Managing Health
My chronic illness affects my entire digestive tract starting with my tongue and ending with my intestines'. Food in Japan was a lot more health focused and I was not as concerned with adverse reactions I usually got when eating out in America. I frequented the grocery store and kept my fridge stocked with fresh fruits, vegetables, and drinks. I also found a dentist to make sure my teeth were fine since stomach problems means sometimes your teeth get exposed to a lot of stomach acid. I didn't have time to find a doctor while in Japan and just kept in communication with my doctor back in the states. Once Covid-19 got serious around February of 2020, a lot of students were being called back to their countries. I was terrified to fly back since I have a compromised immune system. I signed a document with my home school and stayed in Japan during the pandemic.
This ended up being the correct choice as my health went downhill after this. I'm not sure what happened but my stomach became very irritated and I was unable to ingest more than 500 grams of solid food or liquids. I had something similar to this happen before I went to Japan (I was only able to to eat a single apple and a protein bar the entire day during that time for about 3 weeks) so I was somewhat prepared to handle it though this time was significantly worse. My diet turned almost completely liquid and I drank meal replacement smoothies once when I woke up, and once before I went to bed. If I was able, I would drink some potato soup I had a large stash of. I developed the habit of keeping powdered soups or powdered smoothies in my apartment at all times and in large quantities for this very reason. I was also lucky to have found an over the counter nausea medicine months prior that I still had in my apartment. Its called Ohta Isan's antacid and it helped me keep what I could eat down. For those who have nausea problems, I highly recommend trying it. It is available on Amazon and I still to this day use it if my stomach gets too nauseous for my liking. Be sure to read the ingredients to make sure you aren't allergic to it.
I was lucky that winter break for Japan was from the end of December to the middle of April so I didn't have to worry about going to or missing class. I was incredibly weak during this time and I'm positive those meal replacement smoothies kept me from having to go to the hospital. For the entire month of March, I had not step foot outside my apartment. I ate so little that food wasn't exactly a problem and I did not worry about running out. I lost anywhere 10 to 15 kilograms that month. Once classes started again, it was through zoom which once again made life easier on me. I didn't start to recover till a little after May and was able to move around more and actually eat solid food.
My fridge was always kept stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables. I ate roasted bell peppers and carrots just about everyday and snacked on fruit between my meals. I usually avoided buying meat and only really ate it if I was out of my apartment.
I enjoyed salads and making dishes that included Japanese perilla leaves and pickled plums. I also picked up some fermented soybeans to try out since it is good for your stomachs beneficial bacteria.
I bake as a hobby and always with my buildings managers and RA's. I don't usually eat what I bake since too much will make me feel sick. Baking helped keep my mood up and seeing others happy with cooking always brightens my day.