I got my appendix out a few weeks ago. It was not planned and happened while on vacation, not exactly my idea of a good time! I felt fine when I woke up, but by around noon I was feeling weird pain that I thought maybe was GERD. After throwing up Malox and realizing I hadn’t kept anything down all day, I figured it was something I should get checked out. It was a pretty clear case of appendicitis and by the next morning I had it out and was feeling better. Thankfully it was a surgery done by laparoscopy with no complications and I was up walking the same day. A few weeks later I’m feeling fine. Big huge thank you to Chuck and An for taking such good care of me!

Since appendicitis is an acute infection and I had antibiotics and pain medications while in the hospital, I figured I should do my best to help my gut recover. The doctor also said it looked like I had some inflammation in my stomach, possibly related to H. Pylori. So, I’m back on having tons of broth and have cut out starches completely. I was using potatoes and rice in my diet because I liked them and wanted to maintain weight. Well, I think I’m leaving them out for a while. For one, they are completely unnecessary for me to feel well and have energy. I also don’t think I have the proper gut flora balance to support eating that much starch. I’ve cut down the carbs considerably but am still enjoying some fruit and honey. I’ve added in some anti-microbial foods like coconut oil and raw garlic. I’m taking probiotics, eating homemade yogurt, and taking Betaine HCL (with pepsin) with meals. So far so good.

I’m also soaking up lots of sun on my extended holiday. For once I have a vacation to recover from my vacation. While I’m here, I’m working on a few things including some nutrition reading. After the conference I read Paul Jaminet’s Perfect Health Diet which is super useful for anyone dealing with illness and gives some much needed attention to infections (bacterial, fungal and viral). I’m now reading Ray Peat who talks a lot about hormones, sugars, cancer, inflammation etc (basically everything). Very interesting stuff that I plan to write about in future blog posts. I will write more blog posts I swear!