Detox - Day 3

I've been off of most of my medications for a few days now. The only ones I'm taking are Zanaflex 4mg, Phenergan 25mg, Ambien 5mg, Zofran 4mg, Xanax 0.05mg, and I'm weaning myself off of the Zoloft and Nortriptyline, since I can't just stop those cold turkey.

I need to ask the doctor for something stronger for insomnia. The Ambien 5mg just doesn't really work for me. I also need to ask the doctor if he could up my dose of Xanax for this month because just thinking about the future gives me a panic attack. I am so anxious that they aren't going to find anything or if they do, it will be horrible.

I also have really, really intense stomach spasms. They come in waves and all I can do is double over and not move. I try to breathe through them but that doesn't really help. It's almost like having a charlie horse in my abdomen. All I had today was a tiny bit of chicken and a small helping of rice. After I ate that, it took about thirty minutes for the gastric spasms to start.

The headache is also still lingering but I'm not sure if that's from dehydration or if it's from detoxing from all of the medications I'm not longer taking. I'm so exhausted and so weak. I've been sleeping a lot in the past few days because I'm just worn out. I thought about trying to finish some of my short stories and send them to publishers as a collection to see if anyone would publish them. I have great vivid dreams that would make amazing stories but I'm out of practice in writing. I've been writing research papers the past few years, so I am out of practice with creative writing. It would make me happy to have something of mine published. When I was a kid, I remember wanting to be a writer. It seems now that with all of the social media, my writing has dumbed down and I need to fix it.

I also need to write down my personal GP story for a book my friend LaShelle is putting together on GASTROPARESIS PAGE. She wants to make a Chicken Soup For the Teenage Soul but with Gastroparesis. It's been a long time since I've written like that. The last time I was published, I was in high school and wasn't so out of practice.

I feel like I never want to eat again. That rice keeps giving me spasms every hour. It hurts so much and the pain is intense.

I have been thanked for my blog, which makes me happy. It's actually helping people! I'm glad because that's part of the reason I started this. I didn't want people to take unnecessary medications or tests that people may not need. My blog has had over 6,000 views. I mean, that's amazing! Thank you all for reading my blog!

Another thing that's bothered me a bit. People keep telling me how strong I am. I don't always feel so strong. I feel so weak compared to the other admins on the GASTROPARESIS FACEBOOK PAGE. I mean, I try to be my own advocate but most of the time I just feel like I'm being whiny or annoying my friends with my blog posts. This is how I cope with the added stress. I need to write and get it out.

Study Enters Phase 2 for Gastroparesis

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA and BOLOGNA, ITALY, Jan 08, 2013 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Theravance, Inc. THRX -7.81% and Alfa Wassermann S.p.A. announced today the initiation of a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study with velusetrag, Theravance's investigational 5-HT4 agonist, for the treatment of patients with diabetic or idiopathic gastroparesis.

"We are pleased to be advancing the clinical development of velusetrag in a Phase 2 gastroparesis study," said Mathai Mammen, M.D., Ph.D., Senior Vice President of Research and Early Clinical Development of Theravance. "Today, patients have limited options for treating this serious, debilitating, and chronic condition."

About Phase 2 Study 0093

Study 0093 is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, incomplete block, three-period fixed sequence crossover, Phase 2 study. This proof-of-concept study will assess three oral doses of velusetrag (5, 15, and 30 mg) or placebo, administered once daily in three periods of 1-week duration each, with a 1-week washout period between treatment periods, in approximately 32 patients with diabetic or idiopathic gastroparesis. The primary endpoint of the study is gastric emptying time. Secondary endpoints include safety and tolerability assessments.

About Gastroparesis

Gastroparesis is a serious, debilitating disorder of gastrointestinal (GI) motility with few therapeutic options currently available to patients. It is characterized by delayed gastric emptying in the absence of a mechanical obstruction. Symptoms experienced by patients with gastroparesis include early satiety, nausea, vomiting, and bloating. The impact of these symptoms, and the uncertainty of knowing when a symptom will occur, can make living with this condition very difficult.

About Velusetrag

Velusetrag, also known as TD-5108, is a highly selective agonist with high intrinsic activity at the human 5-HT4 receptor. An oral, investigational medicine dosed once daily, velusetrag has completed a 400-patient Phase 2 proof-of-concept study in chronic idiopathic constipation, demonstrating statistically significant prokinetic activity at all three doses tested; at the two lowest doses, velusetrag was generally well tolerated with a low incidence of adverse events. Velusetrag has also been shown to accelerate gastric emptying in healthy volunteers. Velusetrag was discovered by Theravance through the application of its multivalent drug design in a research program dedicated to finding new treatments for gastrointestinal motility disorders.

About Partnership

In October 2012, Theravance and Alfa Wassermann entered into a development and commercialization agreement for velusetrag, in development for gastrointestinal motility disorders. Under the agreement, the companies will collaborate in the execution of a two-part Phase 2 program, funded by Alfa Wassermann, to test the efficacy, safety and tolerability of velusetrag in the treatment of patients with gastroparesis. Alfa Wassermann has an exclusive option to develop and commercialize velusetrag in the European Union, Russia, China, Mexico and certain other countries. Theravance retains full rights to velusetrag in the United States, Canada, Japan and certain other countries.

About Theravance

Theravance is a biopharmaceutical company with a pipeline of internally discovered product candidates and strategic collaborations with pharmaceutical companies. Theravance is focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of small molecule medicines across a number of therapeutic areas including respiratory disease, bacterial infections, and central nervous system (CNS)/pain. Theravance's key programs include: RELVAR(TM) or BREO(TM) (FF/VI), ANORO(TM) (UMEC/VI) and MABA (Bifunctional Muscarinic Antagonist-Beta2 Agonist), each partnered with GlaxoSmithKline plc, and its oral Peripheral Mu Opioid Receptor Antagonist program. By leveraging its proprietary insight of multivalency to drug discovery, Theravance is pursuing a best-in-class strategy designed to discover superior medicines in areas of significant unmet medical need. For more information, please visit Theravance's web site at www.theravance.com .

THERAVANCE(R), the Theravance logo, and MEDICINES THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE(R) are registered trademarks of Theravance, Inc.

RELVAR(TM) or BREO(TM) (FF/VI) and ANORO(TM) (UMEC/VI) are investigational medicines and are not currently approved anywhere in the world. RELVAR(TM), BREO(TM) and ANORO(TM) are trademarks of the GlaxoSmithKline group of companies. The use of these brand names has not yet been approved by any regulatory authority.

About Alfa Wassermann Alfa Wassermann is a private pharmaceutical group with Head Quarters in Bologna, Italy with its own research, development and manufacturing facilities. It has a growing number of affiliate companies in both Europe as well as in emerging markets such as Russia, China and Mexico. Its main product is rifaximin, a gut-selective antibiotic, which has been prescribed for 24 years under the Trade Name Normix(R), Xifaxan(R) and others (approved in 33 countries, including the US). The company has also developed other important products: Sulodexide (Vessel(R)), a heparinoid for thromboembolic diseases, and Parnaparin (Fluxum(R)), a low molecular weight heparin for the treatment and prophylaxis of deep-vein thrombosis. For more information, please visit Alfa Wassermann's web site at www.alfawassermann.it .

ALFA WASSERMANN(R), the ALFA WASSERMANN logo, Normix(R) and Xifaxan(R) are registered trademarks of Alfa Wassermann.

This press release contains certain "forward-looking" statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 regarding, among other things, statements relating to goals, plans, objectives and future events. Theravance intends such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements contained in Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Examples of such statements include statements relating to the status and timing of clinical studies, statements regarding the potential benefits and mechanisms of action of drug candidates, statements concerning the enabling capabilities of Theravance's approach to drug discovery and its proprietary insights and statements concerning expectations for product candidates through development and commercialization. These statements are based on the current estimates and assumptions of the management of Theravance as of the date of this press release and are subject to risks, uncertainties, changes in circumstances, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results of Theravance to be materially different from those reflected in its forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements include, among others, risks related to delays or difficulties in commencing or completing clinical and non-clinical studies, the potential that results of clinical or non-clinical studies indicate product candidates are unsafe or ineffective, our dependence on third parties in the conduct of our clinical studies, delays or failure to achieve regulatory approvals for product candidates, risks of relying on third-party manufacturers for the supply of our product and product candidates and risks of collaborating with third parties to develop and commercialize products. These and other risks are described in greater detail under the heading "Risk Factors" contained in Theravance's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 31, 2012 and the risks discussed in our other period filings with SEC. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Theravance assumes no obligation to update its forward-looking statements.




Theravance Contact Information:

Michael W. Aguiar
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
650-808-4100
investor.relations@theravance.com

Alfa Wassermann Contact Information:
Andrew G Thompson
Corporate Business Development Director
agthompson@alfawassermann.it

Stefano Pasi
Chief Financial Officer
SPasi@alfawassermann.it





SOURCE: Theravance, Inc.



mailto:investor.relations@theravance.com
mailto:agthompson@alfawassermann.it
mailto:SPasi@alfawassermann.it



Copyright 2013 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved. LINK TO THE ARTICLE HERE.

When Telling Someone They Look Great Becomes an Insult!

When Telling Someone They Look Great Becomes an Insult!
By: Scarlett Hill

Link to Article: http://voices.yahoo.com/when-telling-someone-they-look-great-becomes-insult-11971343.html

"If I asked you what Diabetes looks like, could you tell me? How about heart disease or Epilepsy? If I showed you a picture of four individuals, three of them diagnosed which one of the illnesses listed and one person who has no medical issues, do you think you would be able to tell me which one was not ill? I think not! Diseases do not all have a 'look' to them. Do not be fooled. Just because you cannot see it does not mean it is not very real and in some cases debilitating, serious and possibly life threatening. There are too many invisible illnesses to list, however each holds true to the fact that you cannot look at a person and know they have it or how they suffer.

Many people with invisible illnesses suffer in silence and there are multiple reasons for this. Millions of people who suffer from these conditions take on the added stress from friends, co-workers and even family members implying that because they don't have the appearance of being sick they must be exaggerating their condition. This actually has the potential of creating more health problems for the individual such as depression, alienation and complications caused by stress. When a person is ill, in pain or trying to cope with the acceptance of an illness the first people they turn to are their family and friends but sometimes the outcome is not a positive one when they cannot see the struggle. At this point there becomes an overwhelming sense of feeling alone and it becomes extremely difficult to deal with such debilitating symptoms. At this point you should seek out local support groups or online groups to connect with others who understand your struggle.


'But you don't look sick'

When family and friends don't know what to say, they often say the wrong thing! They think they are paying a compliment by saying things like 'but you don't look sick' or 'you look great you must be feeling better.' However, when these things are said to someone who lives their life in total agony, defeated emotionally by pain, in reality they are verbally stabbing the person right in the gut. While these words seem harmless, they can cut like a sword to someone living with an invisible illness. If you have a loved one who you may have said these types of comments to, you may want to re-evaluate what they are experiencing and how you may better approach it next time. Seek out care taker support groups or online forums run by individuals who have the same type of illness and research it. Ask questions and get an understanding of their quality of life. This may help you to better grasp what your loved one is feeling and open up the lines of communication between you.



Invisible, But Destructive: Gastroparesis

Think about the last time you had the flu. Really think about the details. How did it make you feel? Really visualize it, relive it mentally for a moment. I am sure there are images of stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea; body aches and a few words along the lines of "oh please, make it stop" coming to mind right now. As your head hung over the side of the porcelain princess (aka the toilet) I would be willing to bet that you were counting down the minutes of this traumatic event, praying that it would promptly end and that you could go back to life as you knew it 24 hours prior; healthy, happy, pain and vomit free with the ability and desire to eat and drink at free will!

Now I want you to imagine life living with that flu permanently. Every day of your life bringing those symptoms you fear. Not knowing if today you will vomit upon waking, be able to hold down liquids, be able to eat, drive, grocery shop or if today will land you in the hospital. You may not be aware but this is the harsh reality for about 5% of the population. It is caused from a condition called Gastroparesis (GP). Gastroparesis means "paralyzed stomach" and is an extremely painful, awful, debilitating, misunderstood condition. It is very real. It is also very invisible. You cannot simply look at someone know they have it. There is no cure. Doctors are limited in their knowledge about it. There are only a few treatment options and they do not provide much relief at this point. There are no medications. There is no escape from the symptoms and in some cases there is no escaping the possibility of death. Many things in life are a choice. Eating is not one of them. When an invisible illness effects a person's eating habits, it affects their entire life.

Now imagine if you had this invisible illness and after a night of stabbing, gut wrenching pain, vomiting for hours, unable to eat yet you are starving and having the desperate wish for a cure and someone looked at you and said 'but you don't look sick.' It is great you don't look the way you feel, but that is such an insulting comment when all you desire is for someone, anyone to understand and be supportive. We need to raise awareness in all of our communities about the different invisible illnesses and become a greater support system for our loved ones. If you or your loved one suffers from one of the other many invisible illnesses, you may visit the Invisible Disability Association for information, encouragement, awareness and more."

At this point in time, Gastroparesis remains to be one of the most severe, debilitating and in some cases life threatening motility disorder. There is no reliable research, safe medications or adequate treatment options. Please visit www.g-pact.org to learn more.

If you are a caretaker of someone with Gastroparesis you can join this group that will help you.

Loved Ones with a Gastroparesis Warrior: http://www.facebook.com/groups/support4lovedones/. This is a safe place where you can ask questions, vent and become educated on the condition.

You can also join our other group that will help you with questions as well as advice and support. Stronger than Gastroparesis (GP Warriors): http://www.facebook.com/groups/strongerthanGP/

First Visit at the Mayo Clinic at Jacksonville

I have to say that the Mayo Clinic is very efficient. I went and registered at the registration desk and then was called back by a nurse. She input my information into the computer and put in all of my medical history. Then, she sent me upstairs to the floor where the doctor was and they asked me more questions and gave me more forms. I was able to get back to the doctor's room quite quickly.

As a side note, I need to make sure to get my other records sent there. I've had problems with nausea and vomiting since I was a teenager.

The doctor wasn't happy about my GI doctor's medications that he put me on but did commend my doctor for sending me to the Mayo Clinic. He told me that Bentyl and Levsin are basically the same things and they can cause paralysis of the stomach. I was also told to stop Nortriptyline, Dexilant, and Zoloft. The Doctor said that he wanted to see how my stomach reacted without all of the drugs masking symptoms and that the drugs could be making the nausea/vomiting worse. He told me that 30% of people that take Zoloft have nausea and vomiting.

He wanted me all of all of these medications before I take any tests. He doesn't want the medications to skew the results. So, I have to go back down to Jacksonville the first week of February.

He also said that me not being able to keep down water was very strange and not a symptom of GP. He mentioned this many times.

The doctor said that if the gastroparesis was caused by a virus in March, then the good news is that it is temporary - the stomach will heal itself in a year or two.

The tests that I will be doing the first week of February at Mayo are:

Gastric Emptying Test - to retake again because he said that they shouldn't have taken it the first time around while I was hospitalized and on pain medication. I will have this test done for four hours and I'm nervous because I had such a hard time keeping the radioactive sandwich down the first time. I remember crying because I was in so much pain from the test. Going from eating nothing to eating an entire sandwich is rough.

Endoscopic Ultrasound (they can't do an MRI with my spinal cord stimulator) - they want to go in to see if there are any stones or anything in my liver that could be causing my upper right pain. They are also going to stretch out my esophagus if they feel it's too constricted while they're in there. The doctor wants to take a look at my biliary system.

Bravo pH Test - this will test for acid reflux to see if that's contributing to my problems.

Blood tests - he's going to check my liver enzymes, since they've been elevated lately. He wants to know why. He's also testing my TSH (thyroid), Cortisol levels, and doing a complete panel.

The doctor has low confidence in my GP diagnosis and GERD. He thinks that if I do have gastroparesis that something else is going on because I shouldn't be this ill. This doctor helped to make the first gastric pacemaker, so I'm in good hands. He was also wearing a bow tie and I was wearing a Doctor Who shirt, with a TARDIS on it.

I have a test on each day starting February 4th. I'm going to be extremely tired but at least they're going to do it out patient. I'm hoping that I can get some answers. I really want to feel better and not carry a bucket or bags when I go anywhere.

My Appt with the Mayo Clinic in Florida & Updates

It's been a few days so I'll catch you up on what's been going on.

The Nature Sleeping Aid actually worked for me and helped me sleep. The preggie pops and tummy drops are also helping to curb the nausea along with my medication. I'm still vomiting, but it's not as bad as it could be. The Quease Ease is amazing. It really does help when I inhale it. I've gotten some wonderful advice from the Gastroparesis Facebook group at: www.facebook.com/greensnoteasy.

I have a severe headache right now that I'm pretty sure is from dehydration. The headache is located at the top right part of my head above my forehead. It just aches. I drank an entire bottle of grape juice over the course of the past few days and I'm working on apple juice right now. I'm not sure if it's going to stay down. I even tried a little bit of caffeine to make sure that it wasn't caffeine related. Nothing is helping. I don't think it's a side effect of my medication but I guess the doctors at Mayo will know more and what to do about it when I get down there.

My doctor finally faxed my records down to the Mayo Clinic in Florida and they were able to fit me in on Monday because of a cancellation. My husband and I are driving down there tomorrow. We reserved a hotel room but I don't know if they are going to hospitalize me or not.

I wasn't able to sleep 1/8 - 1/9/13. I was up for two days straight because of stomach spasms and running to the bathroom. I also managed to pull a muscle in my abdomen while I was vomiting. It almost feels like I have a charlie horse in my side. The pain in my upper right side is still there, by my liver. I've had this pain on and off since March. The ERCP helped for a while, but it's back with a vengeance now. The surgical incision in my back that is still healing from the spinal cord stimulator is also really sore because I've been bending over my bucket and the toilet to get sick.

I've just been incredibly tired and weak. It takes everything I have to make it to the bathroom. I can't even take a shower by myself at this point because it takes too much energy to stand up. I've been a bit lonely too. I've noticed my patience has been pretty much non existent because I keep vomiting, having muscles spasms in my stomach, and not enough rest.

I haven't been the least bit hungry so I haven't been eating a whole lot. I have kept a daily planner for the past month detailing the times that I get sick, what I eat and when, and when the spasms start. I'm giving it to my doctor on Monday at my appointment. I've also been keeping a detailed journal and I've been using River Song's TARDIS journal to do so.

My stomach is incredibly swollen and everything I've tried to eat has either come back up or it's just sitting in my stomach. Nothing is moving downwards. It almost looks like I'm pregnant and it's pretty painful. The cats can't even touch my stomach without me yowling. I managed to sleep through my husband's birthday dinner because I felt so lousy. When I woke up to realize they went without me, it made me feel even worse.

I just ate some yogurt and I'm waiting for the stomach spasms to start. It usually starts about twenty minutes after I eat something. I also have a problem that's relatively new - when I take my pills or try to eat something, it feels like it gets stuck in my esophagus. I have to drink a lot to get it unstuck to go down into my stomach. I wonder if it's because my esophagus is swollen or damaged from all of the burning stomach acid I've vomited up. I'll have to remember to ask the doctor about that. I know a while ago, I had my esophagus stretched out by a GI doctor to make it wider so this problem wouldn't happen again, but that was years ago.

Oh, and I listed my medications out so that I would remember to tell the doctor what all I'm taking. I'm taking TWELVE different medications and most of them are for my stomach. It's hard though, because the pills don't always stay down. I have really bad anxiety but the medication usually comes back up so lately I've been having panic attacks. I haven't had those in quite a while.

I am really proud to say that the Gastroparesis page on Facebook that I help to admin is the third largest GP page on Facebook. That makes me really proud to be a part of it.

Gastroparesis Diet From Mayo

Having trouble figuring out what to eat because you have GP? If you are looking for a specific diet plan, Mayo recommends this diet. It is as follows:

Bread/Grains Foods to Avoid:
Whole Grain flour products, popcorn, granola, corn bread, ALL products containing whole grains or high fiber, potato skins, fried potatoes, brown or wild rice, and no sweet potatoes. Oatmeal should be limited to 1/2 a cup or less.

Fruits to Avoid:
ALL raw fruit, dates, figs, prunes, apples, berries with seeds, peaches, grapes, pears, pineapple, rhubarb, oranges, and grapefruit. You can have ripe bananas, canned peaches, canned pears, fruit cocktail, and fruit juices without pulp or seeds.

Vegetables you CAN eat:
Mild-flavored canned vegetable juices, well-cooked/ tender vegetables like carrots, only the tips of asparagus, well-cooked beats, green beans, and acorn squash (no skin or seeds though). Veggies to avoid: ALL others.

Beverages:
Milk (if tolerated and only up to 2 cups per day), Coffee, tea, cocoa, and carbonated drinks (if tolerated), and non-dairy creamer.

Meat to Avoid:
Tough meat or high in fiber meat, chunky peanut butter, dried beans, or peas, legumes, lentils, or highly seasoned meat/meat alternatives.

Desert to Avoid:
ALL products with coconut, nuts, seeds, fibrous fruits, or things made from whole wheat flour or things that are high in fat.

The Past Three Days Update & Natural Remedies for GP

Just a quick note from GASTROPARESIS FACEBOOK PAGE - Please post a message at the end of Dr. Oz's blog page to help encourage him to do an episode on Gastroparesis. The more people we can get to post comments requesting help for GP the more likely we are to get through to HIM.:



January 6, 2013

I had two cups of ham soup and tried to take most of the veggies out of it since they're hard for me to digest. I also had a small bowl of chocolate ice cream that I couldn't finish. I have been craving something sweet for a while, so that was my reward. I woke up feeling nauseated and weak. Also, I felt dizzy. I had to hold on to the walls for balance. I was also breaking out into a cold sweat, so the shower wasn't an option. I'd just get colder coming out of the shower. My stomach muscles and diaphragm are really sore, like I've been doing intense workouts, but it's really from vomiting. My neighbor told me that I look, "trim" which means that I've lost more weight. My face has thinned out a great deal but my stomach looks swollen and I look pregnant after I eat. I feel miserable. I also feel guilty about feeling whiny, especially after reading other people's GP stories.

I can't cook or clean because the smells drive me out of the kitchen, especially after someone fries something. My bedroom is right off of the kitchen, and my sense of smell has heightened. So, I feel useless around the house. The bad thing is that I am starving but I don't dare eat a lot or at all, most days. I've got my bucket beside the bed, just in case I wake up vomiting.


January 7, 2013

I applied to be in a trial pool for a Gastroparesis study in North Carolina. I guess I'll wait and see if I'm picked. I also received Quease Ease, Preggie Pops, Tummy Drops, and Nature Made Sleep Aid in the mail today. They were recommended to me by another GP friend to help cut down the nausea. Most of those are used for morning sickness and for chemo patients. I'm going to try them out for a week and then do a write up on what I think of each product.


Quease Ease (nausea relief)

Tummy Drops (bloating, nausea, cramps, and gluten free)

Three Lolies Preggie Pops (nausea, morning sickness, and will help a dry mouth)

Nature Made Sleep Aid (a natural way to help you sleep, because if you're like me, it's hard to sleep with stomach spasms and vomiting)

Tummy Drops - ate one at 8:00pm and it tasted like mint, which it should because it's made of spearmint. It doesn't taste bad, at all. I need to give it some more time before I can tell if it helps with bloating or not. It did help subside my nausea though.

Preggie Pops - ate one at 8:20pm. It tasted like sour raspberry and is supposed to help nausea. I was still a bit nauseated after eating it and it took at least 30 minutes to start helping. However, the nausea became more manageable but didn't disappear all of the way. I still have six days to go.

Nature Made Sleep Aid - took one at bedtime. It's supposed to calm your mind and help with anxiety so that you can sleep. I finally got to sleep, without waking up to vomit,after I took it.

PSIBANDS ACUPRESSURE WRIST BRACELETS - The stylish way to relieve your morning sickness, nausea, vomiting and general queasiness. PsiBands are based on the traditional Chinese medicine technique of acupressure to naturally relieve stomach upsets. I haven't actually tried these but they were highly recommended.



January 8, 2013

The Nature Made Sleeping Aid worked for me last night and finally knocked me out. The preggie pops taste wonderful and it is helping the nausea today along with the tummy drops. I haven't seen any change in my bloating or swollen stomach though, it still looks like I'm pregnant. I have not yet tried Quease Ease but I'm going to try it in the morning when my nausea is at its worst. I need to order more Preggie Pops since I only bought a sample package to see if they worked first. Right now, though, I have a severe headache. It's not a migraine or sinus headache. I think it's from dehydration. I'm rotating between juice and water. I had a little bit of caffeine, just in case it was caffeine headache. I don't know if it's a side effect from one of the medications I'm on (nothing's really changed there a part from all of the stuff I've just ordered for nausea) or dehydration. I fear it's the latter.

Today I ate a cup of soup, goat cheese with a few crackers (so I could take my medicine that requires you to eat), and I had a small taste of peanut brittle. I know, I know. I shouldn't have had that last part. But at the rate I've been going this week, it doesn't matter what I eat because it all comes back up.

I started a daily planner with the times that I eat, what I eat, when I take my medications, and when I get sick. That way, I can just hand it to the Mayo Doctor and it will help me find the triggers, hopefully.

Go Green for DTP Awareness Fridays

The G-PACT community has lost a number of patients recently to various complications related to Digestive Tract Paralysis (DTP), including gastroparesis, chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction, and colonic inertia. These deaths have led to an increase in interest among the patients and even the media into increasing awareness.

One of those people we lost was Gina Massey. She was young and inspired a lot of people.

Noah Vogelbacher, a friend of Gina, created an event in which he asks that people wear green every Friday to help increase awareness of GASTROPARESIS. G-PACT is a sponsor of this event. We encourage everyone to get involved. We are also expanding his idea with other very cool things to make Go Green Friday even bigger! We are very excited about where this is going!

Look for some "Go Green for DTP Awareness on Fridays" shirts to appear in the G-PACT store soon so you will have an added bonus to help increase awareness...attractive images for Go Green day to draw attention to the cause. They will also have some other event ideas for certain Fridays all year round to increase awareness even more some Fridays.

Fridays have officially become Go Green for DTP Awareness Day worldwide! All you have to do is get your green on!!! Then talk to people. If you would like more green and yellow stuff to wear, you can purchase an awareness band at www.g-pact.org/awarenessbands.html.

Gastroparesis means "stomach paralysis." Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, pain, bloating, weight loss, weight gain, malnutrition, and dehydration. There is no cure. Many are on feeding tubes or IV nutrition to sustain life.

Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction is another paralytic condition of the digestive tract and causes "false" obstructions in the small bowel in the absence of mechanical obstruction. Symptoms mimic those of GP, only more small bowel related and also include frequent surgeries to remove the part of the small bowel which is blocked off. This can then lead to short gut syndrome.

Colonic inertia is a condition in which a patient is severely constipated and cannot defecate. Food gets trapped in the colon and will not move forward. This often results in the need for a colostomy. Some people have one condition, two, or even all three.

For more info go to www.g-pact.org and join our FB page at www.facebook.com/GPACT. You can also join www.facebook.com/greensnoteasy to get support and advice from fellow GP fighters.

Let's remember Gina and the others we have lost by wearing green on Fridays. We couldn't save Gina, but we can prevent this from happening to others!

In Noah's words on why he started this event that G-PACT decided to sponsor:
"Many of you know that, I lost a person very close to my heart. She had a very rare disease called Gastroparesis.

Gastroparesis is when the stomach muscle is Paralyzed, causing a person to not be able to eat. If a person eats, the food will rot in the stomach, causing bacteria and Bio to form. some have throw up attacks, where they just throw up and throw up.

Some that have Gastroparesis have pacemakers inserted around the stomach muscle to help the muscle contract. but this it doe not always work. if the pacemaker doesn't work they insert a J-tube through the Abdomen into the Intestine. then every night the person will have to hook that J-tube up to a special machine that pushes a formula into the intestine. that gives them their daily calories. through that Tube Potassium and other meds get pushed as well. it is a very painful process. That is how a person with Gastroparesis lives.

We need to spread awareness about this illness.

So please wear green Every Friday and spread awareness. In honor of the people who fight this disease daily.

Facebook invite to this event can be found HERE.

The Holiday Aftermath

My husband and I went to Augusta this weekend to visit family. I ended up having a bad GP flare up and slept most of it off, so I didn't get to visit with people like I wanted to - which made me feel like a horrible friend. But, I didn't get sick in the car! That was a good thing. I brought my bucket with me just in case but we also brought my cats and they wanted my bucket.

I got to see my niece open up all of her presents. She kept saying, "Wow" after each present. She really liked the small fake smart phone I got her that had a picture of an owl talking to her telling her which buttons to press. I got her a dog on a string to pull around. She couldn't quite understand the concept, so she picked up the entire thing and carried it around!

I got to spend some time with my mom, my youngest sister, and my niece. Then, I went over and stayed/spent time with my mother-in-law and my sister-in-law. It was just nice to spend some time with everyone. My phone died, and guess who didn't remember to bring her phone charger? Guess who had a charger in the car that only charged while the car was on? *facepalm*

We came back to our house on Christmas Eve and had Christmas with one of my best friends and one of my fraternity brothers. I think they loved the presents we picked out for them. I got a copy of River Song's journal, which makes me very happy. I'm going to keep my GP musings in there when I'm not close to my laptop.

Christmas Day was great. We went to one of my best friend's house for Christmas dinner. I got to see two of my good friends who have since moved to different states, so it was great to see them. I ate a tiny bit of turkey, dressing, a bit of mashed potatoes, and two slices of homemade apple pie (one of my weaknesses but it was delicious). I knew I shouldn't have eaten it but it's hard for me to give up apple pie. Well, I'm paying for eating what I wanted to last night.

On a side note, my brother and his girlfriend came over and spent some time with us and we exchanged gifts. Now, we have two roomies left to exchange gifts with and that will be the end of Christmas at this house.

I spent all night pretty much vomiting up everything I ate. My stomach is spasming and contracting and it feels awful. Have you ever been so hungry that you've gotten cramps? Now, imagine those cramps plus someone sucker punching you in the gut and/or someone hitting a line drive into your stomach. I took a pain pill the doctor gave me (which I try to use sparingly because it causes gastric delays) and it's not even BEGINNING to touch the pain. It's my own fault but it was worth it. My friends made wonderful food and I was able to spend some time with them. I had to leave early so that I wouldn't get sick in front of them. Because when I start vomiting, it's hard to stop until all of the food/liquid is gone.

Well, I am going to go take more phenergan and bentyl. Hopefully, that will cut back the spasming and cramps. My throat is swollen from vomiting. It's like strep throat, I can barely swallow anything. It might be best if I could just go back to sleep.

Update from this Weekend to Today

I woke up this morning with horrible stomach pains. I started crying. Then, the vomiting started, which I'm glad I had a bucket beside the bed. I just feel miserable but let me catch you up on my weekend.

This past weekend, I had a Leadership Retreat with my fraternity. It's a tradition to have one of these, in the woods off of the grid, to bond together. I was quite proud of myself for surviving the car trip without vomiting in front of my friends, although I loaded up on all on of my medication (which means I couldn't drive). I got to the cabin and picked a bunk close to the restroom. I made sure to bunk with my brothers who wouldn't mind vomiting. I brought a bag of baby food for eating.

While talking to one of my little brothers, I vomited in my mouth. But, I was able to swallow it down, because I was no where near my bucket or the restroom. My little looked at me, knowing what I was doing, and fist bumped me for not getting sick on the floor. She knows how bad I feel but my brothers feel bad that they can't help me. I was amused by the fist bump though. That's not the first time that I've swallowed vomit down. I did that in the car yesterday too. My throat is sore and burnt from all of the vomiting.

Anyway, I actually got sleep on the trip. I don't know if it was because I was in the woods away from electronic devices or what, but I actually got some sleep. Usually, I'm a light sleeper but I didn't hear anything. When I woke up, I felt bad, because apparently, I was snoring. That ran some of my brothers out of the room. I apologized but they were just so happy that I finally was able to sleep that they didn't care. I have really nice brothers.

I ate some lentils during the retreat because I thought they might stay down. I think I ended up vomiting four to six times during the retreat. I wanted to take a shower, because that always makes me feel somewhat better, but it was too cold for me to stand in the shower. The ride back wasn't too bad, I didn't get sick because I loaded up on phenergan and my other medications.

I talked to my doctor's nurse yesterday because I was tired of not being able to sleep. My stomach keeps me up by vomiting all night. The doctor called me in some Ambien to help me sleep and told me he was following up with the Mayo Clinic because they should have scheduled me by now. He's sending me to the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL.

Honestly, I just want some kind of relief without vomiting. I don't like carrying a bucket around or embarrassing myself in front of my friends, even though they understand. I can't even do anything simple like going to someone's house to hang out because I spend most of the time in the restroom. This is just no way to live. I'm eating baby food but that's hit or miss with my stomach too.

So, I'm waiting patiently to hear back about the Mayo Clinic. If I don't hear back today, I'm going to call both my doctor and the Mayo Clinic tomorrow. I need some sort of relief. Until then, I'm going to take my medication and hope that one day, food will be in pill form.


Something did make me laugh yesterday. Every time I hear about the Mayo Clinic, I think about the scene from Airplane: