Thanksgiving blues

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Let me tell you all the wonderful holiday I’m having. Then you can go enjoy the terrors of your families or whatever in a much happier mood. Warning, not all is pleasant. Do not read while eating.

I caught some sort of intestinal bug last Sunday. Got weak and fevery. Spiked a temperature of 102.4 deg F before it came down. Bad case of shivers hiding in sweats under three layers of covers with a heating pad and taking Tylenol. Then the chill would break and I’d be sweating. Sunday night had diarrhea kick in. Start getting cramps in colon. Mean, nasty cramps. Mon morning called doc’s office and got an afternoon apointment, called in sick to work. Doc checked me out, gave me something for the “spasms”, sent me home, told me stay in bed a couple days, get plenty of clear fluids, and when you feel like eating, stick to carbohydrates - no meat, no veggies, etc. Look out for worsening symptoms as described. Went home. By the way, drove myself.

Next thing one of the worsening symptoms showed up - blood in the stool. First it was bright red, just a tinge, then got progressively darker. I called in the 24 hr number, got the doc on call, described conditions. He didn’t think it was life-threatening, call back in the morning and we may have to do some tests. Joy.

Make it through another night. I can’t sleep for more than an hour at a time because my colon shifts and I have to make a trip to the toilet. I keep taking Tylenol for the fever and washing it down with water, but I can’t drink much because it leaves me feeling bloated. I tried some Powerade, but didn’t settle well. Tried some hot tea, ditto. Managed to eat a piece of bread for no good reason I can think of. Read a bunch. Watched some TV.

Tuesday arrives. Call doc’s office, leave message for the nurse to call me back. Go back to sleep. Manage to sleep some through the day, then check, no returned call. I leave another message. Sleep more, no response. Tuesday goes by, into Tuesday night. TV, read more, stay inside resting and not eating. Cramps subside a little, diarrhea tapers off, blood disappearing. Mostly because there’s nothing inside to pass through.

Today get 8 am phone call from nurse. Finally. Calls in a prescription to a pharmacy, but says I may not need it if the blood is gone anyway. Thanks. Today I feel a little better, but still weak, still a little off in the gut. Manage to go get some food and buy toilet paper. Rented a couple movies.

I still don’t feel great. Had to cancel my holiday plans. Was going to go visit my sister, now I’ll be alone in my apartment not eating turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie.

I hope you feel better.

2

Sorry to hear it Irish.

Please be careful about how much Tylenol you take. It can be toxic (especially with alcohol). I don’t have the cite but there is a SD thread dealing with this.

Get well soon.

3

Irishman,

What a freakin’ drag!!!

Can you not force down some stuffing at least? Heck even Stove Top’s One Step tastes pretty good. It’s mostly carbs and if you don’t make it too mushy you can eat a lot more in one sitting.

If you are feeling better maybe even a potato, doesn’t have to be mashed, just mash it in the skin, that’s what I do with all my baked potatoes.

If you are feeling even better, cornish game hen’s make for a good T-Giving substitute for when you are forced to spend it at home alone.

I hope you feel better and that you can enjoy some of the extended weekend.

{{{{{IRISHMAN}}}}}

4

Americans stink. They don’t even know what Thanksgiving is, all they relate it to is “yeah it’s dat time were ma goes out and kills us a turkey!”.

5

:rolleyes: Fuck you.

** Irish** I sincerely hope you feel better, I’ve been there and I know how it feels. Do take it easy on the food though! When you are recuperating esp. with stomach issues, it doesn’t take much to… :shudder: :slight_smile:

6

So I’m doing better. Wed morning about 4 am I found myself starving, and since the doc said cereal was okay, I found myself doing something rather unique. I have to be the first person in history to rifle through a box of Lucky Charms, not for the marshmallows, but for the crispy bits.

Later that night I tried to make some macaroni and cheese. Got to the part when you add the cheese package, and it was brown - not yellow or orange, but brown. I forgot to check the date on the box - been in the cabinet a while. Any other time I might have just figured the color went bad and risked it, but that’s the whole point, I’m already sick. So I pitched it and ate something else. Had to make a store run for Thurs.

Yesterday for the big day, I had a couple baked potatoes and a bunch of macaroni and cheese. It was good. Today I hit a restaurant to eat real food. Didn’t eat a whole lot, but had some baked chicken, mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, roll with honey butter, and ice cream.

Zenster: I know about Tylenol OD. I didn’t take too much - basically a couple every 4 hrs or so. The main point was avoiding NSAIDs as they irritate the stomach and intestine. And no alcohol for me anyway.

techchick: thanks. It’s okay, I just missed the dinner fare. I’m taking advantage of the rest of the break and sleeping late, staying up late, and reading a lot. Finished 2 books already this week. Also watched Gladiator last night on tape.

MikeG: thanks for the words.

I have to go back to work Monday. :frowning: I’m almost enjoying it now. sigh

7

Irish, it sounds like you’re through the worst of it. I hope you’re feeling better soon, pal!

8

Irishman,

Glad to hear you are feeling a little better!

Mac N Cheese for Thanksgiving? Reminds me of a Friends episode < giggle >.

Anyhow, you still have the rest of today and Sunday to enjoy the extended time off.

:slight_smile: