Seattle temperature dipped into the 60s last night. So the house cooled enough for me to actually slip 8 hours. I had to get up to turn off the fan and close the window, because I got cold. However I still got 8 total hours of sleep. Unfortunately I spent my newfound energy posting online and answering emails this morning. I pushed myself to keep moving despite little sleep during the past 3 days, but this morning I just vegged out in front of this computer. I knew I could take a walk in the afternoon, because the weather would be cooler.
I'm glad the weekend is finally here, but I'm sad that I don't feel up to doing anything special or going anywhere to enjoy more temperate weather. I need to eat all my meals at home. So that eliminates day trips or restaurant meals. I'm okay starting about 2 hours after a meal, but then I feel nauseas again just before I need to eat. After a meal I need a strong tasting beverage to wash down the flagyl pills. I decided to try pineapple juice, rather than hazelnut milk to take flagyl. The milk is thicker and worked okay, but it's rather expensive. I need that milk for cooked cereal, which gives me a break from eating peanut butter and fruit on a muffin for breakfast. (I can't eat eggs because of my allergy.) So I'll see how the pineapple juice works after dinner, when I take my next dose of flagyl.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Not Much Cooler, More Nausea than Ever
After a record high of 103 degrees yesterday, Seattle's temperatures only got up to the mid 90s today. Tonight was cool enough that I actually could do some pruning and make a bouquet of gladiolas for our dining room table. I hope the upstairs cools enough to sleep well tonight. I haven't had more than 5 hours of sleep for the past 3 (very hot) nights. I usually try to nap in the afternoon, but don't nap more than an hour or so.
The combination of heat and flagyl made my nausea much worse last night. I had to work hard to distract myself from nausea after a salmon salad dinner, which I couldn't even finish. I sat up dozing on the sofa watching tv until 11:30pm, because I was afraid to lay down and get so sick I threw up. I do NOT look forward to meals, because I have to take the flagyl after every meal. If I don't eat as soon as I feel a hunger pang, I soon get so nauseas that I don't want to eat at all. Maybe the flagyl levels in my blood rise higher as my blood sugar drops between meals. I'm learning to grab a bite of fruit and drink ginger tea to decrease the nausea enough to convince myself I need to eat. The nausea makes me NOT want to eat or think about food. However, I know from experience that eating will decrease the nausea. Nevertheless, when I'm intensely nauseas, because I haven't eaten for awhile, I can't believe eating will make me feel better.
I really hope this flagyl treatment will eliminate the C-diff. However, if the flagyl does nothing else, I will have totally eliminated any urges to overeat. I can't eat very much before I feel too full, even when I take the flagyl after meals. Just as I can't imagine eating past comfort, I also can't imagine purposely throwing up after overeating. Maybe flagyl should be recommended treatment for bulimics. LOL If I did throw up when I felt nauseas, I would really taste even more of that horrible metallic flavor of the flagyl. I taste it enough when I take the pills with hazelnut milk.
I hope this experience doesn't make me dislike hazelnut milk. I tend to dislike foods I associate with painful or negative experiences. My experience with fighting nausea after eating a salmon salad made me not want salad for dinner tonight. We need to eat salads almost every night to use the fresh lettuce in our garden. Maybe tomorrow night I'll try chicken salad with no oranges or tomatoes (citrus and tomatoes can cause reflux).
As soon as the weather cools, I'm making french fries for dinner. I constantly craved french fries during my last course of flagyl. However, we do 'oven fries' and I don't want to heat up the kitchen. Maybe this weekend ... I crave really bland food when I feel nauseas, like ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch and cooked cereal for breakfast. Really starchy foods, like bread, cereals, rice and potatoes, appeal to me when I feel nauseas, but not as much when I'm well. Even in this hot weather, I don't enjoy eating more than 1-2 spoonfuls of ice cream. I may get my ginger cookies from the downstairs freezer. I lost interest in those after I stopped taking flagyl. Those cookies could let me eat ginger and starchy food at the same time.
I need to stop posting about food here. Even writing about food makes me feel nauseas ... it just never goes away ... until after I finish 10 days of flagyl. 3 days done, 7 to go. SIGH
The combination of heat and flagyl made my nausea much worse last night. I had to work hard to distract myself from nausea after a salmon salad dinner, which I couldn't even finish. I sat up dozing on the sofa watching tv until 11:30pm, because I was afraid to lay down and get so sick I threw up. I do NOT look forward to meals, because I have to take the flagyl after every meal. If I don't eat as soon as I feel a hunger pang, I soon get so nauseas that I don't want to eat at all. Maybe the flagyl levels in my blood rise higher as my blood sugar drops between meals. I'm learning to grab a bite of fruit and drink ginger tea to decrease the nausea enough to convince myself I need to eat. The nausea makes me NOT want to eat or think about food. However, I know from experience that eating will decrease the nausea. Nevertheless, when I'm intensely nauseas, because I haven't eaten for awhile, I can't believe eating will make me feel better.
I really hope this flagyl treatment will eliminate the C-diff. However, if the flagyl does nothing else, I will have totally eliminated any urges to overeat. I can't eat very much before I feel too full, even when I take the flagyl after meals. Just as I can't imagine eating past comfort, I also can't imagine purposely throwing up after overeating. Maybe flagyl should be recommended treatment for bulimics. LOL If I did throw up when I felt nauseas, I would really taste even more of that horrible metallic flavor of the flagyl. I taste it enough when I take the pills with hazelnut milk.
I hope this experience doesn't make me dislike hazelnut milk. I tend to dislike foods I associate with painful or negative experiences. My experience with fighting nausea after eating a salmon salad made me not want salad for dinner tonight. We need to eat salads almost every night to use the fresh lettuce in our garden. Maybe tomorrow night I'll try chicken salad with no oranges or tomatoes (citrus and tomatoes can cause reflux).
As soon as the weather cools, I'm making french fries for dinner. I constantly craved french fries during my last course of flagyl. However, we do 'oven fries' and I don't want to heat up the kitchen. Maybe this weekend ... I crave really bland food when I feel nauseas, like ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch and cooked cereal for breakfast. Really starchy foods, like bread, cereals, rice and potatoes, appeal to me when I feel nauseas, but not as much when I'm well. Even in this hot weather, I don't enjoy eating more than 1-2 spoonfuls of ice cream. I may get my ginger cookies from the downstairs freezer. I lost interest in those after I stopped taking flagyl. Those cookies could let me eat ginger and starchy food at the same time.
I need to stop posting about food here. Even writing about food makes me feel nauseas ... it just never goes away ... until after I finish 10 days of flagyl. 3 days done, 7 to go. SIGH
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Record High Temperatures
Seattle is having an unusual heat wave (90-100 degrees) this week. Unfortunately those high temperatures coincide with my flagyl side effects. I don't know whether this nausea is heat related or flagyl related. As I suspected, I didn't have enough flagyl in my system to create really intense side effects. I DO NOW!!! However, I learned enough from my last round of flagyl to drink ginger tea for nausea and take the pills with hazelnut milk. Unfortunately ginger tea increases body temperature. So I need to make ginger iced tea and only drink what I need to control nausea.
Rather than take the pills in the middle of my meal and have stabbing stomach pain and metallic taste during the rest of my meal, I'll try taking them at the end. Then I'll have a spoonful of ice cream for dessert. I tried putting each pill in a spoonful of ice cream and swallowing the ice cream. However, that's like swallowing a whole chocolate chip cookie without chewing or tasting. I felt cheated. I prefer to swallow the pills with milk and then slowly savor a spoonful of ice cream.
Here we go again. I never lost the 2 pounds I gained by eating so much ice cream during my last round of flagyl. I thought people LOST weight when they took flagyl. LOL Unfortunately, I still want to eat when I feel nauseas, because eating decreases my nausea. However, I quickly learned that overeating also increases reflux and nausea. So I still have to carefully listen to my stomach cues. Fortunately I have NOT lost my hunger cues yet during this course of flagyl. Maybe that loss of appetite will come later. Despite those extra pounds, I do NOT want to lose my hunger cues. If I never feel hungry, I can easily eat for nausea and then overeat, because I don't know when I've eaten enough, other than from uncomfortable fullness.
Doubts are replacing my previously positive attitude about taking flagyl. I keep reading comments from other people who had c-diff. Some people don't eliminate the c-diff even after several courses of flagyl treatment. Others swear vancomycin is the most effective drug. I already committed to this round of flagyl. So I won't know for another couple of weeks whether flagyl eliminated the c-diff. If not, I'll request a course of vancomycin. I could still get side effects of nausea and dizziness from vanco, but I won't have to endure this awful metallic taste.
Rather than take the pills in the middle of my meal and have stabbing stomach pain and metallic taste during the rest of my meal, I'll try taking them at the end. Then I'll have a spoonful of ice cream for dessert. I tried putting each pill in a spoonful of ice cream and swallowing the ice cream. However, that's like swallowing a whole chocolate chip cookie without chewing or tasting. I felt cheated. I prefer to swallow the pills with milk and then slowly savor a spoonful of ice cream.
Here we go again. I never lost the 2 pounds I gained by eating so much ice cream during my last round of flagyl. I thought people LOST weight when they took flagyl. LOL Unfortunately, I still want to eat when I feel nauseas, because eating decreases my nausea. However, I quickly learned that overeating also increases reflux and nausea. So I still have to carefully listen to my stomach cues. Fortunately I have NOT lost my hunger cues yet during this course of flagyl. Maybe that loss of appetite will come later. Despite those extra pounds, I do NOT want to lose my hunger cues. If I never feel hungry, I can easily eat for nausea and then overeat, because I don't know when I've eaten enough, other than from uncomfortable fullness.
Doubts are replacing my previously positive attitude about taking flagyl. I keep reading comments from other people who had c-diff. Some people don't eliminate the c-diff even after several courses of flagyl treatment. Others swear vancomycin is the most effective drug. I already committed to this round of flagyl. So I won't know for another couple of weeks whether flagyl eliminated the c-diff. If not, I'll request a course of vancomycin. I could still get side effects of nausea and dizziness from vanco, but I won't have to endure this awful metallic taste.
Monday, July 27, 2009
New Attitude About Flagyl
I took my first 2 flagyl with dinner tonight. Actually I stopped eating in the middle of my salmon salad and swallowed the 2 pills with some hazelnut milk. Then I went back to eating my salad. I noticed a little bitter metallic taste, but not so much that it ruined the salad taste. I also drank ginger tea with my meal to control the nausea. With all those precautions, I didn't suffer much discomfort (nausea, etc.) after taking the first 2 flagyl pills.
Maybe my observations are premature ... maybe I don't have enough flagyl in my system to cause really bad reactions ... maybe the worst is yet to come. However, when I noticed the metallic taste tonight, I just thought, "Yes, that's flagyl. That's the drug which will kill my c-diff bacteria and improve my gut motility (regularity). That's the drug which will eventually eliminate my gut cramps, gas and bloating." Rather than feel sorry for myself for enduring those side effects of nausea and strong metallic taste, I'll let those side effects remind me that flagyl is WORKING to fight the c-diff.
My attitude may deteriorate overnight, especially if I wake up very nauseas. However, I remembered to NOT eat pizza the first night I took the flagyl. LOL I won't soon forget my experience of getting sick several hours after eating pizza for dinner and taking my first 2 flagyl pills a month ago. SIGH Nevertheless, with full knowledge of my previous side effects, I chose to take flagyl for another 10 days. I CHOSE this treatment to eliminate C-diff. I'll probably need to remind myself of that choice, if the side effects become really uncomfortable, but I chose this treatment.
Maybe my observations are premature ... maybe I don't have enough flagyl in my system to cause really bad reactions ... maybe the worst is yet to come. However, when I noticed the metallic taste tonight, I just thought, "Yes, that's flagyl. That's the drug which will kill my c-diff bacteria and improve my gut motility (regularity). That's the drug which will eventually eliminate my gut cramps, gas and bloating." Rather than feel sorry for myself for enduring those side effects of nausea and strong metallic taste, I'll let those side effects remind me that flagyl is WORKING to fight the c-diff.
My attitude may deteriorate overnight, especially if I wake up very nauseas. However, I remembered to NOT eat pizza the first night I took the flagyl. LOL I won't soon forget my experience of getting sick several hours after eating pizza for dinner and taking my first 2 flagyl pills a month ago. SIGH Nevertheless, with full knowledge of my previous side effects, I chose to take flagyl for another 10 days. I CHOSE this treatment to eliminate C-diff. I'll probably need to remind myself of that choice, if the side effects become really uncomfortable, but I chose this treatment.
Good News, Bad News
I just talked to my doctor. He agreed that my symptoms are caused by recurrence of my C-diff infection. He called a prescription for flagyl into my local pharmacy. OH JOY!! 10 more days of nausea, strong metallic taste, stabbing stomach pain when I first take the drug, initially headaches and stuffy nose, and diarrhea. However, the diarrhea part is the GOOD news. LOL That side effect turned my C-diff related constipation into normal regularity. YAAAYY!! The other good news is that I never got any dangerous side effects from flagyl. I only got the unpleasant but 'keep taking this drug if you get' symptoms. So I know what to expect from flagyl.
I also talked to my doc about possibly taking vancomycin. He said we're just guessing here. Either drug could be just as effective. Although I read that many people preferred vanco, because it had fewer side effects, Vanco still causes nausea and dizziness in most people, but without the laxative effect (diarrhea), which I liked in flagyl. Maybe I'll try vanco if this round of flagyl doesn't completely eliminate my c-diff symptoms. I hate to even think that I might need a 3rd round of drug treatment. However, I've heard that c-diff is a very resistant and potentially fatal bug.
I plan to continue taking low dose probiotics (8 billion viable bacteria) while I take flagyl and then follow the flagyl treatment with a week of high dose probiotics (127 billion viable bacteria). That high dose probiotic causes a LOT of bloating and gas. However, I'm determined to endure whatever is necessary to eliminate c-diff.
I also talked to my doc about possibly taking vancomycin. He said we're just guessing here. Either drug could be just as effective. Although I read that many people preferred vanco, because it had fewer side effects, Vanco still causes nausea and dizziness in most people, but without the laxative effect (diarrhea), which I liked in flagyl. Maybe I'll try vanco if this round of flagyl doesn't completely eliminate my c-diff symptoms. I hate to even think that I might need a 3rd round of drug treatment. However, I've heard that c-diff is a very resistant and potentially fatal bug.
I plan to continue taking low dose probiotics (8 billion viable bacteria) while I take flagyl and then follow the flagyl treatment with a week of high dose probiotics (127 billion viable bacteria). That high dose probiotic causes a LOT of bloating and gas. However, I'm determined to endure whatever is necessary to eliminate c-diff.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
May Still Have C-Diff
Tonight (before the 'excuseme' incident) I emailed my naturopath, who previously treated my c-diff symptoms with flagyl. I told him my symptoms are B A A A C K and I may need another round of treatment. I didn't mention whether I prefered flagyl or vancomycin. Previously I read comments by other patients, who took flagyl and said that they preferred vancomycin (with few side effects) over flagyl. However, when I checked the vancomycin side effects, there was one disturbing permanent side effect, which was unrelated to allergic reactions ... temporary or permanent hearing loss. There were some other unpleasant, downright dangerous side effects. However the usual side effects were similar to flagyl (dizziness, nausea) but did not include flagyl's metallic taste or diarrhea. As much as I hated flagyl's metallic taste, the diarrhea had a positive effect on my usually constipated intestines.
Since I did NOT get any 'stop taking and call your doc immediately' symptoms from flagyl, but did get most of the common 'keep taking this drug' side effects, I decided flagyl is a known enemy. I know the bad side effects and got through 10 days of those. I didn't have any really dangerous side effects. I really hesitate to take vancomycin, even if the side effects are usually fewer, because vancomycin's side effects can be permanent, unlike flagyl. I don't want to take that chance.
Nevertheless, I did not specify in my email to my doc, what course of treatment (drug) I preferred. If he mentions Vancomycin, I'll tell him about that hearing loss side effect. However, if he prescribes flagyl, I'll load up on ginger tea to prevent nausea. Nevertheless, I've read that some people don't react as strongly to a second round of flagyl. If I could only be so lucky ... Stay tuned. I probably won't get a reply from my doctor until Monday, at the earliest.
Since I did NOT get any 'stop taking and call your doc immediately' symptoms from flagyl, but did get most of the common 'keep taking this drug' side effects, I decided flagyl is a known enemy. I know the bad side effects and got through 10 days of those. I didn't have any really dangerous side effects. I really hesitate to take vancomycin, even if the side effects are usually fewer, because vancomycin's side effects can be permanent, unlike flagyl. I don't want to take that chance.
Nevertheless, I did not specify in my email to my doc, what course of treatment (drug) I preferred. If he mentions Vancomycin, I'll tell him about that hearing loss side effect. However, if he prescribes flagyl, I'll load up on ginger tea to prevent nausea. Nevertheless, I've read that some people don't react as strongly to a second round of flagyl. If I could only be so lucky ... Stay tuned. I probably won't get a reply from my doctor until Monday, at the earliest.
Zapped by Ingredients Change
"Smile," she said, "Things could be worse." So I smiled and sure enough, things got MUCH worse. SIGH
I have taken alpha-galactosidase (enzyme) for many years to facilitate digestion of 'gassy' vegies, like brocolli, cabbage, etc., and beans. I previously took 'Beano' until I noticed it contained an ingredient which gave me reactions. It either had cane sugar or sorbitol--I forgot which. So I substituted "Excuseme" which also had the alpha-galactosidase enzyme, but only used corn syrup solids for sweetener. Recently I discovered another store carried 'excuseme' at a lower price. I bought that and kept it in my cupboard until I took the last of the old bottle. Tonight I opened up that new bottle and chewed 2 tablets. They tasted weird. I could tell they were different, because I just chewed one tablet from my previous bottle.
Then I checked the ingredients ... FIRST INGREDIENT: SORBITOL (which CAUSES gas for many people, including ME!!!!). LAST INGREDIENT: NATURAL FRENCH VANILLA (I have a diagnosed vanilla allergy which causes gut pain). I don't know why I didn't read the label when I bought that bottle. I'll certainly call the company (local) on Monday morning and ask whether they recently changed the ingredients. Why would they use an ingredient like sorbitol which causes gas and bloating for many people? That's absolutely ridiculous!!
However, I also noticed my previous (more expensive) bottle had an expiration date of 3/12. However the 'newer' (cheaper) bottle had an expiration date of 10/10. WHICH BOTTLE IS NEWER? Did they change the ingredients for my previous bottle or for the newer bottle? Whatever happened, I chewed and swallowed 2 tablets which contained sorbitol (which causes 'leaky gut' reactions) and vanilla (an IgG food allergy for me).
So now, besides suffering cramping pain, gas, bloating and nausea after every meal from an ongoing C-diff infection, I get to endure a sorbitol reaction (probaby just overnight) and a vanilla reaction (3-5 days???) OH JOY!!! Will the cramps, bloating and gas ever end? Why do I bother to eat? OH, I know ... because I get headaches if I go too long without eating. Food allergy and intolerance reactions make me feel @#$%^& if I do and @#$%^& if I don't. GRRRRRRRR!!! I wish those companies would add 'new and improved' or 'changed ingredients' to their labels. SIGH
I have taken alpha-galactosidase (enzyme) for many years to facilitate digestion of 'gassy' vegies, like brocolli, cabbage, etc., and beans. I previously took 'Beano' until I noticed it contained an ingredient which gave me reactions. It either had cane sugar or sorbitol--I forgot which. So I substituted "Excuseme" which also had the alpha-galactosidase enzyme, but only used corn syrup solids for sweetener. Recently I discovered another store carried 'excuseme' at a lower price. I bought that and kept it in my cupboard until I took the last of the old bottle. Tonight I opened up that new bottle and chewed 2 tablets. They tasted weird. I could tell they were different, because I just chewed one tablet from my previous bottle.
Then I checked the ingredients ... FIRST INGREDIENT: SORBITOL (which CAUSES gas for many people, including ME!!!!). LAST INGREDIENT: NATURAL FRENCH VANILLA (I have a diagnosed vanilla allergy which causes gut pain). I don't know why I didn't read the label when I bought that bottle. I'll certainly call the company (local) on Monday morning and ask whether they recently changed the ingredients. Why would they use an ingredient like sorbitol which causes gas and bloating for many people? That's absolutely ridiculous!!
However, I also noticed my previous (more expensive) bottle had an expiration date of 3/12. However the 'newer' (cheaper) bottle had an expiration date of 10/10. WHICH BOTTLE IS NEWER? Did they change the ingredients for my previous bottle or for the newer bottle? Whatever happened, I chewed and swallowed 2 tablets which contained sorbitol (which causes 'leaky gut' reactions) and vanilla (an IgG food allergy for me).
So now, besides suffering cramping pain, gas, bloating and nausea after every meal from an ongoing C-diff infection, I get to endure a sorbitol reaction (probaby just overnight) and a vanilla reaction (3-5 days???) OH JOY!!! Will the cramps, bloating and gas ever end? Why do I bother to eat? OH, I know ... because I get headaches if I go too long without eating. Food allergy and intolerance reactions make me feel @#$%^& if I do and @#$%^& if I don't. GRRRRRRRR!!! I wish those companies would add 'new and improved' or 'changed ingredients' to their labels. SIGH
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