Food, Fatigue and Fortitude

Tonight I went out to dinner at Flat Tire Burger in Edmond, OK with a couple of girl friends. I checked their menu before we went so I could make sure there would be food options for me to order since I do not eat ground beef regular hamburgers. Thankfully, they had turkey burgers and chicken sandwiches. I ordered a turkey burger and had a few sweet potato fries. Something went wrong. Pretty quickly after the last bite of my burger went down, I starting getting this intense sharp pain in my side. My stomach hurt the rest of the night. I took Bentyl, which is a drug that helps when I have really bad stomach pain. It did help.

I'm still not completely sure what it was. I'm thinking it was the iceberg lettuce on my burger. I typically stay away from that kind of lettuce, because I had read it does not digest well. Well, I guess that is true for me. Definitely no more iceberg lettuce.

Often times, people will say to me, "If you just eat right, you'll be fine right?" or "If your not feeling well, you just need to eat better." Food does not control Crohn's disease, it just helps manage it for me. I have been doing better the last few months, and I definitely believe it is a combination of finding the right drug (Cimzia) and sticking to a healthy diet and staying away from my "trigger foods."

Finding out what my trigger foods exactly are has been tricky, and trial and error. Some for me include iceberg lettuce, lactose, queso, food with a lot of oil or grease, raw vegetables, spicy food, and when I'm really sick I keep my diet low in fiber. Diets high in fiber make my symptoms worse when I am in a flare. But when I am doing better, I will introduce more fiber back into my diet, like eating an apple with the skin and eating a sandwich with wheat bread. I am not afraid to speak up and say no to a restaurant if I do not feel comfortable with my menu options.

I feel like that is important for anyone who needs to stick to a new diet. Be confident and do not be afraid to speak up to say "no" to certain food or restaurants. Put your health first. I would rather be able to go out to eat with friends enjoying my meal and not worried if I will be sick later. But of course, I cannot control everything, like tonight with the iceberg lettuce incident. Now, I know better :)

Food does not 100 percent control or manage inflammation for me.  I have read articles on Crohn's patients who claim to be healed from a special diet. And that is wonderful if that diet worked for them. But the plan I am on right now with my doctor seems to be helping lately, and I do not want to try anything different. I like feeling better. :)

Lately, it seems fatigue is my main enemy. Fatigue is a common symptom with chronic inflammation. When my body is constantly fighting inflammation, it is tiring. I get tired easily, require a lot of sleep and rest or downtime, and seem to get nauseating headaches often.

Isaac and I went out to Bricktown last weekend to watch his cousin's band play on Saturday night. By 11 pm, we were ready to go home and get in bed. Isaac was tired, because he had worked all day. But why was I? I slept in till 10:30 am. I'm glad we got out and did something. I try and make myself do things sometimes even when I don't feel like it. It's good for my spirit to get out and have some fun.  I definitely make sure I listen to my body when it is telling me "please let me rest." That means saying "no" to social events sometimes and just giving myself plenty of downtime to relax.

I hope anyone with a chronic illness or a health condition learns how to balance diet, social life and rest time for their body. Learning when to say "no" and when to say "yes" to help live a balanced life are pertinent. Never feel guilty for saying "no" to events or feel like you might inconvenience someone by requesting specific food items. These are the lessons of determination and boldness I have had to learn in order to take care of myself in the best way.