|
OK I'm back. Haven't started logging my food, but since I got back on Tuesday night I've been very careful. I suffered from IBS the whole holiday week and survived on 2-3 Immodium every 24 hours. Of course the problem with that approach is that as soon as the Immodium wears off the whole cycle starts over again. If I can't get myself stabilized by Monday, then I'm going to try out the approach my vet recommends for the dogs: 12-24 hours of water and broth only, followed by 24-48 hours of white rice and broth, then gradually introduce proteins (starting with plain chicken or turkey) and finally add fruits and vegetables. This works quite well for Carson, so I might as well try it on me! But it's possible that by the time I've been home 5-6 days and sticking on my diet, my innards will settle down.
At the same time, I know that I am going to have to make some adjustments in my diet to try to fight off the kidney stone problem. This means cutting back on blueberries and strawberries and buckwheat products, and also reducing my protein a bit and raising my carbs a little. The carbs will likely be in low-sugar (but not artifically sweetened because that's a NO for IBS) lemonade and grapefruit juice, because I need the citrate to try to dissolve the kidney stones. I bought a bottle of organic lemonade today and tried it out. Even using only about 3 oz in a large glass filled the rest of the way with sparkling water and ice, it was still too sweet for me, so I squeezed in about 1/4 of a large lemon, and that seemed to work OK. I do the same with grapefruit juice -- dissolve about 3 oz with 12 oz of sparkling water, but at least I don't have to add lemon juice!
I did have a very nice Thanksgiving week though, in spite of the IBS. But boy that meal is a lot of work! I made 4 batches of gluten-free corn bread to take with me to make the dressing, and I had made butternut squash soup and froze it when I was in DC in October, so I had a bit of a head start, but still... it's a really hard meal to get on the table. I think maybe the Thanksgiving tradition was developed for large families where everyone contributes labor and supplies. We have a very small family, so I was pretty much on my own with the cooking. I was exhausted by Sunday.
Hope everyone is well and happy and looking forward to a joyous holiday season!
|