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mollymoo24
Senior Member
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Posted: 24 February 2008 12:55 am |
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Nir,
Wow that's a big surprise that they want to change up your surgery like that. I hope you are persistent and get all of your questions answered to your satisfaction. Please keep us posted.
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 24 February 2008 02:47 pm |
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Thanks mollymoo I hope to be back soon
Sunday - part I
With the unlikely exception of some sort of argument between myself and the medical team on Monday morning, I expect I shall be away from home until at least Wednesday at the earliest, and up to 2 weeks - all depending on what operation I end up undergoing. I chopped up and boxed all the lettuce to take down with me to London. Carrots and parsnips got cooked and frozen. The only produce I'm leaving in the fridge are potatos, onions and apples. As of 3.45pm I've had 1914g of food adding up to 922 calories, 44.3g protein.
I've mostly been willing the day to be away, spent much of the day eating (and being on the internet though it has been a quiet day). I hope I've packed everything I need with me. Unless I post again in the next hour or so, the next time I post will be post-op.
7 day food shopping totals: 1.68 + 0.40 + 2.85 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 = £4.93
Food so far: http://nirmk.byethost13.com/staticfood/day.php?dayid=179
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
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Posted: 24 February 2008 05:58 pm |
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I just wrote Nir a PM and wished him well... LOL I'm writing this like he's not reading it... probably on his way to London! But I thought I'd post a note here, too.
I hadn't heard about the change in operation plans. I had the same bladder neck incision a number of years ago and went home that day. Not sure why it requires more of a stay.
Anyway Nir, we all wish you a speedy recovery!
Peter
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Theresa
Senior Member
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Posted: 25 February 2008 06:19 am |
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I hope your operation went well and that you are feeling fine. Our thoughts are with you and we hope you back on forum soon. Get well soon! 
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 25 February 2008 06:10 pm |
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quick update: I've had my operation (the 'bladder neck incision') and am now on an inpatient ward where I am finally able to go onilne.
Peter: if you Google this operation you'll discover that these days it involves a 24-48 hours stay. This is to allow for 'irrigation': clear water is pumped to wash the wound. I guess things have changed since you last had this done!
Theresa: I've had some painkillers administered 6 hours ago and I'm only feeling 'some discomfort' as opposed to pain.
Nice to be back.
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
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Posted: 25 February 2008 07:51 pm |
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Does "go online" mean through a catheter?
Haha!
Glad it went well!
Peter
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DeterminedGal
Senior Member
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Posted: 25 February 2008 10:28 pm |
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Uh, Peter...the only one laughing at that lame joke might be Nir because he's hopped up on painkillers. 
Nir, glad all went well. I know you are in a lot of folks thoughts and prayers today. Speedy recovery!
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 25 February 2008 10:55 pm |
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I'm now (Monday evening) down to regular paracetamols (2 x 500mg). I'm a bit behind.
Sunday - part II
Made contact with to arrange for her to pick me up whilst doing last-minute packing. Earlier in the day she spotted a suitable lap-top carry case for £1 at the car-boot sale. I had her practice using the laptop lock so she would be able to chain the laptop to a fixed object around me even if I was passed out or immobile. The suitcase was very heavy but somehow managed to get it down two flights of stairs and into the car boot. The train ticket was £15.60 and incldes Virgin trains - I had to forgoe the lift in order to ensure I caught the train (so yet more heavy lifting). I walked from Euston to The Presidents Hotel in light rain - about 20 minutes. Had to use the toilet so wasted no time checking in and finding my room. Then gave myself a 'tour' of all room facilities: light switches, TV channels, documents like room service menus, bath facilities (got excited about this as I normally only have access to a shower), coffee-making facilities (made myself two) and the bed.
Later went downstairs to investigate the hotel's communal facilities. The restaurant and bar were easy to ignore due to the silly prices. The hotel was also physically connected to a sister hotel so there were additional rooms and premises to investigate including a large well-decorated hall dotted with sofas and armchairs, and a 'pub' which also dished up personal pizzas for £6.50. On my way back to my room I asked if I could have more sachets of coffee - I got 4 extra ones, using 3 of them by 9.30pm making for a total of 5 coffees. This would later have an impact on my ability to sleep (as if anxiety about a forthcoming operation was not enough).
By the time I started eating it was already 9pm, quite a sizable gap. Food comprised fresh cooked and raw vegetables where I felt 'the clock was ticking' as they were not refrigerated, balanced against calorie-dense foods (almonds, raw peanuts, pumpkin seeds). Thus my day ended lighter than usual (well I wasn't entirely sure what I've been asked to do in preparation for the operation). I had a nap from 9.30 to 10.30pm and then had my final meal (lettuce, nuts and seeds) finishing my calories at 11.15pm well before the 2am cut-off. Bedtime was a bit after midnight.
Food: http://nirmk.byethost13.com/staticfood/day.php?dayid=179
Exercise: none
Shopping: 0
Veg: 9.3% [168kcal, 946g]: romaine-lettuce59 onion-raw42 leek-boiled39 chinese-leaf-lettuce24 celery-raw4
Fruit: 26.0% [468kcal, 1092g]: apple326 kiwi-fruit92 plum-british-lightred51
Starchy: 8.8% [159kcal, 430g]: potato-baked81 carrot-old-boiled78
Nuts: 49.2% [886kcal, 155g]: pumpkin-seed-hb255 peanuts-redskin-raw253 almonds250 cashew-raw-ndat60 peanuts-salted-sp57 cocoa-powder11
Animals: 6.5% [117kcal, 52g]: banana-flavour-whey-powder67 chicken-breast-grilled50
Rubbish: 0.1% [3kcal, 2g]: chewing-gum-honey-lemon3
Totals: [2676g] 1800, 84.0g protein (18.7%), 82.5g fat (41.2%), 180.5g carb (40.1%), 12.25g saturated fat, 42.06g fibre, 0.32g sodium. 120 is 6.7%
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
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Posted: 25 February 2008 11:33 pm |
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I'm picturing your laptop chained around your neck while you're sleeping!
Peter
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mollymoo24
Senior Member
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Posted: 26 February 2008 12:03 am |
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Relieved to see you back Nir. Here's wishing you a speedy recovery. Best wishes,
Mol
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 26 February 2008 12:44 am |
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Not far off, it is chained to the railings of the bed I'm on. And I'm releived to be back.
Monday
Woke up at 3am and after over an hour failing to fall back to sleep I had a nice long bath from 4.15 to 5.15am, got packed and ready and checked out of the hotel by 5.45am. I was at the hospital lobby by 6.10am (cleverly finding ground-level access rather than using the normal entrance that involves about 20 steps) and had to kill the next 50 minutes variously sitting there and wondering about the hospital facilities, as the Admissions Lounge only opens at 7am - during this time I was catching up with mum who I pre-agreed the call time with (6am being a bit early for a call usually, but today was different). I was allocated a bay and got seen by a nurse, a staff nurse, a member of the surgical team (who convinced me to consent to the change in operation) and the anaesthetist. I was then left to change to a hospital gown and wait for quite a while: I was left to my own devices till 11.30am. At this point I was walked to the theatres where I had to kill more time (but this time separated from my posessions, so I could not even use my MP3 player. After a while I met the consltant, who elaborated further on why he recommended the change of plan.
I was led to the anaethetic room after 12.10pm and woke up in the recovery room shortly after 12.50pm. There was then a bit of a nightmare: 4.5 hours of complete boredom as the ward I was allocated to was so short-staffed that they could not spare anyone to come down to the 'recovery room' to collect me. Several people arrived in the recovery room, recovered, woke up and then got wheeled away! I was concious that mum was somewhere in hospital and without my phone I was unable to contact her to explain the unusual situation I was in. Eventually someone came to collect me and I spotted mum in the corridor as my bed was arriving at its destination. Things went relatively smoothly from that point onwards.
I had arrived too late to be able to fill a menu card. The person who was in my bed earlier today had made dinner selections and those had to do for me. Still, after a fast from 11.15pm, eating anything resembling food at 6pm was a welcome relief. I made some menu card selections for tomorrow's meals. Later on I would supplement the food with the remains of my fresh salads and then move onto my collection of tins (this also helps lighten the load for the trip home very soon). I don't know to what extent I'll be using tins tomorrow as the meals will probably provide the majority of my calories (as I'll probably have access to 3 meals, not just 1). It is possible that I will be discharged tomorrow - alternatively I may stay an extra night.
I've been offline for just over 24 hours and the catch-up task appears awesome, though give me a few hours of online-bedrest and I'll probably be back to normal.
Percentages correspond to questionale hosital food, so it'll only get worse tomorrow (?). I'm exhausted enough so maybe I'll get some sleep tonight. Goodnight.
Food: http://nirmk.byethost13.com/staticfood/day.php?dayid=180
Exercise: none
Shopping: 0
Veg: 8.5% [151kcal, 810g]: ratatouille-Princes86 romaine-lettuce48 chinese-leaf-lettuce17
Legumes: 44.2% [787kcal, 900g]: chick-pea-boiled290 baked-beans-basics273 red-kidney-beans-basics223
Fruit: 25.8% [460kcal, 1108g]: pineapple-in-juice-basic184 peaches-in-juice156 fruit-coctail88 orange-juice-unsweetned33
Starchy: 0.8% [15kcal, 83g]: swede-carrot-js15
Animals: 5.9% [105kcal, 60g]: beef-rumpSteak-lean-grilled105
Rubbish: 14.8% [264kcal, 291g]: creamy-potato-leek-Cup-A-soup133 potato-mashed-butter-milk73 rhubarb-stewed-with-sugar58
Totals: [3252g] 1781, 89.8g protein (20.2%), 66.5g fat (33.6%), 206.1g carb (46.3%), 1.03g saturated fat, 50.04g fibre, 3.76g sodium. 369 is 20.7%
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Theresa
Senior Member
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Posted: 26 February 2008 07:30 am |
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I am so glad it seems as if the operation went ok.  It's terrible though that you were left in the recovery room for so long.  You must just try sleep lots while you are in the hospital because anaesethic takes a lot out of one. Hope you got a great nights sleep though. I hope that you feel 100% soon.
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trimB
Moderator
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Posted: 26 February 2008 10:26 pm |
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I am so surprised to see you back and posting so soon! Like you ALMOST never left!
Anyway, I hope you are feeling better by the minute! 
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 27 February 2008 02:15 am |
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Sleep has been patchy (I'm posting this after 3am, to give you a clue), perhaps due to pain/discomfort, perhaps due to ocassional noise, perhaps due to coffee consumption. Pain and discomfort has certainly been top of my agenda today (as well as boredom and food concerns).
Tuesday
This was my first morning at an inpatient ward so I got to make the breakfast mistakes. Picking both the cereal and the toast (instead of just one of the two options) seems like a victory until you account for the calories (especially when you realise that both choices were refined grains) - tomorrow I'll just pick cereal and make sure it is whole-grain. My lunch and dinner choices (picked on Monday night) were more sensible so I had some room to manouvre. Mind you this is contingent upon me having my own food supply. With the initial plan calling for a 10-day stay I thought I broght plenty but I've already had well over half my tins and I've been eating my own food for less than 36 hours.
For painkillers I'm on standard Paracetamol (2x500mg, 4 times a day). After taking a dose at 8am I wondered whether I really needed them and passed on my 12pm dose. 4 hours later I was more pre-occupied with my discomfort and asked for a dose. Unfortunately due to misunderstanding the silly rules that operate here, I could have my 3rd dose at 8pm but at 1am I can't have my 4th dose because "it is now a different day". Arghhh. I'll suffer through the night and won't pass up any medications from now on even if I think I can do without.
Speaking of pain and discomfort, having a 'permanent' catheter through your urethra is just no fun. Partly due to it being unusually wide, compared to any object one would usually imagine (er, why should anything ever be fitted through the urethra) and partly due to the inflated baloon keeping the bladder from actualy being empty. If you think that's bad, though, try applying a 'clamp' to the cathether (as I had to, after lunch) talk about feeling the pressure.
I have no idea how long I'm here for. Not knowing is not nice. My original reading on this op suggested I would only stay 24 or 48 hours after the operation bt they are keeping their cards close to their chest. In the morning I was told I'd have an ultrasound on Wednesday, a few hours later it got scheduled for today (Tuesday) which involved drinking over a litre of water and said 'clamp' being applied. Apparently my kidneys don't look too great. With not knowing how long I'm staying here for and my supplementary food supplies running low I'm hoping that mum will come to visit tomorrow and bring food supplies.
I suspect that pain is the major factor in my inability to get a good sleep arond here but coffee is probably another factor. Today I discovered that you can also get biscuits (cookies) with your coffee. This is something I did not need to know. This was a mini-pack of 3, I ate one (34 calories) and hid the other 2.
My last bowel movement was on Sunday. I've been eating since then: Sunday, Monday and Tuesday - what's up with that? I don't feel constipated.
My food percentages are terrible and whilst breakfast was a big factor, I don't think they'll get much better whilst I'm still here. Actually had to supplement with TVP to bring protein up to 72g - unbelievable.
Food: http://nirmk.byethost13.com/staticfood/day.php?dayid=181
Veg: 31.9% [573kcal, 2271g]: ratatouille-Princes432 garden-pea-tin-SP79 mediterranean-style-salad20 pea-frozen-SP17 cabbage-boiled14 iceberg-lettuce5 tomato4 cucumber2 raddish1
Legumes: 2.3% [41kcal, 13g]: TVP-dried41
Fruit: 19.7% [355kcal, 677g]: pineapple-in-juice-basic114 banana102 pear66 apple-juice42 orange-juice-unsweetned32
Starchy: 4.2% [76kcal, 119g]: sweetcorn66 carrot-old-boiled5 carrot-raw5
Animals: 12.5% [225kcal, 313g]: chicken-casserole150 semi-skimmed-milk75
Rubbish: 29.4% [529kcal, 440g]: toast-white-bread185 special-K-red-berries170 vegetable-curry79 veg-soup-Cambell61 fruit-shortcake-crawford34 vinegar1
Totals: [3833g] 1800, 72.2g protein (16.0%), 55.8g fat (27.9%), 252.3g carb (56.1%), 1.96g saturated fat, 25.51g fibre, 1.40g sodium. 754 is 41.9%
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
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Posted: 27 February 2008 04:09 am |
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Gesh, it's hard reading this and not being able to offer you comfort! 
ANYTHING, certainly what you're going through, can throw your bowel movements off.
Hope you're better soon,
Peter
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suenos
Moderator
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Posted: 27 February 2008 04:37 am |
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| Wow, and to think this was the "minor" procedure! I hope all is well soon...and remember that different circumstances might call for different solutions...recovering from surgery might mean that your body has different nutrient/calorie requirements than during normal day-to-day life...I know it sounds a little hippydippily holistic, but sometimes if you listen to your body it will tell you what it really needs - which might not be the same as what we think it needs...umm hoping that made sense outside of my own head....you're in my thoughts and prayers!
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
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Posted: 27 February 2008 10:26 pm |
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Art by my friend Daniel in Lausanne, Switzerland, a long-time friend and supporter of cph.
Peter
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zenobia
Moderator
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Posted: 27 February 2008 10:29 pm |
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BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ROFL!!!!!!!! LMAO!!!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!
that is the most classic pic i have ever seen on cph!!!! i love the queen in tha background, too!!!! hahahahahahahahahahaha!
hope you feel 110% soon, Nir!!!!
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Sassykat
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 27 February 2008 11:09 pm |
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Oh my goodness Nir! I am so sorry for your pain and the torture of medical care. I am also sorry I haven't read your diary all winter.
I hope you feel much better soon. Take good care of yourself!
Love the picture Peter put up, but am a bit worried about the facilities as there is a rather large fly on your bed. You might get the nurse to take care of that for you! 
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Beth
Senior Member
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Posted: 27 February 2008 11:40 pm |
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Nir, I've been reading about your surgery. I hope all is well and that you will be back home and in the pink very soon. I've gotten my daily chuckle about your laptop. I'm not sure I'd be brave enough to have the surgery or to take the laptop.
Get Well Soon!
Beth
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Theresa
Senior Member
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Posted: 28 February 2008 05:56 am |
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| Brilliant picture! Be carefull the tootsies don't get too cold! Hope you are starting to feel a little better now. Last edited on 28 February 2008 05:57 am by Theresa
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 28 February 2008 09:32 am |
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Suenos, certainly coping with this 'minor op' has highlighted what a sissy I am and should I need the major op I am somewhat more scared!
Peter, lovey picture, and a few different ways to interpret that chain: I am chained to the laptop so it doesn't get stolen; I am chained to CPH and the internet and can't get away from it.
And thanks to everyone else for writing!
Wednesday
I had another night with disturbed and broken sleep (as above) including my long-lost friend 'painful erections' which I last encountered in July when recovering from the cystoscopy - I always had a theory that this relates to a bladder full of urine but given that I am fitted with a catheter I shall have to abandon that theory. Breakfast involved marginally better choices: orange juice and a whole-grain cereal. Beware single-serve cereal boxes - for two days running the amount in the box is not the same as the amount printed on the side of the box. On Tuesday it was 45.5g instead of 35g; today it was 54g instead of 45g!
A hospital ward is ran by nurses. You hardly ever see a doctor. Yesterday morning my consultant (surrounded by his team) honoured me with a visit and I expected a repeat performance. Well, I was again visited by a team from the urology department but it did not include my consultant. Myself and the local nurses knew all about the ultrasound I had on Tuesday but it was initially news to the urology doctors. The doctors made their decision which involved 1) changing the type of catheter I was fitted with 2) discharging me 3) a nuclear scan (provisionally on Friday) 4) catheter removal and some after care (provisionally on Friday) 5) follow-up outpatient appointment (provisionally in 2 weeks). Suddenly I had some packing to do and mum was given her 'marching orders'. One of the doctors changed my cathether (from a size 20 with a 15ml baloon to a size 16 with a 10ml baloon).
It was left to a nurse to later-on show me how to correctly tie the leg-bag, how to periodically empty it and how to attach the night-time extender-bag to it (nurses are very busy so it took a couple of hours before the nurse had the time to help as she was constantly interrupted by more urgent matters). With a catheter bag attached to my leg and not to the bed I was feeling somewhat more mobile. I had lots of stuff to pack - the joke is that I had effectively "moved in". Mum arrived around 12.30pm and we were ready to go at 12.50pm. I asked permission to stay for lunch, then waited 10 minutes and sure enough it arrived, exactly as ordered. Mum made a big deal of being the one to drag the suitcase-on-wheels though I think I could have easily managed it. When we got to the train station we were faced with a dilema: her train ticket did not permit her travel on the express-trains-with-power-outlets. I took the laptop and accessories and she took the heavy bag. We met up 50 minutes later (my train left 15 minutes later but we got to Milton Keynes the same minute). Ultimately I did not gain much by going on the other train as I couldn't get any internet reception - not even in London Euston, and in any event I was napping for most of the journey. Maybe I got more peace than I otherwise would have done but it isn't a charitable thing to say!
Mum saved money by not parking her car by the train station. This meant she had to catch a bus to retrieve her car and drive back to get me and the luggage. I ate one more tin of vegetables whilst waiting for her to return. She then carried my luggage upstairs, a bit at a time, not allowing me to help with the lifting. We made a brief stop at StarBucks who was holding a promotional afternoon. In addition to a free mug of coffee I helped myself to chocolates, a piece of cake, some pineapple and mango segments, almonds and cashews - a bit of a pig-out! My friend Kirsten who was originally due to visit me during my hospital stay but got unlucky and fell ill herself had called to check up on me. It was then time for us to lose no time and drive over to college where the logistics were such that I just managed to make my counselling session (mum using the time to do some shopping at nearby NETTO). After 2 weeks away from counselling that included my 3 days away from home there was plenty for me to report - this was not one of those 'chilled out' counselling sessions, for sure. During the session we made fun of Nash who tried calling 3 times and texting twice during the session. He should know what time my counselling session is - it is the same time every week. By 5.20pm I was back home, ready to tackle the length task of unpacking my luggage and getting back into my home routine.
Before leaving hospital it occurred to me to try a bowel movement but 3 days on there was still no give in hospital, though when I got home it was a rather different story. I'm left wondering whether it is to do with movement, catheter type, psychological readiness etc.
Having done most of my unpacking, mum came over with a 'welcome home' care-package / gift consisting of 5.5kg of produce, with the proviso that I must attend to it immediately. My loot consisted of: 1.6kg spring-greens, 1kg seasonal-veg-selection-value:swede-carrot-potato-leek-onion, 1kg tomatos, 900g carrots, 430g vine-tomatos, 400g veg-stir-fry:cabbage-carrot-broccoli-onion-Tesco, 100g pomegranate.
Having managed to wrestle with my gifts, at 9.30pm I encountered mum on her way back from Tesco, this time delivering a split fruits-and-vegetables loot, 7.4kg for a very reasonable £1.40. Mum is showing more consideration on account of my physical condition. She is not expecting me to wait for her downstairs and carry up the shopping - instead I'm getting it delivered to my door. She is a star.
I was eating my last smoothie of the day at half-past-midnight (separated from them, as I was, for at least 3 days). I couldn't blame the multiple sleep interruptions on coffee, on bladder capacity (night-time bag capacity works out at 2.5 litres) or on background noise. I guess pain and discomfort (including those unexplainable painful erections) fully account for this.
Being at home is a lot more fun than being at hospital, without a doubt.
Food: http://nirmk.byethost13.com/staticfood/day.php?dayid=182
Shopping: 50p raspberries(1.3kg) 35p nectarines(2.3kg) 15p button-mushrooms(460g) 10p plums(440g) 9p leeks(260g) 9p spring-greens(2kg) 7p mango(440g) 5p romaine-lettuce(190g). £1.40
Veg: 26.8% [483kcal, 1740g]: ratatouille-Princes173 moussaka-vegetable-Heinz137 tomato64 pea-frozen-SP38 spring-greens-cabbage-boiled36 veg-stir-fry:cabbage-carrot-broccoli-onion-Tesco25 iceberg-lettuce8 raddish1 cucumber1
Legumes: 0.5% [9kcal, 3g]: TVP-dried9
Fruit: 27.8% [500kcal, 1086g]: apple236 pomegranate80 pineapple73 pineapple-juice-unsweetned36 orange36 orange-juice-unsweetned32 mango8
Starchy: 8.0% [143kcal, 542g]: seasonal-veg-selection-value:swede-carrot-potato-leek-onion104 carrot-old-boiled28 swede-boiled7 carrot-raw3
Nuts: 3.2% [58kcal, 10g]: peanuts-dry-roasted32 cashew-raw-ndat15 almonds10
Grain: 9.7% [174kcal, 54g]: bran-flakes-all-bran-kellogs174
Animals: 8.8% [158kcal, 161g]: banana-flavour-whey-powder57 semi-skimmed-milk52 chicken-breast-grilled50
Rubbish: 15.3% [275kcal, 123g]: spicy-potato-fries137 cake-sponge-butter-icing72 milk-chocolate35 fruit-shortcake-crawford19 chewing-gum-honey-lemon11 vinegar1
Totals: [3720g] 1800, 72.0g protein (16.0%), 35.8g fat (17.9%), 297.4g carb (66.1%), 1.97g saturated fat, 46.16g fibre, 0.56g sodium. 433 is 24.1%
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Theresa
Senior Member
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Posted: 28 February 2008 10:28 am |
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| It's good that you are glad to be at home in your own surroundings. Hopefully all the discomfit and pain will go soon so that you can get decent sleep and feel great soon.
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Beth
Senior Member
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Posted: 28 February 2008 12:01 pm |
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I'm glad you're at home, Nir.
Huggies,
Beth
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
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Posted: 28 February 2008 05:18 pm |
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That is so unusual that your mum supports your healthy eating by bringing you vegetables. Most moms in American (and perhaps most mums in England?) would bring sweets regardless of their child's preferred diet. Sweet equate to love.
Go mum!
Peter
P.S.
Hey, I thought that was pretty cool. Spell check recognized mum. But then I thought... it's a flower, too. And in your mum's case, that's a nice thought!
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 28 February 2008 11:04 pm |
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Back in 2002/2003 when I was waking up to being overweight and needing to do something about it, but not being grown up enough to buy my own vegetables, I would allow my mum to periodically contribute a bag of washed and ready-to-eat vegetables to my fridge. I didn't pay for the produce, I did not prepare it - I was merely prepared to accept it (and sometimes even eat it - astonishingly I would sometimes allow some of the vegetables to go to waste!). My mum has been healthy-eating longer than I have been!
Thursday
Food was 'under my control' all day - no outside influences. Percentages as good as they've been for a while. Mind you not sure that was entirely a good thing as my diet is high in fibre and I discovered that, although catheterised, when I, erm, emit gas, I simultaneously pee outside/around the catheter tube and thus need to be at the toilet. Oh, and it can be rather painful (stinging sensation). So this is 'new pain'.
On the plus side I successfully chased up my hospital appointments for tomorrow (Friday). I have a nuclear scan at 1.30pm and hopefully my catheter will be removed later on in the afternoon. I don't know if I'll make it back for OA though.
After a much needed nap to 3pm I got ready and left my flat by 4.30pm. It took me about half an hour to slowly walk towards the gym (about half my normal walking speed). I sat in the Sauna for 5 minutes and had a shower. I was hoping to bump into people I knew but I was not in luck. It took another half an hour to walk back. The entire exercise was ill-judged as walking for such a long time is uncomfortable at present. Live and learn.
Spoke to Nash who relayed news of Phil losing his grandmother. I had yet another nap. At 9pm mum delivered some shopping. She complained of 'competitive conditions' that left her at a disadvantage. My shopping was £1.42 and weighed 5.4kg. I was reluctant to process it but eventually did.
Food: http://nirmk.byethost13.com/staticfood/day.php?dayid=183
Exercise: walked slowly for an hour
Shopping: 26p savoy-cabbage(900g) 24p broccoli(640g) 20p sweet-potatos(880g) 20p courgettes(460p) 20p baby-corn(110g)asparagus(60p) 14p cauliflower(640g) 9p brussel-sprouts(1.5kg) 9p batavia-lettuce(230g). £1.42
Veg: 14.4% [260kcal, 1407g]: spring-greens-cabbage-boiled75 leek-boiled45 cherry-tomato39 mushroom-common-boiled32 veg-stir-fry:cabbage-carrot-broccoli-onion-Tesco32 corncob-mini-boiled22 asparagus-boiled15
Fruit: 50.3% [906kcal, 1950g]: apple234 banana225 mango173 plum-british-lightred113 nectarine105 raspberries56 goji-berries-sun-dried1
Starchy: 17.7% [319kcal, 608g]: parsnip-boiled91 sweet-potato-boiled88 potato-baked59 seasonal-veg-selection-value:swede-carrot-potato-leek-onion58 carrot-old-boiled23
Nuts: 9.7% [174kcal, 30g]: peanuts-salted-sp78 cashew-raw-ndat61 peanuts-dry-roasted36
Animals: 7.1% [128kcal, 34g]: banana-flavour-whey-powder128
Rubbish: 0.7% [13kcal, 8g]: chewing-gum-honey-lemon13
Totals: [4036g] 1800, 79.4g protein (17.6%), 29.9g fat (14.9%), 303.4g carb (67.4%), 3.96g saturated fat, 68.07g fibre, 0.35g sodium. 141 is 7.8%
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
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Posted: 29 February 2008 05:44 pm |
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I see your room at home doesn't look that different than at the hospital!
Peter
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 1 March 2008 12:55 pm |
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Ha ha.
Friday
Packed for day-trip to hospital, including 1.6kg of vegetables and laptop. Ultimately neither proved much use (never used the laptop and only ate 200g of the veggies). Ate 'defensively': by 11.15am have eaten 1460g of vegetables and fruit and just 552 calories (which I guess is fine: an extended breakfast amounting to approximately 1/3 of my calorie allowance).
I was away from home between 11.30am and 7pm. About half of my time was spent on trains, at train stations and walking. I initially got to hospital at 1pm so there was time to pop out to McDonald's and exchange a promotional coupon for a cup of freshly-ground coffee which ultimately I did not enjoy and which remained bitter despite my inclusion of 4 artificial-sweetners. Actual time at hospital was 1.20pm till 5.20pm. At the ticket machine I deliberately selected the wrong railcard so that my ticket was £8.90 instead of £10. I got caught at the barriers on the way back and for a second it looked like I'd be paying a fine. I'll never be doing that again, not worth the stress.
Over 3 hours were spent at the Nuclear Medicine department on the MAG3 scan. They were running late and I spent over one hour just waiting. Most of this time was spent chatting on the phone to a friend of mine who chose this time to confide some sensitive information about their life. I was transferred to the inner waiting room where I was disappointed that the hot beverage machine was out of order. I had to drink some cold water instead. The MAG3 scan includes the administration of a diurretic (to speed up the passing through of the radioactive materials) and just as was the case in December, the symptoms I display meant I had to drink more fluids and stay longer. The drinks machine was fixed during my stay and I did have a white coffee, two black coffees and a vegetables soup. With the aide of the catheter and some additional 'active straining' I had disposed of over 1.5 litres of fluid during my stay at Nuclear Medicine. It appears I was the very last patient there, and got to witness all sorts of unsettling activity such as the bagging of waste in special yellow bags and them being checked with a Giger-counter.
Back to the T7 ward just 2 days on and now I felt like an outsider. I recognised and was recognised by some staff (nurses) as they were going past. Having announced myself at reception I waited for half an hour until a doctor arrived to deal with me. I think she was a junior one. My catheter was removed and I was instructed to "drink 3 litres of water" - the implication being that it should be sooner rather than later but a time-frame was not clear. Immediately after removal, and bearing in mind I was still under the influence of a diurretic and with a lot of fluids in the system, I had the rather novel experience of urinating with a stream that is 3 to 5 times stronger than the low stream that has characterised my symptoms for as long as I can remember. However this phenomena was only to last a few hours.
I was wise to choose a seat on the train not far from the toilet, using it 3 times in the space of 50 minutes. I made Milton Keynes at 6.45pm which meant I had only just missed my opportunity to make the 6.30pm OA meeting that I would have loved to have made (and which I would have made at the hospital stuck to their 1.30pm appointment time, or indeed the 11am appointment time they offered me earlier on Thursday). Dad collected me at the train station (mum having gone food shopping) and was under instructions from mum to do all carrying for me. At home I was very tired. I unpacked and then set about addressing the 1000+ shortfall in calories, which I saw as an opportunity to use up some frozen bananas (also using brazil nuts and sesame/pumpking seeds to boost fat intake and TVP for protein). The day may look like a relatively 'lightweight' one but a ridiculously large amount of fluids were consumed in hospital. I managed one litre of squash. I told mum that I did not intend to drink the 3 litres I was instructed to drink and we got into an argument about that.
Mum bought a lot of fruits and vegetables at both Tesco and ASDA. She took them all to her house and at around 10pm she showed up with a reluctant dad who helped her carry all the shopping up. There were 12 plastic carrier bags. 42.57kg (about ~94 lb, almost a person) for £4.53 (sub $10) or 11p per kilo. I had no energy to deal with the shopping - I just selected a few items to place in the refrigerator, leaving everything else in the corridor [note: dealt with shopping on Saturday]. I disconnected all my phones to ensure mum could not bully me into drinking more water and tried to catch up on some sleep. The most I ever managed, on two separate ocassions, is a one-hour stretch. I'm going to be a bit sketchy now but my symptoms have mutated once more and it just was not any fun to be me at this point. Realising I am destined to get no further sleep I embarked on the drinking project, by 2am have drunk 2 litres and by 4am got to the 3 litre mark. I'm quite good at feeling sorry for myself but trust me I am quite justified at this point. [Saturday edit: I was feeling a bit low when I wrote this]
Percentages were acceptable despite some calorific beverages. How long can a human being survive with no sleep?
Food: http://nirmk.byethost13.com/staticfood/day.php?dayid=184
Shopping:
150p mandarins(8.8kg)
90p banana(18.7kg)
30p greenbeans(1.5kg)
28p asparagus(460p)
25p seasonal-veg-selection-value:swede-carrot-potato-leek-onion(2.5kg)
22p parsnips(6kg)
20p brussel-sprouts(1.2kg)
17p sweet-potato(520g)
16p rocket-salad(220g)
15p broccoli(850g)
8p tenderloin-broccoli(200g)
8p baby-corn(120g)asparagus(60g)
6p four-leaf-salad(140g)
5p cauliflower(200g)broccoli(140g)
5p sweet-crunchy-salad:iceberg-redcabbage-carrot-tesco(340g)
4p cabbage-leek(300g)
4p mushrooms(300g)
£4.53
Veg: 12.6% [226kcal, 969g]: brussel-sprouts-boiled59 broccoli-boiled59 spring-greens-cabbage-boiled53 courgette-boiled25 romaine-lettuce16 fine-whole-beans-boiled12 cabbage-boiled3
Legumes: 2.2% [39kcal, 12g]: TVP-dried39
Fruit: 60.4% [1088kcal, 1699g]: banana790 apple95 nectarine85 plum-british-lightred60 raspberries57
Starchy: 6.5% [117kcal, 192g]: sweet-potato-boiled100 carrot-old-boiled17
Nuts: 8.7% [156kcal, 27g]: sesame-seed-JS51 peanuts-salted-sp36 cashew-raw-ndat29 brazil-nut-HB26 cocoa-powder11 pumpkin-seed-hb3
Animals: 4.6% [83kcal, 48g]: banana-flavour-whey-powder69 semi-skimmed-milk14
Rubbish: 5.1% [91kcal, 205g]: soup-veg-croutons-Knorr53 coffee-white-large-McDonald31 chewing-gum-honey-lemon5 coffee-instant2
Totals: [3152g] 1800, 72.0g protein (16.0%), 30.2g fat (15.1%), 310.1g carb (68.9%), 4.99g saturated fat, 49.31g fibre, 0.20g sodium. 174 is 9.7%
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 1 March 2008 03:43 pm |
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| 24 hours after catheter was removed, I've now gone to the toilet on 58 separate ocassions. I'm still looking forward to an opportunity to sleep.
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
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Posted: 1 March 2008 05:34 pm |
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I hope you are sleeping!
Amazing shopping list. Dr. Fuhrman would be proud. Never saw you mention your Dad before.
Peter
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Sassykat
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 1 March 2008 06:12 pm |
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| Sorry you are feeling so poorly Nir. Hang in there, it will get better. The important thing is that you get some rest.
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Beth
Senior Member
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Posted: 2 March 2008 01:32 am |
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| This all does sound dreadful. I also hope you can get some sleep. You've had some major stressers going on. I am a long way from your country, but I am sending huggies and good vibes through the air waves. Ditto on the hang in there! You need a break!!!
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mollymoo24
Senior Member
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Posted: 2 March 2008 01:50 am |
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| Hoping tomorrow is a much improved day Nir. Sorry things are going so roughly right now.
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 2 March 2008 08:59 am |
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Thanks everyone for your messages of concern. I went to bed on Saturady night at 11.07pm and woke up at 8.57am on Sunday morning so that's a much needed 10-hour segment. It was interrupted at 0.15am 0.57am 1.09am 3.27am 4.59am 6.52am and 8.01am, but beggers can't be choosers.
Peter, I once described my dad's aversion to medical tests - he has not had any for years. He does not want to find out whether he is pre-diabetic or whether he has elevated cholesterol etc. as he does not want to receive instruction on healthy eating. He is rather obsessed with desserts. His BMI is probably around 25-26 (I don't know if he is just normal or just overweight). When the weather is nice he spends much of his spare time tending to my parents' allotment.
Saturday
I began feeling more positive and less defeatist during the day. I drunk 2.5 litres of squash throghoutthe day in the hope it would help the healing process. Along similiar lines, mum has purchased 5 litres of cranberry juice (for £3.40) and delivered this to me as a present, this should keep UTIs at bay.
I got useful in the late morning and onwards, dealing with Friday's shopping (partly motivated by the need to write-up yesterday's diary) and eventually got to the stage where everything was refrigerated (this was a close call: the previously-bare fridge is now full (primarily with bananas, mandarins and parsnips).
I did think about leaving the flat but it is not practical at the moment.
Food: http://nirmk.byethost13.com/staticfood/day.php?dayid=185
Shopping: 0
Veg: 12.9% [231kcal, 1417g]: sweet-crunchy-salad:iceberg-redcabbage-carrot-tesco72 tomato57 rocket-salad32 courgette-boiled30 four-leaf-salad21 mushroom-common-boiled19
Legumes: 2.7% [49kcal, 15g]: TVP-dried49
Fruit: 47.5% [856kcal, 1604g]: banana567 apple87 nectarine80 mandarins57 raspberries55 cranberry-light10
Starchy: 19.6% [352kcal, 910g]: seasonal-veg-selection-value:swede-carrot-potato-leek-onion164 sweet-potato-boiled77 potato-baked67 carrot-old-boiled45
Nuts: 11.8% [213kcal, 36g]: peanuts-dry-roasted61 almonds45 sunflower-seed-hulled33 cashew-raw-ndat29 monkey-nuts27 brazil-nut-HB17
Animals: 5.1% [92kcal, 24g]: banana-flavour-whey-powder92
Rubbish: 0.4% [8kcal, 4g]: chewing-gum-honey-lemon8
Totals: [4011g] 1800, 72.2g protein (16.0%), 30.3g fat (15.2%), 309.6g carb (68.8%), 4.39g saturated fat, 57.76g fibre, 0.23g sodium. 100 is 5.6%
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Beth
Senior Member
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Posted: 2 March 2008 11:39 am |
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| What is the allotment? Money? Garden plot? Sorry, I'm from Mississippi.
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 2 March 2008 01:15 pm |
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| Yes, a plot on land they rent cheaply from local government and on which they grow a variety of vegetables (and some fruit)
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DeterminedGal
Senior Member
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Posted: 2 March 2008 03:05 pm |
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Nir,
Just catching up on your diary. Love Peter's "artwork"...um, I use the term loosely. It seems maybe we could have commissioned ArtistJohn to do a little something for us. ha. Anyway, it looks like you are on the upswing and that is great news. Take care and REST.
DG
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
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Posted: 2 March 2008 04:49 pm |
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Nir,
Speaking with experience... cover up your clock. If you need to get up at a certain time, set the alarm.
Looking at the time and making notes of it each time you get up to pee is distracting to your sleep pattern. Without all the thought you can get up, pee, and get back to bed practically in your sleep. And you'll be much better rested in the morning.
When I had to get up at 5:30 every morning I covered my clock both for the above reason and because if I got up to pee at say 5:00, I knew the alarm was about to go off and would not be able to get back to sleep waiting for it for 30 minutes. With it covered, it could be 5:25 and I'd get another 5 minutes sleep!
This could have been a PM, but I wanted to share this last tip with anyone reading this who has a sleep problem for any reason. Cover your clock and you'll do much better!
Peter
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 3 March 2008 12:36 am |
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Thanks for your perspective, Peter. I generally don't need to get up at a certain time so I don't need to set an alarm. A while back when I was self-catheterising, there was in fact an 'internal battle': the lazy me wanted to pee and get back to sleep, whilst the wiser part of me eventually realised that if I took the extra time to follow the ISC procedure and fully empty my bladder, I'd get a longer reprieve once I got back into bed and this is what I ended up always doing with very few exceptions. I am rather attached to my data set as it happens, as I have recorded it (day and night) without exception since October 2006 so I plan to continue maintaining it without interruptions as it means I can refer to it later on (for example if my doctor asks me about my symptoms). I remember that when I first started recording I was worried that the inconvenience of writing it down would mean I would go less often. I need not have worried.
Sunday
I find it interesting that my weight was on the low side of the range it likes to fluctuate around, both Sunday and Saturday. One theory is that larger than usual amounts of drink have allowed more 'material' to pass through, i.e. that I am usually more constipated because I refuse to drink enough liquids. Got half a litre drunk around 9.30am, the next litre between 9.50am and 11.30am and the last litre between 12.05pm and 12.35pm. I try to get it all in as early as possible in the day.
On Saturday I stayed in all day but I decided to venture out. I walked around the indoor shopping centre for an hour (with two pit-stops at public toilets). Did one circuit. Nothing worth buying at Sainsbury's but picked up a few food samples (cheese, candied pecans, dried pineapple, ginger drink) at a travelling 'craft show').
Briefly toyed with the idea of resuming one of my computing projects but instead continued with my attempt to re-read Eat To Live.
Foodwise, trying to stay 'on top' of my vegetable supply, especially vegetables I've previously cooked and not yet eaten. I'm using more frozen bananas - just eating them as they are rather than incorporating them in smoothies. With the new influx of over 18kg of fresh bananas, there's no point freezing them if I'm not going to be eating them at some point. For the last 12 days I abandoned my original aim of 100g of protein (1.8g/kilo). Initially I aimed for 72g (1.3g/kilo) which I found hard to get down to with my original food choices (this is where the bananas came in). Over the last week (initially at hospital but also once back home) it has become easier to get below 72g which meant I was once more supplementing to get protein back up. Sometimes I do this with TVP but today did it with a frozen portion of chicken. Mind you I abandoned this approach for the last bit of the day, ending with a total of 67.8g protein. I'm thinking of further lowering my protein target to (1g/kilo) which will work out at 55g. It will be a novel idea for me to ever need to deliberately supplement with protein to push the figure up to that intake, surely! 55g protein at 1800 calories is 12.2% of calories and probably trivially achievable if one eats enough vegetables. I found myself deliberately consuming various nuts and seeds throuhgout the day in order to push fat into the 15-20% range.
7 day food shopping totals: 0 + 0 + 1.40 + 1.42 + 4.53 + 0 + 0 = £7.35
Food: http://nirmk.byethost13.com/staticfood/day.php?dayid=186
Exercise: 1 hour stroll.
Shopping: 0
Veg: 16.4% [296kcal, 1355g]: brussel-sprouts-boiled66 broccoli-boiled59 kale-boiled43 beans-green-boiled42 tomato37 cabbage-boiled33 mushroom-common-boiled17
Fruit: 58.2% [1047kcal, 1428g]: banana965 peaches69 cranberry-light10 pineapple-dried3
Starchy: 8.6% [155kcal, 442g]: seasonal-veg-selection-value:swede-carrot-potato-leek-onion114 parsnip-boiled41
Nuts: 10.0% [180kcal, 32g]: cashew-raw-ndat41 peanuts-salted-sp34 linseed29 pumpkin-seed-hb28 brazil-nut-HB27 peanuts-redskin-raw20
Animals: 4.7% [85kcal, 45g]: honey-roast-chicken-slices50 banana-flavour-whey-powder35
Rubbish: 2.1% [37kcal, 24g]: chewing-gum-honey-lemon13 cheese-double-gloucester11 candied-cashew-traderJoe9 ginger-ale5
Totals: [3325g] 1800, 67.8g protein (15.1%), 33.6g fat (16.8%), 306.8g carb (68.2%), 4.98g saturated fat, 52.68g fibre, 0.60g sodium. 122 is 6.8%
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
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Posted: 3 March 2008 01:31 am |
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I understand.
I would make quite an Excel graph!
Peter
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Theresa
Senior Member
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Posted: 3 March 2008 06:37 am |
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| Oh boy! How I wish for the day when I have to eat something to try get my fat consumption higher. It sounds like you are feeling a bit better after getting some much needed sleep. It's good to see you are back on track, but just remember you have had an operation so it will take a while still for you to be as you were so don't forget that and overdo it. You still need rest.
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 3 March 2008 04:29 pm |
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Theresa wrote: but just remember you have had an operation so it will take a while still for you to be as you were so don't forget that and overdo it. You still need rest.
Too many people are telling me this. I'm feeling restless and deprived. My news is that I've squared it with the admin people, handed over my £46 and shall be attending my first exercise class in 9 days... in less than 5 minutes!
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Peter
Founder, caloriesperhour.com
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Posted: 3 March 2008 05:59 pm |
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Nir,
To change the topic... many nights a week I have a ve |
