And feeling better

So, I don't know. I had a stomach upset starting Wednesday afternoon last week, and it finally seems to have resolved. For a while I was worrying that it was either an ulcer or a hiatal hernia....but I think each of those would either get worse or stay the same, not get better. So I have about a dozen hypotheses about what this WAS, but no desire to do too much testing (i.e., trying to make myself sick again)

Here they are, from what I think is most to least likely:

1. Got another stomach virus almost the same as the one before. And that means I am TOO STRESSED because I keep getting sick and I need to work on stress relief.

2. Ibuprofen is no longer my friend. (I took a dose Wednesday afternoon, because I had a borderline migraine, and that was a couple hours before the worst of it hit). I know NSAIDS can mess with your stomach but I NEVER had problems before. Maybe I get a bottle of buffered aspirin for the next headache? (Tylenol does nothing for pain for me)

3. It's female stuff; I'm close enough to 'the change' and I know my mother reminds me of the terrible nausea she had (she was sick most of the time when we were at Disneyworld and there was also a rather awful boat crossing in Lake Superior she had to endure). This is the only one I will be "testing" as in I have no way to prevent next month....so we'll see, if I get predictably sick again, I'll know.

4. Sensitivity to onions. Or to peanut butter. Or the "all natural" peanut butter I had also had a dose of bacteria in it too. Or sensitivity to butterfat....though I have eaten cheese without incident between the two bouts of stomach issues.

4a (just thought of this) I had started taking Vitamin D again and maybe it messed with my stomach.

5. Metoprolol rarely can cause indigestion/heartburn as a side effect

6. It's a hiatal hernia (I would not be the only one in my family to have it). (Except: I have no pain or indigestion at night upon lying down)

7. It's an ulcer (I so do not want to go have an endoscopy done, though)

I think 6 and 7 are unlikely because I feel BETTER today, and also when I exert myself doing yardwork or working out I feel better, and I tend to think if something were structurally messed up with my digestive system, exertion would be bad.

I think 5 is unlikely because it would be equally bad today to yesterday, I would think, because I'm always taking metoprolol.

I'm hoping it's 1 because that means there's nothing I really need to do other than be sure to wash my hands more regularly and stay away from sick people and make more of an effort to de-stress and keep my immune system up.

However, I'm unwilling to do the "testing" to see if it's 2 or 4 - I will just avoid those things for now (though if I get a migraine, that's an undesirable choice: Suffer with pain or risk tearing up my stomach for a few days. And I just learned that Hobson's Choice is the wrong phrase in that case: it really means a take-it-or-leave-it choice)

I'm just hoping this is the end of it, that it's some nasty little virus that took me a week to shake completely. (Maybe NOT vomiting is the problem.....maybe people who get sick enough to vomit throw the bum virus out faster)

I also feel more like MYSELF again. I wasn't for a few days - I could tell I was noticeably subdued at the Science Fair and had to remind myself to ask questions of the students myself and not just let my co-judge do all the talking. Also, when I'm in low-level pain like that (and equally, low-level worry about "what if this is something really serious") I get short-tempered and snappy, which is really not like me.