So today marks Day 9 of the lactose-free diet. I have to admit that it has been getting easier everyday. I still whine often about not being able to have cheese, which has truly been the hardest part. The good news is that I have actually been feeling somewhat better. I have still been feeling tired, though not as much, and to date have not had any digestive episodes. I will keep at this until next Monday. I am actually thinking of going lactose and gluten-free from next Wednesday until Thanksgiving to see if the combination of the two will be beneficial. I will eventually be able to get a medication that will allow me to eat lactose foods again if that is what my doctor decides to do.
Let's chat about Dr. Rene: Dr. Rene is my new rheumatologist. First of all, he is infinitely nicer than the rheumatologist that I had to meet with in the past (I'll get to that later). On top of the niceness factor, he has a really cool accent. I have no idea where he is from but I just love listening to him talk. I met with Dr. Rene in Saginaw on Monday. He said that a positive ANA test (the whole reason I got a referral to him) can indicate connective tissue disease, but on its own does not diagnose anything. He has plans to run additional bloodwork but according to him I don't have any other symptoms indicating Lupus or other connective tissue disease. Upon reviewing the results of the bloodwork that my general doctor ordered he did notice that my liver enzymes are elevated. He is running that test again with the other bloodwork. I have had elevated liver enzymes in the past (hence, the rude doctor who called me "fat" and said that I just needed to lose weight) and they were unable to attribute it to anything concrete and then after ongoing checks, it eventually fell back into the normal range. Because of this, I am not overly concerned but I have a follow-up appointment in two weeks.
To tell you the truth, I don't know why but I keep feeling that the gluten-free diet is going make a difference. I have no reason to think that other than gut instinct and I could be totally wrong. After Thanksgiving, I am planning to try just gluten-free and see what happens. I am really hoping that it will be the key to all of this.
Life has been so crazy hectic lately. I feel the rush of the holiday season approaching and it isn't even Thanksgiving yet. This weekend Dave is going to be out shooting at Bambi's mom and dad (totally kidding) so I will be a "widow". I have volunteered to help my mom clean the house that she is planning to move into soon. It will be another busy weekend but I'm glad to be able to help her out.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading and we wish you all the happiness you can handle...and then some. :)
Love and hugs,
Melissa
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