I sit in bed. My abdomen writhes in pain. Moving causes pain. Eating and drinking causes my gut to swell and explode in pain. I wonder how long this will continue. I can only eat a few hundred calories. My weight is rapidly dropping. My bones stick out. It hurts to lie down because anywhere my body touches the mattress, my bones exert pressure on my skin. I try to move frequently to prevent pressure sores form developing.
As I struggle day after day, a family member (who needs to lose a lot of weight), says to me, “I wish I had issues with eating too. Then I could lose weight.” I stare at my family member in confusion and want to scream, “Why can’t you appreciate your functioning GI tract? Why would you want to endure days, weeks and months on end with unrelenting pain? If you want to lose weight, stop eating so much junk food! Three candy bars plus fast food and a gallon of Diet Coke a day is not healthy for you!” As much as I want to set the record straight, I remain quiet. The misconception that being thin from having a dysfunctional GI tract is a blessing remains strong in our society.
About eight years ago, a woman and her husband used to drive me to church. I was very thin and was struggling to eat due to chronic pancreatitis. The woman was envious of my bony figure. Although the woman was very petite and thin, she wanted to have less body fat. I never understood how anyone would want the constant battle I have with food—the pain, bloating, swelling, nausea and other symptoms I experience when I eat food. Why can’t people enjoy a healthy GI tract and appreciate the blessing it is to be able to eat without becoming severely sick? What I would give to have a functioning GI tract and to be able to eat.
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