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Prep Mode

ant print on broken stone tile

So I’m in full on prep-mode this week. I have a colonoscopy and endoscopy appointment in a couple days and so I have to do what they call: “prep”. I need to clean out completely before I go in for this procedure. Five days ago, I started a diet that cuts hard to digest food. No nuts, seeds, red meat, alcohol, dairy, whole grains, raw veggies, or veggies/fruit with seeds. I start a 2-day clear liquid diet today, and before going in, I’ll have to take two crazy dosages of laxative. This is the part that might be tough.

It’s a scary procedure to me. Luckily, it should be over quickly with sedation, and hopefully I don’t get super sick from the sedation itself… and I’m all healthy.

Screen print of ants on a broken stone tile
Cool picture break: Screen print of ants on a broken stone tile – printed by Gregg Weiss

If I’m going to be honest though, I do feel as if there is something wrong. My tummy is always super bloated (I get asked about my ‘pregnancy’ often). I have abdominal cramps, headaches, muscle aches, and nausea often. Heartburn is my daily companion, and I haven’t had a normal bowel movement in years (sorry if TMI!)

I’ve been waiting a long time to have this procedure to see what’s going on in my gut. I’ve stopped traveling via plane, train, bus, etc. because of the nausea involved with motion sickness. I haven’t even been able to drive myself to the coast which is about 90 minutes away. That’s because of my exhaustion. My last big drive was scary because I kept falling asleep, and just couldn’t stay awake.

Changes

There have been some changes recently. The iron infusions I had last month may have helped with exhaustion, because I don’t feel nearly as tired, and I’m not passing out after eating food anymore. So once this procedure is complete, I really want to test my upgrade and take a trip to the ocean for some good mental-healing energy.

I’ve been adding more exercises to my nightly stretch routine. We’ve also been walking 2 miles every other day. I’m always tweaking my diet too, and have cut back my portion sizes earlier this year. My diet is already pretty clean, but cutting things like added preservatives and sugars has minimized our diet even more.

The other big change recently is taking high dosage of L-Methylfolate. It’s the same as folic acid, but is natural – not man made like folic acid is. I found out I have a genetic mutation that does not assimilate folic acid, and if it’s not used in your body, it creates high homocysteine levels which can cause arterial damage and blood clots. So I’ve been avoiding folic acid and taking L-methylfolate. This change has really helped my energy and mood quite a bit already!

Crown Chakra Quilt

I’m still plugging away on the Crown Chakra Quilt. I’m so happy to have this project to work on right now! I need this mental escape – especially this week when I need to avoid food as much as possible. I’m nervous about it, but trying not to be. So I will sew my stress away!

Crown Chakra Quilt in progress on the design board.
Crown Chakra Quilt in progress on the design board.

I have the first quarter of the quilt put together already! I’ve been using the freezer paper – paper piecing method. Have you tried that? I love it! I can reuse the papers over and over. It really helps keeping my points close to perfect. I don’t sew through the paper, just fold it back and use the folded edge as a guide. I’ll take some pictures and see about doing a small tutorial on my next post… or maybe I’ll set up a video…?

Until then – happy quilting! Oh… and thanks for the notes of support after my last post. It feels nice to be heard.

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