in a few items not on the list above just to spice things up a bit.

Update #2: Another week has passed and all's well.  This week's diet included chicken breast poached in broth and then adding some rice to make a soup, applesauce, yogurt w blueberries and plain, lots of peppermint tea- very soothing, mashed potatoes, again with yogurt,, some gluten free crackers, and today *fish but baked with herbal olive oil and salt and pepper - a bit of a risk I know because of the olive oil but I think I'm going to get away with it.  So much tastier than poached or steamed.
*See following entry.

More Doggie Stuff

This is Jojo, my new best friend.  She is a "going on 7" rescue female Yorkie from Kentucky.  I've had her almost three weeks now and she is amazing as well as being the cutest little girl you've ever seen. As I write this she is curled up on my lap, her favourite spot until bed time when she makes a bed amongst my dirty laundry after spreading it out all over the bedroom floor.

On to other matters.  Saw my GI doctor last week and am now on TPN five nights a week.  So I've opted to take every Wednesday night off to spread things out as my other night is always on the weekend, either Saturday or Sunday.  He also gave me a prescription for 1 mg prednisone so am now trying 8 mg every day and if that works out will try seven and so on until I find the lowest dosage that works.

Tomorrow is the London chapter of the SSO's fall meeting with Dr. Janet Pope as guest speaker.  Really looking forward to that as she is always informative and brings us up to date on the latest scleroderma research.

Fall is definitely in the air these past couple of weeks.  Love fall but it's what comes after that's the problem.  Oh well, one day at a time.

Sept. 28/12 Update
Have decided to stick with 8 mg prednisone as my daily dosage.  Tried 7 mg and there was a slight increase in pain and stiffness.  TPN five nights a week is working out well with no weight loss.

Our SSO fall meeting was a huge success - 38 people present which is twice as many as we've ever had in the past.  So rewarding to see so many people coming out.  Dr. Pope was, as predicted, informative and inspiring.

This is Molly.  After 14 years, I just had her euthanized as she had a very progressive cancer.  It broke my heart, but there comes a time when we have to make a choice and it was Molly's time.  All I can say is, she was the best damned dog a person could hope for. She was loving, intelligent, amazingly easy to train and has been with me through so many changes but never had a problem adapting to any of them. It has been almost two weeks now and I still look for her at every turn, still check her water dish to see if it's full, still look for her when I come home.  The list is endless and I simply can't imagine my life without a dog so have been in touch with one of the local rescue agencies where I am considering adopting a beautiful little 8 year old Yorkie.  Getting excited already.

The last time I made an entry here it was to report on our annual walk. In that context I mentioned how delighted I was that I had actually eaten a hamburger.  Well, I am equally happy to say that with very few exceptions, I have been eating pretty much every day.  And I've been eating anything and everything.  Today, while at the market, I had rice and teriyaki salmon at the Korean place and it was delicious.  I am presently drinking a beer, a Guinness, which is another pleasure I haven't indulged in for a very long  time.  There are days when my GI tract tells me I've had enough so I simply let up for two or three days until things settle down again.  I continue to gain weight by the way so my plan is, when I see my GI doc in September to see if I can cut back another night on my TPN.  If I can I will then have two nights a week off.  Won't that be a treat?

Also saw my rheumatologist a week ago.  My main question for her was about my self determined dosage of 5/10 mg on alternate days for prednisone.  She agreed that it was okay so I will continue with that regimen as long as is necessary.  We really had nothing else to discuss as everything is going so well.  Life is good!  Yeehaw!

Here we are at the start of our walk this past Saturday. Luckily we avoided the rain and thunderstorms that threatened to put a damper on our walk.  In fact the clouds hung around just long enough to keep the extreme heat and humidity away until the walkers had all returned to the starting point.  In each of the three years we have held the walk, we have faced similar situations and each year we have lucked out.  We must be doing something right.

I am guessing that we had fewer walkers than last year, possibly due to the threatening skies, but we did beat last year's total funds raised by over $3000 and there's still a few dollars to come in yet.  So, all in all, it was a successful day.

And just one more thing, I, much to my delight, ate a whole hamburger.  Not sure when I ate my last burger but it must have been at least 6 or 7 years ago.  I have to say, it was the best damned burger I've ever eaten, not because of the quality of the burger, but simply because I was able to eat it.  Life is good.

I'm on a Diet!

Saw my GI doctor yesterday and after I reported that my weight was now 138 pounds (62.7 kg) he informed me that we need to cut back on the caloric intake of my TPN feed.  In other words, he put me on a diet!  Now, if someone had told me a couple of years ago, or even a year ago, that I'd be on a diet, I would have laughed them right out of the room.  But here I am at 138 pounds and he wants me to stay here.  Fine with me.  In fact I am delighted.  Yeehaw, thank you Doctor Howard and Nancy (dietician).  We did it!

The picture's just for fun.  Taken on a trip to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in August of 2001.

This coming Saturday is our third annual Walk/Run in the Park for Scleroderma.  Things are coming together nicely and we are meeting Wednesday evening to go over last minute details.  Weather Network says 60% chance of thunder showers but the forecast on the TV this evening said 20% chance of rain.  I'm going with the latter.

My health is very good right now.  Aside from a couple of rough nights a few of weeks ago with my bowels and vomiting due to getting a little too daring with my food experiments, I am doing great.  I am eating every day and continuing to experiment to see what works for me.  Even had a pork chop the other day along with some fresh asparagus.  That was a real treat.  My daughter and son-in-law have also brought me a couple of feeds of fresh perch which they caught.  Delicious.  Also been eating fresh fruit such as watermelon and pineapple fairly regularly.  I buy it already cut up which is more expensive but if I bought the whole thing I would end up throwing it out so why not go for the convenience. Being able to eat real food just makes life so much more enjoyable and I've never appreciated it more than I do now.  Incidentally, my weight is now hovering around the 140 pound mark and I am delighted.

In two days I see my GI doctor and will have nothing but good news for him.  Yeehaw.  Life is good.

Spring Meeting

Saturday, May 12, 2012

1:30 – 3:30 p.m.

St. Joseph’s Hospital

 ( Cheapside Entrance)

Room E1-122 Lawson Meeting Room - 2^nd floor

Speaker

Martha St. Pierre

M.A., Reiki Master, Therapeutic Touch

Topic: Meditation

For more information contact:

Bea Kiekens – 519 641-6275 kieksjb@rogers.com

or

Bill Birtch – 519 281-8143  wbirtch@rogers.com

Everyone welcome

Feelin' Good

Spent about three hours touring around on the wheelchair yesterday mostly on bike paths along the river and mean did it feel good to be out and about again.  The weather was perfect and I managed to take a few pictures with the iPhone one of which is posted above.  I haven't been out like that since early last fall and I am determined to keep at it - at least one excursion a week.

We've been busy preparing for our third annual Walk/Run in the Park for Scleroderma and it's all coming together nicely thanks to all the help we get from members.  Our goal this year is to raise $33 000 - year 1 was $11 000, year 2 was 22 000 - so we're just moving on in increments of 11 000.  

If you are unable to attend you can always make a donation at www.walkrunlondon.com.

Videos

This link will take you to five videos of experts on scleroderma giving talks at a conference last fall in Hamilton, Ontario.

Doctors' Visits

Wow, just noticed that my last post here was October 3.  Where does the time go?  I probably would have written sooner but I ended up cancelling a couple of appointments in November and December due to diarrhea.  And that pretty much sums up the last few months where my main concern has been exactly that.  Just recently I have made some progress using a combination of cephalex  and Immodium.

I have had a couple of flare ups so had my rheumatologist call in a prescription for prednisone which, as in the past, proved to be very effective.  And that brings me to my visit yesterday.  First of all my rheumatologist was delighted with my weight which now stands at 131 pounds.  I have not weighed this much in at least six years so, needless to say, I too am overjoyed.  Thank you TPN.  Also she wrote me a prescription for 200  prednisone with 3 refills, enough to last me a very long time.  I will continue to reserve it for those times when the pain is at a peak.

Today I saw my GI doctor.  Pretty uneventful except that, again, the dietician was pretty happy with my weight gain.  I also asked to have my J-tube removed which, much to my surprise, he did right there on the spot.  Only problem is that some fluids seeped out the hole where the tube had been and man did it stink.  My tpn has now been reduced to 6 days a week.  And that's about it for my doctors' visits.

So, generally, things are going pretty well.  The last couple of days the pain has been slowly worsening so must get my prescription to the pharmacy so I'll have some prednisone on hand.