Week 22 Recap: …And Two Steps Back

Week 22 started out with a scare. I was getting ready for the day, doing my Facemaster (which I have used for about 6 years now), when I suddenly started having multiple palpitations (a rather large flip-flop) to the point where my heart began to pound rapidly. It was rather frightening because for about 5-10 seconds my heart just could not get back on track. My pulse jumped to about 110. I didn't know what to make of it. I wasn't stressed, wasn't thinking about anything in particular, just watching TV while doing my face. I was completely relaxed, although after that little incident I have to admit I was pretty frightened.

I couldn’t remember the last time I felt like that. In the past I had experienced a sudden rapid and pounding heart beat, and had experienced the multiple palpitation/flip-flop feeling but couldn't remember when/if I had ever felt the two of them together. It was quite disconcerting because I thought I was over all of that!

After the ‘incident’ my left chest was aching, as well as my left arm. I was thinking it may be an anxiety reaction. I wasn’t under stress, but felt frustrated because I had been doing so much better, and now this – totally out of the blue, for no apparent reason. I couldn’t shake the anxiety and so ended up taking 1 mg lorazepam, which made me groggy for the rest of the day. Though I felt physically fine, I was emotionally let down. It depressed me because I felt like I went through an event that had no reason for happening. If I knew the cause, I could dismiss it and move on. Perhaps last week’s stomach upsets and chest fluttering led to this latest development?

I determined to ignore it the best I could. Just -- it is what it is-- it happened, I don't know what it is, get on with life.

After about two weeks of quitting Prilosec my stomach finally began to settle down, though I continued to experience the internal trembling that no doctors have been able to address so far. When it happens during the day it is like a major caffeine buzz, but at night it seems more pronounced and can be felt through the skin. I began to wonder if all this internal trembling is related to something with my nervous system that may also occasionally interfere with the electrical conduction of my heart.

I had a checkup with the internist this week and talked to him about the sudden flip-flop I had experienced out of the blue. He said if I had a mitral valve prolapse (MVP) it would have been spotted on the echocardiogram we did back in January, and that he didn’t think I had dysautonomia, but he wanted to recheck all of my thyroid levels—particularly because he noticed that my weight had gone up and then back down quite rapidly (in a few months time). He also mentioned that he was going to be talking with someone else about my case to help get some answers, which is always nice to know.

I asked him when I might see an improvement in the osteopenia and he said it could take up to 2 years to see a difference in bone density. It was a good visit – my blood pressure was 102/74 and my pulse was 84 – a little elevated for me but probably because I was nervous. I had about 5 tubes of blood drawn for the thyroid and iron blood tests.

The internal trembling continued throughout the week and at night it even felt like my eyelids were trembling. Another strange and new symptom began appearing this week: dizziness especially upon awakening and upon sitting up. In the meantime, I continued to take the clobetasol proprionate ointment as prescribed for the rashes on my arms.

By mid-week it was clear that this was

going to continue to be a very strange week!

I began to have stress days. For some weird reason I just couldn’t seem to control my levels of stress. My brain was telling me something was wrong or going go happen even though there was no physical indication or rationale for such an event. I felt like the Star Trek character Data when his emotion chip is implanted and it goes awry. Once it is deactivated he normalizes. It felt as though my stress ‘chip’ had gone awry and I didn’t know what to make of it. I had never felt that way before. I took a lorazepam and went to bed.

As I have learned since becoming seriously ill last October —if there is ever any type of new symptom I need to first look at what I’ve been doing differently or what drug was recently prescribed for me. In this case, the only thing new was the clobetasol proprionate ointment. I did a little Googling and found that it has been well established that low doses of topical clobetasol proprionate can cause adrenal suppression in some people. The adrenals are responsible for our ability to deal with stress! I immediately made the mental connection, though I was completely caught off-guard —it had never occurred to me that a topical ointment could produce this kind of reaction in me —but then again, over the past seven months my body had been reacting to everything!

One particular article I found came from the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine entitled “Adrenal Suppression Following Low-dose Topical Clobetasol Proprionate” which said specifically:

“The use of topical steroids is associated with adverse systemic effects such as suppression of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, and application of more than 50 g per week of clobetasol propionate cream has been shown to cause secondary adrenal failure” (Volume 80, July 1987).

The article described “4 patients who used clobetasol propionate cream over a prolonged period; 3 patients used less than 50 g per week (7.5, 25 and 30 g per week) and yet all developed secondary adrenal failure for up to 4 months after cessation of therapy” (Boldface added).

The conclusion was that “relatively small doses of clobetasol propionate cream may cause adverse systemic effects, with suppression of the HPA axis occurring more commonly than has previously been recognized.”

So what is the HPA axis and what happens when it is suppressed?

 According to Oregon State University’s Student Health Services:

 “The HPA axis can be thought of as the body's ‘stress sytem’. It controls the levels of cortisol (the ‘stress hormone’) and other important stress-related hormones. The HPA axis can also be thought of as the body's energy regulator, because it is also responsible for controlling virtually all of the hormones, nervous system activity and energy expenditure in the human body, as well as modulating the immune system. When the HPA axis becomes suppressed, your body will not be able to properly regulate your stress and energy levels, which can manifest in fatigue, suppressed immune system, depression, and anxiety. If you are experiencing such symptoms, you should see your health care provider for recommendations on the appropriate course of action.”

My first thoughts were: Could this really be the case? Just applying a small amount as prescribed? But I already knew my answer. My second thoughts were:  That's all I need to know.  My adrenals were already fatigued by my own diagnosis.  Stop taking it. Immediately.

The very next day, I woke up dizzy again. So much so, that as I sat up and leaned back to get a Kleenex off my nightstand, the room began spinning violently. I waited for it to subside and slowly stood up to use the bathroom but found myself leaning and kept tripping. As I went to get breakfast, I continued to feel very light-headed and off balance. I knew it was vertigo, and made an appointment to see my internist. He was out of town and so I was seen by a Nurse Practitioner, who subsequently diagnosed me with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and recommended canalith repositioning exercises with a physical therapist (at this point, dollar signs began spinning around the room with everything else. I decided to wait until my internist got back into town and ask his advice.)

In the meantime, the NP prescribed meclizine (for the nausea that accompanied the dizziness) and a nasal spray: fluticasone proprionate. Great… more drugs…. I took the nasal spray and the meclizine the first day, but nothing more after that.

ODD THINGS DURING THE WEEK:

• Experienced some minor tightness/twinges of pain in upper left side of chest off and on early in the week.
• Experienced some mild left-subclavian pain again off and on
• Vertigo throughout the latter half of the week
• More pronounced internal trembling particularly in chest area

My exercise routines were disrupted this week with the vertigo. When I did use the treadmill my carotid pulse was much higher than normal-- for which there seemed to be no cause. For example, at 10 minutes into the walk my pulse is usually around 138. This week it was closer to 174—and hence the decision to not push anything.

When thinking back and wondering why I felt like I had been slipping backwards that week, I thought about my first heart events (for lack of a better work) last October. It seemed like they really slammed me down hard. A lot of things were going wrong before I was finally able to climb back up. And that is how I felt at this point. The strong cardiac flip-flop last Sunday followed by weird new symptoms: vertigo/dizziness and more weight loss without trying and without exercising most of the week. It was all so weird. Whether anything was connected to the other I had no way of knowing—especially after feeling so much better for a couple of months. It truly did feel like two steps backward.

Week 20 Recap: Finding Ordinary

Week 20 started off well with Mother’s Day, which translated into a movie (Iron Man 2) and dinner with the whole family. Any time I get to watch Robert Downey, Jr. is a good day.  So seeing Robert Downey, Jr. and spending it with family was indeed a rare treat!!

Though I continued to have problems sleeping, I began feeling 100% on more days than not. Once the trembling subsided (presumed Prilosec withdrawal) I decided that I would stop taking it completely rather than gradually eliminating the dosage. I figured I’d rather suffer and get it over with now than continue this off-and-on thing all summer long.

On Wednesday I removed the biopsy stitches out of my arms myself. I did pretty well until the last stitch which was somewhat embedded into my skin and required a bit of digging. Started feeling queasy – don’t recommend it to others!! I’d much rather remove someone else’s stitches than my own!

No sooner had I finished pulling the stitches out, the dermatologist called. She said no sign of celiac was found in the biopsies but she was not really expecting anything to be found because the rash was no longer active—just old, chronically scratched skin-- not dermatitis herpetiformis. She said she asked the pathologist if IgA would show up and she was told that as long as the rash is still itchy it would still be present. So based on that information, she said she didn't think I had celiac.  But the rash has not been itchy. In fact, it hasn’t been itchy or active since I went gluten-free. When it does itch I believe it is because of the scabbing that is trying to take place.

Regardless, the dermatologist prescribed an ointment for me which she said would make the rash go away once and for all. The prescription was for Clobetasol Proprionate USP, 0.05% which I was supposed to apply at least twice a day.

Almost all of my exercise workouts during the week were uneventful: nothing going on out of the ordinary other than some minor fluttering late in the week which felt gastric-related. I also felt some brief left-sided chest pain off and on for a day or so, but nothing alarming.

My exercise totals for the week: 100 minutes strengthening exercises, including 20 minutes of Pilates and 80 minutes weight-bearing exercises; and 14 miles on the treadmill as well.

This week was nothing much to write about.... if fact, it was rather ordinary.  But do you know what?  That is a good thing!

Week 19 Recap: The Road Ahead

The week started out with more trembling and fluttering than I care to deal with, particularly because it worsened at night and often lasted till morning. If you’ve been following this blog, then you know that I found a possible connection between these bizarre symptoms and PPI (Prilosec) withdrawal (or any drug withdrawal, for that matter). Once I figured this out, I knew it would pass and determined not to take any more drugs for anything, if it can be helped.

I saw a dermatologist during the week with regard to the rash on my right wrist/forearm which I have had for almost six years now (possible dermatitis herpetiformis), as well as the rash near my left elbow which showed up about a year ago. She did not say what she thought of either rash, other than the one on my right wrist is clearly quite aged. She proceeded to take a biopsy of each, and I left her office with an unexpected six stitches, three in each arm. It will be interesting to see what she finds, if anything.

Toward the end of the week the night-time trembles began to die down in intensity, and other than being extremely busy sewing costumes for an upcoming talent show in which my dancing girls were participating, there were no new symptoms or return of any old symptoms. In spite of the exhaustion that comes from very little sleep and too much to do, it was a good week.

I tried to maintain my “physical therapy” even during this very busy week because it is the one thing I am not yet willing to trade-off for more time. I have to take care of my body, and the physical exercise is probably the biggest and best thing I can do right now. All of my treadmill walks went very well (walking 18.8 miles), and I feel my heart has finally reached a significant point of healing. Though I still get a heart palpitation about once a week or so, I have had none during any treadmill walks, nor have I had any chest pain of any kind.

I was not as successful in maintaining Pilates during the week (only 30 minutes), probably because it is usually the form of exercise I do last (in the evening) and all my evenings were absorbed in sewing and fitting costumes. I did, however, keep up the weight-bearing exercises on the Pilates Reformer (110 minutes)—which I know will continue to benefit my bones.

ODD THINGS THIS WEEK:

• Stomach ache again followed by same symptoms as usual-- kind of like a huge caffeine buzz-- nervousness and inner trembling.
• Discovered vertical rows of tiny bumps on my fingernails, most noticeable on my ring fingers. They are not the vertical ridges (which I also have), but tiny oblong bumps. Since they run the entire length of the nail I am guessing they have been there for a while. The dermatologist did not seem to know what they were and was unsuccessful at getting a good photograph of them.
• During one night, I felt strong muscle tremors in neck-- so much so that it woke me up. I remember making a mental note of it.

From where I stand now, the road ahead appears to be a good one.  I am not even so sure I want to "test" myself with gluten because I am doing so much better now, even though it has been a long time coming.  Yet I know the dreaded "test" must probably be done at some point in the future so I have a certain answer, one way or the other, as to what was/is making me sick, and so I know how to react in the future should I be "contaminated" in any way.

I can only say that prior to last year, I had never been sensitive to any foods, nor any medications whether it be over-the-counter or prescription.  I do know that I suffered a traumatic event when my husband suffered a massive heart attack, and though it was the hardest thing I had ever had to deal with from all aspects of my life up until then, I felt it was behind us.  And then there was the added stress of the "heart attack fallout" -- no money, no way to pay the bills, and watching my credit that I had worked so hard to build take a nosedive.  As if that wasn't enough, dealing with my husband and his erratic mood swings was apparently more than my body could take.  I felt I was on the verge of a major breakdown almost every week... turns out, my body did breakdown-- it just wasn't mental, it was physical.

All these events may have very well served as the catalyst, the trigger that set off the illness that slammed me down late last fall.  Interestingly, celiac can be triggered by just such events.  Though some people will not believe I have celiac, and though I have tried to dismiss it myself, I can't -- no matter how badly I want to -- and so life moves on.

Omeprazole (Prilosec) Withdrawal

Writing often helps me to sort out my thoughts.  It has been that way for my entire life.  If I want to figure something out, all I need to do is start writing.  And true to form, while writing my weekly recap it suddenly occurred to me that the strange stomach aches and trembling I had been feeling for the past couple of weeks might be connected to my cutting back on Prilosec, as per doctor's orders.

I checked back in my Food/Symptom journal and sure enough, the trembling began within a few days of cutting my daily Prilosec dosage in half, from 40 mg/day, to 20 mg/day.  The last time I experienced trembling of the same sort was when I stopped taking clonazepam.  The trembling lasted about a couple weeks.  Could it be that my body simply "withdraws" from chemicals in this bizarre way?  Could a simple, over-the-counter drug have this kind of effect on the body?  I had to check it out.

Doing the usual internet search (Google), I was amazed to find so much information available about Prilosec withdrawal.  Why hadn't anyone warned me that it was possible and what I might expect?

According to many websites, the side effects for medications are also the side effects of withdrawal.  The particular Prilosec I have been taking is omeprazole, delayed-release capsules.  Prilosec is a proton-pump-inhibitor (PPI).

So what is a Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI)?  Without getting into too much detail, the stomach produces acid (mainly hydrochloric acid) in order to break down our food so it can be digested.  This acid is released through proton pumps which allow the chemical to pass into the stomach.  Sometimes the stomach produces too much acid, which may spill into the esophagus and cause heart burn or acid reflux. The proton pump inhibitor (PPI) is supposed to inhibit the body's ability to produce stomach acid.

Omeprazole (brand name Prilosec) "blocks the final step of acid production.... Animal studies indicate that after rapid disappearance from plasma, omeprazole can be found within the gastric mucosa for a day or more" (i.e., the effects linger on) (PharmaInfo).

According to the July 1, 2009 edition of Family Practice News, after 8 weeks on a PPI, patients ended up with rebound heartburn, acid regurgitation, and dyspepsia (upset stomach or indigestion).  The article "PPI Withdrawal Triggers Acid Hypersecretion" by Mary Ann Moon points out that "Rebound symptoms were clinically significant in the study subjects, causing mild to moderate discomfort for at least 2 weeks after withdrawal of daily PPI therapy--a 'remarkable' finding given that 40% of the study subjects had never experienced such symptoms before, wrote Dr. Reimer of the department of medical gastroenterology at Copenhagen University and her associates."


Symptoms of PPI withdrawal may include:

• Rebound acid hypersecretion within two weeks of withdrawal
• Heartburn
• Acid reguritation
• Dyspepsia

Interestingly, the study (double-blind, placebo-controlled design, including blinded withdrawal of PPI) found that "greater than 40% of healthy volunteers who have never been bothered by heartburn, acid regurgitation, or dyspepsia, develop such symptoms in the weeks after cessation of PPI" (Gastroenterology, boldface added). 

I am not the only one to believe PPIs are greatly over-prescribed.  I have seen it in my friends, and I have seen it in my own family:  Feeling a little indigestion?  Let's put you on a PPI and dismiss it as that.  As what??  My daughter was seen for an "nervous stomach" by a doctor while she was attending college.  The doctor said "You must have a hiatal hernia" and prescribed Prilosec, and never saw her again.  That was three years ago!  She has been on Prilosec ever since, never knowing whether she actually had a hiatal hernia or not.  When she stopped the Prilosec (expensive on a young adult's budget), she developed all the symptoms of withdrawal. 

The internet abounds with forums and patient discussion groups regarding PPIs.  Perusing a handful of these websites, I found some patient-oriented information with regard to PPI withdrawal:

• Taper off slowly to reduce stomach pain and hypersecretion of stomach acid
• Take Rolaids Antacid tablets as needed during withdrawal
• pH levels may be out of whack
• Food allergies and sensitivities may crop up
• May experience loss of appetite
• Trembling, shaking, "buzz"
• Troubles with Vitamin D and calcium defiencies to the extent of severe bone density problems
• Risk factor for Clostridium difficile -associated diarrhea

Incidentally, it is a known fact that "long-term use of proton pump inhibitors increases the risk of hip fractures in adults over 50" (Ray Sahelian, MD, "Proton Pump Inhibitor Drug benefit and side effects, safety, danger and risk").

I'm not saying all doctors over-prescribe medications, but I do think that both sides of the equation carry some blame.  Most patients (particularly American patients) want a quick fix.  If they don't feel well, they go to the doctor and get something for it.  In an attempt to avoid expensive tests and follow-ups, many doctors will give the patient what he or she asks: a quick fix.  There are many more factors and sides to this ideology, but that is not my purpose in writing today.

I do have to say that I think there is a big gap between the pharmaceutical industry and patient knowledge.  Somewhere between those two points lies a gap that needs to be addressed and filled.  The pharmaceutical industry is getting far ahead of the medical industry and governing the direction which doctors should take. Shouldn't the medical industry govern the pharmaceutical industry, rather than the other way around?  Just my two-cents...

Recommended Further Reading:
http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/0016-5085/PIIS001650850900780X.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19362552

Week 16 Recap: Celiac or Gluten Intolerant?

Well, it’s here! Summer has unofficially arrived in Montana after our usual 7 months of winter followed by 8 hours of spring. We may get hail storms from time to time through the summer, but I don’t expect any more snow until this fall. Yet, you know what they say in Montana, never say never!

On to last week’s recap in my adventures of going gluten free…

I am actually still in the process of determining whether I even have celiac disease or not. We are in the final throes of testing—the genetic screen has been sent to California to determine whether I have the gene for celiac or not. The results should arrive later this week. All other tests and biopsies at this point in time are normal.

My follow-up with the GI specialist went very well. My blood pressure was 102/80 and my pulse was 76. I am not IgA deficient, so that is nice to know. There was no sign of cancer or any disease in my stomach and small intestine—only a small 3 mm hiatal hernia. She recommended that I stop taking Prilosec (omeprazole) in the evenings, and take it only in the mornings, half hour before breakfast. After a month or two, I am to reduce the Prilosec to every other day for a month or two, and then eventually stop taking it altogether. Additionally, the GI specialist also wants me to see a dermatologist for the DH (dermatitis herpetiformis) once the results of the genetic screen for celiac comes in.

ODD THINGS THIS WEEK:

• Some twitching and slight thumping in chest, followed by slight pain to left of sternum as well as left subclavian and achy left arm.
• Very slight fluttering in chest several different times this week
• One morning, while eating my morning yogurt, my tongue started tingling. Not long after, my hands were feeling numb and flushed.
• Late in the week I experienced a painful double heart palpitation which caused me to cough, while sitting on my bed working on my laptop.

My “physical therapy” went very well this past week even though I was not able to spend as much time with Pilates as I normally do. All my treadmill walks (two daily 30-minute walks, 6 days a week) went very well and I did not feel stressed or tired, or pain in any way… pretty much normal walks. Exercise totals for the week include 60 minutes of Pilates, 30 minutes of weight-bearing exercises, and 18.66 miles walked.

Though I can only speculate what my serology results and biopsies would have shown three or four months ago when I first suspected celiac disease, my current lab results are all completely within the normal range for everything.

The following quotes I found in the Winter 2009 edition of the online “Easy Eats” magazine (“Easy Eats: The magazine for gluten-free living”), and thought they were especially pertinent in my particular case:

“Celiac disease patients with lesser degrees of villous atrophy are less likely to have positive celiac serologies” (“Digestive Disturbances and Science,” 2004).

"Recent literature data showed that serology (not only EMA, but also anti-tTG) seems to be ineffective in detecting most patients affected by subclinical/silent disease" -- i.e., gluten sensitivity rather than celiac disease ("Digestive and Liver Disease," 2007).

"If eliminating gluten from your diet results in your body feeling better, that is a positive test" (Dr. Vikki Peterson, DC, CCN, Founder of HealthNOW Medical Center, 2009).

Whatever the case—celiac or gluten intolerant—the treatment remains the same. The next question will be: is gluten intolerance inherited (should my kids be worried)?

Week 10 Recap: Gluten Reactions?

People have warned me about reactions to gluten once you have been g-free for any length of time. I have been told that each accidental exposure seems to result in a different or worse reaction than before. If what I experienced last week was a result of an accidental exposure, I think I ran the gamut of every sick feeling I’ve ever had -- and all in less than five days.

The week started out great, well into the 90th-percentile for me. I continued my “physical therapy” with two 30-minute treadmill walks, upped my Pilates time to 30 minutes, and upped my weight-bearing exercises to 15 minutes. My plan was to do continue with a six-day exercise program.

I also decided that I didn’t want to continue using clonazepam to help me sleep anymore. I have never liked the idea of taking drugs that do anything to my brain, and I don't like the idea of having to be “weaned” off of medications, especially ones that might require additional medications to counter the side effects of weaning. Well, the idea was a good one but I ended up taking lorazepam instead (Ativan). It was a tiny dose and I figured it would be a good way to slow down. It worked— I slept through the entire night for the first time I can remember in a long time!

But by Tuesday I started having a lot of what I call “subclavian” pain (just because it is in the general area of the subclavian vein --below my shoulder). It was so pronounced I gave it a 5.5 on the pain scale: moderate pain. It was not the first time I have experienced pain or congestion in that same area, but it seemed pretty strong this time and the pain radiated from the left subclavian area toward my left armpit as well. It lasted off and on all day and I ended up taking lorazepam to help me sleep again.

By Wednesday, I wasn’t feeling very good. I was feeling flu-like and couldn’t seem to keep my heart rate down during my treadmill walks. At the same time I developed a migraine headache on the right side of my head that steadily worsened throughout the day. By bedtime I was feeling weak and shaky and my insides were “trembling” again. I was so uncomfortable I resorted to lorazepam again to help me sleep because it had worked so well the previous two nights. It didn’t occur to me that the lorazepam might contain gluten.

The next day I continued to have trouble keeping my heart rate down during my treadmill walk and ended up reducing the speed and held on to the rails when I felt too winded. I also continued to battle the right-sided migraine as well as left chest pain that radiated upward into that left shoulder/subclavian area. The only good news was that my headache went away when I did my treadmill walks and suspected it was due to the increase in oxygen in my body. I determined not to take any more medications to help me sleep, and took Advil to dull the headache, instead.

As you can imagine, I didn’t sleep that night, and had to put up with internal muscle trembling which seemed to start in my esophagus at bedtime and worked its way all the way through to my intestines by morning. At least the headache went away! That Friday was the day I noticed the involuntary gasps which have happened several times over the past week or two, sometimes during the day, mostly at night, and for no apparent reason. The kind of involuntary gasps you experience while crying. Sometimes just a single one, sometimes 2 or 3 in quick succession; sometimes in the day time, but mostly at night. Chalked it up to just another one of those things, but wondered if it wasn’t somehow connected to everything else I was experiencing that week!!

Throughout most of Friday I was feeling very weak. Once again, I had a hard time keeping my heart rate down during the treadmill walk, sometimes exceeding 95% of my heart rate by several beats. I didn’t feel hungry, but forced myself to eat and ended up with a bad case of reflux all afternoon in spite of the twice daily omeprazole (Prilosec). It felt like the reflux was pressing against my lungs and chest, making my chest feet very full.

To ease the reflux and the bloating I was feeling, I took Mylanta twice that evening, but it didn’t do much good. I hardly slept again that night, and I felt intestinal trembling all night long, clear into dawn again—it was like I had a motor running that I couldn’t turn off.  (If you ever want to know how this trembling feels, stand in the shower and let the spray beat down on your chest.  That is how it feels, but from the inside.)

I spent most of Saturday morning feeling “weird and weak” like I either had low blood-sugar or low blood-pressure. My stomach felt hungry, but my brain didn’t. I weighed myself for the first time in I-don’t-know-how-many months (my only weight came from doctors' offices) and was at 108 lbs. That is probably the lowest I have been in 5 years, since the DH (dermatitis herpetiformis) first showed up. Though 108 is actually a good weight for me (between 105 and 110 is generally when I feel my best-- I am a small person), I am not trying to lose weight. If I was trying to lose weight and felt good, I wouldn’t care, but I don’t feel good, so I’m not sure that it’s such a good thing.

It took another night before all these weird symptoms even began to subside. I decided to skip the sixth day with Pilates and weight training and even came close to giving up the treadmill for that day, but somehow I managed to get it done, and that made me happy. My exercise totals for the week: 18.85 miles on the treadmill, 130 minutes with Pilates and 60 minutes in weight-training.

Overall, it was a rough week and I don’t want a repeat of this week any time soon— in fact, never again would be nice.

I believe I was having a reaction to gluten, though I do not know the source for sure. I know that I am very strict with my diet, and so I suspect it may be the lorazepam which was prescribed for me during one ER visit to help me get over the “hurdles.” Regardless, I won’t be taking it again!

Week 8 Recap: Nice Feelings

Though the week started off with some residual back pain, it wasn’t too bad a week. In fact, I found a name for one of the mysterious “symptoms” I’d been having off and on through most of my life: silent reflux (as explained in a previous post).

For four days I couldn’t figure out why I felt like reflux was going up into my neck and attaching itself to my voice box. I was also salivating more, and developed a post-nasal drip without any apparent reason. Someone in one of my celiac support groups mentioned that she had “silent reflux” and when I looked it up, there were all my symptoms!

Well, now that I understood what was bothering me, I tried to look back at what I had eaten during the past four days—because my diet was mostly a GERD diet anyway: no fatty/fried foods; no sugary foods; no chocolate; no caffeine; no acidic foods; no tight clothing; no laying down after eating, etc. The only thing I could find in my food journal (that’s right, I have learned to keep one) were about 3 or 4 Kettle chips (g-free, of course, and low-fat) every day during that time.

Obviously, my body wasn’t healed enough to handle those chips, yet! So I did the reasonable thing, and stopped eating the chips… I also learned that I should be taking the omegprazole (Prilosec), and so started that regimen up again during the middle of the week. Once I started the Prilosec, I have to say, my days began to improve: maybe it was coincidence, maybe not; maybe it was because I simply wasn't eating those chips-- even though they were in very small amounts.

Also during the week, I continued my exercise regimen of two 30-minute treadmill walks (six days a week); a 20-minute Pilates workout (five days a week); and 10 minutes of weight bearing exercises (using a Pilates machine, five days a week).

Each 30 minute treadmill walk started out with a 5-minute warm-up walk and ended with a 5-minute cool-down walk, and for those 20 minutes in between I tried to keep my heart rate as near my target heart rate (as suggested by my doctor) as possible. I started out the week walking 2.744 miles in a day, and ended the week walking 3.003 miles in a day. That is 17.35 miles total (of course, this does not count the daily run-around and errands throughout the day); 100 minutes of Pilates; and 50 minutes of weight-bearing exercises.  So I feel this week was very successful in strengthening my heart and my core muscles. The best part: almost no heart palpitations this week, and that is a great feeling!!

Also, this week marked the beginning of a new class which I must take or my financial aid will be revoked. I was supposed to take two classes this time, but because of my health, I postponed that double-up (my final two classes) until the next term. I have been lucky enough to keep my GPA high (3.98)—which may be as high as I can get it, thanks to one A- a few years ago. Amazing how one little A- can affect your GPA. Regardless, I will be graduating summa cum laude, and that is a nice feeling.

The only drawback to this week was that I had to resort to clonazepam almost every night to help me sleep through the bouts of silent reflux, or symptoms that feel like hypoglycemia. Yet, all in all, by the end of the week, my days were very good—and back in the 90% range, which is a very good feeling.