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One cloudy day in early 2013, I heard the words “lesions” and “Irritable Bowel Syndrome” and “omeprazole” as I sat in front of a rather large mahogany desk. Facing my gastroenterologist, his words deflated me as my mind swirled with questions. What does this mean? Is this chronic? Is it fatal? Will it heal? Do I need medication? I couldn’t form the thoughts to ask any intelligible questions out loud. He continued with a description of my action plan. Yes, I was going to need stomach medication. Yes, I would have to avoid spicy foods and alcohol. The list went on while my mind raced. I wasn’t listening. Then, these words made it through the fog. “Mary, your priority is to manage your stress.” My stress? Really? How could I do that? I was a single mother with a mortgage and a recent career change. I was working hard to accelerate my career and frankly, I was crushing it. I had grit.
Clearly, my body had other ideas and was sending a message that the pace of my life and ambitions was not sustainable.
Ok, so now what? I certainly don’t want to take medication forever. Forever is a long time. I envisioned a medicine cabinet full of prescription bottles that snooping visitors would discover. What man would ever want me? Nobody wants to date someone with health problems. These are…
