The past couple of days have been rough with my complex regional pain syndrome and gastroparesis. I’ve been more nauseated. I’ve vomited more than common. I’ve been in lots of pain. I’m exhausted. I’m not looking for pity… just stating the facts. When faced with these not so good days… which I’m forced to deal with on a weekly basis, I have to make a choice… do I lay in bed and cry because I feel miserable or do I find something to do to keep my mind busy. I’m not ashamed to admit that there are days I cry because I don’t feel like doing anything else. Some days I just sleep because I don’t have the energy to do anything else. However, some days I don’t feel like getting out of bed so I spend the day in bed with my tablet searching for inspiration. It never fails that Pinterest has something I’ve never seen before that brings a smile to my face.
Living with gastroparesis, I’m constantly having to defend my choice not to eat when I’m at church dinners, family picnics, and other outings where food is the main attraction. I know that if I eat certain foods, that more than likely I’m going to vomit. Many times, people want to know why I am not eating. I explain gastroparesis in as simple terms as possible and with as little detail as possible. While people are eating isn’t the best time to explain that I vomit nonstop when I eat the wrong foods or wrong amounts. While they are eating isn’t the best time for me to eat and vomit either. That makes for an award situation. However, some people persist and want to know more. So, I’ve grown tired of making the situation seem less complicated than it is. For a long time I blew my gastroparesis off as no bog deal, even though I knew it was. Now, when people persist, I give the details. They don’t usually ask twice. 😀 So, I explain it’s not that I don’t want to eat. When I eat fatty foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, and food high in fiber, I vomit. Then I usually get a look of pity, which I completely despise, and am asked, “So what do you eat?” I found this picture on Pinterest today and while it may be referring to a gluten-free diet, I feel it portrays my gastroparesis diet perfectly. I don’t know from one day to the next what I can eat. A food that may be safe today may make me sick tomorrow. That is how my life works and I’ve adapted. I carry a roll of trash bags at all times because I never know what the day is going to hold.
