Hi all,
After two years of digestive issues, I found this forum yesterday. It's wonderful to see all of you coming together and providing support for one another. It really is so difficult to find that when no one in your everyday life has an idea of what you're going through.
My story is a long one and I'll spare you all the details. In a nutshell, I'm undiagnosed even though I've had multiple tests done (blood, ultrasound, CAT scan, upper endoscopy), which have all shown various levels of issues without presenting a clear diagnosis. I have a colonoscopy scheduled for next Friday, and I'm cautiously optimistic about what that will reveal.
In terms of lifestyle, I had actually essentially eliminated all of my symptoms by adopting many principles of the Paleo diet. A year ago I was a bit of a mess. I was in the lab working on my master's thesis while trying (unsuccessfully) to look for a job for when I graduated and dealing with persistent digestive episodes. I adopted the Paleo diet, began to feel better, ended up eventually finding a great job, and until a week ago felt better and happier than I had in years.
I don't know what happened last week. But I began experiencing some of the worst abdominal pain and pressure that I could ever imagine. It was centered around anything I ate -- anything at all gave me unbelievable pain non-stop. I initiated and have up till now remained on a liquid-only diet (Boost Plus), and it's helped quite a bit with the pain. But for some reason, the liquids really aggravate my system. I can hear my stomach/intestines twisting and moving around and whining for about an hour following having a shake.
I'm honestly feeling more depressed than I ever have before, and it's primarily linked with the uncertainty of what to do now with my future/career. I really like my job and want to keep it, but I don't feel that the environment is conducive to the symptoms I have, and I'm coming to realize I can't ever expect the symptoms to stop permanently. I've been thinking of leaving this job, and applying to doctoral programs and getting back into the lab I did my master's at. That was a fairly low anxiety environment in terms of dealing with digestive issues. Doing so, I'd be giving up a good chunk of my current income, though. Anyone here have experience in the life sciences? Would love to hear another perspective on this.
This post ended up going longer than I intended, and I apologize for that. Once I started writing, it just kept flowing! Thank you for having me as a part of this amazing community. I look forward to meeting each and every one of you, and learning more about your stories and health struggles.
Thanks for reading,
Mo
After two years of digestive issues, I found this forum yesterday. It's wonderful to see all of you coming together and providing support for one another. It really is so difficult to find that when no one in your everyday life has an idea of what you're going through.
My story is a long one and I'll spare you all the details. In a nutshell, I'm undiagnosed even though I've had multiple tests done (blood, ultrasound, CAT scan, upper endoscopy), which have all shown various levels of issues without presenting a clear diagnosis. I have a colonoscopy scheduled for next Friday, and I'm cautiously optimistic about what that will reveal.
In terms of lifestyle, I had actually essentially eliminated all of my symptoms by adopting many principles of the Paleo diet. A year ago I was a bit of a mess. I was in the lab working on my master's thesis while trying (unsuccessfully) to look for a job for when I graduated and dealing with persistent digestive episodes. I adopted the Paleo diet, began to feel better, ended up eventually finding a great job, and until a week ago felt better and happier than I had in years.
I don't know what happened last week. But I began experiencing some of the worst abdominal pain and pressure that I could ever imagine. It was centered around anything I ate -- anything at all gave me unbelievable pain non-stop. I initiated and have up till now remained on a liquid-only diet (Boost Plus), and it's helped quite a bit with the pain. But for some reason, the liquids really aggravate my system. I can hear my stomach/intestines twisting and moving around and whining for about an hour following having a shake.
I'm honestly feeling more depressed than I ever have before, and it's primarily linked with the uncertainty of what to do now with my future/career. I really like my job and want to keep it, but I don't feel that the environment is conducive to the symptoms I have, and I'm coming to realize I can't ever expect the symptoms to stop permanently. I've been thinking of leaving this job, and applying to doctoral programs and getting back into the lab I did my master's at. That was a fairly low anxiety environment in terms of dealing with digestive issues. Doing so, I'd be giving up a good chunk of my current income, though. Anyone here have experience in the life sciences? Would love to hear another perspective on this.
This post ended up going longer than I intended, and I apologize for that. Once I started writing, it just kept flowing! Thank you for having me as a part of this amazing community. I look forward to meeting each and every one of you, and learning more about your stories and health struggles.
Thanks for reading,
Mo
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