New to ESLD and scared

Thanks for the reassurance. I think my GI issues are on the mend now. I’ll probably do another day of low fiber and then start to work the fiber back in next week.

I’ve been pretty strict on my diet but I’ve recently allowed a little cheating. I had some dark chocolate. I just have a serving or even less and it’s the really low sugar variety. I just have less other fats like olive oil and nuts if I do that. The real tough thing is sodium. I’m fine with a low sodium diet and I mostly prep my own foods. But sometimes I’m lazy and want to just eat out. I still try to stay as low sodium as possible but there are days I went up to 3,000mg compared to 1,000 to 1,500 when I prep. I don’t know why everyone adds so much salt to everything. It seems like many are focused on calories and not sodium.

But it’s becoming more routine. People at work know that I am hyper focused on eating healthy. It’s actually rubbed off on many of my coworkers, but obviously not to the obsessive levels I am at. Even my kids only eat whole grain and even add spinach to their turkey sandwiches. And when I buy them treats for Valentine’s day and such I opt to get them the higher quality but smaller servings. It’s just a “new normal” I guess. Aside from this minor GI issue I’ve really felt great.

Good to hear from you ..did your pcp bring up the cppper issue? Really sorry, your still waiting for answers.
I understand the emotional roller coaster, that comes with waiting for results. And then more tests..

I wish you all the best and
A very happy Easter to you and your family

You have made the right decisions for yourself and your love for your family. I really do understand, because I had to make the same decisions. And I live with the reality that that each day, month or year may be my last. Talking with you and others here is therapeutic for me and hopefully supportive for you and the others who post here.

Im truly happy that you have found some peace of mind. That you can focus on the blessings in your life, and found a healthy perspective of what may or may not happen..

I have my 2nd MRI tomorrow morning. They just called me and told me that they would like to take an additional MRI picture to assess the stiffness of my liver. I will also need to have a liver ultrasound to compare to. They said there is no additional cost to me, only an additional 20 minutes or so added onto my appointment. I figured more information is better so I agreed.

I can’t believe it’s been a year now since this all started. My biopsy was in June last year. I’m actually feeling great, have a much better handle on my emotions now. I still really don’t have any symptoms except for the low platelets and white blood cell. I’m maintaining my weight of 185#. I thought about losing a few more pounds but my wife already thinks I look emancipated compared to my “normal” 240# weight. My waists has shrunk a bit more though. I think my weight training has replaced some fat with muscle which is more dense. I have to admit that I enjoy buying pants with a 32 waist now. My wife told me I need to keep it off so we don’t waste the money we spent on the new clothes.

I still eat mostly veggies, fruits, whole grains, and some lean fish and white meat. I have had a tiny bit of dark chocolate and even had a tiny amount of red meat for Memorial Day. Actually I don’t really enjoy the red meat anymore. I have actually been eating pretty close to 3,000 calories a day and I have a pretty big appetite. I think it is he increased cardio and strength training. I went up to 8 hours of sleep per night but I found it hard to sleep at all every 3 days or so. Now that I’m at 6.5 to 7 hrs per night I sleep well every night.

I’ve done a lot of work on my mental being. I realize how hard I was on myself in the past with expectations and judgements. It’s really been eye opening to live my life with more optimism and mindful enjoyment.

One of my close friends told me that things like this happen to us to keep us from being lazy. Well, I would never wish a disease on anyone but I can tell you that my life today is much better than it has ever been in my entire life. Yes, sometimes scary things creep into my thoughts, but I’ve held off on spiraling google searches on the doom and gloom scenarios.

I hope others out there are also feeling better with the things they are dealing with as well.

Happy Day!

Thanks for the reply. I’m always happy to hear about how you are doing. There is so much to look forward to and I can see you grabbing the bull by the horns everyday. Your word may sound simple to you but they are truly inspirational to me and have helped me so much.

Words are amazing. I also had an ultrasound this morning for a potential hernia. The tech said she didn’t see any signs of a hernia but that’s just preliminary. I told her that it’s nice to get good news for a test as it’s been a while since I have. She responded with “sometimes bad news is good”. That was so powerful and also reminded me of how judgements can drag us down. Test results are neither good nor bad but rather informative to help determine next steps on our journey. Words truly have so much power, more than we realize sometimes.

I’ve also learned that outcomes aren’t really the point. The future and the past can be distracting. All we really have is this present moment. I’ve learned to enjoy the present moment even if there is pain or discomfort. I still have my moments and I’m still learning and developing even at 41 years old but I do enjoy my life way more today than I have ever in the past, as I work to shed expectations and judgements while nurishing myself with nutrient-rich foods and self-care.

I wish you the best today! And have a great weekend! You help so many people here! Thank you!