No More Home Brew

[jdlev]

....or anything alcohol for that matter. Ok...this is some more gross stuff, but wanted to give you guys an update on my condition...

Took everyone's advice and went to a second DR (gastro) who really knew his stuff and acted like he gave a dang. Unfortunately, they found a little blood in you know where, so now we're doing the full workup I officially weighed in at 218...down 20lbs in about 6 weeks. I am starting to feel a little bit better thought...I think it's been close to a week with no home brew...though I did cheat and have about 1/2 a glass of my porter last night (before I knew that alcohol was a big no-no)

Doctor said low fat diet...and absolutely no alcohol...especially home brew, and I needed to cut back on future intake. Said there's no way I should be having these problems at 30. They were also going to test me for gluten intolerance and celiac. Already gave about 10 vials of blood today, and poo sample...and worst news of all...I have to get scoped (yep..both ends) this thursday...which means I don't get to eat anything all day Wednesday, and have to drink that gallon of liquid that will send a river running through your insides. I still think most likely it is an ulcer, but doc said keep taking prilosec (proton pump inhibitor), increase fiber, gave me some better probiotics to take, and eat better to see if that helps at all.

Life truly, truly sucks....I've only been a home brewer for 3 months, and can say it's my #1 favorite hobbie of all time. I'd appreciate some prayers that its nothing serious, that it would heal quickly (and hopefully on its own), and that this is all just temporary. I've also had some pains with my gall bladder, and hope there nothings wrong there...although that's already been ultra sounded, and they didn't see any gall stones...lightheadedness/dizzyness continues to be the scariest symptom, though it seems to happen less and less frequently..

All I can say is I'm glad I wised up and got insurance earlier this year...even if it is the $5k deductible yearly. It's already saved me a couple grand.

Everyone enjoy a nice home brew for your's truly, because I won't be havin any anytime soon. I'll have to live vicariously through you clowns I guess the one bit of good news is that now the 8-9 gallons of brew I have will have weeks if not months to age...

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[Shooter]

Get this thing figured out and get healthy! There will be time for homebrew later.

 

[raf1919]

hey sorry to hear your news.


just curious.. why did dr say "especially home brew" is homebrew less safer.?

 

[tallybrewer]

Well, fudge. Sorry to hear this, man. Hang in there...

 

[DubbinFive1Eight]

hey sorry to hear your news.


just curious.. why did dr say "especially home brew" is homebrew less safer.?

I second that.

Also, have them keep an eye on your gall bladder. What they don't tell you is that having a low fat diet and losing a whooole bunch of weight (gonna take more than 20lbs ofcourse) creates gall stones.

Some people are lucky, and get several small ones.

A friend of mine ended up getting one the size of a golf ball... Had to cut him from hip to arm pit (this was before the ''non evasive'' techniques), then cut his abdominal muscles to get the stone itself out. Still hasn't totally recovered, and where they cut the gall bladder out has now attached to his oblique abdominal wall.

Not to scare you or anything haha but keep an eye on that if you start getting real pain.

Hope you heal soon!

 

[jdlev]

hey sorry to hear your news.


just curious.. why did dr say "especially home brew" is homebrew less safer.?

I just told him I used to drink 2-3 glasses a day...it was main source of alcohol which could exacerbate the ulcer problems...

Home brew is perfectly safe...in moderation...

 

[mcarb]

Let us know. I am having the lightheaded thing too and wonder if it's due to Celiac.

 

[KevinW]

My heart and prayers go out to you man! You are very young to be having these issues.

I hope it is something simple that can be remedied very soon so you can get back to drinking your awesome homebrews!

Good luck and be sure to keep us posted!

 

[buffalobrewer]

glad you got it checked out. Short term discomforts will hopefully lead to long term health!

 

[SIXFOOTER]

Smoke and prayers headed your way.

 

[ibbones]

I am also in a boat where I have to take a med for the rest of my life that controls a lot of my diet. I do get to have two beers a day and sometimes I might get a third. I love the brewing process so I will continue to brew. At least I only brew 12-15 batches a year and it keeps costs down.

 

[carrotmalt]

Hope you get it figured out soon and can get back to feeling better. Prayers and best wishes!

 

[boo boo]

Hey man that sucks.

 

[japhroaig]

In July I had blood where it shouldn't be--and I'm 32 btw. Got MRI'ed, scoped, and basically went through hell. Turned out to be uric acid kidney stones. Not so big that they could easily see them, but they were there.

Fast forward almost six months--I drink at least 100oz of water a day. No red meat or fatty stuff *during the week*. Lower salt, and lots of low impact exercise (I walk 2-10 miles a day, depending on the day). Haven't had a recurrence, lost 41 lbs so far, and have been able to enjoy home brew. Good for you getting this looked at *now*. Personally, it changed my life for the better so far, but it absolutely takes you to dark places where you don't know if the suffering will stop.

Let me know if you need to talk, I've been standing in shoes of a similar type to yours. Good luck!!

 

[WyomingBrewer]

I wish you the best. I am ever the optimist so hear me out here and bear in mind I am naive as well. Being the optimist I always believe things will be ok. Having said that, here is my idea. Since you cant drink for a while, at least while this is figured out, brew up some some stuff that will take a long time to meld in the flavors and condition. That way when you are all healed up, voila, great home brew is waiting. Here's to your health, may you get better soon! Bottoms up.

 

[jdlev]

I love this place...it's not only a place with a wealth of knowledge, it's a place with a wealth of good people and friends. Thanks for all the well wishes/prayers everyone....and that's a pretty good idea you got there bcawf

Any of you would be welcome to share a brew with me anytime you're passin through Charlotte (once I'm better)...or if I ain't better you can enjoy the beer, and I'll enjoy the spring water

 

[jiggs_casey]

I have a friend who suffers from colitis that homebrews. He stashes some of it but, gives a LOT of it away to family and friends. I like this idea.

Don't let this get in the way of your hobby! Keep on brewing, just find other ways to enjoy it...

Get better soon!

 

[Sujeto]

I hope you get better. And stronger.
For what its worth, I've been sober for 13 months and started home brewing in October. I like the brewing process and the fact that people think it's amazing someone can brew beer. I give all my home brew away to family and friends. I just find it difficult to get a decent critque out of anyone!

 

[jdlev]

Suj, you should join your local home brew club. If you're in san ant, they're are bound to be tons around. My local club down in charlotte has around 100 members...see what you can find, and they'll be able to give you some great critiques!

 

[passedpawn]

Get better friend.

 

[KRYLOK]

It should turn out fine. Good luck and best wishes.

 

[jdlev]

Got some more updates after the -oscopy's...everything looks good, and right now they're calling it a severe case of gastritis. I hear more on Monday when they get some biospy's back and results on the blood tests...fingers crossed i'm not overly sensitive to the gluten or yeast, though since I gave up my home brew my guts been feeling a lot better (probably because of the lack of alcohol).

So now instead of the stainless fermentation tank for christmas...i think I'll go for a filtration kit to clear up the beer, and get rid of the yeast just in case...

 

[CrystallineEntity]

Good luck on the test results.

 

[kegtoe]

beer yeast is good for you! some vitamin C and loads of vitamin B.

Good luck with your guts man being young and bleeding where you shouldnt is scary. I went through that 3 years ago ( i was 28) was all set to get the scope but the doc found out i was on meds for back pain a little prior. he told me he'd see me 2 weeks after i stopped taking that garbage, and i was perfect. no bleeding no scope. Ive also had it in college primarily due to vodka redbulls - stupid. i was able to correct that my self.

 

[iron_city_ap]

That does suck. Best wishes to you, and get well soon. Your health obviously is way more important than beer.

 

[2wide]

Very sorry to hear that! On the positive side: you are young, and your problem may turn out to be something that is curable. Some kinds of ulcers can be cured with antibiotics.

Hang in, listen to your doctor, and concentrate of a speedy recovery.

 

[jdlev]

Figured I'd give you guys an update...Got all of the test results back...everything is freakin normal. We're just waiting on a sample taken during the endoscopy to test for h. pylori as the final test.

I guess it's good news I don't have anything major. My symptoms (squirts/lethargy/headaches/body aches) continue to persist, and I haven't got the slightest clue as to why...which totally sucks. Still no homebrew/alcohol, and I'm on my steady diet of low fat, high rabbit food...

Oh well...gotta look at the bright side of these things I guess. It's just frustrating is all...

 

[BierMuncher]

Very happy to hear it's nothing serious at this point. Hopefully they get your system finely tuned and you can regain that gusto.

 

[dgoldb1]

Feel better Jeff!

 

[Homercidal]

I've had that same problem for a while. My daughter recently went to the doctor for the same thing. I've had the scope in the top and got test positive for pylori years ago. Last year went for the back end scope and it came back completely clean. Just trying to be sure.

Doc says it's probably just a small tear from stool that is too firm. It's good that you're getting it all checked out. It sounds like the worst case has been ruled out. Hopefully you aren't allergic to what's in beer...