Checking In

[hoosier1]

Hello My Friends:

I have been a lurker on the board for a while but not an active poster. At least not as active as when I first joined and whined incessantly to all of you about how I felt. Frankly, I don't know how you all tolerated me. Tex should have blocked me :)

So here is my status today:

Still on the thin side of thin and still loose every day but not to the point that I cannot control when I need to visit a bathroom. Funny how we adapt. My worst times are still in the morning where I seem to have frequent bathroom visits and then I am pretty good for the rest of the day. I start not so loose, and subsequent BMs get looser and looser. Weird, huh? I still get bladder pains and I do believe it is related to my GI issues. When the two are bad, I am not happy camper. A good day for me (funny how our perspectives change) is if only one of my major systems is in overdrive.

I am doing pretty well going gluten free. Though I do get glutened at times. I do believe it helps me to stay away from it but I doubt I have ever truly gone 100 percent gluten free because restaurants tend to lie to me. I have gotten so much better about not cheating because I have learned to enjoy gluten free eating.

I am still on the road way too much. My God it is ridiculous. My 10 month old puppy German Shepherd, Casey, didn't recognize me the other day, growled at me, and ran to hide behind my wife. I am seriously contemplating a career change for a variety of reasons. And some days, I think about just hanging it all up. Some say I would be bored. My response is, "watch me." I often wonder how I would feel if I could take a year off and just be me, and run at my own schedule. I would probably even become a vegetarian, which I am presently contemplating. By the way, is anyone out there a vegetarian? See any negatives going that route?

I am glad to see all the new members seeking such wise advice from this learned team. But I am also dismayed to see so many "new recruits".

Joe, keep positing the beautiful photos. If I didn't have a camera in my hand for work all the time, I would think I could get almost proficient as you in stopping to smell the roses to capture life via camera. You will all appreciate this, but Joe I think you will more than most. When I started my Engineering career, my mentor was an older gentleman who travelled the country photographing covered bridges. At the time, I couldn't appreciate his work. My priorities were almost as backwards as they are today. But one day before he retired, I saw a photo of a flower in bloom on his office wall with a caption under it that read, "The world, as every knows, is analog".

And Joe, I will let you explain that to the team because you are better with words, and I know you get this. I really get this now more than ever. So maybe I have learned something.

Regards,

Rich

[Gabes-Apg]

Rich
great to hear from you

good day for me (funny how our perspectives change) is if only one of my major systems is in overdrive.

given your work, travelling, eating out eating on the run, it sounds like you are doing pretty good, and i am sure you have learnt lots of things along the way and there are lots of dots on the page yet to connect (steve jobs)
thanks for sharing the Steve jobs thing.... i refer to it lots!


take care
enjoy the analog journey

[tex]

Hi Rich,

It's good to see an update from you.

I agree -- when your dog growls at you, you're away from home way too much of the time.

FWIW, I had bladder inflammation problems too, whenever my guts were in an uproar.

The main problem with a vegetarian lifestyle for someone with MC, is that so many of us are sensitive to soy and all legumes, which makes it virtually impossible to get enough protein in the diet.

Tex

[Gloria]

Hi Rich,

Those of us who were here when you first arrived can see quite a transformation in your acceptance of MC and its impact. You've learned to "go with the flow" and live with the realization that MC changes our lives, yet we can still go on.

Thanks for the update.

Gloria

[jme22]

Hi Rich,

Good to hear from you with an update. I'm a vegetarian and as you can imagine, it is not easy, given all our other dietary limitations. I fortunately do OK with dairy, so that helps quite a bit. I'll also eat some seafood, so that helps with variety (and protein intake) as well. But, I can't do soy (or other legumes) which is a big challenge because so many vegetarian labeled foods contain soy. I do miss my Boca burgers!

Typically I prepare my family's dinner (DH is GF) and then just eat the starch (GF) and the vegetable that are part of the dinner. However, sometimes I just like to have everyone eat the same thing (not easy!) so I'll use GF pasta and figure out some pasta dish that can be served both with and w/out meat.

It's a funny thing Rich...when I first joined this board several years ago I hated the idea of having to limit my diet so significantly. Now, several years later, with even more dietary restrictions in place, I don't feel the least bit deprived by my meager selection of foods. I've just come to appreciate that it's so much more important to feel better, than to eat something that temporarily tastes good, only to create havoc on my body hours later! As you said:

(funny how our perspectives change)

I completely agree!

Nice to hear from you. Keep us posted.

Best,

Julie

[MaggieRedwings]

Hi Rich and SO Great to hear from you. Sounds like you are taking it a day at a time and I am very much like you in the morning - start OK and then looser and looser. But we still keep plodding on. YOu may remember that I was a vegan for over 30 years and since soy and legumes could no longer work for me I had to do heavy soul searching and am no longer a vegan or vegetarian. I had to get protein somehow so I had to make peace with my decision.

Check in every now and then. TAKE THAT YEAR OFF!

Love, Maggie