Surgery--Again

No info on how long it will take for things to settle down. I assume I'll find this out when I meet with the doctor this week or on my final day. I've gone for three days without a treatment, and there was no noticeable improvement. I'm guessing I'll need two weeks for that.

Sorry I misunderstood what you meant about the zaps.

Is choco pudding tolerable?

I wish I could somehow think of something that you can taste that won't annoy your throat, that'll ease the horribleness just a bitty bit.

Love you.

Wot she said.

I do wonder if sipping an aloe vera drink might be soothing?

They don't taste like nothing, but Boida isn't tasting.

Very good for inflammation and soreness.

Thinking of you Boida -

are you managing to sleep for any length of time?

few more days of zaps... then we'll be here to get over the next hurdle, right!

You just let me know as soon as you can have hot chocolates... and I'll wing some over.

Hugs gal x

What about some Asian agar-agar pudding? If you have an Asian deli near you, they'd have some. Or, someone could make you some. Something mild like some coconut milk and agar-agar would give you something soothing without the grating texture of sugar on your tender throat.

Found a recipe for it:

Coconut Dofu

1/4 ounce (about 8 tablespoons) agar agar
2 cups water
1 cup coconut milk
3 tablespoons brown sugar if additional sweetness desired

In a medium saucepan, bring the water and agar agar to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the agar agar is dissolved. (About 10 minutes). If adding sugar, dissolve the sugar in the simmering water. Stir in the coconut milk. Remove from heat and pour into a 8 inch square pan and chill until firm. Cut into one-inch squares and serve.

Thanks, all, for your efforts to try to think of something I can tolerate. I can eat pudding, even chocolate pudding. Not gonna be cooking much of anything.

Not sleeping well at all. Did better in the hospital.

Izzie, you already sent me hot chocolate--and orange chocolate. I'm waiting till I can have some.

Deb, Don't know from aloe vera.

Interesting idea, deb. I don't know from aloe vera drinks myself, nor where one can get them in NYC - maybe they are popular and I haven't noticed. For all I know, maybe the local nutrition or healthfood store, or Trader Joe's.

I have, on the other hand, used aloe vera, the plant, for decades as a soothing healer on my skin. In LA, I grew it in the garden; here, I've had it in a pot. So if nothing else, I suppose one can cut a stem of the plant, squeeze out the juice (easy), and dilute that with water.

Anyway, the plant itself takes out a lot of sting and is cooling.. at least on the skin.

Maybe something to ask your doc, Roberta. It really helps, on skin anyway.

Just back from my radiation treatment and a meeting with the doctor and nurses (once a week). Lost 8 pounds in one week. Also am dangerously dehydrated. After six attempts to get an IV in me, I was released (rather than shipped to the ER--where I did not want to go) with my promise that I would hydrate myself up the wazoo, no matter how painful it is. Currently doing just that.

I'll be checked again tomorrow.

does that really work?

(googling gatorade enema)

hugs, B...

My best pal and I went to the Chinese market today - rows and rows of aloe drinks of all sorts. Who knew?

~~~~

Glad you're at home, Miss Roberta. Wishing you good luck with your hydration efforts - keep an eye on your "ium" levels - as you hydrate, they will have a tendency to go down. Do you have any sport drinks around?

Yes, indeed - needs the -iums balanced as you hydrate.

Great point about sports drinks. Pedialyte is another option -- tastes like crap but is one thing that I know is designed specifically for re-hydration (there must be something similar for grown-ups -- I guess Gatorade et al fit the bill).

Glad you have something to DO that'll help. Sorry it's painful.

Thanks for the suggestions. Not going out again until tomorrow. I have plenty of stuff here. Don't know whether I can handle the flavoring of Gatorade. I'll check.

Taking my ium supplements.

Ouch, OUCH, and OUCH

Glad I'm not in the ER again. The nurse practioner said they let me go because I looked ok and felt ok. No symptoms except for thirst.

They gave me a Carnation instant breakfast. I tried Ensure. It made me gag. Told me to drink flat ginger ale. I'll have clear soup for supper.

Five more zaps. I asked how long it would take for the side effects to disappear. About a month, but I would start to notice improvements after a week.

Having problems coordinating my head tumor visits and tests. Bellevue ain't for sissies. And absolutely ain't for people who are almost inaudible.

I'm sure this will come as a suprise to most of you. I tired.

Few more zaps.....

Few more drinks...

It will feel a little better in a few weeks.

So wish you weren't hurting.

xx

Still waiting with you Roberta. I second the aloe vera idea though if you can get access to a plant way back there in Neuw Yawk. I've never know anybody to have a bad reaction to aloe vera treatment and sometimes it really does seem to work miracles.

Dangerously dehydrated. You better have a mouthful of crushed ice inbetween all the liquids your drinking.
My thoughts and prayers Roberta.

Love you, Roberta.

I have heard sports drinks help. Joe Nation is the smartie on some of those - gatorade just being popular stuff in the grocery store and not what runners really find most useful, far as I know.

Me, I drink one of three fizzy mineral waters that naturally have a fair amount of potassium and magnesium, Gerolsteiner being my favorite, gasp, even though it's not italian, but I like its taste and the content list the best.
BUT I know you can't do fizzy and it sounds like too big a deal to let a bottle of it go flat. (As a by the way, most soda waters, even waters like Perrier, don't have the kind of contents that Gerolsteiner, Apollonaris, and Pellegrino have.. most much less - like only CO2.)

I suppose the pills they've given you are markedly higher in what you need anyway, but for the long term, we all need to hydrate ourselves well, and keep up our electrolyte levels.

Roberta, there are many vitamin waters available, that have, such a mild ,flavor.

Might be able to do flavor sticks dissolved in water. Propel makes 'em and they are for hydration. Taste pretty good, kind of a kiwi-strawberry deal.

Hope the time goes by quickly, Roberta.