They Might Have Been On To Something
Remember back to Friday, when I complained about my husband and counsellor giving me a hard time for working to much and letting the stress back in? Well, I hate to admit it, but they might have been on to something.
I’d been having some unpleasant stomach issues last week. And one evening Mr. MPB politely said to me, are you sure it’s not the start of another ulcer?
Now, I’ve only had 2 ulcer’s in my life, the most recent one over 5 years ago.
Both times resulted in about 6 weeks of not being able to eat anything except liquids like chick broth, lemon water and the odd boost. Seriously, it was bad.
So, when Mr. MPB said it to me, I instantly freaked out and went into paranoid mode. Who wants to go through that again?!
So, the very next day off to the doctor I went.
.
And guess what? Surprise, surprise, it’s a good thing Mr. MPB brought it up.
It looks like I’m likely at the very early stages of another ulcer.
So, the doctor thought it prudent to start me on medication right away and not wait to find out for sure. So effective immediately, I’m back on prescription medication (Prevacid) for at least the next month. Double dose for the first two weeks and then if I respond well dropping off to a regular dose. I’m hoping we caught it early enough that I don’t have to start a liquid diet just to get nourishment into me. But, only time will tell.
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But here’s the thing. I am going to be defiant in my stance on Friday. I really don’t think one stressful crises and few long days at work are to blame. Honestly, I think it’s probably a combination of everything going on in my life right now:
- the whole crazy trying to become parents thing which for us just happens to include years of RPL and now the painful process of adoption.
- the extended family drama that really never seems to end.
- starting my own consulting business (accounting will be the death of me).
- being solely responsible for my projects and caring that I do a good job.
- Not taking care of my health enough – exercising regularly has slipped, daily vitamins have become a thing of the past, etc.
It’s just my opinion, but I firmly believe this isn’t the result of work. Rather, is the result of all of it!! At some point it was bound to catch up with me.
While RPL taught me that my body is far from perfect, one thing I know forsure about my body it has a way of telling me that it’s not happy with me, usually through migraines, but sometimes through stomach issues. And so right now, all I can do is hope that I noticed my bodies signals soon enough and I can get my health back on track (sans liquid diet).
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I couldn’t hit the “like” button on this one because I hate that you’re not feeling well! I hope the medication does the trick and you’re able to stay away from the liquid diet…I know a liquid diet would just make me even more miserable. Take care, my Friend!
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Thanks so much for your well wishes! So far I’m still able to eat, I’m just very cautious about what I eat – we were supposed to go out to dinner with friends and instead we had them over so that we could control what I ate. Sticking with the drugs and fresh and homemade food seems to be okay. 🙂
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I completely understand how emotional stress manifests itself physically – and being someone who works hard/a lot, I get how it’s easy for others to place the blame there but it really is a combination of so many things. Take care of yourself and I hope you feel better!
On a side note, and maybe this sounds weird considering we’re talking about work stress, but I admire how you’ve been able to build a consulting business and draw on your past experience to get business. I’d love to see a post on your process of getting your business going (I’m in the process of doing the same thing and love hearing real success stories!).
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Thank you! I think this is a pretty good reminder of needing to take a bit better care of myself.
As for the business, I spent a few solid months networking constantly. Talking to everyone I know and asking their advice on how to move forward and what to do next. Every single person said go out on your own, and when I did they starting calling me to do work. It’s all been word of mouth – I don’t even have a website yet!
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Oh my goodness, I’m so glad you caught it early, but I’m sorry you’re having to deal with another ulcer! I think you’re right that all of this was bound to catch up with you at some point, although working 15-hour days probably didn’t help. 🙂 I hope the medication sets you right quickly, and that you feel much, much better very soon!
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Thank you so much for your well wishes!
I think last week’s insanity sort of pushed my stomach over the edge, unfortunately.
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I am so sorry you are going through this! Thinking of you…you’ve definitely been through your fair share of stress!
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Thanks! So far I’m surviving and able to eat, so I’m pretty optimistic that it’ll get better not worse now that I’m on the drugs. 🙂
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So glad you caught it early. Sorry you have yet another thing to add to that list :(. Glad you had a fun Sunday though!
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Thank you mamajo! I’m so glad Mr. MPB caught it early – it went straight over my head. 🙂
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I would agree. It had to be a combination of all of that. Hope you’re feeling better soon and practice some self care however that may look.
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Thank you Sondra. I do think self-care needs to get higher on my list of priorities, nothing like a hole in my stomach to remind me to be better.
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I’m firmly in the camp that believes our body tells us something is going on/something is wrong if we don’t take care of ourselves. You’ve got a lot going on, and I know how easy it is to let self care slip…but it’s so important!
I really hope you start feeling better again soon. Without the liquid diet!
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Yes, my body is pretty vocal! And usually I’m pretty in tune with it, but thankfully this time Mr. MPB was paying attention and caught the symptoms for me!
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Self care is #1. All of us fall victim to neglecting ourselves every now and again though. Hope the meds do the trick and you have caught it in time. Could you afford to hire someone to help with the accounting? Might be an easy way to take some stress off?
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Yes, self-care has to be #1, because if we cannot function then clearly we cannot do anything else! Yet, too often it’s the first thing to slide. Ops!
Mr. MPB pretty much does my accounting for now, but he makes me help to learn. It’s a monthly battle and we both hate it. My business is pretty small so it doesn’t make too much sense to hire someone. So, hopefully in a few months I’ll know what I’m doing and it wont cause a monthly nervous breakdown. 🙂
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Makes sense! The learning curve can be overwhelming at first.
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Ouch! I’m so glad that you caught this early. I’m sure, like many women who have been what we’ve been through, you are very in tune with your body and realize when you are stressed (i.e. headaches, etc). If I’m really stressed I often wake up with stress headaches from grinding my teeth or sleeping with my shoulders near my ears but I often forget how prolonged stress can impact us overtime. There is a great TED talk on stress that I often brought up when I taught psychology. If you are interested it can be found here.
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I love the name of the TED talk – how to make stress your friend! This is totally what I need to do! I’ll be watching it momentarily – thank you for sharing. 🙂
It’s funny I am pretty in tune with my body, but it was Mr. MPB who picked up on this, not me. It went straight over my head, I thought I was just getting sick with a stomach bug. I guess not.
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I just watched it – such a great TED talk! Thank you so much for sharing. 🙂
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I agree, the name of the talk says it all! So glad that you found it helpful. I hope that your symptoms begin to lessen and you start feeling well!
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I’m glad you were able to get into the doctor and get that taken care of quickly. I don’t know how you ever made it that long without real food. I did a few days of liquids during my surgery and it was pretty daunting & boring. Hoping all is well.
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Thank you Amanda.
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I am glad you are listening to your body (even if a little belatedly). I am also glad to hear that so far you are still able to eat real food. I’m thinking of you and hoping for a speedy recovery.
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Thank you so much. I do hope my stomach starts to heal rather then continuing to get worse.
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I hear you.. I was at the other end of an ulcer a few years ago and its no walk in the park. By the end of it, I wanted to shoot myself. The constant pain, liquid food and the feeling of stomach being on fire is no fun for anyone. I usually have triggers that bring it on, for me it happens if I do not eat on time consistently for a week or two and then eat crap and if I am extremely exhausted with no breaks. Maybe you should revisit what triggers yours and be mindful of it.
I agree with you, a few days of mind breaking work doesn’t bring on an ulcer, it is a combination of everything.
but hon, why no exercise or vitamins? Those are vital, you shouldn’t miss on them work or not. take care, I hope this is a small thing and medication controls it.
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First, I’m sorry you understanding of the pain. It’s so horrible!! Thankfully, if I eat small meals, healthy means and frequent meals I seem to be staying on top of this. Well, and the drugs are starting to kick in. I like your idea of thinking about the triggers – since it hasn’t happened for so long I’ve never tracked the triggers. I am really curious.
And I should say, I am still exercising, just not daily. Which isn’t enough for me, I need daily. And the vitamins, no excuse other then stupidity. Arg, I need to do better.
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Oh no! I’m glad you got to it early this time. I think all that is going on in your life is most certainly stressful. Work sounds like the least of your troubles but try not to go at it too hard x
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Thanks so much for your sympathy. Yup, I need to try to step back and refocus once again.
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Im glad u went to the dr and caught this before it got worse. Hope you are off to feeling better soon!
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Thank you my friend. I seem to be doing okay if I eat frequent, small and healthy meals and take my medication.
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I of course read your posts and I read the one the other day about going to your counseling session but I didn’t have a chance to comment on it. It’s interesting that it really is affecting your body. You’ve been going through so much emotional stress with work and the adoption process, it makes sense that your body would start to feel the effects. I hope you start to feel better and take take it easy on yourself!
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Oh my goodness to the ulcer…I really hope you can get back on track without the liquid diet, that does NOT sound fun at all 😐
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Is there anything you can take regularly to help prevent an ulcer? Stress is coming from more places than just work for you. You’ve been through a lot lately, I don’t think one single thing can be blamed. That being said, maybe you should try to eliminate any stress you possibly can. Get back on your vitamins, get more rest, eat better, exercise more. (Yeah, I’m one to talk about this, huh!) Hope that you’re feeling better very soon!
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