As night fell on the chilly October evening, my family and I prepared to celebrate another Halloween together. As expected, the house was adorned with pumpkins, orange and black décor, and suitably spooky ornaments. It was incredibly odd, as though my body didn’t agree with alcohol all of a sudden.
As I couldn’t quite shake the feeling, I modified what I ate and drank over the holidays in 2021, as I didn’t want a repeat of Halloween. Yet, throughout November, the feeling never went away. I can only describe it as this gnawing feeling in my chest.
I initially went to see a doctor, and he told me that my weight was a concern, so I should watch my diet. I was also given some over-the-counter medication and told to see how I felt after that. I walked away feeling so dismissed.
Rather than looking for the source of the problem, he blamed my weight. Of course, as a mom and business owner, I was very busy and had to keep functioning. Nonetheless, I went back to the doctor a month later because the problem did not go away.
This time, he suggested trying stronger medication and agreed to do bloodwork. Although, they only really tested my cholesterol and red and white blood cells, so the results did not flag anything concerning. As I didn’t seem to be getting anywhere, I saw a gastroenterologist for another opinion.
He then put me on prescription medication for around six weeks, but I still didn’t feel like I was being heard. I continued losing weight and agreed to continue watching what I was eating. But by January 2022, I could no longer ignore the feeling within.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
