Monday, May 4, 2009

What do milk and rubber have in common?

They both taste nasty the second time around. I found this out today as the rubber camera was pulled up and out of my tummy. The discomfort of the gastroscopy was so intense with all its poking, prodding and snipping for biopsies that it caused silent tears to stream across my face as i fought the urge to gag. And if that wasnt enough torture, throughout the day rubber remnants have been materializing in my mouth to remind me of that fateful day one month ago when i drank milk. They really ought to put a warning label on products that contain milk, similar to the one that is plastered all over a pack of cigarettes. Only now am i able to eat almost normally and back off of anti-acid and pain pills.

The culprit - a SOBE Elixer energy drink. After we drank it, Jonas read the label and said, "This is strange. Cholesterol per serving - zero, cholesterol per bottle - five." I snagged the bottle out of his hands to see for myself what i had just surmised. Totally my fault. I didnt read the label where it had listed milk and cream at #2 and #3 ingredients. I just never imagined that a company would put milk in an energy drink. How naive am i.

Within two hours, the torture began. The milk started to make its way back up the entrance-only route, burning everything in its path. Even a sip of water caused a string of painful burps, heartburn (burning sensation in the chest area as it went down), and stabbing pain in my back directly opposite the location of the heartburn. The doctor told me that the damage looked as though i had ingested poison. I suppose to a vegan, who has eliminated milk products many years ago, it is.

The result of the biopsies are due in ten days. I expect to hear good news as i am almost able to eat normally again. Funny how I sometimes take the littlest things for granted, like being able to eat.

Tomorrow is another long day on the bike and now i finally look forward to my pre-ride meal! I already have it all planned out - farfalle pasta with a bit of (non-cheese) pesto, fresh ground pepper and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.

6 comments:

Rickie Rainwater said...

Ouch, that sounded horrible. I'm starting to break a sweat and starting to feel better just from reading about your horrible doctor visit. That pasta sounds yummy. I think I will get started on dinner, pasta with roasted garlic tomatoe sauce. Glad your feeling better.
Rickie

PEANUT said...

Mmmmmm, roasted garlic tomato sauce also sounds lekker (tasty in Flemish)!
Maybe i will have that before thursday's ride, although if i ride too hard it will most likely not taste lekker the second time around.

Unknown said...

Did you always have this problem with dairy? Or has been induced or exacerbated by years of being vegan? Newbie vegans want to know...

PEANUT said...

hi heather
I was lactose intolerant, even before i was vegan. By becoming vegan, my body naturally stopped producing enzymes to break down milk protein and maybe that exacerbated it. I really dont know. I would have expected a bad case of diarrhea but not this. I hope they have a more definitive answer when the biopsy results come back.

Unknown said...

Peanut: Please relay to Rickie that (A) I always carry a frame pump, the CO2 being a back-up; and (B), on those infrequent occasions on which I pop a button on my Tom Ford tux (not easy to do, as you know if you've seen "Quantum of Solace"), I expect others to do the sewing.
:Elmo

Rickie Rainwater said...

Mr. Elmo, your the man. Hi Christine, sorry to cross talk on your blog. Feeling better today, but still suffering.