Tag Archives: GERD

Tummy is Still Not Right

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I am supposed to call my Gastro’s office today to let him know how I’m doing, and I won’t have good news for him. I cleaned myself out, at his directions, and then went back to normal eating as much as I could, which is what he told me to do.

I’m still nauseated, bloated, and sore. Plus, I am still clearing my throat all the time and coughing from a tickle feeling when I eat anything the least bit spicy. And I do mean the least bit, as neither one of us likes hot foods. It always feels like the same place in my throat is being irritated.

So I suspect he will be considering an Endoscopy this time. I thought this time was different, but the usual problems did have to be ruled out.

We will be going on our usual Date Day today. I figure I won’t feel any worse than I already do, and I do need to get out of the house. Plus, it’s always a good bit of exercise for me, and I certainly need that. It’s a whole lot more fun going up and down hilly driveways in anticipation of finding some goodies than it would be to just do an exercise routine.

I Should Know Better – Back on Bowel Retraining Routine

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CAUTION: I try to be as specific with symptoms, problems, etc., as I can, so that what I write might help someone else in a similar situation. Feel free to skip this post if you’re not up to a frank discussion of bodily functions.

There’s nothing that aggravates me more than to go to my wonderful Gastrologist again with nausea and abdominal pain, only to be told to do the same thing he has had me do before. Each time I go through one of these strange “I don’t think I’m constipated” episodes, I think that it can’t possibly be the same thing I had before.

I have to use Miralax each morning, eat a high fiber breakfast cereal, drink lots of fluids, take 4 Bentyl tablets, a chewable Acidophilus tablet, and 3 Metamucil capsules every day. I’ve been on that regimen now for a long time. Until I started on the Primidone I was not having any problems with my bowels. But as soon as I started taking the Primidone, which has done wonders for my jerking and twitching, I noticed that I was heading for trouble with my elimination.

So, I increased my fiber intake, thinking that was going to be enough. And it looked like I was correct, up until the last few weeks. Then I started having a yucky taste in my mouth most of the day. I had a tickling kind of cough if I swallowed anything the least bit spicy or scratchy, and it was not going down the wrong way. I was almost constantly clearing my throat, and by the end of the day my throat was sore.

I was still having my usual 4 or 5 bowel movements a day, just as I have had ever since I went on all this elimination routine. I have problems with the muscles needed for defecation, so I have to stay just shy of diarrhea to be comfortable. I was still having times when I almost didn’t make it to the bathroom, so everything seemed as it should be as far as elimination was concerned.

So, after a miserable weekend, I decided it was time to see my Gastro, and they are so good about working me in. We saw him yesterday, and he says that I AM constipated, despite my objections to his conclusion. I am to call him Friday after being on the full Bowel Retraining routine, which I started last night.

So now, added to the list of procedures that I was already following, I took 4 TBS Milk of Magnesia this morning, plus used 2 Glycerin suppositories. I am to continue using the suppositories daily, and the Milk of Magnesia every 3 days if I still have symptoms. He also told me to go back to eating my normal diet, instead of the baked potatoes and chicken soup that I have eaten almost exclusively since Friday.

So, you know where I have been most of this day. I’m still clearing my throat constantly, and my throat is irritated, but I am not nauseated like I was yesterday morning. I’ll be eating our usual lunch today, and hopefully it will not cause the coughing or nausea to worsen.

Will I ever learn?????

Slept All Day Yesterday

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I overdid it. We have been going more and more to fresh foods, mostly raw, for lunch. Our salads have been getting larger, while the amount of cooked vegetables has been decreasing. We’ve also had a few smoothies, including one the other day that was a total disaster. I made myself drink about 6 oz of it, because I just couldn’t stand the thought of wasting all that food. Well, if I ever make one again that tastes yucky – it will make great compost!!

I was bloated on Wednesday morning, and I didn’t feel like exercising at all. I did a little moving around, but quit about half way through the video. But I felt OK as the day went on. I should have paid attention to my body and gone back on my strict safe diet and the bowel retraining regimen I have used in the past. But I didn’t listen.

By that night, I was nauseated and so uncomfortable that I used a Phynergan suppository and went to sleep early. I woke up about midnight coughing uncontrollably from acid reflux, so I started sipping on liquid Gaviscon to calm down my esophagus.

I slept until my medicine alarm went off at 5:00AM, was so groggy that I took the Zelepar and went right back to sleep. I kept on waking up for meds and going back to sleep most of the day. I went back to using the glycerin suppositories, too. I cut back on medicines to only those I thought were essential, and only had a couple of lightly buttered English muffins to eat all day. I managed some chicken soup for supper, and then slept all night again.

Surprisingly, I felt OK this morning. But I will be extra careful with my meals for the next few days, and will be using the glycerin suppositories again for awhile. My Gastroenterologist explained to me that I feel like that when I am constipated. The fact that I am still going to the bathroom doesn’t matter, if I am not eliminating enough to keep my colon working properly.

I went for my Physical Therapy this morning, as usual, and we even did a little traveling for our Date Day. There aren’t very many Estate Sales this time of year, so we ended up going to just two. Neither one of them was very interesting, but we did find some old toys that will pay for our day out, anyway.

I feel fine as I write this, but I had become complacent, I guess, since it had been so long since my tummy has bothered me. I learned my lesson this week.

I’ve Been Busy, Busy, Busy!!!

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I’ve been so busy I hadn’t even realized how long it had been since I posted here. This is our busy time of year for selling on eBay, so I’ve been spending a lot of time taking pictures, writing descriptions, and packing items to ship. Hubby helps a lot with the packing, and he goes to the PO with them, but the photography and anything computer related is up to me.

I also have been very busy on the Plush Memories blog, because so many people have written wanting help finding their child’s lost lovey. It feels so good to actually help someone, and I have had some successes lately. But right now, I have something like 70 or so requests that I haven’t posted yet. Every time I open my email, there are a few more requests. It’s almost like being Santa, getting all the letters. But I’m not magic, and there are only so many hours in the day that I can give to it.

I am still sleeping a good 7 to 8 hours a night now. My alarm watch is waking me up at 5:00AM most mornings now. That’s made a huge difference in how much energy I have, and I’m not even dropping off to sleep in the car like I had been. I haven’t had the nerve to drive again, though. I have mentioned it to hubby, but he just doesn’t answer me. Not so sure he thinks it’s a good idea.

The elimination problems have improved slowly, and the Bentyl, prune juice, extra Metamucil, and the Glycolax are working. I bought a couple of books about IBS, and I’m trying to change some more of my eating habits, too. I had already made some huge changes over the last few years, thanks to the GERD. But now, my diet is even more restricted than ever. I eat the forbidden foods from time to time, like pizza, but I do it knowing that I can expect to have consequences. And I give in to the chocolate craving every once in awhile, as it’s the best cure for being upset that I have ever found. Yes, I am addicted to chocolate!!

Wearing the Skechers shoes helped last Sunday, and I was not anywhere near as unstable in them as I have been in my regular Sunday shoes. They’re not the kind of shoes anyone would normally wear with dress up clothes, but they are unobtrusive.

I’m to have a stand up MRI soon for my neck, as the pain and stiffness have not gone away at all. I’m waiting right now for my insurance to approve the test. The muscle relaxer and anti-inflammatory have not made a dent in my neck situation. The X-rays show the degenerated disks, and my Orthopedist knows about the problem I had with the Celestone. He said I may have to go off the Zelepar long enough to have the epidural in my cervical vertebrae. He said I would need to talk to the Anesthetist and work that out with him. Sounds fine to me!!!! If the epidural doesn’t work, the only thing left would be some form of surgery, and that I will avoid as long as possible.

Hubby’s sciatic nerve problem has flared up again, so he doesn’t feel like going to the track to walk. So I’ve been getting most of my exercise by working in the yard. The Lasagna Compost is still growing, one pile of wood chips, fertilizer, kitchen scraps, and dirt at a time. It sure is tempting to turn the pile to see if it’s working, but I have resisted the urge so far. I work in the yard several days a week for over an hour, so that’s good.

So, I think I have more positives going on than negatives, and that means today is a good day!!!!

Tummy in Rebellion

Day by Day with a Movement Disorder Posted on by 6

Warning: This post is not for the weak stomached!

Today did not go well at all. I followed my list of med times, trying to spread out all the doses as much as possible. I was careful to take the ones that needed to be with food, and the one that needed to be without food at appropriate times.

Before I could finish sipping my hot tea this morning after breakfast, I moved to get up from the sofa to go to the bathroom, and all the liquids I had taken in over the last hour – juice, water, and tea – all came up explosively all over me and the sofa, propelled by all this gas I have. It’s as if my stomach is stopped up at the bottom and couldn’t hold it all. That is called Gastroparesis, which means slowing of the emptying of the stomach, and is quite likely part of my problem. Really, every part of my digestive tract shows signs of weakening, so I shouldn’t be surprised when something like this happens. That didn’t make it any less upsetting, though, as DH had to quickly do a wash before all that acid ruined my clothes, while I took a bath, and we had to try to get our sofa cleaned up, too. And, I’ve stayed nauseated most of the day, just as I did when I tried to take Sinemet last year.

From what I’ve read from other PWP, many people get over the nausea fairly quickly when they start Sinemet, so I sure hope I will be able to tolerate it this time. I was much sicker with the GERD last year when I tried to take it than I am now, so there is reason to be optimistic, which is what I choose to be.

I see my Gastroenterologist tomorrow, and I have an appointment with my Neurologist next Friday, so maybe I will know what needs to be done soon to get the benefit, and not the side effects, of my meds.

Decided Against It

Day by Day with a Movement Disorder Posted on by 6

I do appreciate the feedback you gave me on the decision about joining the St. Vincent’s facility, but we finally decided not to do it at this time. Time was, after all, the deciding factor. It was going to eat up about 3 hours each day I went, and to get any good out of it, I would have to have gone at least 2 days a week, if not 3. I think I can accomplish just about as much with home exercise equipment and our time at the walking track, which is about 5 minutes from home. Of course, in this day and time, we have to take gas prices into account too, and we do live a long way from any of these kinds of sports facilities, with some really bad traffic to contend with both ways.

I continue to accomplish more and more when I exercise in the mornings, but I’m paying for it each night with a lot of sore muscles. DH fusses at me for over doing it, but it doesn’t ever seem like I am at the time. It’s only later in the day that I realize I’ve over taxed my muscles. I think some of this pain I experience is coming from the Peripheral Neuropathy, particularly since I went off the Cymbalta. My Neurologist wasn’t the least concerned about me taking it in conjunction with the Zelepar, even though the Pharmacist had warned me about the combination. So, I may yet go back on it. But for now, I’m still adjusting to adding the Requip back to my meds, so I don’t want to add 2 new drugs at the same time.

The Requip is beginning to upset my stomach, just the way it did last time. I’m having lots of heartburn and belching a lot. Nothing else has changed, so it has to be the culprit. I’ll put up with it if it doesn’t get much worse than this, but I’m still planning to ask for the Neupro patch when I go back to Dr. S in June.

Just to document where I stand physically:

I can now sit down and stand up from a straight chair without using my arms, at least in the morning. I can’t by the evening, though. Sofas and soft chairs I haven’t mastered yet. I can walk over 3000 steps a day on the pedometer most days. I’ve put the handicap toilet seat away for now, as I can deal with the standard one, as long as I have the sink cabinet to hold onto. I’m still using the cane when we go to yard sales and such, where the terrain is unknown, and I still don’t go up and down flights of stairs if I can avoid it. Crouching down to get things in and out of my kitchen cabinets is difficult, so I usually depend on DH to do that for me. I lose my balance too easily, particularly with something in my hands. My core muscles, those of the trunk, are definitely getting stronger as I continue to exercise, as I can now lift my behind when I do what’s called the Bridge. It’s a simple exercise, really. All you do is lie on your back, feet on the floor, with your knees raised, and try to lift your bottom. Until recently, I couldn’t lift more than a half inch or so, but now I’m coming completely off the floor.

I’m doing the Tai Chi short form almost every day now, and I’m getting pretty good at it again. My balance continues to improve.

The biggest problem I am having right now, I suppose, is the insomnia. As soon as I started back on the Requip, it started back again. I haven’t been able to sleep past 3:00 AM for some time now. I get a lot done on the computer, but I really need the sleep! I’ve tried napping later in the day, but that doesn’t work unless I’m in the car. Then I can doze off almost instantly ;).

So, I am progressing, but I have lots of room for improvement. Eating healthy foods and exercising are just as much medicines for me as anything that comes in a bottle!

Insomnia Is on the Prowl AGAIN

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Looks like the Requip has my bout with insomnia going full force again. I didn’t get to sleep until after 11 last night, but I’ve been wide awake since 2:30 this morning. It’s been pretty much like this now ever since I started back on this particular medicine. I do have some sleeping pills, but I’ve resisted taking them, hoping my system would adjust. But tonight, I will definitely be taking one.

I do get a lot done when I’m in one of these moods, though! ROTFL I’m just about ready to change the listings on all our current eBay items to reflect all the changes the Post Office is making in Rate Classifications and prices. Just a word of warning to all of you …. don’t be surprised if it costs considerably more to get something mailed to you from now on. The PO has really raised their prices tremendously, for some package situations as much as 700%!!!!

We bought a pedometer for me the other day, but I’m not convinced that it is counting every step I take. If it is, I’m not moving nearly enough in a day. DH isn’t having any trouble at all going over 10,000 steps a day, and I barely went over 1,000!

My exercise program is coming along nicely, though, and my legs continue to gain in strength. I’ve been trying to understand exactly how to improve my posture and gait, based on the Chi Walking book I mentioned several posts ago. I wish I had someone who could just show me how, instead of trying to figure it out from pictures and words. I really don’t have a very good kinesthetic sense .. in other words, it’s hard for me to really tell where my body is. But that’s nothing new …. I’ve always been that way, even as a child. I remember struggling to try to learn how to do a summersalt, and giving up finally. The Tai Chi routine does help me to be aware of where my body position is, and I’ve started doing that when we go to the track. DH walks 2+ miles in the time it takes me to do all my exercises, walk a quarter mile, and do my Tai Chi, with maybe a little time left over to clean out the car of all the junk it seems to accumulate so quickly, or to read a little. It’s a great way to start the day off, with a feeling of accomplishment right off the bat.

So far, the only obsessive behavior I’ve noticed is that my craving for chocolate has gotten out of hand again. I did without any for such a long time, but when Daddy died I went back to eating it every day. I’m not supposed to eat it at all, because of the GERD I have. I’m really very good about avoiding everything else the Gastroenterologist has put on my banned list, but when I’m stressed for depressed, I have to have my chocolate. Nothing else will satisfy that craving. And I’ve always been that way. I can remember getting into trouble as a child on more than one occasion, because Mama would go to bake a cake, and I had eaten the bitter dark chocolate in the refrigerator. So when I read things about how chocolate contains chemicals that relieve stress, I believe it!

Parkinson’s and Constipation

Day by Day with a Movement Disorder Posted on by 11

I feel like I ought to warn you that this post made me uncomfortable to write it, and it may make you uncomfortable to read it. It’s not considered “polite” to discuss bathroom problems, and I understand that. So just skip this one, if you like. I’ll certainly understand. But if you have Parkinson’s, or know someone with Parkinson’s, you might want to keep reading.

My Gastroenterologist has added Miralax to my Zelnorm prescription. He’s recently started me on a regimen of daily glycerin suppository use, too, in what’s called Bowel Retraining. I’ve already been on Metamucil capsules for several months now, and also eating a high fiber bran cereal every morning. The Parkinson’s, or a combination of the PD and my meds, has left me with very little muscle power in my digestive system, plus diminished nerve awareness as well. He says that’s where the bloating, nausea, and gas are coming from.

I am not allowed to have coffee, any caffeine drinks, carbonated drinks, chocolate, any dairy products – including cheese, any citrus fruits or tomato based foods, peanuts, drink liquids with meals, or eat anything within two hours of bedtime. And I’m sure I’m leaving something off the list! It seems like every time I go see him he adds something else to the list, anyway. Some things on the list are for my GERD, and some are for the IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) symptoms he’s treating.

Constipation is one of the most universal symptoms that people with Parkinson’s Disease deal with, but, let’s face it, it’s not something anybody likes to talk about. But I want this blog to be useful to other PWP, so I don’t want to leave out this information, even though I really don’t like coming right out and admitting that I’m constipated. I really didn’t realize I was, as everything seemed OK to me. But it’s obvious to me now, after taking all these high powered medicines he’s had me on lately, that I am, and have been for some time now.

Again, in the interest of being helpful to other folks with PD, I found this really well done site about constipation at MedicineNet.com.

Well, this was not an easy post for me to write, but I hope it turns out to be helpful to someone else with Parkinson’s who’s suffering some of the same symptoms I have been for so long. This is not a battle I have won, by any means. In fact, judging by the lack of success my doctor has had so far in dealing with my problem, I’m probably going to be dealing with this off and on the rest of my life. That’s probably the case with most PWP, as well. If any one chooses to comment, I’d appreciate hearing what you have to say about how you’ve dealt with this problem.

Is My Tummy Ever Going to Be Normal Again?

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I started this blog to keep track of everything that was going on with what turned out to be a diagnosis of Peripheral Neuropathy and Parkinson’s Disease. Once the PD diagnosis was made, the Neurologist seemed to basically ignore the PN diagnosis. Since I can’t really tell that I’m not feeling things as well on my right side, that’s OK with me, as long as I can walk normally. And I can say, that as long as I’m faithful to take my PD meds, I am walking normally enough to appear to be symptom free to the uneducated eye.

So, what’s the problem? It has been, and continues to be, my digestive system. As I sit here writing this, my stomach feels like I have some kind of heavy weight in it, and there’s the feeling of a lump all the way up to my throat. I’ve had good days, usually several in a row, but I’ve had more bad days than good since I started taking the PD meds. Since I do have good days, I keep trying to find a pattern, something I’m doing right, or wrong, that will give me some clues as to how to avoid this bloated uncomfortable feeling. But I can’t find a pattern at all. It’s very frustrating to go to the doctor, and they start asking all of their neat little questions, and you can’t give them any neat little answers!

OK, I’ve whined long enough. This is turning into a major problem for me, as I’m losing weight rather rapidly, simply because I don’t feel like eating. I have a Gastroenterologist appointment on the 20th, and hopefully by then I’ll have something to tell him besides it feels like a weight and a lump!

Feeling Better and Optimistic

Day by Day with a Movement Disorder Posted on by 6

The Zelnorm seems to be helping, plus I’ve made a few minor changes in the way I take some of my other medicines. I’m taking my first Protonix when I first wake up, and then I’m not drinking any water after that for a half hour. I can usually drink at least 8 oz of water, sometimes more, before it’s time for my PD medicines, an hour before breakfast. Then, a half an hour before I eat, I take the Zelnorm.

I spread it out again in the evening, taking the other Zelnorm a half hour before a very light supper. The other Protonix is about 8:00 PM, and that’s the last water I get for the day. I make every effort to get at least six 8 oz servings of water every day.

The Gastroenterologist doctors have taken me off of all milk products, sodas, chocolate, and gum, plus I can’t drink out of a straw or drink anything with my meals. I’ve finally adjusted to not drinking anything with my meals. I had already stopped the rest on my own back in September, when the GERD acted up, except for cottage cheese. Now I can’t have that, either.

The belching is still there, but the yucky feeling is gone, and so are the cramps and bloating. I’m eating cautiously, but much more normally and better quality, too, so my strength is returning.

Tomorrow I see the Neurologist to get the prescription for whatever dose of Requip he thinks will be appropriate for me. And it’s also my last day to take the Sinemet, I hope! So it’s a day to look forward to!!