Feeling Good

It's been over three weeks, and I'm happy to report that I'm feeling good.  Today I added in tomatoes, onions, garlic, and bell peppers.  I've also eaten some plums and a nectarine in the past few days.

In terms of gut activity, I feel like there are four major periods in my life:

1. Before my appendectomy in July, 2011.  I had a wonky gut, to be sure, but I learned how to manage it early in life, and it really didn't have an enormous effect on my life, it was just a relatively minor annoyance.
2. The first six months after my appendectomy.  This was the period of time when I was learning that things weren't working properly, and trying to understand what was wrong.  I took several different kinds of probiotics, a couple of different kinds of antibiotics, and a few various other prescription and non-prescription items to try to get things working normally, but nothing had more than a marginal effect.
3. The next year and a half.  I started taking Immodium, and within a month or two I had zeroed in on one milligram (half a pill) twice a day as the best approach.  I estimate that this reduced my symptoms by about 80%.  The worst part was that it seemed much more unpredictable than it had been before the operation.
4. On the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.  Just over three weeks now of no complex carbohydrates, and no Immodium.  I'm also taking a probiotic called "Ultimate Flora" on most mornings (the ones where I don't forget).

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that I think I'm now doing as well or better than I was when I was taking Immodium twice a day.  No explosions in the past several days, and things generally seem to be working pretty normally.  I know there's a good chance that there are setbacks still to come, but I'll try to keep a positive attitude if that happens.

In the meantime, I'll enjoy feeling better!