“Juicing vegetables. But you know, I really don’t want to confuse you any more than you must be.”

Actually, that’s not a bad idea. Hadn’t thought about it. I’ll try it out. And thanks for the well wishes.

On a bright note, I’ve realized that buckwheat is still on the menu (it’s not particularly acidic and doesn’t contain gluten, which I tend to avoid), which means PANCAKES ARE STILL ON THE MENU!! WOOOO!

I know what you mean about western medicine being more symptomatic and just covering up signs rather than going to the root of the problem, which is what eastern medicine tends to be like. I’m all for that. And I love the yoga/ayurvedic stuff. I think the more we understand our bodies the more we’re in tune with them and can feel what’s happening.

In the end, good luck with everything! Crazy!!

The western doctors want to (a) pump me full of PPI’s (60mg/day of Prevacid is a pretty high dosage) and (b) start removing body parts (“The gallbladder’s a pretty useless organ”). Problem is that I have biliary dyskinesia, and the first protocol is the removal of the organ, since there haven’t been many studies as for WHY billiary dyskinesia (in people without gallstones or polyps) occurs. Some studdies suggest an autoimmune problem, other infections, and yet others biliary sludge, not to mention the possibility that the ultrasound may have missed tiny stones (and I’ve considered requesting another ultrasound for that purpose). If there are other problems which may be down the road and can be dealt with now, then I’ll go for it. (Note: I used to have a hiatal hernia, diagnosed about 10 years ago. I had acupuncture done for months to work with it. It worked. The hiatal hernia is gone, as confirmed by an upper endoscopy.)

In this situation, I prefer at least the attitude of the eastern approach, which says “We think we can cure your gallbladder and acid problems using nerve stimulation and diet, without the need to remove bodyparts.” Of course, the western approach works much faster, mostly because the eastern approach takes better care of understanding the long-tern implications of an action. Problem with the eastern approach is that (and maybe this is just perception) there’s currently less standardization and regulation, less of a bar for someone to work on you than with western medicine, and therein lies inherent danger.

I told myself I wouldn’t consider any sort of surgery until the end of the year. For now, I’ll try herbal methods, exercise, losing weight, yoga/aryuvedic medicine and acupuncture/Chinese medicine to see whether that keeps me from having to start removing parts from the package. At the beginning of next year, depending on how I feel, I’l likely ask for another HIDA/CCK to see whether my chosen methods have worked. If they haven’t, and if I’m still having heartburn problems, then I’ll reconsider taking the gallbladder out. Frankly, though, I don’t care to risk the possible side effects of gallbladder surgery, particularly the small but still present chance of damage to the vagus nerve.

To go all the way, medical expertise would give a better answer.

I think last night I just needed to vent. I’ve gone through all these changes recently and to be told I have to be more stringent, even when I’ve brought the diversity of my meals down to a point where eating out becomes next to impossible, is frustrating, to say the least.

For now, though, I have a list of questions to ask the acupuncturist, like whether “acidic” applies to foods as they go in, or into what they transform. and whether room-temperature water is considered cool if the room is 75-degrees (F).

If memory serves me right, even if you eat all the foods you’re supposed to eat, the reflux gets triggered because of the amount you eat as well. More food = more stomach acid.

So yes, you can probably break a few rules here and there in regards to chocolate or acidic foods, just take them sparingly and in small amounts. Then take that surgery in the end.