It Does a GI Tract Good

I have been a terrible food blogger lately. I've relied heavily on the help of others for my posts because I haven't been well enough to make anything. I had a renal venogram last week that I'm still recovering from. I never thought putting a small catheter with a camera in my vein would hurt so much. I was unable to be completely sedated because I had to follow commands, such as: "breath in deeply", "hold your breath", and "is that where your pain is"? 'Lucky' me, I was the first patient at the hospital to have this procedure done; I was the first patient they have seen who actually has nutcracker syndrome. Needless to say, the doctors and surgeons were pretty excited to see me and my rare condition.

They snaked the catheter/camera up from my right femoral vein (in my groin) all the way up to my left renal vein. I could feel every where the doctor snaked that catheter. I even asked if it was supposed to be so painful. My nurses were wonderful, they felt bad for me so they were rubbing my head and giving me more pain meds every 5 min. Even though it was painful, I found it fascinating what modern medicine can do. Afterward my insides felt like spaghetti; like someone had taken a knife to my insides, just chopping and slicing away.

After all that, the doctor looked at my images and was unable to make a recommendation on what to do next because he has never seen nutcracker syndrome before. He is going to consult with other doctors before putting me through an invasive surgery involving making a new renal vein to bypass the compressed one.

Anyway, I'm sorry to go into all that, but I just wanted to let you all know I'm not (completely) lazy; I've been dealing with a lot of things. And the next two weeks will be filled with doctor appointments, questions, and decisions about a possible surgery. For this reason my cooking has dwindled down to almost nothing. Poor Mr.Surly has been reduced to eating canned soup and Lucky Charms.

Sorry about my little rant that has nothing to do with this delicious apple brandy, Calvados. I was introduced to it back in August while on vacation. We went out to eat at a wonderful French restaurant and I had forgotten my Creon pills. These are pills that contain 3 pancreatic enzymes to help me digest my food; I have to take them every time I eat anything. Well, I ate the meal anyway, knowing I was going to be in a lot of pain later.

We had after dinner drinks and I chose this apple brandy that sounded good. Little did I know how good it would turn out to be. First of all, it tastes phenomenal; great apple flavor. After my first sip, I felt the warm buring in my throat and all the way down my esophagus; relaxing everything. By the time I finished my brandy (just a few ounces) my entire GI tract was relaxed. I didn't even feel the ill effects I usually feel when eating without taking my enzyme pill. The Calvados had relaxed everything, dulling my pain.

Ever since we returned from vacation we've been looking for this brandy for me. I want to have it around in case I eat a meal that causes my abdominal pain. Mr.Surly finally found it for me. He also bought these brandy snifters/cognac glasses that are supposedly made for french brandy.

Now, I'm not a medical expert, so I don't know if this would help all people with abdominal issues (maybe it would exacerbate it in some). All I'm saying is that it works for me. And for you lucky people with no GI issues, it makes a wonderful after dinner drink.

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