Beet It

This post is going to contain some information that may be too intimate for some people. Sorry about that. I almost didn't write about this for that very reason. But I changed my mind.

A number of weeks ago, I called my OB/GYN's office. "I think I need an appointment." I said. "What seems to be the problem?" the nice lady on the line asked. "I think I have an UTI," I said. "What are your symptoms?" the lady persisted. "Um..." I wasn't sure how to reply. "I'm peeing red"

Yes. Red pee. Pee the color of Kool Aid. Dark red Kool Aid. So shockingly not the right color, that I was immediately sure I was dying, with bloody urine being the main symptom.

But you see, I had no pain. No pain at all, anywhere. Well, a little light cramping, but I feel I can almost always muster up a little light cramping. But maybe it wasn't nothing? Maybe it was something. Maybe it was something serious. Maybe it was serious and had been going along and I just hadn't been feeling it or giving it attention and now I was going to die!

I mentioned my little issue to Steve, who was concerned for me, and who agreed to watch the boys for whenever I could get an appointment. Because peeing red is, or should be, a big red flag on everyone's GO TO THE DOCTOR list.

Am I right so far?

Well, I went to the doctor, and had a frustrating appointment where my urine was checked. It was, by then, ordinary. They did find traces of blood, but nothing unusual. After some quick checking, my trusted doctor told me it was probably a little blood from my cervix that just washed out with the urine flow.

Now, I have been getting my period for over 25 years, give or take a few months for pregnancy / birth control reasons. I know what blood from my cervix is like... I mean, you know. It's not the same as peeing bright red. But the more I tried explaining this to my doctor, the more amused she became.

There was nothing left for me to do but go home and see if anything else happened. And I was worried, and confused, and started to wonder if we really knew anything at all about medicine, or our bodies, or if spontaneous temporary bleeding of internal organs was simply more common than I thought.

Fast forward to a few weeks later.

I'm in bed, reading, and Steve comes out of the bathroom. "I just peed bright red." He said.

And this is when the wheels start turning. Because when one person gets sick after dinner, it's a bug, but when everyone gets sick, it's the food they ate, right?

The food we ate.

You know how, when you eat asparagus, your pee smells funny? Well, this CSA we are members of right now has been giving us shares of beets. Not the canned beets we usually get, but real, organic, beets. At first we got small bunches, but they have been getting increasingly larger. I peel them and chop them up, then roast them with oil and garlic. They are good.

And apparently, they turn your pee bright red. Who knew? If I ate a sugary cereal and this happened I would immediately blame food dyes and chemicals, and then never eat the cereal again. But we are talking about local organic produce, here. I simply never thought this would happen. It seems so odd. Steve thinks it's because I don't peel them enough. I think it's because the canned ones have been sitting in water and vinegar for so long. Whatever the reason, I no longer think it's anything to worry about.

But the next morning, Nick ran into the bathroom as I took a shower, alarmed because his pee was red. I have to say, I'm very glad it happened to me first, because if Nick had been the first one to pee red I really would have FREAKED OUT!

If this is an indicator of anything, it's that, until recently, I was the only one eating the beets.