Betty’s Personal Story- “Know that you are not alone”
Hello; I am a 69 year old woman who when I was just 18 years old I had a Duodenal Ulcer. The doctors did not know then that a Duodenal Ulcer could be caused by bacteria. My ulcer was. It was caused by H-Pylori. Never knew until 15 years ago. They found it anti-bodies in my blood and for some reason they put me on a two week horrible treatment. Months later they tested my blood once again and saw anti-bodies. A second treatment caused me to have 3 Seizures. Scared my poor husband half to death. I later researched and found out that the only way to know if you have h-pylori is by having an Endoscopy or this test where you drink a foul fluid and then breathe into a specially coated bag, wait so many hours and the bag is checked the bacteria will show up in the treated bag as a positive infection. The anti-bodies just showed that I had already had the infection, probably when I had my ulcer at the age of 18. Anyhow, the H-Pylori did a job on my stomach and I have been living with GERD. for 19 years.The many stories I have read are exactly how I live each day. I had to take prilosec for a year. It was the worst medication I have ever taken. I felt worse on it. It caused my whole body to become unbalanced. I refuse to take any kind of medication that is like that and have just tried to eat right and do what is best for me to be able to survive on what foods are out there for me to be able to digest and not have an episode. I do have Anxiety and a Seizure Disorder. That does not help. I too will eat something I should not and pay for it in the end. I walk a lot because I believe that it is a very good way of digesting food and having it pass through the stomach so it does not sit there. We are all different so we must find ways to get nourishment. I eat 5-6 very small meals a day. That for me is better but there have been days when I missed a couple of meals and ate one larger one and would find out that the smaller meals are much better. Even an apple would be one meal for me, or 1/4 lb. of Salmon. Put to much together and I have a problem. Have them hours apart and at least 4 hours before I go to bed is good for me. Bending, riding a bike, lifting something heavy pushes on my stomach and will cause an episode when sleeping. Walking is the key. When weather allows I walk 2-3 times a day for 1-3 miles. I even carry a small piece of food with me. I take Psyllium Fiber to help the food pass through my stomach a bit faster. I also have a Spastic Colon. I have my days when I get very low and that is when listening to others wonder what delicious meal they will have either for breakfast, lunch or dinner. No one understands just how difficult it is to live this way but those who have it. Know that you are not alone. There are millions of us. We just need to listen to our bodies and find our own way of dealing with this. We have to be brave and smart. Stay away from what hurts you. I know it is hard I live that way every day. I look at food as only nourishment, period! I pray for you all. We must try harder than others but I just know we can do it.