Hungry Hungry Mel

Monday I started the liquid diet for the procedures I was having done on Tuesday. It was torture. I was sooooo hungry. Nothing was satisfying. The 2 quarts of miralax enriched gatorade that I had to drink made me want to throw up. It didn't taste bad, I just couldn't stomach it all. 

So yesterday I had my endoscopy and colonoscopy done. The last time I had an endoscopy done I wasn't given full anesthesia. I was only put into a twilight state. So I was a little surprised when they told me they were going to give me full anesthesia. The nurse tried to start an iv on my hand even though I told her that no one can ever get a good one started. She got the IV in, but it started swelling and hurting. So she ended up putting the IV where I told her they always end up going; in my elbow. Mark was only back with me for about 5 minutes if that, before they came to get me. The doctor told Mark that he found some inflammation near my antrum, and a severe amount of gas build up in my stomach. He thinks that I'm not able to digest food properly. He took two samples to biopsy, and has put me on a Crohn's Disease diet. I'll go back to see him in two weeks, and at that time I should be able to get the results and possibly an official diagnosis. 

Mark and I have been catching up on Game of Thrones. Yeah yeah, I know we're late to the game. We're just over 1/2 way through the 3rd season. 

APPARENTLY (because I remember nothing about what I did after I woke up) after I woke up yesterday, I was living in the Game of Thrones. As Mark was helping me get dressed I said to him "I've never had a man servant before". I also "apparently" did some other things that might be a little too embarrassing for my blog. I'm sure if you ask Mark though, he'll be happy to give you the low down. HAHA

I go back to see my Rheumatologist tomorrow, although I don't have much information to give him, other than what I learned yesterday. When I had last seen him, we had talked about starting me on gabapentin for my pain pending what the results were with the neurologist. Given the fact that I HATED the neurologist and he could give a rats ass about me, I'm hoping we can still move forward with the new meds. 

SOOO lets talk about this "new diet thing". While I was pregnant with Aidan for some reason I was not able to handle dairy. So I stopped all dairy until about the last week of my pregnancy when it seemed like everything was back to normal. Weird right? Yep. I thought it was so horrible. I had a horrible time finding things that were dairy free that I would normally eat. Fast forward to now.

"FODMAPs are a collection of short chain carbohydrates and sugar alcohols found in foods naturally or as food additives. FODMAPs include fructose (when in excess of glucose), fructans, galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), lactose and polyols (eg. sorbitol and mannitol)."

Here is a list of food that I cannot eat until further notice:

Foods made with high FODMAP fruit sauces or with HFCS

buttermilk

CHOCOLATE

cottage cheese

ICE CREAM

creamy/cheesy sauces

milk (from cow, goat, or sheep)

sweetened condensed milk

evaporated milk

soft cheeses (brie, ricotta)

sour cream

whipped cream

yogurt

COCONUT MILK

coconut cream

beans

black eyes peas

hummus

lentils

pistachios

soy products

chicory root

inulin

grains with high fructose corn syrup

wheat flours (includes enriched and white flours)

flour tortillas

rye

avocado

apples

applesauce

apricots

dates

canned fruit

cherries

dried fruits

figs

guava

lychee

mango

nectarines

pears

papaya

peaches

plums

prunes

persimmon

WATERMELON 

(Are you f'ing kidding me? Really?)

artichokes

asparagus

beets

leeks

broccoli

brussel sprouts

cabbage

cauliflower

fennel

green beans

mushrooms

okra

snow peas

summer squash

desserts made with any kind of HFCS

any kind of beverages with HFCS

high FODMAP fruit/vegetable juices

fortified wines (sherry, port)

agave

chutneys

coconut

garlic

onion

pickle

relish

jams

jellies

molasses

high FODMAP fruit/vegetable sauces

salad dressings with high FODMAPS

artificial sweeteners (cough drops, mints ect.)

I no longer feel like what I went through during Aidans pregnancy was a big deal. I guess I'll continue being hungry. Here goes nothing.  

The Cub Life

Landen has really grown a lot since joining cubscouts. It's been an empowering experience for him and our family. We have grown and learned together. I think the best part about it, is that they include everyone in your family. Carter has went to almost all of the meetings with Landen and has gotten to experience everything Landen has. He thoroughly enjoys going with Landen but doesn't want to join because he will no longer be with his brother. Still though, I see a big difference in him when he participates within Landen's den. Landen has had a lot of new experiences and I feel he has learned a lot. By a lot I mean...A LOT. We worked really hard together researching on the computer, reading, and watching videos to earn his STEM awards. 

There were 6 STEM awards he could earn, with the Dr. Luis Alvarez Super Nova award being the highest. We did them all. We attended the STEM festival in Charleston. We went to Boeing's Above and Beyond program. We went fossil hunting in a creek for an adventure elective and part of a STEM requirement. We made a volcano, and a lever. We did experiments. We learned about the planets through songs on you tube. We looked up native threatened, endangered, and extinct animals to South Carolina. We talked about what an ecosystem is, why it's important, and what an invasive species is. We learned about dinosaurs and created a hypothesis as to how they became extinct. All of this through just these 6 STEM awards. 

Landen was tired at the end of it, but he was a champ through it all. He is always excited and eager to learn. He's a reader and enjoys writing. 

We learned about the planets through songs on you tube. They were really catchy and we were all singing them by the end. 

This was his native threatened, endangered, extinct poster he made. We looked up animals from our area and he did the rest. 

There comes a time at the end of the school year where your young wolf is no longer a wolf, but rather turns into a bear. This was "The Wolf No More" ceremony, where our wolf cubs turned into bear cubs. No one need worry, no children were harmed when the transformation took place. Hehe. 

Because Landen finished his Super Nova award he received a special award, and he was quite surprised.

This was a great accomplishment for him. His great friend Luke also received the award!

They even had it engraved!

Our den is amazing!

The following Monday was the start to Camp Swampy Day Camp. Landen was goober excited about attending. When he got into the car afterwards he was so excited he didn't even know where to start. That week I felt like I was winning at the parent thing. I was getting up, making breakfast, cleaning, dropping Landen off on time. It was a good week. I feel like 8am should be the regular time for elementary school's. I didn't feel stressed at all. 

Here was his week at camp...

The theme was CSI

Camp Swampy is a nationally accredited camp!

He earned his whittling chip too!

Landen's favorite day however, was the last day. They set up a jumpy with water and an inflatable water slide. The kids and I attended the last day of camp with Landen. It was a lot of fun but man was it hot!

Why yes, that is exactly what it looks like. That's a running T-Rex. It was quite funny watching him.

They even taught Carter and Kayla to shoot the BB Guns. They did great!

He did so many great things, it's hard to put them all in a single blog. Our pack has been amazing, and I love being able to be involved when I physically can. I really CANNOT comment enough about how much fun and educational that week was for Landen.