Antibiotics for Gut

Grandson at 3 months

Had a visit with my rheumatologist this week. She prescribed flagyl to clean out my gut as I'm not able to eat again and will set up an appointment for an infusion for my osteoporosis. Other than that, nothing to report.  Don't have to go back for a year which is a first as I've been going every 6 months. 

As for the food intake problems. Things have gotten to the point where they were last winter (January/February?). Every time I take food orally, I vomit and get diarrhea. The last time my GP prescribed flagyl, 250mg 3/day for 10 days. It worked and I was able to eat uo until recently so as much as I dislike taking it, if it'll give me another 6 months of eating it's well worth it. Durig the ten days I am only eating 3 crackers on some days to take the edge of my hunger pangs and that's it. Well, almost, as I am allowing myself the luxury of a morning cup of coffee which doesn't seem to be doing any harm and the pleasure I derive from it is worth any problems it may cause.

Today, June 29, is World Scleroderma Day, whatever that means. So, my quandary, how to mark this auspicious occasion? Well, my stomach appears to be fairly settled today and coming from someone who has gone weeks without eating, that is no small matter, so I said to myself, I said "Self, why not try a new recipe, something to take advantage of all those beautifully scented herbs in the garden?" And since I have an abundance of sage, and a nice organic chicken breast on hand I googled "sage chicken" and the result was the picture you see before you. The best part was the sage leaves which ended up nice and crispy which, along with the perfectly fried chicken, made for one delicious lunch. Life is good. Happy World Scleroderma Day mes amis.

It's All Good

First of all, my hand, although I am experiencing some pain, is doing well. No pain killers for well over a week now. Yesterday my hand slipped while turning on the stove and I banged it and that hurt like hell but the pain subsided pretty quickly so no real harm done. I'll just take it as a warning to be more careful in the future. On November 26th I will be seeing an OT to see if we can do something to make my middle finger more functional. It is currently displaced away from the thumb so I would like to see if it can be helped to move back more towards the thumb so my hand will be more useful.

TPN continues to go well also. I decided that I would weigh myself each Friday, thereby avoiding potential disappointment by checking my weight every day and seeing no progress. Well, I was still disappointed this past Friday when, after one week, there was no significant weight gain. Perhaps I'm expecting too much in such a short period. I can't be entirely certain about the accuracy of my bathroom scales but I may have gained a pound, possibly two, in which case I would be delighted. At worst, I have stayed the same which I can also live with. I should also mention that I have not, as suggested by my dietician, done any G-J tube feeds in this time period, nor have I been drinking boost every day. The reason is that I am simply enjoying not feeling bloated all the time and, even better, I am taking food orally on a regular basis and my bowels are handling it just fine. I've even stopped taking the pariet and have not had a single bout of reflux. This makes me think that it may have been my formula which was causing the problems previously.

Need I point out how much I am enjoying eating real food again? Today, for example, I have had scalloped potatoes and meat loaf which my daughter brought over. For dessert I had Oh Henry bar pieces and I have also had tea, hot chocolate and just finished a coffee. And I am still hungry but will resist eating more as I don't want to overdue it. A couple of weeks ago this would have been unthinkable.

So, in summary, I am feeling much more positive about life again and that's got to be a good thing.