I’ve had digestive problems for all of my adult life, and during the last half they’ve gotten serious. Yet I pledged early on that I would avoid prescription medications as much as possible, which, for the most part, I’ve managed to do (I have one prescription, for a vitamin B12 deficiency, but the medicine is very inexpensive even without insurance). I also pledged to stay out of the operating room, which I haven’t.
I do manage my symptoms pretty well, mostly through diet, but also with vitamins and homeopathic remedies. The up side is I don’t have to worry about paying for expensive medications when I don’t have health insurance, and I don’t have to worry about taking this medication with food and that medication without, or the two medicines interacting in a bad way, or side effects. That’s worth a lot.
The down side is that the alternative remedies cost plenty on their own. I probably spend $60 a month on allergy remedies alone. That’s a quarter to a third of my food budget.
Anyway, when I get new symptoms or hear of a promising theory, I often look it up on the Mayo Clinic Web site, one of the top clinics in the country.
Here’s how I manage my symptoms (this isn’t advice for your condition, by the way; you need to work with your doctor if you do your own trials-and-errors).
Allergies: I am allergic to just about everything, with symptoms ranging from a slight sniffle to a sudden uncontrollable cough to my nose running like a faucet without warning.
- Boiron homeopathic Sabadil allergy remedy: This is what I spend $60 a month on. Gets rid of my symptoms almost instantly. I buy it at health food stores.
- Wal-finate: Walgreen’s generic version of something. I take it only because it allows me to take less of the Boiron remedy, saving maybe $20 a month.
- Neti pot: An import from India, it looks like a little teapot without a lid. you put warm salt water in it (not iodized salt, though) and pour it through each nostril, anywhere from once a week to twice a day. I’ve not been doing it much lately, and I pay for it – by spending more on Boiron’s remedy. I’ve found neti pots at most health food stores too.
Irregularity: I have the opposite problem of most people, having to run to the bathroom all too often instead of sitting on the pot forever. I have just about every other kind of indigestion as well – which gets embarrassing if I can’t control it somehow.
- A nutritionist once told me that beans are a great regulator, no matter how often or how little you head for the bathroom. She said not to worry about getting gas – something I don’t need more of – because if you eat just a half-cup of beans every day, your digestive system will get used to it after a few days and won’t cause gas anymore. Amazingly, it’s true – so now I eat some every day. And as a bonus, beans are high in protein and digestible fiber, versatile, and low cost. But the gas remedy only works for me with canned beans; I still have lots of problems when I cook my own beans.
- After lots of trial and error over the years, I realized I must give up pretty much all dairy products, along with eggs, coffee, caffeinated tea, liquidy soups, and much, much more. Since I choose not to eat meat anymore, that makes me an involuntary vegan. Sigh. But it helps keep my symptoms in check. A lot. So I do it. Even though I love milk, cheese, butter, and ice cream.
- Acidophilus: It’s the helpful live bacteria found in yogurt, but in concentrated form. The best deal is found at Trader Joe’s.
- A couple of times in the last few years I’ve had stress-induced attacks of very bad stomach pain, but I knew I couldn’t afford to go to the hospital (but you should always check with your doctor!. The symptoms eased up when I went on an elimination diet, which I start by eating nothing but steamed white rice, and gradually add new foods every few days, one at a time, until (hopefully) my symptoms are gone and my diet is back to normal. I learned about the elimination diet from my first hospital stay when I was 19.
Stress: I’ve landed in the hospital several times in the last decade because of a stress-related condition, which is also related to my digestive problems.
- Meditation: I learned at the Zen Center in San Francisco, and usually practice at home.
- Yoga-like exercises and steady breathing: helps with my low-grade but constant muscle pain.
- Stress-reduction techniques.
- Good friends.
- Soul Line Dancing! It’s the highlight of my week.
- Steady, sufficient income: Nothing relieves stress faster.
I haven’t done enough of these lately either. Shows how a steady income – in my case, a decent amount in weekly unemployment checks – can trump all the others. And without it . . . .Stay tuned. My unemployment runs out in six to eight months. Then I’ll have to scramble again – and risk those scary stomach pains.
