Saturday, April 11, 2015
Reflux With Chinese Medicine Treatment
After my wife and I returned from our cruise I booked a session with my acupuncturist. By the time I made it to the appointment it was during the Christmas holiday. At that time my acupuncturist told me that she was going back to China to work on a drug that she had developed for cancer treatment. She was not clear as to when she was going to return. This was not great news for me because it left me without the only effective treatment that I had for reflux.
By the middle of January I was getting more and more unwell. my color was pale and the pain in my abdomen had returned,also my reflux symptoms worsened. Pretty much everything that I ate caused me to choke and at some point after every meal I would vomit part of whatever I had eaten. This was not a good situation.
I started to look into other local acupuncturist. After an extensive search I had narrowed the list down to three possible candidates. my wife called all three. After talking to them she decided on our current acupuncturist. Yan Chen, a doctor of Chinese Medicine which means that not only does she do acupuncture but she will also prescribe herbal medicine. From the first appointment I had with Dr. Chen I was impressed with her knowledge and ability as a doctor. The first thing she did was look at my tongue and take my pulse. An experienced Chinese doctor can tell so many things from examining your tongue and taking your pulse. The color, shape and texture of your tongue can tell an experienced doctor of Chinese Medicine what is wrong with you. They use the pulse to get more details about your illness.
After our first appointment with Dr. Chen, I started to feel much better. the pain in my side subsided and I had less problem eating and my energy levels improved. I had a series of 3 treatments. I had herbal medicine to take everyday and I ate congee three times a day. I mentioned congee in one of my earlier posts. Essentially, congee is a kind of soup made with rice and meat. When it is cooked, it is almost as thick as oatmeal. In China, people eat congee for breakfast. It is funny, when I worked and traveled in China I always avoided congee for breakfast, now I eat it three times a day. It really does calm and coat your stomach before a meal so that it is easier to eat and digest your meal.
Delicious Apple Pie Rice
3 cups cooked rice
1 Tbsp oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/8-1/4 tsp cinnamon and allspice
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup raisin, soaked and drained
1 apple, chopped
1/2 cup almond toasted.
In a skillet cook onion and celery with the oil until softened. Stir in the seasonings, depending on how much you want. Add rice, apples and raisins. Cover. Heat thoroughly until the apple pieces are tender. Sprinkle with toasted almond and serve. This would be good with chicken and pork. It is also good as a side dish for a vegetarian entree.
Saturday, March 28, 2015
Reflux and Our Caribbean Cruise
After my disappointing bout with Western medicine for Reflux I contracted Bronchitis, something that I did not have the pleasure of suffering for almost twenty years. I think that it was brought on by the reflux. Some of the fluid that would rise up during the night got into my lungs and caused a bronchial infection, at least that is what my doctor hypothesized. At any rate, I had suggested to him that I not go on the Caribbean cruise that my wife and booked for my sixtieth birthday. He told me that it would be the best thing for me to go on the cruise.
I had to agree with my doctor that he was right, after only one day in the Caribbean all signs of my Bronchitis had disappeared. Unfortunately, I still had Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR). The flight down to Houston through Atlanta did not bother me and all of the maneuvering to get to the boat did not cause me any undue effects which I found surprising. It was all stressful but not in the same way that work is stressful so it does not have the same effect on the body which I found to be interesting.
Our first night on board the boat was busy. we were tired by the time we went to bed. I slept fitfully until 4:00 AM when I woke up in a coughing fit brought on by my LPR. I wrote for a while in my journal then I went off to the fitness center at 6:00 AM to practice Qigong.
There was so much food on board that it was difficult to decide what to eat. i tried to pick food that was not going to aggravate my reflux. Breakfast and lunch were fine because I could choose whatever I wanted in the Garden Cafe which was a full service buffet. Dinner was a little more difficult. We wanted to try the various sit restaurants on board. The food was excellent but the trouble was that the food was rich and inevitably I caused my reflux to act up as soon as we started eating. I found that I had to drink massive amounts of water just to get the food down my throat which somewhat dampened my enjoyment of the meal.
That night, I woke around 12:30 AM coughing with phlegm in my throat. I went back to sleep but I was awake again a 1;30 AM, and the phlegm was coming out of my mouth before I could make it to the bathroom.
After a few days on the boat I was finding it to be more and more difficult to find food that I could eat that was not going to bother or worsen my reflux. Every meal became a struggle to eat. I had to be very careful that mindful about everything that I ate. There were so many good things to eat but the number of things that I could actually eat was a very small subset of everything that was available.
There were a few times that I threw caution to the wind and indulged myself. My wife and I were at an art showing one evening. They were offering large glasses of red wine so I had one. I was just going to take a few sips and put it down
On the second last day on board the ship I decided to go and talk to the acupuncturist on board. the acupuncturist actually had a practice in Washington D.C. He was taking advantage of combining work with a vacation, it sounded like a great idea to me. At any rate, I told him about my symptoms and how I felt at the time. It was interesting that his recommendations were very close to what my acupuncturist at home had done. At the very least, it gave me confidence that she was doing what other acupuncturist would do. What took me by surprise was his $175 fee for one sessions. That is more than twice what my acupuncturist charges me. Since it was the last night that I was going to be on board I did not see any reason to start a course of treatment so I left.
The cruise finished and my wife and I went home. Don't get me wrong, the cruise was great in spite of suffering with acute reflux, I worked around it for meals. Other than meal time, it really did not bother me.
If you are interested in my cruise, here is the link for the series of blog posts for my cruise,caribbean-cruise-day-1.html .
Fish Baked in Banana Leaves
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
1/3 cup canned coconut milk
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup chopped green onion, optional
4 pieces of fish fillets, (tilapia, cod or basa)
4 large banana leaves defrosted.
In a blender add cilantro, ginger, coconut milk, coconut. Blend until smooth.
Place one banana leave on a cookie sheet Place a fish fillet in the middle Top each piece of fish with 1/4 of the paste from the blender. Sprinkle with green onions if using. Fold the banana leaf like wrapping a present. Tie with string, or make sure the opening is on the bottom to keep the package from opening. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes, depending of the size of the fillet.
Unwrap carefully and serve with steamed rice.
I had to agree with my doctor that he was right, after only one day in the Caribbean all signs of my Bronchitis had disappeared. Unfortunately, I still had Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR). The flight down to Houston through Atlanta did not bother me and all of the maneuvering to get to the boat did not cause me any undue effects which I found surprising. It was all stressful but not in the same way that work is stressful so it does not have the same effect on the body which I found to be interesting.
Our first night on board the boat was busy. we were tired by the time we went to bed. I slept fitfully until 4:00 AM when I woke up in a coughing fit brought on by my LPR. I wrote for a while in my journal then I went off to the fitness center at 6:00 AM to practice Qigong.
There was so much food on board that it was difficult to decide what to eat. i tried to pick food that was not going to aggravate my reflux. Breakfast and lunch were fine because I could choose whatever I wanted in the Garden Cafe which was a full service buffet. Dinner was a little more difficult. We wanted to try the various sit restaurants on board. The food was excellent but the trouble was that the food was rich and inevitably I caused my reflux to act up as soon as we started eating. I found that I had to drink massive amounts of water just to get the food down my throat which somewhat dampened my enjoyment of the meal.
That night, I woke around 12:30 AM coughing with phlegm in my throat. I went back to sleep but I was awake again a 1;30 AM, and the phlegm was coming out of my mouth before I could make it to the bathroom.
After a few days on the boat I was finding it to be more and more difficult to find food that I could eat that was not going to bother or worsen my reflux. Every meal became a struggle to eat. I had to be very careful that mindful about everything that I ate. There were so many good things to eat but the number of things that I could actually eat was a very small subset of everything that was available.
There were a few times that I threw caution to the wind and indulged myself. My wife and I were at an art showing one evening. They were offering large glasses of red wine so I had one. I was just going to take a few sips and put it down
On the second last day on board the ship I decided to go and talk to the acupuncturist on board. the acupuncturist actually had a practice in Washington D.C. He was taking advantage of combining work with a vacation, it sounded like a great idea to me. At any rate, I told him about my symptoms and how I felt at the time. It was interesting that his recommendations were very close to what my acupuncturist at home had done. At the very least, it gave me confidence that she was doing what other acupuncturist would do. What took me by surprise was his $175 fee for one sessions. That is more than twice what my acupuncturist charges me. Since it was the last night that I was going to be on board I did not see any reason to start a course of treatment so I left.
The cruise finished and my wife and I went home. Don't get me wrong, the cruise was great in spite of suffering with acute reflux, I worked around it for meals. Other than meal time, it really did not bother me.
If you are interested in my cruise, here is the link for the series of blog posts for my cruise,caribbean-cruise-day-1.html .
Fish Baked in Banana Leaves
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
1/3 cup canned coconut milk
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup chopped green onion, optional
4 pieces of fish fillets, (tilapia, cod or basa)
4 large banana leaves defrosted.
In a blender add cilantro, ginger, coconut milk, coconut. Blend until smooth.
Place one banana leave on a cookie sheet Place a fish fillet in the middle Top each piece of fish with 1/4 of the paste from the blender. Sprinkle with green onions if using. Fold the banana leaf like wrapping a present. Tie with string, or make sure the opening is on the bottom to keep the package from opening. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes, depending of the size of the fillet.
Unwrap carefully and serve with steamed rice.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Reflux and Drugs
Let me start off by saying that I hate taking drugs. I do not even like taking aspirin which usually I don't because I rarely have a headache. Even if I did have a headache I would use some natural method to treat it like acupressure to the point on my hand between the thumb and the first finger. So, it was with great reluctance that I decided to fill my doctor's prescription after keeping it attached to the side of our refrigerator with a magnet.
One Sunday afternoon, my wife and I went to the pharmacy to fill my prescription. There were two drugs that my doctor prescribed for me; Dexlansoprazole Dexlansoprazole and Domperidone Domperidone. Dexlansoprazole is designed to reduced the amount of acid in your stomach. It part of a class of drugs referred to as proton pump inhibitors. Dexlansoprazole works by arresting the final step in acid production in the stomach thereby reducing acid in the stomach. Domperidone is used to help empty the stomach after eating.
I took one Domperidone before lunch and it seemed to help. I took another one before dinner and it had a similar effect. For the first few days I took three Domperidone and two Dexlansoprazole every day as prescribed. After a few days I realized that although my stomach was feeling better and my reflux symptoms seemed to be getting better I was experiencing a constant low grade headache that did not go away and I realized that I was experiencing a constant elevated heart rate, it was as if I was constantly exercising.
I decided to cut back on the Domperidone, instead of three a day, I only took two a day. My elevated heart rate was less noticeable but the constant headache did not go away. Then I had the experience of taking the Delansoprazole too close to the time when I was practicing Qigong in the evening. After about five minutes of practice I felt the pill rise back up into my throat. I lost most of the contents of the capsule in the bathroom sink. After that, I took the pill after my practice.
The Dexlansoprazole and the Domperidone seemed to be working well for me for about two weeks and then it just stopped working. All the symptoms came back. In fact, taking these drugs actually seemed to make my condition worse. I woke up one night about two in the morning coughing. I got up and went to the bathroom where I vomited the contents of my stomach. I was really beginning to think that this medication was not working for me. It was about this time that I decided to go back to the literature on these drugs and read the sections about side effects. I was a little surprised by what I found.
Long term use of Dexlansoprazole is not recommended by the FDA because of the side effects. Because Delansoprazole works by reducing acid in the stomach it also interferes with the absorption of iron, calcium. magnesium and vitamin B12, all are important minerals in our daily lives. There is also a risk of contracting pneumonia because the reduction in stomach acid makes it more likely that hostile bacteria can attack your system. There is an increased risk of C- difficle for much the same reason, disrupting the environment of the gut makes it more likely that bacteria like C - difficle can attack the body.
I am not saying that you should never take Dexlansoprazole or any other proton pump inhibitor. What I am saying is that you need to fully aware of the benefits and the side effects of these drugs before you start taking them and then use these drugs with caution. You should never use these drugs longer than necessary.
Here is another delicious recipe that I find very easy to eat with reflux.
Potato and Kale Soup
1 slice of bacon, cut up small
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered.
1 leek, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon thyme
salt & pepper to taste
1 box chicken stock
4 cups water
1/2 bunch of kale, sliced
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Cook bacon in a large pot until brown. Add potatoes and leeks. Stir until the leeks are softened. Add garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, stir until vegetables are slightly wilted.
Add water and chicken stock. Bring it up to a boil, turn down to simmer for about 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
Add kale and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until kale is wilted. Stir in Worcestershire sauce. Carefully puree soup in a blender until smooth. Serve topped with sour cream.
One Sunday afternoon, my wife and I went to the pharmacy to fill my prescription. There were two drugs that my doctor prescribed for me; Dexlansoprazole Dexlansoprazole and Domperidone Domperidone. Dexlansoprazole is designed to reduced the amount of acid in your stomach. It part of a class of drugs referred to as proton pump inhibitors. Dexlansoprazole works by arresting the final step in acid production in the stomach thereby reducing acid in the stomach. Domperidone is used to help empty the stomach after eating.
I took one Domperidone before lunch and it seemed to help. I took another one before dinner and it had a similar effect. For the first few days I took three Domperidone and two Dexlansoprazole every day as prescribed. After a few days I realized that although my stomach was feeling better and my reflux symptoms seemed to be getting better I was experiencing a constant low grade headache that did not go away and I realized that I was experiencing a constant elevated heart rate, it was as if I was constantly exercising.
I decided to cut back on the Domperidone, instead of three a day, I only took two a day. My elevated heart rate was less noticeable but the constant headache did not go away. Then I had the experience of taking the Delansoprazole too close to the time when I was practicing Qigong in the evening. After about five minutes of practice I felt the pill rise back up into my throat. I lost most of the contents of the capsule in the bathroom sink. After that, I took the pill after my practice.
The Dexlansoprazole and the Domperidone seemed to be working well for me for about two weeks and then it just stopped working. All the symptoms came back. In fact, taking these drugs actually seemed to make my condition worse. I woke up one night about two in the morning coughing. I got up and went to the bathroom where I vomited the contents of my stomach. I was really beginning to think that this medication was not working for me. It was about this time that I decided to go back to the literature on these drugs and read the sections about side effects. I was a little surprised by what I found.
Long term use of Dexlansoprazole is not recommended by the FDA because of the side effects. Because Delansoprazole works by reducing acid in the stomach it also interferes with the absorption of iron, calcium. magnesium and vitamin B12, all are important minerals in our daily lives. There is also a risk of contracting pneumonia because the reduction in stomach acid makes it more likely that hostile bacteria can attack your system. There is an increased risk of C- difficle for much the same reason, disrupting the environment of the gut makes it more likely that bacteria like C - difficle can attack the body.
I am not saying that you should never take Dexlansoprazole or any other proton pump inhibitor. What I am saying is that you need to fully aware of the benefits and the side effects of these drugs before you start taking them and then use these drugs with caution. You should never use these drugs longer than necessary.
Here is another delicious recipe that I find very easy to eat with reflux.
Potato and Kale Soup
1 slice of bacon, cut up small
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered.
1 leek, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon thyme
salt & pepper to taste
1 box chicken stock
4 cups water
1/2 bunch of kale, sliced
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Cook bacon in a large pot until brown. Add potatoes and leeks. Stir until the leeks are softened. Add garlic, thyme, salt and pepper, stir until vegetables are slightly wilted.
Add water and chicken stock. Bring it up to a boil, turn down to simmer for about 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender.
Add kale and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until kale is wilted. Stir in Worcestershire sauce. Carefully puree soup in a blender until smooth. Serve topped with sour cream.
Monday, March 2, 2015
Reflux and Diet
Acupuncture helped my LPR but I still had it. I had been reading that diet could help. After some searching in the library I found a book with an interesting title, "Dropping Acid: The Reflux Diet, Cookbook and Cure", By Jamie Koufman, M.D. and Jordan Stern, M.D. with French Master Chef Marc Bauer. Dropping-Acid-Reflux-Diet-Cookbook
One of the first things that I learned from this book was that it is not stomach acid that is the problem, it is actually a digestive enzyme called pepsin Pepsin. Pepsin only works when acid is present and it does not care what acid it uses. It will use the acid in our food or it will attack the lining of the throat or esophagus. The authors go on to show the damage that pepsin can do to a body consuming highly acidic foods.
The book gives some steps to get immediate relief from reflux.
1) Don't smoke, it causes reflux.
2) Don't wear tight clothing. especially around the waist.
3) Do not exercise right after eating
4) Do not lie down right after eating, do not eat within 3 hours of bedtime.
5) Elevate the head of your bed if you experience reflux at night.
In the diet section of Dropping Acid, the authors go through , "The Best Foods List", "Best Foods for Refluxer", "Notoriously Bad Reflux Foods". There is a chapter on avoiding acidic foods and beverages. I found that chapter to be especially useful, it has list of the pH of good and bad foods.We did not try them all but the recipes that we did try were very good.
I went through their two week "Induction Diet" and I can say that it further helped reduce my symptoms. I was very much aware of what I could eat and what I could not eat. Basically, any food or beverage with a pH pH less than 5 was off limits. That includes a whole lot foods that I used to eat and enjoy. There were some foods that the diet said I couldn't eat but I could eat them, and other things that I was supposed to be able to eat, but made the reflux worse. I came to realize that this disease has some personal characteristics that you can only come to know through trial and error.
Tomatoes are one of the worst things for reflux, not only tomatoes but tomato sauce, tomato paste, salsa, virtually anything that has a tomato base. I never realized how many foods that we eat that are tomato based or have some sauce or aspect of the dish that contains tomatoes. Like many people in North America, we eat pasta. I would say in a normal week, we would eat pasta at least once, maybe twice and it would usually be pasta with tomato sauce. My wife went to great lengths to come up with a viable pasta dish that was not tomato based. I think she did a great job, I really enjoy the dish that she made and I hope you will too.
I would recommend this book to anyone. It is informative and offers a way to manage reflux without taking drugs. Speaking of drugs, I will write about my experience with reflux drugs in my next post.
Linguine with Clam Sauce
1/2 pound linguine or spaghetti
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme or 1/4 tsp. fresh thyme
salt & pepper
1 - 7 oz can of clams
Bring a large pot of water to boil to cook the spaghetti, add about a tablespoon of salt to the water. Cook according to the package directions until the pasta is tender but not fully cooked. Drain.
While the pasta is cooking, in a large saute pan add olive oil. Cooking garlic for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in wine, thyme and clam juice from the can. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until the liquid comes to a boil. Stir in clams, season with salt and pepper to taste. Add pasta and toss with tongs. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
One of the first things that I learned from this book was that it is not stomach acid that is the problem, it is actually a digestive enzyme called pepsin Pepsin. Pepsin only works when acid is present and it does not care what acid it uses. It will use the acid in our food or it will attack the lining of the throat or esophagus. The authors go on to show the damage that pepsin can do to a body consuming highly acidic foods.
The book gives some steps to get immediate relief from reflux.
1) Don't smoke, it causes reflux.
2) Don't wear tight clothing. especially around the waist.
3) Do not exercise right after eating
4) Do not lie down right after eating, do not eat within 3 hours of bedtime.
5) Elevate the head of your bed if you experience reflux at night.
In the diet section of Dropping Acid, the authors go through , "The Best Foods List", "Best Foods for Refluxer", "Notoriously Bad Reflux Foods". There is a chapter on avoiding acidic foods and beverages. I found that chapter to be especially useful, it has list of the pH of good and bad foods.We did not try them all but the recipes that we did try were very good.
I went through their two week "Induction Diet" and I can say that it further helped reduce my symptoms. I was very much aware of what I could eat and what I could not eat. Basically, any food or beverage with a pH pH less than 5 was off limits. That includes a whole lot foods that I used to eat and enjoy. There were some foods that the diet said I couldn't eat but I could eat them, and other things that I was supposed to be able to eat, but made the reflux worse. I came to realize that this disease has some personal characteristics that you can only come to know through trial and error.
Tomatoes are one of the worst things for reflux, not only tomatoes but tomato sauce, tomato paste, salsa, virtually anything that has a tomato base. I never realized how many foods that we eat that are tomato based or have some sauce or aspect of the dish that contains tomatoes. Like many people in North America, we eat pasta. I would say in a normal week, we would eat pasta at least once, maybe twice and it would usually be pasta with tomato sauce. My wife went to great lengths to come up with a viable pasta dish that was not tomato based. I think she did a great job, I really enjoy the dish that she made and I hope you will too.
I would recommend this book to anyone. It is informative and offers a way to manage reflux without taking drugs. Speaking of drugs, I will write about my experience with reflux drugs in my next post.
Linguine with Clam Sauce
1/2 pound linguine or spaghetti
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme or 1/4 tsp. fresh thyme
salt & pepper
1 - 7 oz can of clams
Bring a large pot of water to boil to cook the spaghetti, add about a tablespoon of salt to the water. Cook according to the package directions until the pasta is tender but not fully cooked. Drain.
While the pasta is cooking, in a large saute pan add olive oil. Cooking garlic for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in wine, thyme and clam juice from the can. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until the liquid comes to a boil. Stir in clams, season with salt and pepper to taste. Add pasta and toss with tongs. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Sunday, February 22, 2015
Acupuncture, Acid Reflux and Steamed Chicken
The Monday after my procedures I went to see my family doctor. After describing the symptoms to him he told me that I had Atypical reflux otherwise called LPR (LaryngoPharyngeal Reflux)Laryngopharyngeal_reflux. He wrote out a prescription for me to take for the reflux. as it happened, I had a regular acupuncture appointment scheduled right after my Western doctor's appointment. i told my acupuncturist what had happened and what my symptoms were. She told me that she could treat it. another-acupuncture-study-on-heartburn She put eight acupuncture needles in my stomach an needle in the web between my thumb and forefinger, a needles in the location called stomach 36 why-are-you-doing-that-point-st36 and liver 8liver-8 in each foot. When she was satisfied that she had all of the needles in place she heated all of the needles with a stone that she had heated somehow. I immediately started to feel better. When I went home to eat dinner I had much less trouble to eat than before. I have another appointment on Wednesday, I am looking forward to it.
On Wednesday I had my second treatment. It was much the same as the first treatment with the placement of needles and the heating with a hot stone. I was really hoping that these two treatments would do the trick because I was really looking forward to sleeping again.
I had my third treatment on the following Monday. Over the weekend before I had my third treatment I started to feel stronger and my energy levels were higher. After my third treatment, I felt much better the following morning. I had one more session booked for that Friday. My condition improved, I could eat more normally and the effects of the phlegm are less. Still, I have to sleep with three pillows to prop me up or else the reflux rises into my throat in the middle of the night. The acupuncture made a big difference in my condition but it did not get rid of it completely.
Here is a recipe that my wife made for me during this time that was very easy for me to eat.
Steamed Chicken
1/2 pound of skinless chicken thighs, cut in bite size pieces
6 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked and sliced
1 green onion, cut into 1" pieces
1 chinese sausage, sliced (optional)
2 teaspoons shredded ginger
2 teaspoons rice wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Place all the ingredient in a heat proof bowl, mix well.
Spread evenly. Place into a pot with a rack. Steam for 15 - 20 minutes until chicken is cooked
Eat with rice.
On Wednesday I had my second treatment. It was much the same as the first treatment with the placement of needles and the heating with a hot stone. I was really hoping that these two treatments would do the trick because I was really looking forward to sleeping again.
I had my third treatment on the following Monday. Over the weekend before I had my third treatment I started to feel stronger and my energy levels were higher. After my third treatment, I felt much better the following morning. I had one more session booked for that Friday. My condition improved, I could eat more normally and the effects of the phlegm are less. Still, I have to sleep with three pillows to prop me up or else the reflux rises into my throat in the middle of the night. The acupuncture made a big difference in my condition but it did not get rid of it completely.
Here is a recipe that my wife made for me during this time that was very easy for me to eat.
Steamed Chicken
1/2 pound of skinless chicken thighs, cut in bite size pieces
6 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked and sliced
1 green onion, cut into 1" pieces
1 chinese sausage, sliced (optional)
2 teaspoons shredded ginger
2 teaspoons rice wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Place all the ingredient in a heat proof bowl, mix well.
Spread evenly. Place into a pot with a rack. Steam for 15 - 20 minutes until chicken is cooked
Eat with rice.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
Colonoscopy and Endoscopy
At the best of times I have a strong dislike for hospitals.. The fact that I was going to go to the hospital and have not one but two invasive procedures done to me was not something that I was looking forward to. On the other hand I was really looking forward to finding out what was wrong with me.
Since I only had one day to prepare for the procedure and I was not feeling well I stayed home. Besides, I very well could not go to work when I needed to go to the bathroom every hour. Also, the effects on my stomach were not pleasant. Let's say that the laxative that was prescribed to me was more than effective.
I was not allowed to eat any solid food while I was preparing for my tests, only clear liquids. There is only so much water, and jello that you can eat. My wife made this delicious Beef Bone Broth that was not only tasty but it was nutritious as well. My wife also brought home some other things for me to try that she bought at a health food store, Goodness Me, goodnessme.ca, in Burlington. She bought Aloe water and something that I had heard about but never tried; Kombucha,Kombucha. I did not like the Aloe water but I drank it because,after all my wife bought it for me. I tried the Kombucha and found that it settled my stomach immediately. Kombucha has become a mainstay of my treatment. My wife bought quite a few bottles of Kombucha but it is not the cheapest beverage to buy so we figured out how to make it ourselves. It turned out to be a lot easier than we thought. We have included the recipe for Kombucha that we use along with the link to the website. As it turns out, my favorite flavor of Kombucha is ginger.
Since there was not a lot for me to do at home, I started researching my symptoms on the Internet. There is a lot of misleading information on the Internet. In this blog I am only going to share information that I know from my own experience. I am not a doctor and I do not have any kind of medical credentials behind my name so I can only tell you what I know from my own experience. Following the various symptoms for gastrointestinal diseases I came up with GERD, gerd. The thing is I did not and still do not have the traditional symptoms of GERD, mainly a burning sensation in my stomach. I have never felt that. Instead, I have phlegm in my throat, a constant cough, difficulty swallowing when I eat, hiccups when I eat and after meals and especially in the middle of the night, I have food and liquid rising back up into my throat. The only thing that I found that even came close to my symptoms was LPR (Laryngopharyngeal Reflux ) Disease, Laryngopharyngeal_reflux. Yet I was not sure because the doctors at the ER said that I did not have Reflux.
So Wednesday came, my wife drove me to the hospital for my procedures. I was admitted to the surgical ward and then I waited. I had anticipated the wait so I brought a small paperback with me to read, something that I could slip into my coat pocket when it was time to go in for my procedures. It was a book that I had read many times, Chinese Folk Medicine, by Heinrich Wallnofer and Anna Von Rottauscher. Chinese-medicine-acupuncture. After a long wait I was given a bed and instructed to get undressed and put on a gown. After that, I sat in the bed and waited so more. Eventually, I was taken to the operating room where I met a cheerful Dr. Choi and his anesthesiologist who I remember that she was very personable and chatty. Of course, It did not take long before she had me out like a light. The next thing that I remember was that I was waking up in my bed in the same spot where I was before the procedure. My nurse came by and told me that everything went well and that Dr. Choi would come and see me. Dr. Choi came by shortly to see me. He told that they did not find anything in my colon, or in my esophagus or larynx. He did find something irregular in my stomach that he took a biopsy an sent it for analysis.
So after all that, I still did not know what was wrong with me. Afterwards, I made an appointment with my family doctor to find out the results of the tests. I had to know what was wrong with me so that I could do something about it.
Beef Bone Broth
1-2 lbs beef bones
1 carrot, cut up
1 stalk celery, cut up
1 onion, cut in half
Place all the cut up vegetables in a roasting pan. Put the bones on top.
Roast for an hour, or until the bones are brown. It they look dried up, that's ok, it will have better flavour.
Take everything from the roasting pan and put it into a big soup pot or the crock pot. Pour hot water into the roasting pan. Let it soak for 10 minutes. Then try to remove all the bits stuck to it. Pour the liquid into the pot. Add water to cover all the bones and vegetables. Bring to a boil and cover, simmer for 2-3 hours. In the crock pot, cover the bones with water, place cover on the crockpot and set the timer on high for 5 hours.
When the soup is done, pour the soup liquid through a sieve and throw the bones and vegetables away. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. If the soup is fatty, skim off the fat, or let it cool and remove the hardened fat.
Kambucha.
3 1/2 quarts of water
1 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of green or black tea.
Follow the instruction on the following web site http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-kombucha-tea-at-home-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-173858. It is not hard to make, it takes a little practice.You will need to make the recipe for a scoby(this will ferment your tea) You will need some clean jars for your finished tea. You can have a fresh batch every 2-3 weeks. It is much cheaper than the bottles for sale in the Health Food stores
I was not allowed to eat any solid food while I was preparing for my tests, only clear liquids. There is only so much water, and jello that you can eat. My wife made this delicious Beef Bone Broth that was not only tasty but it was nutritious as well. My wife also brought home some other things for me to try that she bought at a health food store, Goodness Me, goodnessme.ca, in Burlington. She bought Aloe water and something that I had heard about but never tried; Kombucha,Kombucha. I did not like the Aloe water but I drank it because,after all my wife bought it for me. I tried the Kombucha and found that it settled my stomach immediately. Kombucha has become a mainstay of my treatment. My wife bought quite a few bottles of Kombucha but it is not the cheapest beverage to buy so we figured out how to make it ourselves. It turned out to be a lot easier than we thought. We have included the recipe for Kombucha that we use along with the link to the website. As it turns out, my favorite flavor of Kombucha is ginger.
Since there was not a lot for me to do at home, I started researching my symptoms on the Internet. There is a lot of misleading information on the Internet. In this blog I am only going to share information that I know from my own experience. I am not a doctor and I do not have any kind of medical credentials behind my name so I can only tell you what I know from my own experience. Following the various symptoms for gastrointestinal diseases I came up with GERD, gerd. The thing is I did not and still do not have the traditional symptoms of GERD, mainly a burning sensation in my stomach. I have never felt that. Instead, I have phlegm in my throat, a constant cough, difficulty swallowing when I eat, hiccups when I eat and after meals and especially in the middle of the night, I have food and liquid rising back up into my throat. The only thing that I found that even came close to my symptoms was LPR (Laryngopharyngeal Reflux ) Disease, Laryngopharyngeal_reflux. Yet I was not sure because the doctors at the ER said that I did not have Reflux.
So Wednesday came, my wife drove me to the hospital for my procedures. I was admitted to the surgical ward and then I waited. I had anticipated the wait so I brought a small paperback with me to read, something that I could slip into my coat pocket when it was time to go in for my procedures. It was a book that I had read many times, Chinese Folk Medicine, by Heinrich Wallnofer and Anna Von Rottauscher. Chinese-medicine-acupuncture. After a long wait I was given a bed and instructed to get undressed and put on a gown. After that, I sat in the bed and waited so more. Eventually, I was taken to the operating room where I met a cheerful Dr. Choi and his anesthesiologist who I remember that she was very personable and chatty. Of course, It did not take long before she had me out like a light. The next thing that I remember was that I was waking up in my bed in the same spot where I was before the procedure. My nurse came by and told me that everything went well and that Dr. Choi would come and see me. Dr. Choi came by shortly to see me. He told that they did not find anything in my colon, or in my esophagus or larynx. He did find something irregular in my stomach that he took a biopsy an sent it for analysis.
So after all that, I still did not know what was wrong with me. Afterwards, I made an appointment with my family doctor to find out the results of the tests. I had to know what was wrong with me so that I could do something about it.
Beef Bone Broth
1-2 lbs beef bones
1 carrot, cut up
1 stalk celery, cut up
1 onion, cut in half
Place all the cut up vegetables in a roasting pan. Put the bones on top.
Roast for an hour, or until the bones are brown. It they look dried up, that's ok, it will have better flavour.
Take everything from the roasting pan and put it into a big soup pot or the crock pot. Pour hot water into the roasting pan. Let it soak for 10 minutes. Then try to remove all the bits stuck to it. Pour the liquid into the pot. Add water to cover all the bones and vegetables. Bring to a boil and cover, simmer for 2-3 hours. In the crock pot, cover the bones with water, place cover on the crockpot and set the timer on high for 5 hours.
When the soup is done, pour the soup liquid through a sieve and throw the bones and vegetables away. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper. If the soup is fatty, skim off the fat, or let it cool and remove the hardened fat.
Kambucha.
3 1/2 quarts of water
1 cup of sugar
2 tablespoons of green or black tea.
Follow the instruction on the following web site http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-kombucha-tea-at-home-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-173858. It is not hard to make, it takes a little practice.You will need to make the recipe for a scoby(this will ferment your tea) You will need some clean jars for your finished tea. You can have a fresh batch every 2-3 weeks. It is much cheaper than the bottles for sale in the Health Food stores
Sunday, February 8, 2015
A TRIP TO THE ER
At the end of my last post I said that the doctor on duty at the walk-in clinic sent me to the ER. That was the last place that I wanted to be on Thanksgiving day. My wife drove me to the ER at Joseph Brant hospital josephbranthospital.ca. I was somewhat surprised to see that the ER was full when I got there. I went through the usual paper work to check in, then I wound up telling my story to three different people before I was told to sit down in the waiting room and wait my turn. My wife had the presence of mind to go home while we waiting, since we only live about 15 minutes from the hospital, and come back with a Thermos of hot tea and sandwiches to eat while we were waiting. That was good thing because I was not going to get anything to eat for a long time. Also, my wife came back with a book and my Ipod so that I could listen when I was tired of reading. Still, after a while, you get bored and impatient of waiting. I was in extreme discomfort and somewhat anxious wondering why I had been sent to the ER.
Finally, I got in. I told my wife to go home, I would text her to let her know what was going on. After I was admitted to ER i got to tell my story again to an ER nurse. She took my blood pressure, my pulse and asked me a whole list of questions, most of which seemed irrelevant to me but what do I know. Another nurse took five vials of blood and put a butterfly connection in my arm just in case it might be needed later. All of this did nothing to allay my fears. After that I was put into a room and told to wait, which I did. I waited, and waited, and waited. eventually, the resident came in and asked me the same questions again. I guess everyone has to ask you the same questions just in case you might have left something out of one of your versions but I don't think that anyone shares any of this information. At any rate, she told me that I was going to have a chest and pelvic X-ray Chest_radiograph Pelvis Radiographic Anatomy and an abdominal ultrasound Abdominal ultrasonography. At the end she said that she was going to have a surgeon come in and see me. I was becoming more and more nervous about where all of this was going.
Eventually, the surgeon, Dr. Choi, came to see me. He was pleasant enough and actually asked me some new questions which was a relief. He said that I did not seem to need emergency surgery but he wanted to book a colonoscopy
and a gastroscopy
for the following Wednesday. What could I say, I agreed.
Then there was another long wait until I could have my X-Ray
and Ultrasound.
All this time, I had nothing to eat or drink. I asked my nurse, a pleasant young woman, for water. She told me I could not have water but she would bring we ice just as soon as I had my Ultrasound. It was a long, long wait but eventually I was taken for an Ultrasound. Right after my Ultrasound I went for my X-Ray then I was taken back to my little room. As soon as was back in the room my nurse brought me a cup of ice chips for which I was eternally grateful.
At the end of all of this poking, prodding and testing, the resident came back to see me and told that they could not see anything physically wrong with me. That did not mean that there was nothing wrong with me, all it meant was that they could not see anything wrong with me based on the history and tests that they conducted that day. I had the colonoscopy and gastroscopy to look forward to the following Wednesday.
I do not have a recipe this week because I hardly had anything to eat that day in the ER but there are some things that you might think about, Aloe water, Coconut water and Kombucha. I tried all three in the following weeks but more about that in the next post.
Finally, I got in. I told my wife to go home, I would text her to let her know what was going on. After I was admitted to ER i got to tell my story again to an ER nurse. She took my blood pressure, my pulse and asked me a whole list of questions, most of which seemed irrelevant to me but what do I know. Another nurse took five vials of blood and put a butterfly connection in my arm just in case it might be needed later. All of this did nothing to allay my fears. After that I was put into a room and told to wait, which I did. I waited, and waited, and waited. eventually, the resident came in and asked me the same questions again. I guess everyone has to ask you the same questions just in case you might have left something out of one of your versions but I don't think that anyone shares any of this information. At any rate, she told me that I was going to have a chest and pelvic X-ray Chest_radiograph Pelvis Radiographic Anatomy and an abdominal ultrasound Abdominal ultrasonography. At the end she said that she was going to have a surgeon come in and see me. I was becoming more and more nervous about where all of this was going.
Eventually, the surgeon, Dr. Choi, came to see me. He was pleasant enough and actually asked me some new questions which was a relief. He said that I did not seem to need emergency surgery but he wanted to book a colonoscopy
and a gastroscopy
for the following Wednesday. What could I say, I agreed.
Then there was another long wait until I could have my X-Ray
and Ultrasound.
All this time, I had nothing to eat or drink. I asked my nurse, a pleasant young woman, for water. She told me I could not have water but she would bring we ice just as soon as I had my Ultrasound. It was a long, long wait but eventually I was taken for an Ultrasound. Right after my Ultrasound I went for my X-Ray then I was taken back to my little room. As soon as was back in the room my nurse brought me a cup of ice chips for which I was eternally grateful.
At the end of all of this poking, prodding and testing, the resident came back to see me and told that they could not see anything physically wrong with me. That did not mean that there was nothing wrong with me, all it meant was that they could not see anything wrong with me based on the history and tests that they conducted that day. I had the colonoscopy and gastroscopy to look forward to the following Wednesday.
I do not have a recipe this week because I hardly had anything to eat that day in the ER but there are some things that you might think about, Aloe water, Coconut water and Kombucha. I tried all three in the following weeks but more about that in the next post.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
NOT THE THANKSGIVING THAT I HAD PLANNED FOR
In my first post I wrote about the experience I had during the lunch that my wife and I hosted last September. In the days and weeks after the lunch I continued to have indigestion and an upset stomach from time to time. Often, I would get hiccups during meals to the point where I was having hiccups at almost every meal. I was distressing. Still, I had no idea of what was going on. I thought I was stressed at work which was true but I could not understand how that was affecting my eating.
Jump forward to Thanksgiving. Like everyone else, we make a big deal out of Thanksgiving dinner. The family came for Thanksgiving dinner. I remember that I had spent the better part of the afternoon in my workshop working on a few projects. When I came in before dinner everyone was already engaged in eating appetizers. I was hungry from working in my shop so I dug into the cheese and crackers. I remember that I ate my fill of cheese and crackers before dinner.
As I said, Thanksgiving dinner was a big affair for us. We had roast duck, sweet potatoes with pecans, salad, and bread. We also had a bottle of champagne to celebrate the occasion. About half way through the meal I started to have problems. I could hardly get the food down my throat because of the phlegm coming up my throat. Then, I started to get pains in my right side. I tried not to make a big deal of it because I did not want to ruin everyone's Thanksgiving dinner.
The next morning, the pain had not gone away, in fact, it had gotten worse, a lot worse. Since it was Sunday, we decided to go to the walk-in clinic. We went right after breakfast thinking that I would be in and out with a prescription to cure my indigestion, or whatever was ailing me and that would be that. We were totally unprepared for what happened next.
I did not wait long at the walk-in clinic, there were not that many there on Sunday morning. I was thankful for that. The attending doctor examined me then told me that I had to go to ER.
Here's a recipe from my Thanksgiving Dinner, it went down pretty easy.
6 tablespoons butter, cut into 6 pieces
8 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
Pecan Topping
1 1/2 cups pecan pieces, toasted in an oven for 5 minutes
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg white
1/8 teaspoon salt
Melt butter in a large pot, or a deep skillet over medium heat. Add sweet potatoes, brown sugar, salt, pepper and water, bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low; cover. Cooke for 30 to 45 minutes until the potatoes are soft enough to mash. Take the cover off, continue to simmer until all most of the liquid has evaporated. Around 10 minutes more. Mash potatoes and place into a baking dish around 8 x 8 inches.
Topping: Mix everything together for the topping in a separate bowl.
Spread topping over the mashed potatoes. Bake until the pecans are toasted and potatoes are warm. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes, longer if the potatoes are cold. Serve.
Here's a recipe from my Thanksgiving Dinner, it went down pretty easy.
Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Pecans
6 tablespoons butter, cut into 6 pieces
8 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
Pecan Topping
1 1/2 cups pecan pieces, toasted in an oven for 5 minutes
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg white
1/8 teaspoon salt
Melt butter in a large pot, or a deep skillet over medium heat. Add sweet potatoes, brown sugar, salt, pepper and water, bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low; cover. Cooke for 30 to 45 minutes until the potatoes are soft enough to mash. Take the cover off, continue to simmer until all most of the liquid has evaporated. Around 10 minutes more. Mash potatoes and place into a baking dish around 8 x 8 inches.
Topping: Mix everything together for the topping in a separate bowl.
Spread topping over the mashed potatoes. Bake until the pecans are toasted and potatoes are warm. Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes, longer if the potatoes are cold. Serve.
Monday, January 26, 2015
THE BEGINNING OF THE TALE
I first noticed that something was wrong at a luncheon that my wife and I hosted one Saturday in September of 2014. We had a few friends and neighbors at our house for lunch. We had appetizers of cheese and crackers, vegetables and dip, and drinks before lunch. there was lot of conversation and everyone was having a good time, including me.
Then it was time to sit for lunch. It was quite a healthy lunch, my wife and I are mostly vegetarian so we served a variety of vegetables and other items. We started with a green salad, sliced roast beef and salami for our guests (just because we eat vegetarian there is no reason that our guests have to!), cheese and olive bread, butternut squash soup, smoked salmon and a freshly baked raspberry tart for dessert along with tea and or coffee.
I first noticed that I gagged on the freshly made raspberry dressing for the salad. The salad actually stuck in my throat just when someone asked me a question. It took a while to clear my throat before I could speak. I thought it was odd at the time but I did not think more of it. The soup went down without any problem and I had a small piece of salmon that was absolutely delicious and easy to swallow. However, I a some preserved fig on a piece of bread. As soon as the fig hit the back of my throat and I tasted the vinegary flavor my throat closed up. I picked up my glass of wine to wash the fig down but it only made the matters worse. I actually had to get up from the table and go to the bathroom to clear the phlegm from my throat.
The entire episode was a mystery to me. I thought that I cold or something like that was causing all of this congestion and phlegm to collect in my throat. I had no idea of where this was going to lead me and how long it would be before I found help for my issue.
This blog is a collaboration between my wife and I. I will provide the story about my ordeal with reflux Gastroesophageal_reflux_disease and how I eventually got help with my condition. My wife will provide recipes with every post because as you will see in subsequent posts, the food that I eat will be critical to my ability to deal with reflux.
In the next post I will continue the story about my life with reflux.
Here is a recipe that my wife make for that is easy on the stomach and is easily digestible. It is relatively easy to make.
Plain Congee
1/2 cup rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 cups water or broth
soy sauce to taste.
In a dutch oven place all the ingredients except for the soy sauce. Bring the mixture up to a boil and turn the heat down to simmer and cook until the rice is very soft and the whole mixture has thickened. About 1 to 2 hours.
Variation: Ground Beef or Ground chicken can be added. Vary the amount of meat to suit your taste, you can add as much or as little according to your own taste. Along with sliced green onions as a garnish.
Then it was time to sit for lunch. It was quite a healthy lunch, my wife and I are mostly vegetarian so we served a variety of vegetables and other items. We started with a green salad, sliced roast beef and salami for our guests (just because we eat vegetarian there is no reason that our guests have to!), cheese and olive bread, butternut squash soup, smoked salmon and a freshly baked raspberry tart for dessert along with tea and or coffee.
I first noticed that I gagged on the freshly made raspberry dressing for the salad. The salad actually stuck in my throat just when someone asked me a question. It took a while to clear my throat before I could speak. I thought it was odd at the time but I did not think more of it. The soup went down without any problem and I had a small piece of salmon that was absolutely delicious and easy to swallow. However, I a some preserved fig on a piece of bread. As soon as the fig hit the back of my throat and I tasted the vinegary flavor my throat closed up. I picked up my glass of wine to wash the fig down but it only made the matters worse. I actually had to get up from the table and go to the bathroom to clear the phlegm from my throat.
The entire episode was a mystery to me. I thought that I cold or something like that was causing all of this congestion and phlegm to collect in my throat. I had no idea of where this was going to lead me and how long it would be before I found help for my issue.
This blog is a collaboration between my wife and I. I will provide the story about my ordeal with reflux Gastroesophageal_reflux_disease and how I eventually got help with my condition. My wife will provide recipes with every post because as you will see in subsequent posts, the food that I eat will be critical to my ability to deal with reflux.
In the next post I will continue the story about my life with reflux.
Here is a recipe that my wife make for that is easy on the stomach and is easily digestible. It is relatively easy to make.
Plain Congee
1/2 cup rice
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 cups water or broth
soy sauce to taste.
In a dutch oven place all the ingredients except for the soy sauce. Bring the mixture up to a boil and turn the heat down to simmer and cook until the rice is very soft and the whole mixture has thickened. About 1 to 2 hours.
Variation: Ground Beef or Ground chicken can be added. Vary the amount of meat to suit your taste, you can add as much or as little according to your own taste. Along with sliced green onions as a garnish.
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