View From My Back Porch

I Didn't See It Coming

Every time I think I'm getting ahead or bouncing back, Wham, you take a nose dive!

Here I was moving along (at what I thought was) a good pace of recovery, when next thing I know my stomach is cramping and I can no longer go to the bathroom. This went on for 5 days until I finally went to Urgent Care on Saturday. I had continued to hope, the over the counter medication I was taking would kick in, instead it just kicked my butt. It had gotten to the point I didn't want to go on. My wife and I talked about it, and we weren't sure what a doctor would suggest or do. She thought they might give me an X-ray and see what was the problem.

I was fortunate to have only two people in front of me at Urgent Care, so my wait wasn't very long. After completing all the necessary paper work I was taken into a room to wait for the doctor. The Doctor came in, she was a nice Oriental woman, and asked what's up? So I explained my situation and how bad my discomfort was, and she asked some more questions. Then she told me, "you need to take Prune Juice and take two Colace a day for 3 days." I was stunned, I had been expecting more. She also told me to "eat steamed cabbage and fish, sushi preferable if I liked it." She continued to tell me that westerners don't think much about what they're eating, because things like meat, milk and cheese bind you up. She suggested I discontinue using milk and cheese for 6 weeks.

I knew Prune Juice was a laxative but I had never drank it before. I can't say I was looking forward to it, but I stopped at the store and bought a bottle along with a bottle of Colace. She didn't tell me how much Prune Juice I should drink so that was up to me. I added ice to a glass and poured, I was surprised and happy that I didn't find the taste to be offensive. I drank 4 glass of the juice and took 2 pills as instructed. I continued the next day with only three glasses of the juice and low and behold on the following day things began to move. Hallelujah! My stomach has continued to be a pain but now with things flowing it's improving. I figure it will take to the end of the week before I'm back to normal.

During this ordeal I continued to eat small amounts, like 2 eggs and 1 piece of toast, a PBJ sandwich, or sometimes I wouldn't eat at all. So I lost several pounds, not the way I intended but I'll take it. I've been sleeping in my Lazy-boy recliner ever since my pace maker was put in. So my nights haven't seen much sleep, but I've high hopes this will improve in the coming days.

Life goes on, this was a bump in the road, and my recovery will continue. Looking forward getting back on the road in my daily walks with my dog Gracie. The bike sits in the bedroom waiting for me to climb aboard and take it for a spin to nowhere!

Life Is Good