health

Diagnosed With H. pylori

I posted this on Facebook this morning:

h-pylori-diagnosis

So, I haven’t really said anything, but I’ve been kinda sick for the past few months. I have been having diarrhea constantly (sometimes with blood), bloating, stomach pain, weight loss, heart burn and a host of other stomach problems.

I went to the doctor and had an upper GI performed, an ultrasound, and lots of blood work. The doctor was thinking I had gallstones, Celiac disease, or a thyroid problem.

It turned out, through blood work, that I have a bacterial infection in my stomach that irritates the esophagus and stomach and causes ulcers. The bacteria I’m infected with is common in third world countries that have poor sanitation, unclean water, and close living quarters. I’m not sure how I got it or if I’ll ever know. I do know that it is contagious.

The good news is that I can take medicine to hopefully heal this infection and cure the ulcers in my stomach. I learned sometimes the antibiotics don’t cure the infection the first time, though.

h-pylori-antibiotics-infection

Tomorrow I start taking a triple therapy PrevPac for two weeks.
h-pylori-infection-prev-pac

h.-pylori-prev-pac
I’m going to be taking eight pills a day–four in the morning and four in the evening–with some uncomfortable side effects.

prev-pac-for-h.-pylori
Some of the side effects are diarrhea, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and abnormal taste. I’m kind of sick of diarrhea at this point, but if this medicine heals me, I’m going to deal with it.

My doctor is also having me have an endoscopy (a procedure where they look at your esophagus and stomach by a long tube inserted in your throat) to check if the medicine eliminates the infection.

I’m happy to know what has been causing all of the pain and I’m very blessed that this condition can be treated and that I live in a country that medication is readily available and doctors abound. I fully trust that God is going to take care of me, whatever happens.

The Lord is my rock, and my safe place, and the One Who takes me out of trouble. My God is my rock in Whom I am safe. He is my safe-covering, my saving strength, and my strong tower. Psalm 18:2 

Edited to add: If you want to talk to me about my experience with H. Pylori and the medicine I took, please feel free to email me at alliezottola(at)gmail(dot)com. Thanks!

You can find my other posts about H.Pylori below:

Stomach Update
Stomach Update #2
Endoscopy Results
My Experience with H.Pylori

Announcement/confession

My vegetarian confession: I ate meat. 

(^Thai chicken soup)

I’ve been a vegetarian since March 17th 2011-so a little over 6 months now. Vegetarianism slowly turned into almost veganism. Let me explain. I read a great book titled “The Kind Diet” (By Alicia Silverstone) and it prompted me to try vegetarianism again after some unsuccessful attempts in 6th and 9th grade. (Aka: getting sick because I wasn’t getting enough nutrients)

I started out by simply not eating meat. Somehow, over time, I developed a pretty severe intolerance to lactose. By having to cut lactose out of my diet I was cutting out a major food group that I enjoyed and I still really miss. (ICE CREAM, yogurt, cow’s milk)

Stupid lactose intolerance means that I can’t enjoy pumpkin ice cream this year without puking or having diarrhea for 2 days straight.

Being an athlete, I have been finding it hard to get enough nutrition- calorie and protein wise. I have been relying mostly on peanut butter and tofu for protein and vegetables just don’t keep me full. I know it is no excuse and plenty of athletes are vegetarian/vegan but I don’t think it was working for me. Since March I have suffered from head aches and fatigue. It has made me so sad to think about eating meat- I think about how so many animals have been tortured for me to just sit and eat them. Sometimes you have to put your health first though. I’m not out to lose weight and I’m sick of head aches/constant hunger.

Another thing that bothered me about being a vegetarian is being a “burden” at times. I’m fairly social and every time I go to a dinner party i’m “that person who needs a special meat and dairy free meal.” I don’t want to seem like a brat when I go places and make a host prepare a special meal for me when my current diet isn’t working well for me. Going out to eat is a whole other problem as well at times and I hate that- I love going out to eat and I dislike limitations.

Saturday Jimmy and I went to cafe and I wanted soup…. guess what… all of the soups offered had meat in them so I figured what the heck, i’m just going to eat it. I felt full and energized after-woo! Yes I felt guilty about the moral aspect of the poor chickens in the soup but again, I don’t feel as if vegetarianism is working well for my health.  

I’m not saying that I’m going to eat meat for every meal and every day, but I’m going to include it in my diet.

My mom made meatballs for dinner last night… I ate some. They were good.

Also enjoyed: salad, spaghetti, and bread.

So yeah, that is my announcement/confession. I ate meat and I didn’t die. I feel a little guilty about the moral aspect but I’m more concerned for my health.

Have you ever had to make a decision that you knew was good for you even though you didn’t want to do it?