Tuesday, 09/13/2005 Entry: "Ketchup 9/19/2004 - Fruitless and Losing"

The past three months have been interesting to say the least. The office started its own weight loss meetings and so far I've lost 18 pounds and a clothing size. It's easier to walk and slowly I am regaining my agility.

But you know me; there's always something else to add to the list as soon as a problem is crossed off.

It started on Sunday August 22. Our sites relaunched with a revision of our subscription plans. In an executive move which we all knew would cripple us, we were downgraded to a new, inferior version of our message handling system earlier in the week. Emails were piling up and here I was at the office on a Sunday to do last minute beta testing, delete leaks from the boards, and answer as much backlogged correspondence for two countries as possible.

There was free food in the kitchen. Most of the breakfast food was gone, so I grabbed some melon and a Diet Sprite. My stomach bubbled and gurgled for like an hour from that combination!

And from then on, things changed.

I've since pinpointed the aggravating foods. When I eat most raw or undercooked vegetables, ANY kind of fruit or juice or even fruit flavored thing, I feel a pain in my back above my left kidney shortly after swallowing. The symptoms don't make sense. An initial sonogram is negative. I saw a gastroenterologist last week who was thoroughly rude and made an unabashed smirk when I gave him my medical history and mentioned "alternative."

Considering he was on the South Beach Diet, he wasn't in a position to put on airs.