Recently I have just been taking some time to be in the present moment and go with the flow of things. My husband had an operation (keyhole surgery) at the end of last month, so we have been slowly getting through his recovery process. He had some cellulitis around his wound briefly, but antibiotics have helped that significantly, and I can happily say he is now on the mend.
I have also had some updates on my health in regard to my gut issues. After many blood tests, various scans, and other samples I am now in the process of being diagnosed with coeliac disease. Initially believed to be IBS with my GP looking at familial patterns (my Mum has this as a comorbidity with her Sjogren’s), and the fact that they can both present similar symptoms gave good ground for this to be the logical hypothesis.
However though known to be comorbid with Sjogren’s, there is also a strong connection between developing coeliac disease as a reaction to a severe viral infection. Something I actually had a few years ago in 2022, which was the Omicron variant of COVID-19. That was the first time I had the virus and ended up in hospital after finding it difficult to catch my breath. I was gasping between words and initially wondered if I was having an asthma attack due to my allergies, and it being the peak of summer. I had also had all my vaccinations early due to being flagged as vulnerable, so COVID was the last thing on my mind, however after a clear chest X-ray, and some time on a nebuliser to assist my breathing the above was confirmed. I have felt over the years that things have not been the same for me health-wise since having it. With that I have attached a link about COVID and coeliac disease from Google scholar (one of my favourite resources since doing my course).
Getting back to the subject at hand, I have also spent the past week adjusting to my new way of being. I have had to remove gluten from my diet and have low FODMAP food which has been quite challenging and brought a new toaster for myself to avoid cross contamination. I am also feeling a bit more energised after the routine blood count I took a few weeks ago. I was feeling really fatigued at that point, and my tests confirmed that I have been experiencing malabsorption, which has caused me to become anaemic and deficient in vitamin D, so I have been given some supplements to restore these levels back to normal again. Although it will take some time until I feel completely like myself, I feel optimistic as I finally feel like things are going in a more positive direction.
Other highlights over the past few weeks was another session at the philosophy café (I will include photos and notes below), attending my son's sports day and taking him to the park. We have had some great chats recently about some of the artists he has been studying at school (Niki de Saint Phalle), and he made me laugh of late in an innocent way about recreational drugs from his PSHE lessons. He grabbed a leaf from a tree while we were walking and told me that there were "sus" (suspicious) things growing nearby that people should not smoke. I adore him so much, and hope with all my heart he will grow up to be safe and sensible in this often-malignant world.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10134706/ (Viruses and Coeliac disease)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8420168/ (COVID19 and Coeliac disease)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8966828/ (COVID19 infection causing residual gastrointestinal symptoms)
In this session we looked at relativism and absolutism, and discussed Protagoras and Simon Blackburn-