NMO and Stomach Problems

Emotions were high and emotions were low. I felt joy but with a side of misery. If it’s one thing I can’t stand, it's going and finding out what’s wrong with me. Making a doctor's appointment or eye doctor or dentist appointment gives me anxiety, I hate the not knowing and the knowing. This summer my body went on vacation and left a really bad babysitter for it.

My stomach said "no"

Stomach problems have truly always been an issue for me but never a constant or life-altering problem. Well, I may have finally hit that point. In May while visiting my mother for a few weeks, I had some spicy food and my stomach said no. It said no by paining a flamethrower attack in my abdomen and throat. It wasn't a painful situation but one that made me so lethargic and miserable that I just laid on the couch all day doing nothing.

One part of me was telling me to go seek some help and the other part of me wanted to check google. I did neither and just went on with my trip. I know spicy food would catch up to me eventually and acid reflux would take over and I’d have to watch what I eat at some point. Well, this summer was that point.

Is it related to NMO?

With some small changes in diet, I was slowly getting back to normal. The acid taste was still an issue and lasted for about a month. It wasn’t anything I couldn't handle but still made me feel miserable.

I truly don’t know if this has any other meaning behind it. I don’t know if this is from NMO but I like to believe it is. Blaming everything on NMO makes it easier - it’s almost like a comfort mechanism, reassuring myself there are no more issues with my body. Could this be a problem? Most likely. The smart thing would be to see a doctor but that’s way too easy. My phobia of doctors and trusting people has severely decreased over the years. I used to be so trusting of what they had to say and now I question everything.

The wake-up call

After some time I ended up with a stomach bug in August. That was a wake-up call from hell. I couldn’t eat or drink anything at all. Then my friends went on vacation so it was just me and the cats. I hated it and loved it. I love to be in a quiet house when I’m sick. Sometimes I like it when I don’t know what’s really going on with me. But the cats did their best to keep me company and stayed by my side. They both slept in my bed the whole time. Gotta love those kitties!

After that, I was pretty much back to acid mouth until I went back to New York for a surprise visit to mama. And can I tell you all how hard it is to change an Italian mother's mentality on what her kid will eat. By this point, I was cutting a lot of trigger foods and her and my aunt couldn’t grasp it right away. It was, however, a good learning experience on what I can and cannot eat. Overall the vacation went fine and my stomach and body were getting back to normal finally.

Feeling like myself again

It’s now been a few weeks since I was there and I’ve nailed down this new diet. I’m feeling like myself again and wanting to go do things. I’m not feeling miserable every day and torturing my body with foods that it can’t handle. I look at all this as a positive experience now. A better diet is what I need, and I know it will help a bit with NMO. It can be difficult being around people who will do all the best stuff that I can no longer do, but, it’s getting easier.

So what has felt like a roller coaster of a summer ends with me back to normal. Getting older sucks, and my body can’t handle things the way it used to. Getting checked may not give me what I want to hear but maybe it will point me in a better direction regarding what to do next. Now let’s get ready for fall and all the fun holidays to come!