Food Hates Me

I love food. Kinda. I used to love food, but now - food hates me. Every time I eat, I hurt. Every time I eat, I bloat. Every time I eat, my bathroom trips are plentiful. I literally almost gave up eating and I am not kidding!
It sounds crazy, I know, but after the nine months I have just experienced, you might have wanted to "quit food" all together, too.

Last March (2013) I did some body cleanse from a brand that will remain nameless. I lost 11 lbs and 9 over-all inches and was working out five times a week. Great progress for someone who hadn't done much since baby #2 arrived in October of 2012. But then - food started to hate me. Now, I am not saying this cleanse made me sick, but however I got what I got - it sucked and I don't wish it on my worst enemy.

I got what is called clostridium difficile (c. diff for those medical people) - Google it for the real explanation, but for my quick explanation it's a bacterial infection of the intestines and it FLAT OUT SUCKS. I assumed I was dying of cancer (because of my dad...that's a whole other blog post...) so I didn't go see a doc from when symptoms started in April until I almost gave up on food, which was in July. Yep...four months of absolute stomach hell! I was convinced I was gluten intolerant, but all those tests came back negative (I still think it's food related, but that's what this journey is about so I will touch more on that later, too!)

So, anyways, I find out I have c. diff - and you don't want to know the wonderful things you have to do to find THAT out - and was put on oral metronidazole, which didn't cure me, but helped a little. September was the best month since March, then October hit me - worst month since before I went to the Doc the first time - I called him and guess what I got to have four days before ringing in my 32nd birthday....yep, a colonoscopy - fun right? Yea, fun. Besides being hilarious on the drugs, I don't remember a thing and it didn't hurt...oh wait, I do remember yelling, "can I fart yet?" in the recovery room - yep, and my hubby taped me talking about building a go-kart...anyways, I was once again FOR SURE that I was dying of cancer. Nope. No cancer, no chrons disease, no ulcers, no nothing actually - 100% great :) EXCEPT I was still having symptoms of c. diff despite not actually have c. diff anymore. Sucky.

What did they tell me to do...? Quit caffeine. I get it, I really do - caffeine accelerates things and when drinking it, it was accelerating the movement of my intestines which would "wake up" the c. diff reaction and cause the symptoms to happen over and over again - this is not medically correct in any way, but the only way I can explain what was happening so don't judge the medical terms :). So, after a five-day headache, I had quit caffeine. It took a while to really change how my digestion was working and honestly after that colonoscopy was the best I had ever felt b/c I was only on a broth diet therefore no food reacted with my intestines and I felt amazing! No bloating, no "bathroom issues," and no pain...but come on - I can't be on broth forever (or can I...?)

It took until about mid-December for things to finally go back to "normal" and it really was only about 80% normal and 20% c. diff (I like to call it that like it's just a thing now, ha!) and then, this is when I discovered that food hates me. I go for nine months of the most horrible "bathroom issues" and then when things start to get better and are "solidifying" a bit more - I know, TMI already, but to spare you more of the gross details - some thing happened in the bathroom that shouldn't happen and it was ER or Doc visit instantly ( I picked Doc b/c of cost) and I found out that I have a fissure [in "there"] - I hate the real word so I am not saying it, but my so called "getting better bathroom issues" now caused me a tear AND guess what the only fix is for this...? Guess what it is? It's making sure I have soft "bathroom stuff" for another two months so it can heal - SERIOUSLY food hates me.

But, I know it's doesn't hate me - I need to learn how to eat it again with the body and reactions I have at this point in my life. So, this blog is about my 40 day journey of what I am calling my elimination diet! I am going to reset myself by eating only meats, veggies, and fruits (no sugars, dairy, or grains) and then reintroduce a food a week to see what is causing me all of the discomfort and issues. It may take a while to do that part, but it will be a better life for me and this journey is worth it.

I am blogging about my 40 days and 40 bites because I think it will keep me honest and motivated and seriously - when I was looking for anything like what I was dealing with online - I couldn't find much so hopefully I can enlighten or help in any way, someone else who may have been through or is going through a similar situation.

Wish me luck!