In the hospital again!

well guys, this is the fourth time i went in for abdominal pain again. the first three times were by ambulance but this time gail took me and i've been in since sunday. i think they finally have a handle on it. so listen up guys this is something to put in your pocket if it ever happens to you. i get really severe stomach cramps that rate 10 on the scale and the only way to make it stop is heavy narcotics for about 12 hours. well this time it didn't stop. everytime it happens they give me a battery of tests and costs me a fortune. gall stones, blockage, leaks, kinks, obstructions. all the tests always came out negative except i always had blockage in my instestines. so here's the conclusion after a million bucks worth of tests.......drink oil! i stopped drinking my flaxseed oil because it was yucky but my surgeon thinks i just need to lubricate myself and let it rip. you know we absorb so much more slowly now so we have a lot of back up sometimes. we really need to pay attention to keeping things moving.

now i always have a ton of benefiber each day but it appears that's not enough. when i was on pain meds that compounded the problem and really stopped me up but this time i've had the runs for over a week. well, turns out it was just going around this mass. i know, gross but i wouldn't want anyone to endour the pain i go through. so just a heads up. stay slippery.

oh, on a funny side note. i live on the west side of LA and the hospital i was in gets its fair share of celebrities in there. i was in the hallway just stretching out and i noticed a nurse at the other end just kept staring at me. she finally walked over and said she just had to see if i was billy bob thorton! what a blast. i told here if you saw me 20 months ago you would know. now that was funny. another kicker, i was bored so started reading my chart when i was hanging out in radiology. well last year they described me as a 52 year old SLIM african american! well, i'm a white guy and really got a kick out of the slim part but started thinking i was sure happy they didn't get the wrong guy and put me in surgery or something. so i guess i really do look different now! anyway, i got the greatest care and i'm feeling better. don't forget the oil guys, couldn't hurt! Carbonblob

Hey Blob... Glad youae getting some attention....with the oil...just knowyou are gonna need a wash cloth...don;t get toilet paper near that...our you may paper mache you butt Glad to see you post Russ

hey russ, the doc said to titrate the oil because i'll a point where it just comes out the other end! oh great. thanks for the advice. just another bypass moment to deal with. i'll let you know how things are sliding along!

Sorry to learn that you ended up in the hospital.  Even with good insurance the patient's portion of an emergency visit is pretty painful...at least for me it has been.  Thanks for the heads up on the oil, although it almost sounds like they don't know what the problem is so that is their latest guess....I hope they are right and you have no return visits.  Interesting that you were once black and now you are white; sounds like Michael Jackson.  :)  Take care of yourself and thanks again for posting.

that was the joke running in my head mike. the anesthgeologist says he doc, he's turning white or this is micheal jackson here. oh oh....get his liver and right leg out of the garbage and put it back on. and everybody shut up about this if you ever want to work here again! so he said to titrate the oil as much as i can take. the gastro doc feels i might have a kink but i'll go with my surgeon anyday first. so i'll have an update how the oil is working. thanks...carbonblob

 Blob....sorry to here you had such BM problems. I have had problems too. I used to take 4 Colace a day and two chewable fiber tablets. Last week someone told me about Flax seeds. Well I went out and bought some "Flax seed meal".  I put 2 big pinch fulls in a 3 oz dixie cup (like the small cup's you have in you bathroom) and have it with my coffee in the morning. I don't mix them together but just take a few mouthfulls followed by the coffee. It is easy to do because it's ground so fine. Believe me it really works. I stopped taking the Fiber pills and Colace. I hope this helps.... Dave

hey that sounds good dave. i may have to stick with actual oil for while though. he said not to try oily stuff but just drink down mineral, olive or flaxseed for right now. maybe later i can change to that as it sounds more appealing. i'll tell you the hard part. they didn't let me eat or drink for over 36 hours! i was so thirsty and when i could eat it was liquid diet. for three days it was broth and jello. i had a headache i was so hungry but as soon as i ate, i started hurting. so i'm starting my diet all over again. i just had scrambled eggs and i'll have soup tomorrow. just going to take it easy. i can't even let my belt loop up it's too sensitive on my stomach. but thanks for the advice. i'm looking for the best way to do this now as it's going to be a ritual from here on out. thanks......carbonblob

CB,

He does look a little bit like you!

No, glad to hear you've got the solution. The first time you mentioned abdominal pain way back, I had the impression it might be the fiber supplements (maybe combined with sugar alcohol), not sure why.

Been taking flax oil every day. It tastes like oil base house paint or like a portrait painter's pallette might. UNLESS you mix it with something else. Mayo seems to cover up the flavor, unless I put it in my chicken salad. OR if you want to get really bodybuilder extravagant, get some molecularly filtered fish oil. They say there's no way for the toxins from the fish to get through that filtration proces.

Either way you go, Omega 3 is good for lifters. I never have problems with diarrhea. The oil seems to digest. But hell, on my diet, my body's gonna soak up anything I put into it.

Glad you're feeling better,

Dave

great pic dave! gail got out three different kind of oils for me to try and i hate them all. the doc said mineral oil too but i nixed that one. you know, all i want to do is to be able to go to the bathroom and not freak out or take a vacation and not worry what is going to set me off. so i hope this is the answer. so far it's not working but i'll give it a few more days. we head back to lake tahoe in a less than two weeks and i don't want an episode there. ok.....off to take more oil! carbonblob

If you're looking for a good brand of oil, I've heard Udo's choice is one of the best. Anything high in Omega 3 is supposed to provide energy and be good for the brain and endocrine system, so potentially "two birds with one stone". Mineral oil doesn't even digest and would probably cause more alabsorption than the others (guessing here), since it is said to cause it in non-ops.

Hope you're "clear" before Tahoe and have a good time there.

Dave