Our last dog was a golden retriever. I’m thinking about getting another big dog, and pondering the reasons they have such short lives. A little research shows that gastric torsion and bloat are fairly common. I did quite a bit of reading.

After lunch one day last week, I felt a sharp pain in my lower abdomen. What did I eat? Homemade vegetable soup, full of carrots, tomatoes, corn, cabbage - all high fiber material. But then I eat this stuff all the time without problems. This time I did add a parsnip, something a family member bought out of curiosity. Was that what was stabbing me?

The previous night I had shrimp salad. Both days I had an ice cream sandwich, the little ones that are referred to as ‘chocolate-flavored cardboard around some ice cream’. Actually, I’d been eating ice cream almost every day lately, these sandwiches were less than 200 calories each.

Did I have torsion? Nah. It didn’t feel like my stomach was rotated. The pain was lower, and very sharp. I felt cold. I went to bed real early.

It wasn’t any better the next day. I read up on intestinal woes. I called a friend who had knowledge of Crohn’s disease and diverticulitis. I learned what irritable bowel syndrome is. She failed to shed light on my problem. By now it was the weekend. If it’s not better by Monday, I thought, I’ll have to see a doctor. I don’t like GI testing.

By now, the pain was beginning to have a familiar feeling. It was less sharp, but still bothersome. It reminded me of the time I had a stomachache for months. The doctor could find nothing wrong after doing a lot of really uncomfortable tests. During this time, I wanted to eat soothing things like oatmeal with milk. Cream soups. Mashed potatoes. What made the pain go away? One day I snapped to and stopped all dairy. The doctor had not said a word about lactose intolerance.

So. This time, it only took three days. The pain is gone.