After taking Imodium for the last ten months I had a not so happy thought. Is tea a laxative? Does it have a laxative effect? I've been drinking a lot of it to hopefully help my bones.
fly

Hi there!

Depends on what kind of tea you are talking about. Senna tea obviously would be. Some of the herbal teas could be -- you'd have to check the type.

I'm glad you posted -- I have terrible chronic diarrhea and have been researching causes. Something I found out that surprised me is that caffeine can have a laxative effect. Now I DON'T want to believe that because I am seriously addicted to Diet Dr Pepper. I am unable to give up my soda and coffee. When I talk about addiction, I mean a 12 pack a day habit. Been drinking diet soda for many, many years without any problems.

But, my "gut problems" (as I like to call it) didn't start until about 2 years ago and they were related to some meds I was on. It gets worse with stress. Has been really bad lately. Bad enough for me to research it.

Things that I have found out: eating large amounts of insoluble fiber type foods (brocolli, cauliflower, etc - my favorites) on an empty stomach can aggravate diarrhea. I wasn't happy to find that out because that is one of my favorite meals - huge pot of cauliflower and cheese. I'm sure you know about spicy foods, fried/greasy foods, and alcohol. There is something called the BRAT diet that is recommended for children with diarrhea. It consists of Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast. But who wants to eat that all the time? I'm sure that just for short term recovery for acute cases.

One of my doctors didn't want me to take Immodium all the time, although I'm not sure why. It doesn't work fully, just slows things down a little. I have a g/i tract from hell. Food literally goes through me in 8-12 hours. Sometimes 5 hours. I have to be very careful to avoid dehydration so I take extra potassium and get to eat all the salt I want. My last CBC test (I have some otherr health issues going on) came back low on sodium, which means I'm still not getting enough salt. But then again I work out a lot.

My internist keeps pressuring me to go to a g/i doctor, but I am afraid of them poking around "there". Considering how miserable I have been lately, I probably will go once I get my other issues resolved. I had a ct-scan almost 2 months ago and my guts are okay, so maybe they won't have to do any "poking". I guess I need to see if I have parasites or something like that. I had another test run (they were checking for lymphoma) called an ESR which shows inflammation, which mine was way low (good), which would probably rule out the serious digestive diseases.

Anyway, enough about that. Things I have found that seem to help a little are smaller meals. I've added brown rice to my diet and that slows things down somewhat. Cheese has no effect! I could eat a brick of it and not get constipated like normal people do! I have not been constipated since..... I don't know when. Geez, even after drinking all that barium stuff for my ct-scan, that slowed things down to where they were normalish for a day. I've noticed if I don't eat my standard broccoli/cheese, my guts calm down a little. I think I need to add more soluble fiber (the kind that absorbs water) to my diet and reduce the insoluble fiber.

So... do you have any helpful tips? I'm rather desperate myself. :eek:
~zeez

I've had 2 internists tell me it must be dairy. A gastro went down from the top and up from the bottom and told me to take Questran. I blew them all off. My thing started 3 weeks after I had a spine fusion---I had no control---but the spine surgeon said it wasn't him. Once I started the Imodium I could keep it at bay, but it's not clearing up. It's been almost a year! I've been drinking Cold Brew iced tea a lot, partly for my bones and it doesn't have any calories. It also has very little caffeine. Nobody is getting excited about the Imodium. I'm not taking a lot, just a half a generic a day. But if I don't take it all *ell breaks loose.
fly

Hey there Fly!

Whwooooaah, I see your aggravation! Could you possibly be sensitive to the sweeteners in the tea? I usually dismiss complaints about artificial sweetners because of all the negative media about them. I only have a problem with saccharin (bloating). I drink a 12 pack a day of Diet Dr Pepper a day, which is probably part of my problem.

No, really for you, I suspect it is something more than just the tea. If you aren't abusive like I am with sodas, drinking the tea shouldn't be an issue. If you are concerned about adding extra calcium to your diet it is really easy! What I do is eat sugar free lowfat yogurt. I'll eat about 3-4 tubs a day, depending on how many I have in the fridg at work. Plus I eat a lot of cheese. Instead of using creamer for coffee, use powdered skim milk. Use that as a base as "cream" in recipies too. Geez, I just gave away my secret! Oh well, share with those.....,,,errrr, ummm in kindness?

Anyway, I've got a weird digestive system so I can get away with eating that kind of stuff. Oh, and you can always take calcium suppiments. They are not that expensive.

Have you started any new meds since your surgery? Think back to any changes in your lifestyle. Geez, a spinal fusion would be a HUGE ONE, now that I think of it!

No, really, Fly, I'm trying to jump start your brain and help you figure out what might be causing the problem. I cannot imagine that your surgery would have had a lasting effect for this long. I could see a short term effect, but not what you have.

I have a similar problem, and have been trying to fix it myself. It isn't fun having to privately priortize your life around bathrooms, or explaining why you have to drink so MUCH water. Yeah, my situation has gotten so bad that I'm taking potassium supplements and eating really salty food.

I wish I had some more information for you! I'll keep this thread subscribed,
~zeez

.....on her way to bathroom :p

Fly,
The problem with all the Dr Peppers is that they contain too much phosphoric acid that your body has to deal with --- if your blood becomes too acidic it will cause joint cartledge to dissolve-- resulting in painful joints.

To have normal BMs a person needs to intake 25 to 35 grams of fiber daily and it needs to be divided between soluble fiber that bulks up your stool and insoluble fiber.

All meats, seafood and dairy products contain NO fiber.

Imodium is not suppose to be taken daily-- at least that is what the directions say!!

The worst person that I have ever know with explosive diarrhea was cure with a water soluble fiber-- psyllium.

I am a big believer that good or optimum health begins in the intestines --- all nutrients that your body needs to function is processed there. If it is too fast your body just won't get enough ---
You may get by for a while but diarrhea and /or fast transit times will eventually cause some serious malaborption problems.

You really need to solve this problem!!

God Bless---Harry

I don't use any sweeteners in my tea. I take calcium supplements and eat yogurt---I'm lactose intolerant. But one doctor told me it could be the yogurt. I'm hesitant to use the Questran/fiber because I've heard that just speeds things up---that's how it reduces cholesterol. Nobody can tell me what longterm use of Imodium can/will do. All the doctors just throw up their hands. Zeez, that Dr Pepper is going to thin your bones---have you had a DEXA scan?
fly

Hi Fly,

Gotta say, I love your moniker! There are so many times I would LOVE to be a fly on the wall, but that is beside the point.

You've mentioned a couple of things in your post -- lactose intolerance. Well, my dear, yogurt is definitely a dairy product. If you are trying to boost your guts with the helpful "flora" with the acidopholis that is found in yogurt, there are also supplements you can take to address that issue. If a dr suspects lactose intolerance, perhaps you should cut out the yogurt and get some acidolpholis supplements. Just a suggestion. I am the LAST person on earth to tell anyone what to do!

Harry, the senior vet who posted in this thread has always had very helpful information. I tend to listen to him a lot, although the thing about the bone scan I will have to put on the back burner due to other pressing health issues. Plus, I eat buckets and buckets of yogurt, use powdered skim milk (sometimes) in my coffee) and cooking and eat more cheese than a person should be allowed. I also lift weights and do not suspect I have bone problems. The ct-scan I had revealed MUCH more than I ever wanted to know. Subclavian vein stenosis, 5mm nodule in one lung, signs of interstation lung disease in the other, and an arthritic spine. Hell, I've neverr had any kind of pain in my spine. Probably due to my age of 42 and eating disorders in my early 20's.

But I am in the mode of triage treatment and attempting to fix things that have the potential of killing me first: the vein issue. Going in tomorrow for a duplex/doppler test on my subclavian vein. Also STRUGGLING to reduce Diet Dr Pepper intake.

But, sweetie, this thread is not about ME. It's about you. I was thinking about you this morning and did an extensive search about long term use of Immodium and could not find anything!!!! You are right! There were only 2 things that stuck out in my reading. One of the drug interactions was Questrin (did not say what it was) and the other was tranqilizers (I am gathering that Immodium can exacerbate tranquilizers, but it was not clear). Something else I was picking up on was that Immodium should not be used in people with liver disease. And of course, the information did not go into detail. Logic makes me wonder if there is an effect on the liver from long terrm use, although from all the reading I did, I didn't see anything else addressing this topic.

I was also doing some daydreaming about your issue and you may think zeez is WAY OUT there, but think about this: your problems did not start until your surgery. What has changed since? Please don't blow me off as a nut case, I once again am just trying to jump-start your brain as to possible causes. Here is my whacked theory: could your titanium cage be causing an allergic/rejection reaction in your body? I know that is something really "out there", but it is something that just came to me.

Oh well, I do want to keep up conversations with you and anything I can do to help, I'll be more than happy!

~zeez
your friend in commiseration :cool:

Hey,

Questran as you may know is used to reduce blood fats (cholesterol) it binds with them in the intestines but one of it's biggest side-effects is it will cause constipation and is used with some people that have diarrhea after having gallbldder surgery-- bile salt diarrhea..
There have been long term studies done on this drug because it is used long term to reduce cholesterol but with Imodium it is OTC to stop diaherrea and no long term studies may ever be conducted with this drug.

Also, yogurt does not contain but a very little bit of lactose (milk sugar) because it is all used up(99%) by the bacteria that is used to make yogurt-- fermentation.
So, most people that are lactose intolerant can usually eat yogurt without it causing the problems that dairy products cause!!!

Harry

Harry,
Questran is OTC? Is it generic? I was afraid to take it because I was afraid it would keep EVERYTHING from being absorbed.
fly

Zeez,
It's never just one thing, is it? Yes, your lungs and vein stenosis are priority. But once you get that solved, with your history, you should get a DEXA scan. Thinning bones will show up on an x-ray. The arthritis in your spine could be stenosis also. I had/have stenosis in my spine. They won't do anything for that until you can't walk. I couldn't walk, but they only cleared out the spot that was affecting my legs. In between everything else I was found to have a solid mass in my uterus---thats coming out next week. I wonder what that is going to do to my digestive system.
Lay off the Dr Pepper!
fly

Zeez,
Have you ever tried Acidophilus tablets? After just a couple of days I'm seeing a big difference. It's OTC. It's working better than yogurt---one doctor told me that my problem was from eating too much yogurt!
fly

Hey there Fly,

Haven't had a chance to post out here.... been too wiped out from "gut problems" aggravated by the stress of my vein test earlier this week. :( Seems like my system in a delicate balance that can be thrown off very easily.

Couple of things: I'm glad to hear about the acidophilous tabs. I'm gonna get some. How much did they improve things? I'm also going to get some Citrucel or something similar. This week was horrible. My system got so out of whack I was weak and hands/calves/feet started cramping. Had to take a lot of potassium and eat salty foods to get back to "normal". My vein test was Tuesday (guts were acting REALLY bad that day). Of course the test was really cool to watch. It was a sonogram of the vein from my neck to my chest, down to my left arm. The tech would flip a switch and we could see the blood flow. Although the tech couldn't "say" anything, everything was clear! :bouncing: She said I had an incredible vascular system. I still have to wait for the "official" reading from the doc. So, my conclusion is that one of my other doctor's suggestion about the ct-scan reading was correct: what appeared to be stenosis was actually the contrast dye showing up on the scan. All this worry and angst for nothing. Just because a ct-scan was misread/misdiagnosed! Oh, in case you didn't know, I had a ct-scan a couple of months ago for suspected lymphoma (negative) and in the report it indicated I had severe stenosis of the subclavian vein, which is the big vein right under your collarbone.

Back to you....I hope the mass that showed up turns out to be okay. Ya know, you are right, it is always something, isn't it? I'm sure you know there a LOTS of benign things it could be, so please don't start worrying about cancer. Maybe you could get lucky like me and the scan was wrong..... No, really, my deal was a fluke. Expensive one at that. I'm not trying to make light of it at all. One of my smoking buddies had a grapefruit sized mass on her uterus, benign, ended up having her uterus removed and has been HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY ever since. Relieved all of her pain that she had, that she had just lived with. A daughter of a smoking buddy had a uterine tumor and it turned out to be a teratoma. Extremely interesting case (yeah, I enjoyed researching that one). Teratomas rarely are cancerous and she is just fine. They removed the teratoma, and left everything else intact since there was not a risk of cancer. A relative of mine was having abdominal pain in the area of the ovaries and after a lot of tests, turned out to be an ectopic pregnancy. So, there a lot of possiblities. The ones I have listed are just off the top of my head. I could think of some more, but I think I need a Diet Dr Pepper here in a minute.... Surgery isn't like it used to be - they don't necessarily have to cut you wide open. Laproscopic surgery can be done a lot of times. I'll keep my hopes up for ya, okay?
:wave:
~zeez

zeez,
I'm very happy with the acidophilus. I no longer feel like I have to jump in the shower every time. Try it for a couple of days without the Citracel. I hope you're potassium level is being monitored. At one point my endocrinologist got excited because my potassium level was high. He was going to look for the reason but I just told him I guessed I would have to stop taking the supplement. That took care of it. Does your doctor know about the Dr Pepper? That stuff will mess you up.
I already know I've got a bad diagnosis. What really scares me is finding that I've been precertified for seven days in the hospital! I was only precertified for two days for a spinal fusion! I think they're just blowing smoke...with that laproscopic thing.
fly

Fly,

You've got me wondering.... okay... they have you ready to go into surgery, but to do what? Remove the mass? Are they going to biopsy it while you are on the table and make a decision of what to do from there? Have they discussed that with you? Or has zeez gone waaaay out there again???

No, really, for people having surgery to remove a tumor, I would think there would be a decision made ahead of time to remove the surrounding tissue (when appropriate) if cancer is detected during an on-the-spot-biopsy. This would involve a breast, or in your case the uterus.

Has your doctor discussed any of the details of your surgery with you? Ya know, IF your uterus does need to be removed, it can be done vaginally, which cuts down on recovery time and scarring.

Anyway, I suspect I have gone way off once again. I'm not in a proper mindset at the moment as I've been out at the lake all day doing something I should not have done: drinking beer and fishing! Of course, I did horribly but had fun anyway!. I am trying to make up for my badness by drinking extra WATER, eating extra salty food, taking extra potassium, and eating a 3-egg omelette with cheese and veggies. Anyway, wanna know something interesting? I was on the boat off and on from 9 this morning to about 6 tonight and my guts stayed calm!!! I made a couple a bathroom stops when we went to shore, but it wasn't anything like my usual days. It makes no sense at all. To do something as damaging as drinking beer -- I probably had 10 of 'em during the course of the day -- stopped the watery, umm, bathroom visits I usually have. It was a nice change. Although I will pay heavily tomorrow. I always feel bad after drinking any kind of alcohol, even when I attempt to boost my system with extra B complex and water.

Anyway, enough about ME! When do you have your surgery? Do you know about what your recovery will involve?

A couple of suggestions, not knowing how extensive the surgery will be, be sure to have all your stuff at home in order. Meaning, have all your fridge stocked with meals that are easy to cook (and eat at first). Most of all, have your "command center" set up. Have your sofa/recliner ready with all the blankies/pillows/remotes/telepones/books/magazines you need. Same for your bedroom. Get your 'scripts filled ahead of time so you can come home and crash. Hopefully you have someone around who can pamper you....

Gosh, I'm sorry to go on for so long! You probably know all this stuff! As usual, I just want to jog your brain in case you might have forgotten something.

I'll be thinking about ya!

~zeez
:angel:

PS I JUST NOW REMEMBERED!!!! I had a tumor removed from my arm about 20 years ago and I was in "twilight" anesthesia. I remember something about them doing a biopsy while I was on the table having to be able to give consent to do "whatever" if it came back cancerous. At the time, I was young, uninformed, and would have been too drugged up to know what I was consenting to! Good thing was it turned out to be a cyst. Hopefully yours will too. :)

What would you have done if you had a problem while out on the boat. Or was it a big boat with facilities? I hope you're having your salt and potasium levels monitored. It's no good to just ad lib. Maybe the beer is better for you that the Dr Pepper. haha
Consent under twilight isn't informed if you can' remember it. No, I'm being gutted---like a fish! The big day is 6/14, one day short of one year since my spine fusion.
fly

Oh, Fly, that is funny -- gutted like a fish! I really had to laugh when I read that. I know it's no laughing matter to you though. It is good, though, that you can kinda joke about it although I'm sure it's scaring the bejeebers out of you. When I was going through my "vein thing", I was very scared. The ct-scan report read severe stenosis, possible obstruction of the subclavian vein. I did a bunch of research and discovered I would have been at HIGH risk of throwing a blood clot resulting in a stroke. While waiting to get into a doctor's appointment (this took weeks), I had done SO much research that the words SUBCLAVIAN STENOSIS started to sound absolutely hilarious to me. So I would be at work and would say them in a certain DEEP VOICE, standing erect with my chest thrown out just to make my coworkers laugh and for some reason it would make me laugh uncontrollably! I don't know if my peers really knew how scared I was because I joked about it so much, but it sure was fun. I guess the days of "SUBCLAVIAN STENOSIS" are over now. I wish I could say it to you to make YOU laugh too! Especially the day before your gutting!

About the boat -- no facilities on board. It's just an oversized jon boat that can seat up to 8 people, although that's really too many people. 4 or 5 is best especially with coolers and fishing gear laying all around. If I would have had an attack, I'd just tell my husband to drive into shore. Fortunately, we were with my brother-in-law and his wife and she has the same problem I do so we commiserate well. Oh, and we're not on an ocean - we're out on a lake in Fort Worth so it doesn't take too long to get to shore. But the ride back can be BUMPY and literally shake the $hi+ out of you! The boat is a big flat bottomed boat and is not known for a smooth ride. Ha haa haa -- I was joking with my sister-in-law and told her I needed an emergency breast lift after the last ride to shore since it was so rough. That got her to laughing (she was having a bad day).

Anyway, I'll be thinking about you tomorrow. I'll bet the painkillers they put you on slow down your guts, if not stop them altogether. Oh, I just thought of something. Do you have any good books to read? I recently finished reading Dean Koontz's "By the Light of the Moon" and that was excellent. Another good Dean Koontz is "Watchers", if you're into those kind of books (scary). I like his books because the main characters are likeable good people.

~zeez

I couldn't even do my crossword puzzles after my spine fusion. My eyes were so blurry. And I couldn't *hit for a whole week. I'm telling them NO LAXATIVES! My surgery will be 7:15am EST.
fly

Hey Fly,

Was wondering how you were doing. Thought I'd give ya a few days to recover before asking.

You've been in my thoughts.....
:) ~zeez

PS I haven't gotten the acidpholis yet. I've been trying to get an order together to place on-line, but can't get myself to do it! It's gonna be a big one 'cause I need to get some supplements for my husband too. I had a rough week, as far as guts go. Stress aggravates them more than they already are. Then, that makes me hungry and I eat too much and that makes it WORSE! ACCK!

zeez,
You can get the Acidophilus locally---somebody always has BOGO. If not, one bottle at sticker price won't break you. Wal-Mart has it. That way you can try it out before paying for a large quantity. That and a small can of baked beans a day seems to help me.
My head is spinning. I went in Tuesday and they sent me home Wednesday. I had a belly button hysterectomy---three small slits way down low and they mangled my belly button. It doesn't look like it has spread but I won't get the pathology results until 6/29. If you could believe it I had to ask for an Imodium before I left---I was squirting out my rear.
fly

Wow, you're up early, girl!

I hope you're healing up okay and that the mangling isn't too bad. That is rough, having to ask for Immodium before leaving. I wouldn't have thought about post-surgery runs. I had always thought that the anesthesia and painkillers pretty much brings a digestive system to a halt. No such luck, huh? Hope the ride home was short and smooth. ;)

Ya know, what is it with pathology? Do they not realize the agony people go through waiting for results? Seems like they take their time doing it. I realize some tests actually do take a long time...... But, I STILL have not had my "official" results from the duplex/dopper (sonogram) they did for my SUBCLAVIAN STENOSIS and that is almost 2 weeks ago. I'm positve the results are okay, but dammit, I'm paying for a doctor to read it and 2 weeks is a long time to wait for a flipping phone call. Obviously I'm not worried about it, just irritated with no call. Haven't had a chance to call them myself because of a lot of stuff to do at work (which has caused stress, which aggravates the guts). Maybe I'll get on that tomorrow, if I feel irritable enough!

I've been paying more attention to triggers/causes of my gut problems and stress is #1. #2 is gluttonous behavior. My gluttonous behavior is being so ravenously hungry after working out that I'll eat a pound of boiled cauliflower/cheese and feel full and contented, and of course BLOATED. But I'm at home, "carcassing on the couch", so it doesn't matter. Until a few hours later when, um, it hits. I have to stop doing that, but it is so hard because I dearly love to gluttonize on that type of food.

Harry, a regular poster here, has given wonderful advice about different digestive topics. One of the most helpful was when he went into the difference between soluble/insoluble fiber. With that knowledge, I've been "trying" to add brown rice to my diet 'cause it seems to help. Also been "trying" to cut back on my servings of broccoli/cauliflower type veggies. It helps, but I don't know that I'll ever be normal.

Gotta receipe for ya: Brown rice pudding - useful in adding soluble fiber to your diet. Good for beakfast and sweet-attacks. I boil up some brown rice and overcook it. Gotta make it soft and pasty. Put on low heat and add some milk. I use powdered skim milk and add extra powder to make a thick consistency for extra calcium (and thickening). Add cinnamon to taste. Add sugar or Splenda (Nutrasweet is not right for cooking) for sweetening and salt to taste. Add butter or ButterBuds to taste. Variations: use brown sugar, add raisins, add nutmeg, or allspice. As you can tell, I don't measure anything when I cook -- I just throw stuff in. You can make this to fit any kind of diet you need - fat-free, sugar-free, low-sodium, high calcium, etc. You can also pack up a tub and take it to work with ya.

Well, enough of that! Hope you're day's going good,

~zeez

I was living with chronic diarrhea for a long long time, and terrible heartburn that was just unbearable. I had a prescription for 300 mg of Ranitidine a day.
For other reasons, I started the Atkins diet and VOILA! those problems stopped completely. I don't need the prescription anymore. I'm not trying to push the diet, I know it's not for everyone. Just to say that really happened to me. Nowadays if I indulge in bread or pasta or something like that, it's a sure thing that I'll be spending the next day or two on the can.

I just started with a half teaspoon of metamucil a day. It has a pleasant orange taste. Between that and the acidophilus I seem to be doing good.
fly

Hey Fly,

Been thinkin' 'bout ya a lot lately. Have you gotten your results? Geez, I wish I could email you to find out.

Anyway, it's been another BAD last couple of days for guts. I thought I'd found some helpful things, but I'm not sure what I have done to upset my system. I ordered a bunch of supplements and started taking SOME of them. Started out with the acidopholis. Don't know what I did that day but my guts went wild with gas and diarrhea. I also had taken some amino acids (I'm trying to build muscle mass and eat a high protein diet too) that might have upset the balance. That was a couple of days ago. Happened again today, REALLY bad. Haven't taken the acidopholis but did take the aminos - it's a balanced blend for weightlifters. Also added a dose of l-arginine for, ummm, libido. Ripped me to shreds. But then again I thought I had discovered a wonder food the other day when I had NO problems: wasabi peas. I ate a bunch, I mean a BUNCH of those today. The combo was deadly. I'm still suffering. I thought the wasabi peas would add some soluble fiber, but perhaps the spice clobbered me. Heck, I don't know! Have you ever eaten wasabi peas? Usually you can only find them at Oriental markets. They are dried peas covered in some kind of horseradish powder. WONDERFUL! I get started eating them and can't stop.

So, my dear Fly, what am I doing now? Drinking vodka and diet clear soda. It is late Friday evening. For some bizaare reason alcohol clobbers my guts into not having the spasms. I know..... makes no sense whatever. It used to be just the opposite with me. I guess I just had enough today. I went to the gym to do a full workout and had to go to the bathroom so many times it wasn't even funny. Even had to stop in the middle of my workout and eat an energy bar since I was so wiped out. Came home, ate some extra salty food, OKAY, they were greens with sausage....., but hey, I was hungry and that was all there was to EAT FAST!

So, to follow up, I at a bag of low fat popcorn with soulfood seasoning (for the salt) and a big chunk of white extra sharp cheddar cheese. Ohhhhh, ya talk about heaven! Popcorn, I have found does have a bulking factor with me. The cheese has no effect.... I just like it!

I have to have the most messed up G/I tract of anyone I know. The other day I was intently watching a show on one of the Discovery stations about intestinal parasites that was fascinating. And HORRIFYING! Can't remember the exact name but it was something to the effect of Eaten Alive, or Eaten From Inside.... something that would really grab ya by the guts. Of course, I was watching to see if I had any of the symptoms. No, not a chance. It was a really good, disgusting show. I truely enjoyed it, and was repulsed at the same time. I don't think I will ever consider traveling abroad. Not that I would do it anyway! Don't know if they have toilets nearby!

Anyway, sweetie, I hope all is well with you. I've just been wondering. You have been in my thoughts.

I'm crossing my fingers, toes, eyes, and legs for ya!
~zeez :wave:

Stay away from that horseradish! Several years ago, when I wasn't having any problems, I decided I liked it. I put it on something and ate it all day. At the end of the day I EXPLODED! No more horseradish for me. Have you tried the Metamucil? I have a different problem. During surgery they pumped me so full of gas I've still got gas pockets that have me all plugged up---both holes. I can't win! They did find something in one lymph node so now they're talking treatment---something else to mess with my system. Have you spoken to a dietician?
fly

Oh my dear sweet Fly,

I am sorry to hear of your results. I had symptoms of lymphoma, which is why I had the ct-scan a couple months ago. It came out okay for lymphoma. That scan was flipping WRONG for other diagnosis (blocked subclavian vein). It also had a caveat that it was limited due to due to "lack of adipose tissue", meaning that I am very lean. Long story. I thing I posted somewhere about my woes. But I haven't started a post about the misdiagnosis of my ctscan. Do you think I should? Yeah, I probably outta. The misdiagnosis of my ctscan was that I had severe stenosis of the left subclavian vein. Scared the beejeveres outofme. Then I found out months later that the contrast dye that was injected into my left arm left a ghost image on the scan....... dammnable doctors! All they had to do when they read the scan was to say was that there was the possiblity that there was a residule contrast dye left in the vein. That way I would NOT have had to have gone to a cardiologist and back to my internist!!!!!!! GEEEEEEEEEZZZZZ!!!!! Fly, I cannot begin to tell you how much agony that caused me. BUT, the good thing was I learned a lot about how the cardiovascular system works and DOESn't work. Main thing I learned is that my primary internist was being stupid when he was checking my cholesteral levels for VEIN blockage. Veins don't get blocked - arteries do. Has to do with the pressure on them. Okay, I'll shut up. Obviously I've done WAY too much research.

I did lot of research on lymphoma as well when I went through my scare. I don't know if that's what you've been diagnosed with, but supposedly it's one of those that is very treatable. I still have my "lumps", although I'm not as lean as I was earlier. Maybe on my next ct-scan, I won't have the terminology: due to the lack of adipose tissue......



Gotta have a followup scan at the 3 month (or so) mark which is coming up. Reason is that there were some issues in my lungs. I dread it not because of drinking all that stuff (actually, I am so thirsty, it is a welcome relief!). The stuff actually tasted GOOD since I was so thirsty!. It is agony because the place that I went to demands that I have NO liquids after midnight. Now, I take antidepressants which cause severe dry mouth. I talked to the tech a head of time and he just said that it would dilute the results...... Needless to say I was in agony. I think he was just a butthead and didn't realize the need for me to have minimal liquids prior to the test. Geez, the test wasn't scheduled 'til noon! Next time I will DEMAND the time I want. Don't get me wrong, Fly. I'm the kinda person that will let you merge into a lane of traffic! But when it comes to my personal discomfort, that's another story,

I will SHUT up for now! I've taken up enough of your time!

I hope you are doing well. just thinking 'bout ya!
~zeez
:D

zeez,
Where I go for radiology they take the fasting people in at 8am. Same thing where I go for GI tests. And I was lucky for my 2 big surgeries---they had me in at 7:15am. Right now I've had a damper put on my weekend---I just got a pathology bill for $16,000. I have to wait until Tuesday to try and get that straightened out. They did find cancer in one lymph node and it looks like I'll be getting radiation. But radiation causes cancer! Whatever, my son is getting married in September and I don't want to deal with it in the summer anyway. So I've got time to talk to people. Have you cut out the Dr Pepper?
fly

Okay Fly,

Am I gonna have to swat ya! NO! I haven't given up my beloved DDPS (as I call them). I have a really bad hangover. I wasn't able to eat when I needed to eat... now I am miserable and using hair of the dog remedy. I know it is WRONG , but I feel so bad I am willing to do anything.

Only thing is that I cannot respond coherently to your post. I would like to say more,, but stupkidity takes over!

good thoughts and hopes sent your way
~zeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez

Hey Fly,

Been thinking about you lately. Hope things are going okay for ya. You will never believe what I got on eBay.... a sterling silver FLY charm! I absolutely love it!!!!! It is very detailed! Looks like someone took a horsefly and dipped it in silver.

Has dual meanings when I wear it: if I'm feeling up and teasing people :jester: like I normally am, than I'm being a turd. If I'm having a rough time (like this week :( ) and I'm in a situation where I am being treated as a piece of ---, well, you know what flies are attracted to.... Anyway, it was a bad week. And I had no way of not allowing the situation of being treated that way to take place because that is now what I am expected to do.

But I just love my little fly! All through my bad week it gave me immense joy! :bouncing:

I sure hope things are okay with you. I'm pretty sure I've figured out the cause of my gut problems: caffeine. One of the moderators posted a sticky with an excellent article about diarrhea and caffeine and I'm positive that is the problem. Now my problem is getting off of it. I'm so terribly addicted, it is crazy. But I am working on it. I'll never get off of it, I'm just going to cut back enough to stop the gut troubles. The caffeine thing also explains why when I drink beer at the lake (on the rare occasions I get to!) that things calm down.

~~~~buzzzz buzzzz~~~~~
~zeez

I met the oncologist Thursday. He, too, wanted to go with chemo because of the one lymph node but I told him no. I have a 15 month supply, buy one get two, of Turmeric and that's the way I want to go. He's at least going to look at alternatives. In the meantime he has ordered a CT wiith contrast of my chest??? I've cut down on my iced tea. Now I'm back to adding a little lemon juice to water---it's alkaline and that's supposed to be a good thing. I'm still plugged up from that abdominal gas and they won't give me anything for it. I will NOT go on e-bay but I'll keep my eyes open for a fly---I like that.
fly