There is nothing like having a camera stuck down your throat.  Yes I have a sore throat now, and my tummy is not feeling great.  I think they topped the gas off too.  Whew!

Well, this test shows I have Acid Reflux, and a little Gastritis.  (he still wants me to have the CT scan to make sure my bowels aren’t doing something funny where the cameras just don’t reach.  I thought, geez, you put a camera up one way, now you’ve put a camera down the other way, you mean there is still more you can’t see?)

My official paper that he gave me says that my “Z-line is irregular, 37cm from incisors”, and I have “Gastric mucosal abnormality characterized by erythema.  Biopsied.”

Ok, so I looked up with a Z-Line Irregularity means.  It mainly appears to mean that it shows I have acid reflux, but I’ll know more after the biopsy.  And the 37cm from incisors is just how they measure where the Z-Line starts in people (or maybe where the irregularity is).  Mine is 37 cm (or 14.6 inches) from my front teeth.

The other part: “Gastric mucosa abnormality characterized by erythema.”  Simply means I have a little bit of gastritis but it’s not bleeding.  Erythema means that it’s read and inflamed but it turns white when you press on it, so no bleeding.  (hopefully)  It also sounds like I have a bit too much mucus.

He put me on Prevacid.  I’ve been on this medication before, for years actually.  I don’t like being on this for so long, but I’ll do it for now.  He also told me to follow an anti-reflux regimen indefinitely.  That should be fun.

This is the Anti-Reflux Diet:

NO:

1. Caffeinated Drinks
2. Carbonated Drinks
3. Greasy or Fatty Foods
4. Spicy Foods
5. Citrus fruits or juices
6. Tomatoes or tomato bases
7. Onions
8. Peppermint
9. Chocolate
10. Alcohol
11. Nicotine.

Ok, so most of these are no big deal for me, but NO TOMATOES?  or even worse NO ONIONS?  If you have read my recipes you will know that I cook with onion and garlic all the time!

What I can eat and drink:

• water or herbal tea
• Skim milk, low fat milk, low fat yogurt, low fat or fat free sour cream and cream cheese, and low fat cottage cheese  (WAIT A MINUTE HERE, THEY DON’T MENTION ANY REAL CHEESE AT ALL, NOT EVEN LOW FAT CHEESE…I DON’T THINK THAT’S RIGHT.)
• Any Plain raw, baked, broiled, or steamed vegetable, Except Onions and Tomatoes.
• Any Plain Raw, Broiled or baked Fruit (Except Citrus)
• Any Plain Baked, Broiled, Steamed lean beef, pork, chicken, poultry, or fish.
• Any low fat bread or Cereal, plain rice, plain pasta (Of Course, I can only have the Gluten-Free Version of these.)
• Low Fat desserts (less that 3 grams of fat per serving)
• Any fat free or low fat soup without tomatoes or onions.

This is going to be a challenge.  The biggest challenge will be, No tomatoes (I love a good tomato sauce, I can’t stand them raw, but I love a good sauce.)  No Onions!  Oh my goodness.  What will I do?  I found there is an Indian herb called Asafoetida that when used in cooking gives the flavor of onion and garlic.  I guess I will try that.  Supposedly before it is cooked it smells like stinky feet and poop…that should be interesting.  Oh, and cheese, that will be hard.  But I guess I can use vegan cheese.  I do like the Dayia Cheese.

As I said, a challenge, especially since we have a lot of cheese in the house.  🙂  Hopefully, it will make my tummy feel better, and I can stop running to the bathroom so much.  That will make it all worth it I guess.