Hey guys, I'll play a little catch-up tomorrow but tonight I just want to tell you how ridiiiiiiculous my life is... I went to bed feeling fine on Tuesday night but woke up in the middle of the night to an intense pain in my elbow, so I iced it and passed out. I woke up in a puddle of water (luckily I did NOT pee myself in my sleep) and with my elbow hot to the touch, red, still painful and swollen to twice its normal size. Sooooo I freaked out, assumed the worst (lupus, impending death, blood sepsis) because I am an obsessive-compulsive hypochondriac and called out of work (I ended up going in later in the day) to see an urgent care doctor. Anyway, she diagnosed bursitis, which is apparently from LEANING too much, which is...basically just hilarious and WYRD.
Now I'm taking an antibiotic (4 times a day, what fun) and an anti-inflammatory (twice a day.) HowEVER, I HATE taking medicine and distrust and just dislike it but I'm TAKING it because I'm paranoid and whatever. Because the medicines leech vitamins from my body I'm trying to eat foods that are both generally helpful and reintroduce what is being sapped: in particular, folic acid, all B vitamins, and good bacteria.
While I waited for the pharmacy to fill my prescriptions, I ate something not so healthy but had been craving for weeks:
(
Pumpernickel bagel with
tofu cream cheese. When I saw this photo small on my camera I was like, "When did I eat a Devil Dog???")
The bagel filled me up until lunch:
Collard greens, baked sweet potato, quinoa, hummus + balsamic vinegar from Whole Foods.
Also bought this
GoodBelly juice to refill my lactobactillii and probiotic needs:
It's pretty tasty. I don't often get anything acai flavored so it makes me feel special. Or something.
G and I had tentative plans to go to a friend's reading after work (free wine!) but since I can't drink on this medication (aarrrrrgghhhhh), we got tea at
Mud coffee.
Well, he got
(peach) tea. I got a
chai latte with soy milk (fancy, right?) that gave me a SERIOUS caffeine/sugar buzz. Delicious, foamy, and warming. No flash.
Tonight, to get back some B vitamins, I ate this huge salad covered in
nooch.
Chopped collard geens, adzuki beans, carrots, sweet potato, mushrooms, with
miso-tahini dressing, Braggs, black pepper and
nooch.
To make this story even funnier, my mother keeps telling me that I don't have bursitis - I have GOUT. Which, if you don't know, most often occurs in people who eat fatty meats and fried foods. Which I obviously don't. But I guess anything's possible. Because my life is ridiiiiiiculous.
The elbow is still swollen but it feels less painful - mostly just sore.
I'll keep you posted. Unless I die a horrible gouty death. 'Til then, a
lighter note.
As soon as I read the diagnosis I stopped leaning on my elbow — I have a bad habit of doing it when I'm at the computer and it even gets red and scaly from the pressure. I would have freaked out, too, so you're not alone in that department. Glad it's treatable and I don't think bursitis is fatal. But if you stop leaning, will it go away?
ReplyDeleteLuckily (?) I sit at the computer in a position that only screws up my back...
DeleteI think I have to learn to lean more lightly... if that is indeed the problem. But it just sounds so absurd.
Yikes, I'm so sorry that you are dealing with this!! I have heard that bursitis can be incredibly painful and I hope that yours subsides quickly. I know what you mean about hating to take meds... and antibiotics 4 times a day sounds pretty horrendous. Hopefully all of the clean eats will help combat the yuckiness of the meds. I know what you mean about being a hypochondriac. I've diagnosed myself with some terrible things only to be wrong... it's a lot scarier when some of the horrible diseases are a possibility though.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, great looking meals as always. How is the good belly stuff? I really want to try and get more probiotics in. And that bagel looks like perfection.
Thanks for understanding. It's funny because even though I know I'm a hypochondriac and have OCD it doesn't help me not think those things. And sometimes the stress about worrying about them makes the situation actually physically worse, but I'm too scared to go to the doctor and learn the truth in case it's something REALLY bad! Agh!
DeleteRight now I'm freaking out about the antibiotics especially because I don't want to be taking medicine for something that it might not actually be! Like, what if it isn't bursitis or gout but some weird blood infection? They didn't do a super thorough examination....
ANYWAY ha! The GoodBelly stuff is tasty! I think you would like it. It's slightly thicker than juice because there are oats blended in. If you don't like kombucha or don't eat yogurt it seems like a good way to get the probiotics. There's also a mango flavor I saw.
I know EXACTLY how you feel. I avoided Drs for a very long time out of fear and wouldn't you know I had some pretty sketchy test results. I feel the same extreme anxiety about my health and no matter how much I want to keep my mind off of it I can't help but freak out.
DeleteIf you are really concerned maybe getting some routine bloodwork done may help give you peace of mind? Or if something is wrong (and I doubt it is) you can at least take care of it and move on?
I don't think I've ever wanted something as badly in my life as I want that bagel.
ReplyDeleteSending your elbow some good thoughts!
I've had better bagels. Don't be too jealous.
Deletewow, i agree with love, that bagel looks insanely good. sorry to hear about your elbow. feel better soon!
ReplyDeletexo
kittee
They sure do know how to schmear here in NYC, I'll say that much.
DeleteThat bagel looks delicious! I'm new to your blog and I'm really enjoying reading your posts! Hope your elbow feels better! :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome and thanks for stopping in. Thanks for the healing vibes too.
DeleteThat bagel! My favorite. Sorry about the bursitis. According to my patients it's very painful. Hope you're getting some relief. Also, I doubt it's gout. Every time I've seen gout it's started in the toes. And you really don't fit the gouty profile :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad a health professional commented! I might actually just have joint problems because I have felt a similar sensation in my toe before but it went away pretty quickly and I didn't take any antibiotics. This is worse because I use my arm a lot. Obviously. Hopefully tomorrow is better.
DeleteGreat devil dog/bagel, but what is going on with your hummos in the next shot? It looks like a giant, unwieldly garlic bulb or the smoke monster from Lost. Hope you're feeling better, Leany-McFried foods.
ReplyDeletePS: I read your blog title really fast and I thought it said: "Food Feud: The Musical." Needless to say, I was intrigued.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a huge fan of musicals but I would TOTALLY watch that. I love anything all about me.
DeleteAnd HA to the hummus! If I eat the smoke monster do I become the smoke monster? Is that the plot to the musical??
Leaning too much, whaaat? Wow, I'm going to stop leaning now.
ReplyDeleteBut if leaning means I can justify eating a bagel like that, maybe it's worth it?
Hope the pain clears up soon!!! xoxo
I know, right? Haha, I told the doctor "I guess I AM bored a lot of the time..."
DeleteYou can probably just eat the bagel without having to deal with joint pain. Pretty sure that's how it works.
Aw, feel better! Also: BAGELS.
ReplyDeleteAGREED. I just saw yr post from the other day! Goodness gracious.
DeleteA Bagel AND Bursitis??? Most bloggers would just have one or the other. You always have the best posts.
ReplyDeleteShen wants the D(rama)
DeleteHope your elbow feels better soon!! And damn, that is a fine bagel!
ReplyDeleteI forgot the tomato! D'oh!
DeleteOh my goodness! I would be freaking out from that too. Although...it happened from...leaning? I laughed a little. And then felt kind of bad about it. But...leaning? Who knew! And yeah, not a fan of antibiotics in the slightest, but sometimes you just gotta. Also if you have gout, then nothing is right in this world, ha ha! Take care!
ReplyDeleteI looked up a bunch of stuff about gout. They said no mushrooms, which sucks, or yeast + beer, which is kind of annoying but also coffee and chocolate are recommended so guess what I'm gonna be eating a lot of today???!
DeleteI reallllllllyyyyy hate taking any meds for anything ever too- i hope you heal quickly and can stop taking them! I am also paranoid about antibiotics and the nanosecond im done with them i have tons of miso, kraut, and probiotic supplements. Definatly don't drink! I did once- honest accident really- and by the end of the first glass of wine i was soooo drunk and felt like crap for two days
ReplyDeleteTtrockwood@yahoo.com
Ps
WebMD is evil
Thanks. I will definitely do up the miso and kraut! That's as good an excuse as any. I was seriously tempted to drink last night but IF YOU SAY SO. And yeah to WebMD. It used to be my homepage - take from that what you will.
DeleteHope the elbow is giving you less grief. The bagel looks big enough to double as a poultice if things don't clear up...
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I know about gout was that Henry the eighth had it, so if in some parallel universe your mum was right, you'd be in good company. Just need a few more wives and you're away.
It feels a lot better today, thanks! But I think I might still rub tofu cream cheese all over my body anyway. Then the wives will flock to me!
Delete