I’m not asking for advice or sympathy, I just need to vent.
So near the beginning of the year, I started dry heaving every morning. I’d get up, go to the bathroom, feed the dogs and then it happened. Nothing ever came up. I was concerned, so I made a gastric appointment, but, of course, that was months away.
In the intervening time, I stopped eating. I didn’t eat for 21 days. I was living off of Gatorade and Ensure. I could drink, but the very thought of eating made me feel sick and actually trying was just not possible.
But then that stopped and I just went back to the heaving and had to wait until June to see the gastric doc. Actually a nurse. She scheduled me for a scope in July, which is when they discovered the ulcer. They put me on Protonix, which is a protein pump inhibitor. It did precisely nothing about the heaving.
So now I’m not eating again. I got an emergency meeting on Monday with the doctor who did the scope and he was totally unconcerned and told me, for a $50 copay mind you, to add Mylanta to my medication and call him in 2 weeks. I can barely choke it down and I’m still heaving and I’m still not eating.
And I can’t even drink Ensure anymore. I did last night and felt so sick. Also I fucking hate Gatorade so much, but I found out that the reason the taste is so strong is to cover the awful, awful taste of whatever the electrolyte mixture is because you can totally taste it with Propel.
My wife did research and loss of appetite is indeed a symptom of gastric ulcers, which may be why the doctor didn’t seem to care, but wow does this suck.
No other appointments with any other gastric doc within a 90 minute drive is available within the next two weeks. Two weeks from Tuesday will be another 21 days. Maybe I’ll go for a new record this time.
Oh, okay. Does Ice cream smell good or bad? What about yogurt? Or fresh fruits? Dry fruits like figs, dates, almonds, berries, etc? There’s lots of stuff to eat and get energy. Energy bars? Don’t lose hope. Try everything and stick with what you like.
I’m not without hope, but if Ensure makes me feel awful, I don’t know that I’m ready to try any of that. Especially the more solid stuff.
How quickly are you eating/drinking? It’s not quite the same, but when my oldest was a baby and throwing up, we were told to only give her a tablespoon of Pedialyte every 15 minutes. Maybe (if you aren’t already) you could try small sips every ten to fifteen minutes and see how that goes. Another comment suggested Pedialyte will taste better than Gatorade which I agree with. I’ve drank it myself to hydrate. The cherry is pretty nice.
Very slowly.
Hmm… Part of it for me can be psychological. If I know this thing has made me throw up, I’m more likely to do so quicker the next time. Can you distract yourself while sipping?
You also said that the next doctor wouldn’t be available for two weeks anyway. Have you called and explained the situation? Maybe added how much weight you’ve lost and how quickly do they can understand how dire this is?
I don’t know if you’re in the U.S. but here, specialists usually don’t see you for months. I was really lucky that they felt bad enough to slot me in for an appointment with the first doctor on Monday. I called all over the place and no one was able to get a slot in within that timeframe.