NEAR TOTAL LUMENAL WHAT????????

Mike and I haven't seen any primary care physician in a long time even before we moved to the Philippines.  By God's mercy and grace everyone in our household never had to see a doctor.  Except for regular dental cleanings and eye exams and very seldom trips to immediate care, we never really had a family physician.  The boys had their pediatrician while growing up but that was about it.  And we all do not like medications, any medication.  Both Josh and Zach don't know how to swallow even a Tylenol.  I have to crush the pill and put sugar on top of it and dilute it with a little water before they can take it.  And this was when they were in their teens already.  Maybe now that they are older they have learned to swallow a pill whole.

JJ, however, has to learn to swallow a pill at an early age.  In November, he had a new prescription drug that's as big as a Citracal pill and he has to learn how to swallow it whole as I am not supposed to crush it.  Now JJ is a pro at swallowing it.  Mike, on the other hand, reacts differently to medications.  He develops rashes and other allergic reactions etc.., and sometimes a medication will make him even sicker.  He found out that some coatings on these medications sometimes are the culprit. He also found out that any brand of sunblock lotion causes him skin discomfort and redness.  So he wears long sleeves even in the summer instead.  Me?  Well, I just don't like to take anything.  I seldom take something for headaches and body aches.

I had known I had ulcer while in the Philippines.  I had an endoscopy at Living Hope Hospital in Maasin, Southern Leyte and that's how I found out that I had doudenal ulcer and gastric ulcer.  I was prescribed Pantoprazole and was supposed to take it once a day and twice daily after two weeks.  The first week of taking the prescription I was miserable so I did one pill every other day and it seemed to work.  I watched what I eat.  My favorite fruits (pineapple, rambutan, lanzones) were eliminated from my diet.  My favorite merienda (snack) which is banana cue (ripe cooking banana fried and dipped in melted, gooey brown sugar) and turon (again, ripe cooking banana, sliced and smothered in brown sugar and cinnamon, wrapped in spring roll wrapper and deep friend until golden brown) were also eliminated.  Basically, I have to watch the acid contents of the food I eat.

When we came back to the States and found a primary care physician, I was ordered to have an endoscopy.  I cringed at the thought.  I told my doctor that I don't want another endoscopy and if he could just look at my Filipino doctor's report from the endoscopy I had back in the Philippines that I brought with me at the time.  I explained to him that on both my endoscopy at LHH I was not put under but was wide awake and watched on the screen as the doctor maneuvered the scope inside my tummy.  I told him how I was okay at the first EGD but when I had another EGD 3 months later I started to panic as soon as the doctor inserted the scope into my mouth.  It was a good thing I remembered my Lamaze breathing technique 25 years ago otherwise I would have yanked the tube out.  The doctor assured me that I will be asleep when the EGD is being performed so I consented to an EGD.

February 12, was my scheduled EGD.  The doctor came up to me and introduced himself.  He had a happy, pleasant smile and we talked for a little bit about the procedure.  I was wheeled into the EGD room and before I knew it I was awakened by the nurse's voice.  It was done and I was given a box of juice to sip.  When my doctor appeared behind the curtain, I can sense concern in his demeanor.  He found out that I have several bleeding ulcers in the gastric intestine.  And to top it off, there is a "near total lumenal" blockage in my doudenum (more ulcers).

 

There were 6 ulcers in the gastric intestine and two in the doudenum, no wonder I was in pain all the time.  Eventually the ulcers in the doudenum caused the blockage that made me feel icky sometimes.

I have been in pain for months now but I just didn't give it a lot of thought.  I have a high pain tolerance, I should say.  But I also noticed all those months that I have lost weight and try as I might I could not regain it back.  Now I know, after the doctor explained it to me, that because of the obstruction whatever I eat cannot be absorbed into my system.  He prescribed Pantoprazole again (twice a day).  This time I followed his direction but on the second day I stopped it without telling him.  I had very bad diarrhea ("explosive diarrhea" as some commercials mention in some medications' side effects) yikes.  I was so weak I told myself if I keep taking this medication I will be dead by the end of the week.

Desperate, I searched the internet for natural alternative for ulcer and stumbled on "Ancient Medicine" channel on YouTube.  Bone marrow soup was supposed to be rich in protein and amino acids that aids the stomach linings.  I also learned that the avocado seed can be made into a tea which is also a natural remedy for stomach ulcer.   I went to the store and bought beef bones and simmered it along with carrots and potatoes, beets and onions and ginger.  I put myself on a liquid diet for a week, eating only the beef broth with mashed carrots and potatoes, drinking only the avocado seed tea throughout the day.  Then for lunch I have mashed avocado with condensed milk (my avocado shake).  I continued doing the liquid diet since I feel it worked.

I talked to my sister in the Philippines and told her the situation.  She suggested we both fast and pray for healing simultaneously.  I was totally in as, in a way, I've already been doing the praying and I'm already on liquid diet anyway.  My strength came back little by little and I went back to the Y for my three days work-outs.  I added Ensure Plus to my liquid diet as I needed a lot of protein after my work-outs.

In April I had my follow-up EGD.  The doctor still didn't know I stopped the Pantoprazole in February.  He was happy to report that most of the ulcers in the gastric intestine are healed and the blockage in the doudenum has shrank and that he could probably use a pediatric scope to get into the doudenum if needed.  I know I am healing. little by little.  And whatever I'm doing with my diet is working.  Mike told the doctor that I stopped the meds a while back because of the side effects when he ordered me to continue taking Pantoprazole.  So he prescribed a different one - this time our insurance will not cover it.  $700 for 20 pills - are you kidding me?  No!  I'm sure I'll end up throwing it away so I did not get it.

As of now I am feeling a whole lot better and like I said I keep doing what I am doing - work-out, two days liquid diet, one day solid food, Ensure Plus and lots of water.  I seldom have pain in my tummy now.  I also became conscientious about constantly eating little portions throughout the day.  In May I gained 5 pounds, YES!!!  I'm hoping to gain 10 more and I should be back to where I was before. 


Through it all, I thank God, my Healer, for answering my petitions.  I thank Michael for encouraging me and being so understanding, my family and my church family were all behind me supporting me with their prayers and encouragements.  I thank God for you all and I love you all.

Thanks for following.  God bless!