Well, my quest continues, as I have no answers to my GI problems. My ultrasound came back normal, as did my biopsy for H Pylori, and my pancreas enzyme levels from my blood work. Next step is more blood work Monday for celiac (gluten issues possibly?), and then I have a follow up with my GI doctor on Wednesday. The good news is, nothing major was found, but the issue remains, there IS something wrong. Oy.
I have been given the green light to go ahead and run the half this weekend and “do as much as I feel like I can safety do” Uh…nurse lady…I don’t know if you have ever run a half marathon, but you feel like you may die for a large part of the race. It never feels “safe” heh.
Everyone who is running the race has their name on the above picture, cool huh?
So, I will be heading to Baton Rouge today to run the Woman’s half marathon as a Run Pink ambassador. I have until mile three of the race to decide if I want to continue with the half or drop down to the 10k, so I am not too worried about it. The expo is today, and the race starts at 7:00 tomorrow morning, I will be tweeting and instagram-ing before and after the race so be sure to follow me if you aren’t already (look for the social media icons on the right sidebar of the blog).
Will probably be wearing this shirt for the race
I hope everyone has a great day, I will have a race recap up on Monday or Tuesday, with my usual weekly recap up tomorrow!
QOTD: Ever had something wrong with your health but tests came back ok?
Hopefully you will get some answers soon. I am sure that is very stressful. My sister went for several years trying to figure out a health issue and spent a lot of time going to the doctor. Not fun!!! Try to stay positive and enjoy your race! Good luck with everything and I hope you feel better soon!
I’ve had stomach problems and I dropped 25 lbs (this was before I started running). I had more than a few procedures including scopes before being referred to a GI specialist who said my stomach’s own nervous system was in overdrive due to a food poisoning episode a few years prior. Thankfully I’m all fixed now.
Those couple of years were the worst of my life. I was frustrated and wasting away for far too long. But I’m all better now.
that is SO interesting to me. I had my very first food poisoning incident this summer, and it was BAD. weeks of recovery. Can you tell me what exactly you did to get better, or any other info?
Good luck Heather! Be sure to listen to your body, and remember its ok to drop down if you have to!
oh girl you know i have been in your shoes. I am glad you have a doctor who is continuing to push to help you find an answer!!
Just out of curiosity… Were the GI issues all the time or just during races?
What do you eat the night before a race? Do you consume anything right before the race, and/or during the race?
What do you eat after a race, if anything?
(If you’ve answered those before I apologize I missed it :)).
I ask because those answers have all lead me to GI issues before, and I’ve learned of few things about my own stomach by eating badly before/during/after a race… Oddly enough, what I’ve ate 2-3 days and the day before has seriously impacted my GI particularly during the longer 50k races and above (I’ve learned to avoid fiber and pasta!).
Good luck!
Oops… Just found your description of your GI issues…
A friend of mine had similar issues, and they couldn’t find an answer… Until he eliminated MSG. Oddest thing
Good luck!
Unfortunately my issues have been every day for the past 8 weeks not just race day 🙁
My daughter started having really bad GI issues a couple of years ago. We had lots of tests done and everything always came back within normal limits. Her scope showed inflammation but that was the only problem they could find. I started keeping a log of when she was having episodes and what she’d been doing and eating before an episode. The episodes always happened in the 24 hours after she ate gluten. We tested for celiac but that was normal. I KNEW it was gluten related, so I took her off everything with gluten and she was remarkably better within two weeks. The GI specialist finally believed me when we went back for a follow up and she saw the huge difference in how my daughter felt. All that to say, even the best doctors don’t know everything. Trust your instincts, research your symptoms, and test things for yourself if you think a specific food or activity is triggering the episodes. I hope you get some answers soon!
Ugh, I had that issue when I hurt my back in high school! Nothing was showing up on x-rays yet I couldn’t walk without collapsing! So frustrating! Good luck with the race this weekend, I’m heading out for a 20 mile Goofy training run!
I’m so sorry you don’t have answers yet. I’ve never been in your situation but I can imagine how frustrating it must be. I hope you get to run the half and feel good. Love the shirt!
YES. But it sounds like yours came on suddenly. I have had trouble for years and everything is always ‘normal’. So, I just have decided to watch for things that bother me and avoid those. For instance I seem to be sensitive to dairy and gluten so I just don’t eat much of either. Seems to help. I hope you get things sorted soon!
My celiac disease was diagnosed via an upper endoscope. I thought that was considered the gold standard. I had red flags in my health 14 years before the docs found celiac, and only then because I insisted on the test. Hope you can get a definitive diagnosis for your GI problems.
When they did my scope they only biopsied for h pylori not celiac. Bummer.
I’m so sorry Heather. I can imagine how frustrating it must be to not be able to pinpoint what’s going. I hope that they can find some more definitive answers for you. And I hope that the half went well this weekend!
I have a friend that has gone through a similar situation as you…her stomach can’t handle much of anything. There have been days where she hasn’t eaten a single thing all day because she couldn’t trust her tummy to not revolt. She stopped enjoying food, wearing white, being farther than a short walk away from a bathroom and more! I have felt so sorry for her as she has gone through all of this!!! 🙁 She even went and saw the doctor and they didn’t find anything either. So…fast forward to just recently and she was sharing her struggles with someone and they suggested that perhaps it was a gluten insensitivity – it was truly a lightbulb moment for her! She’s been gluten free for less than a week, but she says she noticed an almost immediate difference.
I also had a wrist problem from an accident several years back and went through rounds and rounds of doctors looking at my x-rays and acting like everything was fine even though I knew that NOTHING was fine. So I just kept pushing until I finally found a doctor that knew what was wrong and could fix it. The moral of the story is this: Doctors are only humans too and they don’t always know everything. A lot of what they do is very well-educated guessing. You know your body better than anyone and YOU know that something isn’t right. Keep pushing until they figure it out because if you don’t fight for yourself, nobody else is going to do it for you. 🙂
Hang in there and good luck!
Hope they figure something out soon! I can’t even imagine how frustrating this is for you!! :0( So sorry, friend!