BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Mrrzy
Date: 28 Oct 22 - 03:15 PM

They didn't take care of my diet till I went off my rocker and screamed at them for not paying attention to my diet.

Much pain, low bp low fever transfusion better bp

If I ever poop I can go to rehab

Not pooped since last Sunday

Sitting no longer radiates pain doen leg yay

But fuckers

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Helen
Date: 28 Oct 22 - 03:32 PM

Hi Mrrzy,

I have been wondering and hoping on how you are going.

So, like a person with one hand in a bucket of boiling water, and the other in a bucket of ice, on average you are feeling ok? :-)

I think that if you look really, really hard you might see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel, and everything will start progressing. There probably will be a lot of obstacles but they should get smaller and smaller over time. The good thing is that you have had the surgery now - but it is still a waiting game until you feel back to some sort of normal health.

One day, hopefully soon-ish, you will stop and think, "I'm not in pain!" but that day will probably creep up on you because you will get better and better, bit by bit, day by day.

I can't say I'm rooting for you, because that means something totally different here in Oz. But you could tell those fuckers you are rooting for them. LOL

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 28 Oct 22 - 06:12 PM

Anesthesia is pretty hard on the gut, slowing down elimination. After the knee surgery this summer I finally resorted to the tablet form of milk of magnesia; fiber and colace weren't enough.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Mrrzy
Date: 29 Oct 22 - 12:29 AM

Finally pooped so off to rehab where they tried to feed me rice ans carrots and fruit. WHAT IS THE ACTUAL ISSUE with keto? I have screamed and sobbed and gotten some Valium.

How this is good for mw I dunno.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Senoufou
Date: 29 Oct 22 - 03:48 AM

Ah notre pauvre chauve-souris, je t'envoie mes meilleurs souhaits pour une vite récuperation. En ce moment il est évident que tu souffres, et je suis désolée. 'Insh Allah'(comme l'Africain dit!) tu seras mille fois mieux dans un ou deux jours. (Et chier, c'est tres important! J'espere que tu sois bien dégagé! hee hee)

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: keberoxu
Date: 30 Oct 22 - 03:37 PM

Rice, carrots, fruit:
they have FIBER in common, don't they? That's all I can figure.

You made it to rehab, anyway.
And you can sit without pain going down your leg.
Accentuate the positive!

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 30 Oct 22 - 05:56 PM

turning this into a music thread Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive - Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: keberoxu
Date: 31 Oct 22 - 05:42 PM

I like hearing author Johnny Mercer sing that one,
and Ella Fitzgerald does a good job too.

By now I hope that your days and nights in rehab
have a rhythm to them that is encouraging and hopeful.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 06 Nov 22 - 12:33 PM

Hoping for an update and report of a robust recovery - how is it all going a week later?

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Mrrzy
Date: 06 Nov 22 - 08:42 PM

Whew getting all them carbs out of my diet has helped my mood at any rate. Fuckers really ruined my mental stability but rehab has been great about carbs and fat.

Spock and the Horta: PAAAAIIINNNNN!!!!

That is just the digestive issues.

The surgical sites ain't got nothing on what is going on in my guts.

Thanks for worrying and making this a music thread!

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Mrrzy
Date: 08 Nov 22 - 11:50 AM

Moving from acute rehab near surgeon to step-down rehab near home tomorrow.

Stopped opioids. Ow, and still no, how shall I put this, effective digestion. Took another, though. That was quite an Ow.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 08 Nov 22 - 11:52 AM

Try adding a cup of raisin bran cereal to your daily diet. Don't overdo - pace yourself, it really is a gastro-intestinal Draino if there ever was one.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: keberoxu
Date: 10 Nov 22 - 02:26 PM

Closer to home is good.
Closer to recovery is even better.
Hope you are feeling better and being 'regular' soon.
Hang in there.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Mrrzy
Date: 10 Nov 22 - 03:09 PM

Stilly... Keto. No grains, no fruit. But thanks. Trying to get broccoli as the main instead of the side.

Saw someone I knew as I was being wheeled in to the hometown rehab place, its social worker is in my social club, so comforting, poor bare-acquaintance is now my favorite person practically on the planet...

Have been brought stashes of oil and good butter. With some extra veg and maybe some fish. Can't decide what to *order* aah l'embarras du choix!

Ok now we shall um back up a bit: Tuesday had the 2-week post op appt, surgeon impressed with my progress and apologetic about not keeping me keto, then the Xrays showed


Content warning gross stuff


I was just *full* of shit impacted high up under my ribs with gas trapped behind it, those 2 weeks of what felt like terrible gas pains actually *were* terrible gas pains, all those mauvaises demie-heures spent moaning on the loo after the suppositories had only been cleaning out the vestibule.

So, lavage [mais pas au piment au moins!], to wit, saline enema. Whew. That was a horrible 45 mn but after that the intestinal pain is much reduced.

Well, was. Ain't pooped since. No urge to poop. Trying to get them to pay attention here but I keep just getting stool softeners and laxatives and I. Am. Not. Pooping. Or. Even. Farting. Much.

Got to vape some pot today which made things gurgle a bit.

I am thinking of something along the lines of The Raven. And the patient busted palace just outside my chamber door...

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 10 Nov 22 - 04:32 PM

what a saga, I hope when I next read this thread your insides will be in a much better condition. How did it take 2 weeks to see what was happening (not happening)?

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Helen
Date: 10 Nov 22 - 05:14 PM

Hi Mrrzy,

I'm hoping you will get some relief soon.

My go-to remedy is psyllium (i.e. the beneficial ingredient in Metamucil without all the unnecessary extra added ingredients) made from the seed husks of the plantain plant, which grows as a weed around here on the footpaths etc. But, recently I found psyllium husk powder in the health food aisle of the supermarket and it works like a charm. It's not a grain. It's pure fibre.

Warning: Too much would definitely be too much of a good thing!

I use a heaped teaspoon in my fruit and fibre shake which I have three times a week. I use the blender to moosh it all together into a yummy drink. (I like milk, but any liquid would do, but I wouldn't recommend alcohol, sorry! :-D I know you would like something to calm you down a bit, but....)

It usually takes about a day for the first dose to have effect so give it time to work its magic.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Nov 22 - 10:13 PM

Perhaps the bran would be an exception to the keto rule - it really does work. Too well if you overdo. Your concern is something they need to pay attention to, and it is a serious issue. Stay hydrated.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Mrrzy
Date: 12 Nov 22 - 09:44 AM

Literary quote for the day:

At the Constance Butcher Home we had queued for baths.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 12 Nov 22 - 12:42 PM

We haughty Brits have a much fancier name for Psyllium: it's called ispaghula here but is the same thing. It's typically sold in single-dose sachets (the big brand is Fybogel), flavoured with orange or something like that. The instructions tell you that it should be stirred into a bit of water and drunk immediately at the same time as food. I can attest to the fact that if you don't glug it straight away you'll have the devil of a job washing the mucilaginous dregs out of your glass. In water, the psyllium/ispaghula husk forms a thickening gloop that is high in soluble fibre, which helps to soften stools and makes it easier to eliminate them. It's good stuff, but, like everything, it may not be for everyone, so listen to the Mrrzy doc rather than the Mudcat doc.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 12 Nov 22 - 12:53 PM

Psyllium is what doctors here all seem to recommend; I see the stir into water kind (Metamucil) but just go with the gelatin capsules. Easier and I don't have to deal with whatever flavor they've assigned, or, as Steve says, deal with the glop. I wonder if okra has a similar effect? Get the pods cut up in water and you have to bread and fry them quickly or it turns into a gelatinous form.

Some fruits and vegetables are more effective as fiber than others. Citrus fruit for me - particularly grapefruit - scours on the way through.

Here's hoping that everything comes out ok.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 12 Nov 22 - 01:23 PM

I see what you did there... :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Helen
Date: 12 Nov 22 - 02:56 PM

As I said before, the psyllium powder without all the extra added ingredients does it for me and it's cheaper than the alternatives - cheaper even than the psyllium husks at the supermarket.

I use one heaped teaspoon three times per week in my fruit shakes and it works like a charm.

This page says that the powder is more concentrated than the husks so you need to take less of it:

Psyllium Husks vs. Psyllium Powder

I buy powder - or husks - in a packet, not capsules because capsules are a more expensive way to pay for it.

I just looked up the supermarket prices for psyllium husk vs psyllium powder. Husk is $2.82 per 100G and powder is $1.78 per 100G which is odd to me because the powder is more effective compared with the husk, and the capsules are on special at $33 (normally $39) for 160 caps, which is a miniscule amount compared with a heaped teaspoon from a packet of powder.

Blending powder or husk into a shake makes it a lot easier to drink, rather than just mixing it into a cup of liquid of your choice because it just becomes part of the drink. I don't even notice it. I made the terrible mistake of trying to take it in a cup of water and it glugged up in seconds, and no matter how many times I refilled the cup and mixed it up it still wasn't going down without a fight.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 12 Nov 22 - 05:34 PM

Be ready. Add to 150ml water. Go stir crazy. Down the hatch immediately. Soak glass in water straight away. Stick glass in dishwasher.

Or whatever!

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Helen
Date: 12 Nov 22 - 05:54 PM

When taking psyllium powder as a laxative, it’s important to mix it with plenty of water, as taking it alone can be a choking hazard. However, when combined with other ingredients and baked into low-carb recipes, psyllium doesn’t pose this risk.

As stated earlier, please take your advice from medical and/or nutritional experts rather than Mudcat.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 12 Nov 22 - 08:00 PM

I consume masses of citrus fruit (never fruit juice) but I'm wary of grapefruit because of its potential interactions with some medicines. Worth a look if you're on anything.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Mrrzy
Date: 13 Nov 22 - 07:26 AM

They are now saying Wait till Monday.

I am trying to call my own doctors.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 13 Nov 22 - 10:17 AM

My ex can't eat grapefruit, and avoids the flavor in drinks, etc., because of a drug interaction on the list for something he takes twice a day.

Looking on Amazon I found bulk Psyllium Husk, but I buy it in small gelatin capsules. The prices have gone up drastically lately and I just looked at the most recently purchased bottle - there is a lack of information about the actual volume of psyllium in the dose of 5 capsules. Looking at the name-brand products offered at Costco (bulk purchasing) the product with sugar and flavor adds up to 90 calories, and the non-sugar one uses Nutrasweet (Aspartame) that I'm allergic to (causes diarrhea). I imagine using unflavored bulk psyllium in a smoothie would be good (I add gelatin for the nail-strengthening properties) but I don't have a smoothie every day. The prospect of a chronic problem with sticky drinking glasses doesn't appeal, but lowering the price per dose does. I will look into it.

Spinoff of Mrrzy's interesting times is that the rest of us can reexamine how we are going about self-care.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Mrrzy
Date: 13 Nov 22 - 12:42 PM

Finally enema. 2 entire kilos expelled.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Donuel
Date: 13 Nov 22 - 12:55 PM

When grapefruit juice is bottled it is often mixed with sulfites which do preserve the juice but not the people who drink it. The acid can also negate the time-release factors of medication and the effectiveness of statins.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 13 Nov 22 - 01:11 PM

I don't think there's a bottle of wine on the planet that doesn't have sulphites added.

Ah, God yes, sweeteners: give me anything with Stevia in it and my gut turns into a concrete mixer for hours. I gurgle for England.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Helen
Date: 13 Nov 22 - 01:34 PM

Mrrzy, I'm assuming that you feel a whole lot better now, with the added bonus of losing unwanted kilos. Win-win! :-)

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 13 Nov 22 - 07:16 PM

:-)

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 13 Nov 22 - 08:39 PM

Well I've been piqued by this discussion into looking into psyllium/ispaghula (same thing) a bit more, and, blow me down, you CAN buy all sorts of formulations this end, from powder to tablets to ground husk, from loose powder to the sachets of Fybogel I've mentioned. Every brand I've looked at so far carries warnings about the need mix it with water. I bought a box of 30 of those sachets about 15 months ago (we had a particular medical reason at that time which I won't divulge but which has long passed), and there are still 25 sachets in the box. It's that good.

It does seem from reports that the husk is better than the seed. I wouldn't know, because I've only just found out that you can get either. I can't think that anyone would ignore the advice on the packs to take the stuff with water. You'd hardly be able to, even with the most dedicated attempts.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Helen
Date: 14 Nov 22 - 12:00 AM

I have a smoothie three mornings a week and I have found it an easy habit to maintain.

Psyllium powder swells up dramatically into a gluggy lump which would be impossible to swallow without causing harm. I was in a hurry one day and decided to try mixing psyllium powder in about half a cup of water (which is approximately 125 ml of water) and I had to keep adding more water, more water and it took a good few minutes to finally finish the dose. It was unpleasant as well as annoying to have to deal with the residue in the cup. Never again.

I use at least 400 ml of liquid plus the fruit I add to blend into a smoothie.

If it is not possible to make a blended smoothie, it would probably work to put at least a cup and a half of liquid in a shaker to mix it all together. If it was me I'd use milk and probably add some chocolate powder or another healthy flavouring (I'd choose low or no sugar) to make it interesting in place of blending the fruit.

To repeat one of my previous posts, I use a heaped teaspoon of psyllium powder i.e. about 5g and no more. (I just looked it up and capsules have about a tenth of that amount, so very expensive.) Too much is not pleasant - either the process of taking it or the resulting too-efficient effect. A healthy balance is good, more than a heaped teaspoon is definitely not better in my experience.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Mrrzy
Date: 14 Nov 22 - 02:32 AM

I am hoping that cabbage broccoli cauliflower will help.

I am mildly afraid of eating now. Not good. I need to gain about 10 lbs of actual *body* - after all I am taller.

Did I tell you that? 5'3 *and a quarter* now!

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Helen
Date: 14 Nov 22 - 02:43 AM

Taller? So the surgery on your back has had the desired effect?

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Nov 22 - 04:18 AM

A sachet of Fybogel contains 3.5g of ground husk. The instruction is to stir it into about 150ml cold water and drink it *straight away* with or after food. Bingo.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 14 Nov 22 - 05:06 AM

> Did I tell you that? 5'3 *and a quarter* now!

Might that be from you lying down so much recently? We read once that the spine gets slightly shorter during the day, as it's compressed by the load of the upper body, and expands again overnight when the strain's off. We tried it with my brother, and found he was a quarter of an inch taller in the morning than he had been the previous night.

Conversely, we found that my grandmother shrank with age. It's something to do with the body failing to stop itself recycling calcium from the bones.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Nov 22 - 06:01 AM

I've definitely gone down an inch and a half. Could be wrong but I've put this down to back trouble over a decade during which I've popped a couple of discs. Still a lusty five ten and a bit...

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Donuel
Date: 14 Nov 22 - 07:51 AM

At my peak I was 6 feet.
Now I'm 5'11" and a half
While not small I feel tall
That half inch makes me laugh

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Mrrzy
Date: 14 Nov 22 - 09:32 AM

I was taller at the 2-week postop checkup than I had been at preop checkin. And scans show straighter as well as greater intervertebral height. Every mm helps! Now the first inch and a quarter I shrink will only put me where I was as a yoing adult.

And being cleaned ain't the same as the plumbing working. Do not rejoice.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Mrrzy
Date: 15 Nov 22 - 07:51 AM

I used to tutor the football players here at UVa. I find myself taking this latest shooting rather personally. Crying a lot. Shoulda tried the Singaround.

Plus the lockdown stopped them trying to transfer me to real rehab and is probably why I never got the xray they ordered to see where things are currently stopped.

Nothing moving on its own yet, and I think my anus is rusting from disuse, or something. I let them try the sugar-laden fiber laxative thing so today my hands are shaking badly, too, and it probably did not help with the mood stuff either.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Nov 22 - 08:49 AM

"I think my anus is rusting from disuse"

Ha ha! That reminded me of a mate of mine a few years ago when he'd just endured a sustained dose of diarrhoea. He informed me that he had an arsehole like a half-chewed blood orange...

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Dave the Gnome
Date: 15 Nov 22 - 09:02 AM

Should help elevate mood if not tone

Best phrase I heard describing diarrhoea was "It come away like a flock of sparrows" :-D

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 15 Nov 22 - 09:02 AM

steve! what an image ...

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 15 Nov 22 - 09:16 AM

I know, and I've never been able to really enjoy a blood orange ever since.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: keberoxu
Date: 15 Nov 22 - 09:27 AM

... brussels sprouts??

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: MaJoC the Filk
Date: 15 Nov 22 - 10:52 AM

> ... brussels sprouts??

It ain't Christmas yet. Sir will eat one sprout on Christmas Day, as his annual concession to healthy eating; grandsprog is his father's son, and won't eat sprouts at all. Herself saw chocolate brussels sprouts for sale, and got a packet of those, rather than chocolate money, as a stocking filler for grandsprog.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: keberoxu
Date: 15 Nov 22 - 11:11 AM

I'm confused, Mrrzy.
Are you still in the rehab near home,
or have you been discharged and gone home already?
Whichever, hang in there.

Subject: RE: BS: Mrrzy is living in interesting times...
From: Helen
Date: 15 Nov 22 - 02:10 PM

A "sugar-laden fiber laxative thing"? No!! Why does sugar have to be added to everything, even a laxative?

And chocolate covered brussel sprouts? No, again!! Is that a prank?

That reminds me of a prank an ex-friend's mostly-unfunny mother played on some of her friends at the dance group she attended. She made the Oz classic sweet treat
Lamingtons but she cut up a piece of yellow cleaning sponge - new, not used - and coated the cubes in chocolate icing and then coconut and pi$$ed herself laughing, watching people trying to bite into the sponge while she asked them whether they liked her home cooked treats. They were too polite to tell her that they couldn't eat it and threw it away when they thought she wasn't looking.

I don't mind brussel sprouts as long as they are not overcooked and soggy. I've seen a recipe for char grilled, pre-blanched bs's. I haven't tried it but it looks good. I'm a fan of steaming veges in the microwave - highest temperature for a couple of minutes. Especially yummy for broccoli.