Endless Burping Headaches
August 10, 2005
Last Monday (the 1st), I ended up leaving work early with this queasy stomach. I was coughing up bile and other not fun things. I didn’t think that it was the food. Other people ate the same stuff, and I was the only one with problems. I thought I was just panicked and nervous. Stress. Damn it all. Why are lesson plans so stressful? Okay, there were other things going on. Projects were due. It’s back to school time, so there’s always a rush to get extra info online. Besides that, every Monday is a deadline, since I have to write the Ideas for the Inbox that goes out on Tuesday.
Tuesday, I ate lunch leftovers from the day before—and I got sick again. It didn’t make any sense. And unfortunately, from that point on, I burped constantly, and had a horrible sick feeling in my stomach. By Friday morning, I thought I was losing my mind. How could I let stress make me sick for days? Beyond that, I had really worn out my welcome with my coworkers with the unstoppable burping and whatnot.
I figured there had to be something else going on, so feeling pretty desperate, I did some research. I couldn’t get a doctor’s appt till the
18th. Quickly, I think I figured out the problem: acid reflux. In fact, a whole series of symptoms for MONTHS suddenly made sense–burping, coughing, the way I have to clear my throat when I eat, everything. Even the fact that I haven’t been able to sleep through the night for months.
I wake up with this dry cough. I knew it wasn’t allergies or anything because it was not phlegmy and there were no sniffles. I thought the blood pressure meds were drying me out. Nope, it’s a symptom of acid reflux–when you’re lying down stuff flows backwards towards your lungs and you have to cough. I’m 99% sure this or some variation of it is my problem (e.g., ulcers, etc.).
So after work on Friday, I bought PepcidAC and changed all my food to the things that you’re supposed to eat when you have this problem. I
was having major burning bitter heartburn most of the weekend. I’ve been on a diet of dry cheerios and rice for the most part since Friday night.
The info said that I am to avoid caffeine and carbonated beverages. Part of the problem with acid reflux is that you’re swallowing too much air with your food, and carbonated drinks are pretty much bubbly liquids. I decided to ignore that part of the rules because I was already so miserable, and as anyone who knows me could tell you, I live on diet soda. Or I did.
Saturday, I was trying to eat cheerios w/o belching and drinking soda, and every time I took a drink, it was followed by pain and burping and etc. So I gave up soda at that point on Saturday. And that’s where my now 5-day-old headache is from.
I felt horrible last night—probably 75% the desire for soda and the horrible headache, and of course the burping and diet of cheerios. Somehow all this led to an insane, desperate desire for a foot rub. I think that
somehow I thought that would help me relax, and if I could just relax maybe my head would quit hurting. I just desperately wanted it to stop hurting. I was willing to do about anything. I swear I would have paid someone on the street for a foot rub.
Looking back with what I realize is only a day’s hindsight, what’s interesting to me is that while I was having these thoughts that I would do ANYTHING to stop the misery, it never once occurred to me to just go get a can of soda. I’m not sure what that means even. There was an obvious solution to fix it, and I never even thought about it.
As of now, I’m burping and headachy, but surviving. If I keep myself dosed on Tylenol, I can mostly survive the headaches at this point. I’m still very queasy and sick. When I eat the wrong thing or the wrong way, I pay the price. I drank some milk too fast at lunch, and almost threw up. Guess I have to stick mostly to cheerios, especially in public, and somehow survive 8 more days till the doctor’s appointment.
