TheBanyanTree: Digestive Upset

[Margaret R. Kramer]

My hunger is so persistent.  All I can think about is food.  Even after
spending most of yesterday evening from 6 pm to 10 pm drinking four liters
of a laxative and then sitting on the toilet in order to clean out my colon
for my scheduled colonoscopy later this afternoon, food, the thought of food
was always on my mind.  If it wouldn’t have screwed up the entire process of
cleaning out my digestive system, a Big Mac with a milkshake would have been
great.  Ahhhh, yes.

So far, I find this process is not too bad.  The digestive cleansing is more
inconvenient than uncomfortable.  I feel out of whack, but I think that’s
because I haven’t had any solid food for over 24 hours.  I can’t have any
water this morning, although I did sneak in a cup of coffee very early this
morning, so that doesn’t help either.  The worse thing I can say about the
mega-laxative ingestion is that it made me very cold.  I had to sleep with
my long underwear, my sweats, and a winter bathrobe on in order to be warm.
Well, that laxative certainly stopped my hot flashes for a few hours!

I managed to read all of the current issue of Martha Stewart’s Living
magazine while sitting on the toilet.  I love Halloween and fall decorating
and this is what this magazine is about, so I delighted in all the pictures
of spooky decorations and the wonderful recipes featuring pumpkins and
squash.  Oh, yes, food again.  Hmmmmm.

I also was able to finish The Ruins, a book by Scott Smith.  It was OK in a
Stephen King kind of way.  It’s amazing how much can be done while sitting
on a toilet.  If I would have had more laxative to drink, I probably would
have pulled out the laptop and did some computer work, too.  Lots of
activity helped keep my mind off of FOOD.

So now I’m about three hours away from going to the clinic and having my
colonoscopy.  I can handle the inconvenience and slight discomfort because I
know in the long run it is good for me.  If they find something now, it
should be early enough that cancer treatment could be successful.  If they
find a few polyps, they can immediately cut them out.  If they find nothing,
hey, that’s great, and I won’t have to worry about another colonoscopy for
10 years.  I’m an ex-smoker, been clean for five years, but even so, smoking
can play havoc on the digestive system as well as the lungs.  I’m over 50
now, a time when my body will begin to break down, and I’ll be susceptible
to cancers of all kinds.  Starving and diarrhea are small prices to pay to
be healthier in the long run.

And, the best thing of all, is when this is over, I can EAT!

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

I am learning all the time.  The tombstone will be my diploma.
~Eartha Kitt