This is NOT about marriage, or the movie Bride for Rent (which starred Kim Chiu and Xian Lim).
This does NOT contain a recipe for cooking or baking.
This is a REMINDER...
This does NOT contain a recipe for cooking or baking.
This is a REMINDER...
BACKGROUND
Since I was a child, I was told to watch what I eat.
But then, who could resist
Now, this lack of self-control and taste for (food)adventure may probably what led me to contract Typhoid Fever... not once, but twice!... that was in high school and in college...
- No junk food.
- No street food.
But then, who could resist
- the barbecue at the kanto?
- Or the fish balls?
- And the sorbetes ("dirty" ice cream)?
Now, this lack of self-control and taste for (food)adventure may probably what led me to contract Typhoid Fever... not once, but twice!... that was in high school and in college...
Since then, I've taken care in ingesting street food and tap water. Always bottled water or soft drinks... but once I've found a reliable street food vendor, I do take my frequent ration of
And, what's to keep me from frequenting my favorite lomian at pansitan (noodle house) and order
Yum, I say!
Happy tummy?
- deep-fried fish balls & kikiam nuggets,
- tokneneng or kwek-kwek (deep-fried quail or chicken eggs in orange batter),
- palamig or samalamig (vanilla-flavored drink with ice and sago or tapioca balls and shreds of gulaman or gelatin),
- sorbetes in cheese, langka (jackfruit), cookies & cream, chocolate or ube (purple yam) flavor...
And, what's to keep me from frequenting my favorite lomian at pansitan (noodle house) and order
- lomi (fat egg noodles in thick egg drop soup with pork slices, pork liver, and shreds of cabbage and carrots, with crunchy chicharon or twice-fried pork skin),
- or miki gisado (this is lomi without the soup, just sauteed in pork broth and soy sauce)?
Yum, I say!
Happy tummy?
BACK TO NOW
Since early this year, I've noticed my tummy become bloated some days. I regularly drank a well-known probiotic drink and it helped ease the discomfort. I wouldn't want to gross everyone out so I'll spare you the details. Suffice it to say that my tummy was not happy at all. I just thought I had a sensitive tummy and it will all come to pass.
Then, I felt pain in my lower back.... and I could not sit for long. I had to lie down on my side or on my belly. I could not sleep until wee hours in the morning.
Then, I felt pain in my lower back.... and I could not sit for long. I had to lie down on my side or on my belly. I could not sleep until wee hours in the morning.
So, I went to see my obstetrician. Urinalysis results were normal.
The next day, I paid a visit to a gastroenterologist --- the doctor of the tummy and the bowels. Based on his physical examination and on my history of symptoms, he said I had dyspepsia and IBS: Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
I was like, I-B-what???
Google says a lot of things about IBS but what I get is that it's a general or broad categorization of symptoms that lead to an upset stomach like bloating, constipation and diarrhea.
He prescribed a couple of meds and scheduled me for an ultrasound of the whole abdomen to check what has been causing the pain in my tummy and my lower back.
Ultrasound results were normal. Thank God!
So, he suggested I undergo gastroscopy and colonoscopy to complete the work-up. I will be fully sedated from anesthesia while a long flexible rod with a camera is inserted through my mouth to see my esophagus, duodenum and stomach. That's gastroscopy.
Meanwhile, a colonoscopy involves inserting another rod with a camera from the other end to see my colon or large intestines.
It's just a brief procedure, like 20 minutes or so, but what's difficult is the bowel preparation part that I would have to do prior to the procedure. It involves drinking laxative and fasting. I'll spare you the details.
So I went ahead and scheduled myself for the procedure.
Here's a tutorial on YouTube that shows how these are done.
SO WHAT NOW?
Perhaps an hour after the procedure, I woke up and was told that the doctor found some gasgas (sorry, I don't know how to translate this) in my stomach lining. Probably gastritis, as mentioned in the medical certificate. The doctor prescribed antibiotics and I have to see him after two (2) weeks. Nothing to worry about, the nurses in the Operating Room said.
So now, I am on a forced soft diet, enforced by my parents.
A day after the procedure, I can now eat soft rice and fish and roasted chicken. I'm staying away, for now, from my beloved adobo (braised pork in garlic, vinegar & soy sauce), and other viands cooked with oil. I my resume eating fruits and vegetables tomorrow, when my tummy has adjusted.
I will have to watch what I eat from now on. I will have to experiment and observe which foods trigger my IBS (as it's not the same for all sufferers), though the common culprits are cheeses and dairy products, cabbage, and nuts.
Sigh....
I will have to do this to protect my tummy.
I'll have to remember that: Happy Tummy = Happy Life!
So now, I am on a forced soft diet, enforced by my parents.
A day after the procedure, I can now eat soft rice and fish and roasted chicken. I'm staying away, for now, from my beloved adobo (braised pork in garlic, vinegar & soy sauce), and other viands cooked with oil. I my resume eating fruits and vegetables tomorrow, when my tummy has adjusted.
I will have to watch what I eat from now on. I will have to experiment and observe which foods trigger my IBS (as it's not the same for all sufferers), though the common culprits are cheeses and dairy products, cabbage, and nuts.
Sigh....
I will have to do this to protect my tummy.
I'll have to remember that: Happy Tummy = Happy Life!