Liquid Diet Redux
So I have been experiencing some pretty major abdominal discomfort over the last few days. It finally got bad enough to call my nurse at the bariatric clinic who recommended that I go to Urgent Care.
After 4 hours, 2 x-rays, blood work and reading bad magazines (Western Horseman, Catholic Digest), the doctor told me that I had what looked like a partial blockage of my intestines. This is somewhat common among those who have had surgery since we have such a protein-focused diet and we don’t get a lot of fiber. Further, many programs require iron and calcium (milk, cheese), both of which can cause constipation.
The doctor recommended some magnesium citrate, Milk of Magnesia, stool softeners, enemas, etc. as well as a 3-day liquid diet. I got some of the mag citrate and drank that around 9:00 last night. When I’ve taken it in the past, it kicks in within about 30 minutes, but this didn’t start things, um, moving until about 3:00 this morning. Yeah, not a real fun night.
However, despite a lack of sleep, the results have been good and I don’t feel bloated and I’m not in pain, so I’ll take that. The liquid diet won’t be fun, but it’s the best thing for my system right now and as long as things keep moving, I figure I can have real food as early as Friday lunch.
The funny thing is, while I was in the waiting room reading December’s issue of Esquire, there was a bit in there about how magnesium can really enhance your dreams. I made a comment to Don, since I have really weird dreams to begin with, the last thing I would need was to mag load before bed. It didn’t even cross my mind as I was drinking the mag citrate that it might cause some wacky dreams. Let me tell you, this took it to a whole new level. I remembered more of the dream (pretty amazing since I can usually recall things like the color of the carpet or what book a person was reading) and the dreams seemed longer. And a lot weirder, too. Pretty cool…
I did get a citation for “inattentive driving” to the tune of $146.00. Guess I will be fighting that in court. Still no news from my insurance company, so I will just sit back and let that run its course. The police report did show that both of our accounts were the same, so at least there’s no question as to what happened. I’m hoping the judge will see that her stopping once she pulled into traffic was as much of an issue as me taking my eyes off the car in front of me to look for traffic.
How’s this for excitement… As I came out of a meeting this afternoon, the intercom in the office was going off with Security saying to stay where you are and that this alarm did not affect our area. I went into our Command Center where we watch all the calls coming in and the associates who are logged on and there was some confusion as to what was happening. First, only the second floor was being evacuated. Then, it was the eighth floor. We called Security and they would not confirm what floors were or were not being asked to leave the building. Finally, we were told all floors.
In my area, this means we need to stay back and make sure all the incoming calls are routed to virtual or off-shore agents. We also need to put messaging out so when people call in they know why there may be a delay in getting their call answered. The majority of the building was either all the way out or in the stairwells when we got the all clear. For those on the stairs, it was easy enough to turn around and walk back to your floor. For those who were already through our security checkpoint on the first floor, it was a bit more complicated. We have turnstiles that not only read our security badge but also our fingerprint. Of course, that system crashed and Security was trying to let people in one by one so their badge could be checked. In the end, they just opened the gates so people could get back to work.
I was really torn between getting the hell out of Dodge or staying back and doing my job. My thoughts went immediately to 9/11. I’m sure there were people there who hung back to complete their jobs figuring they’d get out in time. This incident really shines a bright light on maybe a little something I need to work on in therapy…
Back to work. I just had some veggie soup and if it stops snowing soon, I may brave the teen temps and go get a latte to warm my afternoon.
After 4 hours, 2 x-rays, blood work and reading bad magazines (Western Horseman, Catholic Digest), the doctor told me that I had what looked like a partial blockage of my intestines. This is somewhat common among those who have had surgery since we have such a protein-focused diet and we don’t get a lot of fiber. Further, many programs require iron and calcium (milk, cheese), both of which can cause constipation.
The doctor recommended some magnesium citrate, Milk of Magnesia, stool softeners, enemas, etc. as well as a 3-day liquid diet. I got some of the mag citrate and drank that around 9:00 last night. When I’ve taken it in the past, it kicks in within about 30 minutes, but this didn’t start things, um, moving until about 3:00 this morning. Yeah, not a real fun night.
However, despite a lack of sleep, the results have been good and I don’t feel bloated and I’m not in pain, so I’ll take that. The liquid diet won’t be fun, but it’s the best thing for my system right now and as long as things keep moving, I figure I can have real food as early as Friday lunch.
The funny thing is, while I was in the waiting room reading December’s issue of Esquire, there was a bit in there about how magnesium can really enhance your dreams. I made a comment to Don, since I have really weird dreams to begin with, the last thing I would need was to mag load before bed. It didn’t even cross my mind as I was drinking the mag citrate that it might cause some wacky dreams. Let me tell you, this took it to a whole new level. I remembered more of the dream (pretty amazing since I can usually recall things like the color of the carpet or what book a person was reading) and the dreams seemed longer. And a lot weirder, too. Pretty cool…
I did get a citation for “inattentive driving” to the tune of $146.00. Guess I will be fighting that in court. Still no news from my insurance company, so I will just sit back and let that run its course. The police report did show that both of our accounts were the same, so at least there’s no question as to what happened. I’m hoping the judge will see that her stopping once she pulled into traffic was as much of an issue as me taking my eyes off the car in front of me to look for traffic.
How’s this for excitement… As I came out of a meeting this afternoon, the intercom in the office was going off with Security saying to stay where you are and that this alarm did not affect our area. I went into our Command Center where we watch all the calls coming in and the associates who are logged on and there was some confusion as to what was happening. First, only the second floor was being evacuated. Then, it was the eighth floor. We called Security and they would not confirm what floors were or were not being asked to leave the building. Finally, we were told all floors.
In my area, this means we need to stay back and make sure all the incoming calls are routed to virtual or off-shore agents. We also need to put messaging out so when people call in they know why there may be a delay in getting their call answered. The majority of the building was either all the way out or in the stairwells when we got the all clear. For those on the stairs, it was easy enough to turn around and walk back to your floor. For those who were already through our security checkpoint on the first floor, it was a bit more complicated. We have turnstiles that not only read our security badge but also our fingerprint. Of course, that system crashed and Security was trying to let people in one by one so their badge could be checked. In the end, they just opened the gates so people could get back to work.
I was really torn between getting the hell out of Dodge or staying back and doing my job. My thoughts went immediately to 9/11. I’m sure there were people there who hung back to complete their jobs figuring they’d get out in time. This incident really shines a bright light on maybe a little something I need to work on in therapy…
Back to work. I just had some veggie soup and if it stops snowing soon, I may brave the teen temps and go get a latte to warm my afternoon.
Labels: WLS, WLS Issues, work
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