Trust Your Gut

A couple of years ago I had at that time what I believed was a simple stomach bug. I remember calling into work because I wasn’t able to keep food down and had no appetite. In the next few days I began to feel slightly better and returned to work and my other daily routines. However, in the next few weeks to come I would experience extreme burning and gnawing in my upper abdomen that would leave me almost paralyzed from doing much except lying in my bed.

I remember that day I came home from work and being so upset and discouraged because of the pain I was in and not being sure what was wrong. Throughout my life I have experience many stomach/ digestive issues, but nothing that would compare to this pain. My mother has always been adamant with my sister and me with taking vitamins routinely, and eating healthy. She advised me to become more disciplined in eating and supplement routines. I tried to be hopeful and patient to see if these measures would work, yet they did not provide relief.

I then decided to seek out medical help from my family doctor. It was a short visit where he believed I was experiencing acid reflux and I should take a specific medicine, sleep propped up and eat a relatively bland diet until I felt better. He wrote the prescription and told me to come back in a few weeks. So I ended up taking the medicine, which were these large pills that were difficult to swallow and tasted liked chalk. I ended up feeling much worse and began feeling depressed.

After being out of work for a week and a half and this new prescription not helping, I went to convenient care for a second opinion. After waiting long hours in the waiting room, I was brought in to see a doctor who believed it could be my gallbladder that was causing the pains. She instructed for me to get a few tests to further examine. I sat in the hospital for over 12 hours getting my blood drawn and having an ultra sound done on my gallbladder. At the end of the tests they concluded it wasn’t my gallbladder and told me it was probably my diet. Not knowing what I ate or what activities I do, the nurse automatically diagnosed me with acid reflux and said since I’m young I must eat at a lot of fast foods and drink alcohol regularly. Going home I remember feeling discouraged without answers and automatically stereotyped for what I ate and do in my free time due to my age.

After visiting the hospital, I went back to my doctors where he gave me another prescription and insisted I go for an Upper GI because he thought I might have an ulcer that was causing the pain. However, unfortunately I would have to wait 4 months to get this test done due to having to wait for a specialist that would take my insurance.

In the meantime I started taking the new prescription and the medicine was working. I was starting to feel better, however I experienced a really bad allergic reaction to it and had to stop. Additionally, my insurance wouldn’t pay for it because there were other over the counter or cheaper alternatives. It would have cost me $300 a month to continue on with taking it.

This was one of the first times I have ever had such a rough time with my health and I felt failed by the healthcare practices because of their quickness to prescribe and instead of working with an individual’s diet, stress, and other lifestyle issues. My own doctor who I have been to throughout the years basically just wrote a prescription which he thought would cure me, he didn’t want to discuss any alternatives that would be helpful. I remember him actually stating that only this type of medicine can help.

My mom ended up buying multiple books on Amazon relating to stomach and digestive issues and buying probiotics, and numerous vitamins and foods that she thought would help cure me. Due to the pain I was experiencing I ended up become increasingly curious, myself to learn about other alternative remedies. I even read about other individuals discussing their similar nightmare stories about their doctors not being able to help.

I started taking all the natural remedies one could think of, spoonful of honey, apple cider vinegar, turmeric, and ginger. I even got to the point where I believed I was allergic to dairy or gluten and tried taking those out of my diet.

As the days got closer to me getting my upper GI, I was hopeful I would finally receive an answer to what was exactly wrong with me, however that answer never came. When I went to my scheduled appointment, where I patiently waited for so long to get, the doctor had canceled and I would have to wait another month. I was so angry and upset that I never went back to actually get my test.

I was beginning to feel much better with the natural remedies, they may have tasted absolutely terrible, but I kept telling myself they would cure me. To this day I have completely changed my diet and still take vitamins and other natural remedies for my stomach/digestive issues. My doctor believes I’m prone to peptic ulcers and suffer from GERD.

All in all, while my health story isn’t necessarily fatal, I believe it is a good example to help paint a portrait of the United States healthcare system, where there are long waits, expensive bills, and a high reliance on pharmaceuticals to fix everything. While experiencing this health issue I almost wonder what it would have been to be in a different country where their health system is completely different from ours.