Hermiones Mom's Journal, 16 May 2016

I hope you housemate is okay, HM. Don't be so hard on yourself. You are doing a good thing.  

She'll be fine, thanks Mom. I just get mad at myself for not thinking straight about these things after all this time and then ending up mad at myself at the end of the day because I've not managed my food correctly! 

Awwww! I understand. You have worked hard getting this all figured out. Do your best today and plan for the week so there is no grabbing food to fill a hole. You will be great! 

If you ever achieve the "rational thoughts" part, you'll have to let me know how you did it. I don't seem to be able to think rationally ANY time of day, anymore! I'm back, with at least a 10 lb gain. I didn't FALL off the wagon. I did a swan dive. 

Johanne -- I was just thinking about you yesterday. Very glad you are back. Just climb back on this wagon with us. There's always room for you. 

The only way I can plan for early morning activities is to do it the nite before!! Since you can't undo the day, just forgive yourself an do better tomorrow! 

Oh that litanny of horrors - the shoulda, coulda, woulda...... I know that one well. Hang in there; you continue to inspire me to keep working on this journey of ours!  

Thanks everyone. Since yesterday's early morning activity turned out to be a trip to the emergency room, I may have knocked myself off this plateau and back into weight loss. Still in the hospital this a.m., but may get released later in the morning. I have a kidney stone -- totally out of the blue, never had anything like this before. The food here is horrible and yesterday a.m. and this morning they said no food or drink in case they want to do surgery, so I would guess my body has shed some poundage. Also, my blood pressure was down to 85/46 for quite a while yesterday after they gave me a couple of doses of morphine, so they were a bit concerned. This has been quite an adventure.  

Lord have mercy, HM! Keep us updated. Concentrate on getting rid of that kidney stone and get better! Hugs! 

I've heard of a number of people who develop kidney stones when they start dieting, so be sure you tell the doctors exactly what type of diet you are on and what you've been eating (and not eating). Hope you are better soon -- that's a really touch way to re-jump-start your weight loss! 

"tough way" --- aargh!!! 

Thanks for everyone's good wishes. Pandasmom -- I actually did ask about diet. There are several different types of stones, and not all of them form due to diet, but some of them do and guess what? -- kale and spinach are among the foods that can be culprits. You're supposed to avoid:red meat; peanuts, chocolate, wheat germ, beets, spinach. I go long periods of time without eating red meat, but interestingly in the past six weeks, I've eaten a lot of red meat for some reason. I never eat wheat gems or beets, and quite frankly I'm NOT giving up chocolate or spinach. So aggravating...  

That is something I didn't know. Good grief ... spinach and chocolate? I can see peanuts and possibly wheat germ ... but the rest? WOW! 

I don't claim to be an expert, but from what I've read, it may have something to do with high iron content in some cases (thus the red meat and spinach.) Not sure about the other items, although I've also read that beets can distort some blood tests. HermionesMom, I could pass up the spinach (although I like it raw, just not cooked), but I'm with you in not giving up chocolate!! There are some things just essential for quality of life!! (lol)  

The problem is, I've already given up so many different foods that there's not that much I can eat to begin with. So based on what I've read this morning: I am going to save up some calories to drink more grapefruit juice; drink more green tea and no black tea at all; be better about making sure I really drink as much fluid as I'm supposed to. But it's pretty clear that there is a direct link between the dietary changes I've had to make for IBS and this stupid kidney stone. So so annoying. 

Wow! I wonder how much of this medical info about preventive diet is proven by research or merely speculation?  

Lifesatrip -- as far as I can see, it's not speculation at all. They can analyze the chemical makeup of your stone, and they know how certain chemicals and minerals in food react together to form crystals that can turn into stones. Nonetheless, my doctor gave me the impression that there are some people who get these stones and other people who don't, and you can't necessarily completely eliminate the problem through diet. If I had to guess based on my reading what the primary factors were for me? -- 1. Dehydration as a result of IBS. The past two years since I developed IBS, I've suffered from so much diarrhea, which draws moisture out of your gut, that it takes a lot of work to stay hydrated. I really try, but obviously, I'm going to have to try harder! Green tea is supposed to be helpful here, so I'm going to make lots of green tea and mint iced tea. 2. Dietary changes: Over the past 5 years, I've eaten a much higher protein lower carb diet, which contributes to stones, and in the past two years, since the IBS, I've eaten huge quantities of spinach and kale because there are hardly any vegetables I can eat, thanks to the IBS. And spinach and kale have chemicals that promote stones. 3. Too little citrate: Citrate prevents stones, especially the citrate in orange and grapefruit juice, but to stay low glycemic and control calories, I don't drink these juices (actually, orange juice gives me an upset stomach, so I don't drink it). Interestingly, about 3-4 months ago, I developed a nearly insatiable craving for oranges and grapefruit. I firmly believe in the idea that a craving like this indicates that your body really needs something. I have been eating grapefruit and oranges regularly now, and based on what I've read today, I'm going to make calorie/carb room for grapefruit juice and continue to drink homemade limeade and eat oranges. This is pretty much all I can do diet-wise without either giving up even more foods. I can't really do a diet with more veggie protein, because the veggie proteins (beans, soy) have FODMAP restrictions. This is going to make me crazy!  

Man! And I thought I had it rough! I feel like my food range is enormous now. When I gave up gluten, all the IBS/colitis problems, along with reflux, went completely away. I've looked at FODMAP and having to do that with even more restrictions on top of it is horrendous! You have my sincere sympathy! I hope you can get on top of this and that the pain goes away soon. 

Johanne -- I've gotten used to FODMAP. What choice do I have? I was terribly sick all the time before I went on FODMAP, and now, I can pick and choose when I'm going to be sick, based on what I decide to eat. I also know that I can eat small portions of certain things one during the week, and I'm ok. So 1 portion of avocado, one portion of sweet potato, one portion of peas -- all works for me. But the second portion can push me over the edge. I've discovered that I can get away with eating one small piece of bread at a meal during the week, so if we go out to a restaurant that serves really exceptional bread, I'll have a piece. But it has to be exceptional! Believe me: It's a lot easier to eat FODMAP than to be sick. 

Rational thoughts....what a wonderful idea! I'll have to try some!