the_rck | (no subject)

I woke up with a headache again this morning. This time, I tried Ativan first. It helped yesterday (I was hoping it wouldn’t, actually, much as I wanted the headache gone) and has helped today. The Comcast stuff is all I can think of that might have caused this, but two days of headaches after things are more or less resolved seems excessive. I’m still groggy and not quite all here. Food and caffeine have not helped, but some part of my brain is convinced that, if I eat the right thing, I’ll feel better. I suspect that a good dose of sugar would help, but I’m trying very, very hard not to do that.

I’m looking more at the FODMAP diet. Given my other restrictions, I think that I’d basically only be able to eat meat during the time I was doing the elimination diet. Maybe some potatoes and rice, but I need to be careful of those for blood sugar reasons. (I’m not willing to touch brown rice because of the arsenic issue.) And some lettuce, occasionally, I suppose, but that’s iffy on the GERD side. Our usual vegetables are green beans, green peas, various squashes, broccoli, and cauliflower which are all on the no go list. Lacking those, I’d go for Brussel sprouts or cabbage, but those are also not okay. So, maybe, collard greens? Those are pretty nasty without added flavorings that I can’t have.

Of course, there are things on the list that I know I’m fine with, but many of them are classed with other things I know aren’t good for me or that are only okay sometimes. My digestive system considers them different, but the diet considers them the same. I’d also be out of caffeine options because the diet says no to chai. I haven’t found another type of black tea that isn’t vile beyond what I’m willing to drink when I add stevia, and I can’t drink them unsweetened.

Those who do the FODMAP stuff— What do you do about prescriptions and toothpaste? The only prescription I’m sure would be a problem is actually my toothpaste (I haven’t tried to check anything else, but I take ten things daily and several others as needed). Fluoridex for sensitivity contains xylitol. There aren’t actually any other options for it (Gel-Kam may or may not have xylitol, but it’s not nearly as good for sensitivity), and I can’t do without. Three days, and I wouldn’t be able to eat or drink anything at all without pain.

I figured out the problem using Chrome on my phone. Basically, Chrome had decided that a bunch of urls would redirect to the Comcast sign in site permanently. I ended up having to delete pretty much all the presets I could find. I’m not sure which one actually did the job (the first three or four didn’t because I checked, but then I stopped checking).

We still don’t know what’s going on this weekend. I’m assuming we’ll be visiting with Scott’s family on Monday. The big uncertainty is when Scott will be able to do the shopping. I don’t know. Maybe I could try my mother’s suggestion of the bus to the store and then a cab home? Except our neighbor told us that she did that and cabbie wouldn’t let her put her groceries in the cab. I think she was using the A-Ride which is a shared ride thing for people with disabilities or who are over a certain age, so it might be that the cabbie felt he had to save the space for other riders. It would really suck to have a cab come to pick one up and have it not have room to stow your walker or your chair or whatever.

But, you know, people do need transportation with groceries. Groceries are pretty essential, and our local stores don’t do delivery. One will pull stuff and have it ready for pick up, but that still requires a car. It’s about twenty minutes from here to the nearest store by bus (well, there’s a faster bus, but it requires crossing a busy, five lane street without a convenient light when one gets to the store). Bringing groceries home on the bus is limited by what one can carry and keep on one’s lap (using the seat next to one is not allowed if the bus is anywhere near full) and by what will survive a long ride and walk in whatever the weather is. Given what I can carry, I’d have to make about eight trips to get our groceries, and I’d have to skip some stuff. I’d also have a choice of waiting for the bus that comes once every half an hour or taking the every fifteen minutes bus and then climbing a hill that leaves me breathless when I’m not carrying anything at all. And I could only do this before 6:00 on weekdays. Saturdays and evenings, the buses are less frequent. Sundays, the bus I want doesn’t go as far as the grocery store. It only does part of its normal route.

I cooked a chicken last night. We ended up with less in the way of leftovers than I expected we would, though, so I’ll have to find something else to cook before the pork shoulder I just brought up from the basement is thawed (it’s as big as my head. It will take several days).

I did less writing yesterday than I had hoped. It was mostly editing and moving things around with a handful of new paragraphs. Mostly, I’ve been going back through the really big thing I’m working on and assuming that I’m having my usual problem of not mentioning things that readers actually need to know because I think they’re in there already. I know that this is a huge problem that I have, and it’s a big reason why I like to have a beta reader who feels comfortable dealing with that sort of thing. That’s a good bit more work than SPaG, however. It’s just that that can be what saves a story.

Scott decided against getting a DVR because Comcast would charge us an extra $10 a month for it. I can live without it, but I will regret it because there are often things I want to watch that neither Scott nor Cordelia are interested in. Scott will put up with those, most of the time, unless they conflict with one of his shows. Cordelia won’t put up with it at all— She’ll complain and complain and complain which makes watching anything unpleasant. I wonder if our VCR could still record anything? I don’t think we own any tapes we could record on, though.

We also won’t be watching anything in HD because that was also an additional monthly fee. None of us actually notice the difference between SD and HD, so it seemed wasteful. Of course, we’re now discovering that on demand has some episodes that are only available in HD.

I haven’t had a chance to play around with the new remote and interface. I don’t like how the visual part of the interface looks when Scott’s been doing stuff with it. I have trouble figuring out what is what there. Also, Scott keeps using voice commands, and I don’t want to do that. I don’t know if that’s avoidable or not.

I’ve been poking around on Imzy (I’m the_rck over there, too). I’m not sure yet if I’ll stay because I’m having problems getting used to the interface. I don’t know. It has potential for interesting conversations. Possibly.

Crossposts: http://therck.livejournal.com/959537.html

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

sixbeforelunch

Obligatory I am not a doctor or a nutritionist or otherwise an expert on IBS/FODMAP.

I've been eating roughly low-FODMAP for about six months and I've had success with it. I know that the suggestion is to do a total elimination period, but honestly I just cut out the things that came up most often as being major problem foods: garlic, onion, beans, and raw apples. I stuck the whole list on the fridge and tried not to eat too much of any of the foods listed, either as a single item, or in combination (for example if I had cauliflower, I would try to avoid eating something with honey in it for desert).

I do still have occasional stomach problems, but they're far less, and can usually be traced to eating too many problem foods on a single day. (I ate pizza and ice cream one day and paid dearly the next.)

I have no idea if such an approach would work for you, but I thought my experience might be a helpful data point.

From:

kyrielle

Low FODMAP (not a health professional of any sort) person here, and I'd suggest:

1. Keep using the toothpaste that works for you. It's the 'low FODMAP' diet, not 'no FODMAP' diet, and mild exposure isn't a big deal. In theory you're not swallowing the toothpaste tho obviously a little probably makes it down, but when you take into account how little you're getting, the exposure is on the trivial side. This is *not* like celiac where *any* gluten exposure can be a problem; this is 'severe reduction'.

2. Use Monash University or Stanford University as your source for data. There are a _lot_ of high/low FODMAP lists out there, and some of them are such a crock they'd be useful for slow cooking your meals in. People make assumptions like 'broccoli is gassy for many people so it must be a FODMAP'. One serving (1/2 cup) of broccoli is listed as FINE by the Monash app (which I'll use as my reference from here on out since I have it handy). Not yellow-light; green-light. 'Avoid large servings (1 cup or more) which contain high amounts of the Oligos and the Polyol - sorbitol.'

And therein lies #3:

3. The different FODMAPs are problematic for different people at different rates. I can have something on a wheat bun and be okay - and I can tolerate some garlic also. (Both are high in Oligos-fructans.) Mind you, if I have _several_ wheat things and all, I will come to regret it. But I can get away with some.

So knowing not only _that_ something has FODMAPs, but _how much_ and _what kind_ is valuable.

4. Green beans are green-lighted in the Monash app for one serving (12 beans). Larger servings (17+ beans) contain high amounts of the polyol sorbitol - if you malabsorb sorbitol, they can be an issue for you. Or maybe you can have more than 12 but at some point it's too many for you. But _even in the elimination phase_ having 85 grams or so (about 12 beans, they say) is fine according to this app.

5. Rice! Check for gluten-free rice breads. Franz makes a Mountain White that is very tolerable, _however_ when I was in the Midwest I couldn't find it and instead found another brand's Mountain White that had an ingredient (I forget what) that I can't have. I think I've heard Udi's recommended too. And there's rice flour you can get to bake with, rice cakes/crackers, etc.

6. Your list of vegetables: "Our usual vegetables are green beans, green peas, various squashes, broccoli, and cauliflower which are all on the no go list. Lacking those, I’d go for Brussel sprouts or cabbage, but those are also not okay."

As noted, Monash okays broccoli (in 1/2 cup serves) and green beans (in 85 gram / 12 bean serves).

Squashes are interesting! Some are okay and others are not. Butternut squash is yellow-lighted and to be avoided in elimination, but spaghetti squash (1 cup, cooked) is fine, with the note "Only trace amounts of FODMAPs were detected in this food." Zucchini is green-lighted up to 1/2 cup chopped; more may be problematic for Oligos-fructans. A single serving of up to 2 squash is "low in FODMAPs" and green-lighted for most generic squash (but again, not butternut squash!). Anecdotally I do fine with Zucchini, patty-pan squash, yellow or green summer squash. I have no idea if I do fine with spaghetti squash, I dislike the texture. :)

It technically okays Brussels sprouts in 2-sprout serves (who eats two Brussels sprouts and stops??) but says 6 is too many. They're Oligos - fructans and Polyol - sorbitol issues, so more than one root issue and probably better to reintroduce later.

It doesn't okay cauliflower because of Polyol - mannitol, but that's the only thing, so if you're lucky you'll tolerate that one?

Peas are not okay due to multiple FODMAPs and I'd wait to try reintroducing those.

If you cross-reference every source on FODMAPs, they will between them have you eating more restrictively than Paleo. I would try to hang with the original authorities in this case, some of the other sources are...interesting, but unhelpful.

From:

kyrielle

OH! And garlic and onion are problematic, but _garlic and onion infused olive oils are not_, as long as the garlic flesh was strained out. It's the carbs that are a problem, and the carbs are not retained in the oil. You can get a very nice flavor using not very much of those oils. (You can order low-FODMAP oils online from Nicer Foods if you want, and they will charge you $14-$15 for shipping, but I got a lovely garlic-infused olive oil at Trader Joe's for $4 (same amount as from Nicer Foods). They didn't, however, have onion-infused - but the green parts of leeks or green onions (the stalks and not the bulbs) are okay, used in moderation, and can provide that flavor nicely if you like it.

From:

the_rck

I can't have olive oil.

From:

kyrielle

Oooof. :( Yeah. If you can have other oils and could infuse your own...but that's a pain, then.

From:

kyrielle

On prescriptions, I mostly don't worry. The one exception is anything that has a lactose filler - in that case I either replace with something else or take a lactase pill with it (depending on how easy it is to replace).

But I am SEVERELY lactose intolerant, far beyond low-FODMAP-diet levels. The low FODMAP diet allows a slice of hard cheese, or some yogurt. My gut doesn't allow either of those, and the response is fairly quick and clear. So if they seem to cause you no problems, I would either not change them at all, or check with your doctor that adding a lactase enzyme will cause no issues (I can't see why it would, but being sure is good) and just add one of those with the pills as long as it's okay. But really, that severe level of reaction to any of these in tiny amounts isn't normal.

From:

the_rck

I'm pretty dubious that I have issues with lactose at all because most days I eat some cheese and some ice cream, and I don't have problems from it.

And when I start the MAOI (which I'm almost certainly going to do), hard cheese goes away for fear of poisoning myself. So do soy sauce and vinegar.

I can't eat yogurt straight up because I have texture issues with it. I can cook with it, though.

From:

kyrielle

FODMAP problems don't necessarily happen right after eating - I usually pay the next day. (Oh GOD don't ask me about the time I was recently stupid enough to have an entire cherry ICEE, that was soooo stupid.)

Hard cheese is usually fine for most folks, even on the low FODMAP diet it's okay, and lactose is one of the ones that some folks will tolerate and others won't.

From:

the_rck

I know that. The things that give me problems give me problems the next day. I'm just assuming that something I eat, in quantity, every day would give me problems most days.

I believe you about hard cheese. It's just going to be on a different list of foods I can't have, and things on that list will be things that, with that medication, could kill me.

From:

kyrielle

But the fact that you can have it without that medication does suggest you don't need to worry about the lactose filler in some medications - it probably won't be in amounts that will be an issue for yu.

From:

the_rck

This just seems like a huge amount of trouble for something that costs me about two hours every ten days or so, you know? There are some things on the list that I eat daily and in quantity enough that I'd be having constant trouble if they were an issue. My difficulties also correlate extremely strongly with high levels of anxiety.

From:

kyrielle

Anxiety exacerbates the issue as does diet. So it may be that you only have problems when the two coincide. Perhaps you could try shifting your diet toward lower FODMAPs for a day or two before things you anticipate would be high-anxiety, and see if it makes a difference in that limited setting?

From:

the_rck

It doesn't tend to come up with brief spikes in anxiety. That is, a day or two of stress wouldn't do it. I'd expect it to take at least a week. May and June were bad because I was extremely stressed for weeks on end, but I didn't have particularly more trouble during the time leading up to our trip to Chicago even though I had other physical problems due to the anxiety.

From:

kyrielle

Oh! Re the groceries - as a solution this sucks, but it might work - what about TaskRabbit and hiring someone to pick up a pre-ordered set of groceries and bring them to you?

From:

the_rck

I've never heard of TaskRabbit. I'll look into it.

From:

adrian-turtle.livejournal.com

For FODMAP, can you tolerate sweet potatoes or yams? They're supposed to be better for blood sugar than potatoes. Many diet lists consider "chai" to be spiced tea plus milk, so you should ask your nutritionist specifically if the spiced tea by itself is likely to be a problem.

I would also recommend asking her about the value of doing a modified FODMAP diet--where you cut out the highest FODMAP foods, and maybe try to eat less of the medium-FODMAP ones instead of avoiding all of them. When you are starting with so many food restrictions, plus an anxiety disorder, trying to cut out too many things can be counter-productive (too much hunger and worry and lost sleep from family stress can make it hard to tell if the diet is helpful.)

From:

the_rck

Sweet potatoes aren't allowed on a low FODMAP diet. I like them, and I eat them. Butternut squash isn't allowed either. I'm not sure about acorn, but I'm less likely to eat that because I can't cut the stupid things open for cooking. Butternut squash we can buy cubed and frozen.

I'm really not convinced by the low FODMAP thing because most of the no-go foods are things I'm quite sure are fine in the quantities I usually eat. My problems are with fruit (but not fruit juice which is apparently a hugely weird thing) and with anxiety.

Changing my diet radically to address something that affects me maybe two hours out of every ten days right now seems silly. Possibly if I was working it might make sense, but I'm not certain even then. Before the cancer, it was one morning every three or four months and never ever a morning when I had something scheduled (I don't know if that's chance or if it's a sign that it's anxiety related), but I'm a lot more stressed out now than I was then.

From:

nucleosides.livejournal.com

I was getting headaches myself until I started prednisone (again...), apparently my issue was fluctuating oxygen levels. But my lungs are weird, so... :P