Hard
Ya know…
It’s hard.
But now that this…
…decided to return home, I should be able to sleep again (Bwahahahaha – in my dreams). He was incensed that I took the litter box, cat food, and water out of my bedroom, then wouldn’t allow the cats inside — so he disappeared for 2 days.
This had a different approach:
He peed on the bedding a second time.
Yes, the food, water, and litter are all back where the cats demand they be placed.
The Tiny Terror is presently being sphinx kitty after eating a can and a half of cat food, believing his protests were the reason for my acquiescence.
The truth is much less complex than that: I’m tired of washing sheets soaked in urine.
*Sigh* I wish I could eat a can and a half of anything edible right now.
So many people have cancer, pain in their stomachs I have never experienced, and yet here I am at midnight wondering when I’ll be able to sleep.
The problem? My stomach is waging war with my mouth.
It’s that simple.
Gastroparesis is, by far, the ultimate diet plan. If medical science could find a way to give gastroparesis to people struggling with excess weight, every woman in America would be wearing size 6 or less.
Don’t believe me? Here is a rundown of today’s “meal plan” (aka, the only things my stomach could tolerate):
Breakfast: 1 bottle of vanilla-ish food supplement mixed with a half a bottle of water & a teaspoon of coffee for flavor.
Lunch: Cream of Potato soup, 1 can, diluted with 1 1/2 cans of water and a slice of American cheese. Heat until cheese becomes part of the liquid. Drink the liquid and throw away ALL the potato chunks.
Snack: Werther’s hard candy.
Dinner at 5:00pm: One cup of yogurt with a tablespoon of honey. Take 2 bites. Come back in a half hour, take 2 more bites.
11:00pm: Make another glob of yogurt and honey. Eat 2 bites. Put in fridge and write a blog post.
I love the scent of roast beef, french fries, fried chicken, barbecue…REAL FOOD! But the minute it gets near my mouth, the stomach screams NOOOOOOOO.
What happens if I don’t listen?
- Have you ever felt what it’s like to have your waistline expand 7 inches in less than a day?
- Have you ever felt like your esophagus, stomach and intestines were trying to follow heaves of undigested food as it slowly made its way up the esophagus?
- And the headache!
When you’ve experienced these assaults to your body, you never want to do it again.
Unfortunately, all it takes is time, distance, and a bit of amnesia to make one think, “Maybe I can get away with eating that barbecue and baked beans just…this…once.
I’d rather starve than feel like I’m dying.
My mind is flavor deprived!
I suppose you can say it’s all in my head: After all, if I cut off my head, this whole diatribe would be pointless. But I’m too much of a coward to lose my head over it.
The saying shouldn’t be, “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
In this case, whatever doesn’t kill me simply makes me want to eat it.
It is very hard. Hope this resolves soon.
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Some people are endowed with a herculean self-discipline. I’m not that person. My nemesis is chocolate, followed by…uh…food.
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I am not disciplined either. Really it does take a very strong will power to say no when your mind and stomach is saying yes!
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You poor thing! That sounds awful. Cats, despite being the most wonderful creatures on earth, do not make the best carers unfortunately ;O) x
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Most days, cuteness and purrs make up for their lack of care. But no amount of cute purriness can make up for urinating on my bed. It takes a few days, and several load of wash, to make up for crossing THAT line. 🙂
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Yep that is a big line ;O) x
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I am so sorry to read of your stomach problems. My mother had chemotherapy for breast cancer four years ago and ever since she also gets terrible stomach cramps and pains from time to time. It is awful.
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That’s what I mean when I write about others having far more to complain about than I could ever imagine. I have a friend who survived ovarian cancer when doctors said she had little chance of surviving. That was 30 years ago, and she’s still alive, but her hair only grew back in patches so she has to wear wigs. She always walks out the door looking her VERY best and, unless she said something, I never would have seen her wig collection. It was the least of the side-effect that haunted her.
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I sympathise with your diet issues. Hubby’s having problems too and trying natural remedies (liquorice and chewing gum) now that he’s weaned himself off the meds which were making other things worse and giving him new problems. Eating small and often seemed such a good plan, but it’s draining as he’s so limited as to what he can and can’t have. Good news is that the gluten free carrot cake we treat ourselves to once in a while doesn’t affect him. It’s a start.
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It takes a very long time to learn what is on the “can” “sometimes can get away with it” and “cannot” lists. I absolutely under no circumstances am able to tolerate cabbage, brussel sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, deep fried foods, or real beans (black eyed peas aren’t beans). Chocolate is on the “sometimes” list and so are a small amount of lentils in rice. Unfortunately, when the stomach decides all of a sudden that there’s no such thing as a “sometimes” list, it’s because I’ve been abusing the privledge.
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Hubby’s finding the sometimes laps over to the never more often than not now, even though we’ve having smaller portions. I made a chicken curry today. Something we have discovered is that if I cook anything from scratch, he’s usually fine.
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He might be sensitive to the additives in processed foods. Chicken curry is one of my favorites, too.
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I no longer buy pies, pasties, pizzas, or processed meats for that reason. We found a really good natural yoghurt which helped, but now he’s off the meds, it tastes different and is repeating on him! No problem. We have an alternative plan……………….
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The number of people these days with stomach issues seems to have risen in the past few years. It makes you wonder if reports about insecticides in our systems that were meant to disentigrate insect stomachs are true.
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There could be a lot in that.
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You poor thing. I have similar problems, but not as severe. Sometimes, I want a real meal!
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It’s not always severe. Sometimes it’s just a mild stomach discomfort. When it’s like this, I’m reminded of how fortunate I’ve been throughout life.
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It is so unimaginably hard to be unable to eat – people that can simply don’t get it. I’m sorry, it’s really tough, and I’d love to say it gets easier, but that wouldn’t be true, unfortunately. I’ve hardly been able to eat for well over a year now and it’s crazy how much of this world quite literally revolves around eating. I’ll be thinking about you and hoping the flare decides to pass quickly.
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Thanks. 🙂
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