Tag: stomach ache

How Are We Doing?

Hey folks. How is it going? Are we all doing all right tonight? It’s Friday the 13th, has the universe thrown you any curve balls?

Today has gone okay for me. I found out my nephew has Covid. Sigh in frustration. I hope he’s okay, and I hope he kicks it way faster than I did. I don’t want him to be sick for three weeks the way I was. I have a whole new perspective on this particular plague and somehow it makes everything worse.

I had another one of those empty stomach things that I wrote about last night. Usually it hits about three hours after eating. Today it hit two hours after I finished lunch. I had a snack and thought I would be okay until dinner, but an hour later it came back. Weird. That’s the first time this issue was not predictable. I didn’t eat dinner until 7:00, which was about an hour after the stomach ache came back. We’re going to have to keep an eye on this tonight. I don’t want any weirdness. Unpredictable weirdness is not as fun as you’d think.

Jen and I just watched this week’s episode of Loki. Season two episode two. At lunch today I was poking around news.google.com and I was almost spoiled about seven times. I am going to have to be more careful on Fridays for the next four weeks.

I just checked the weather for the weekend. It is going to be clear at sunrise tomorrow and clear just after sunrise on Sunday. There must be photos this weekend. It’s a necessity. I have a lot of stuff on my agenda and I’m booked pretty solid. Still, from a mental health standpoint a photowalk somewhere must happen. The mornings are getting cold and there are only so many more opportunities left before the winter ruins everything. I have to take advantage of this. Ocean sunrise and maybe some Merrimack River stuff tomorrow and then either around town on Sunday or maybe finally spend an hour or two walking around the city? Boston at sunrise on a Sunday should be easy to social distance, shouldn’t it?

Like I said, there is a lot on my plate this weekend. I need to make time for some creative stuff. I’m still feeling a little shell shocked from the covid journey so my brain needs to stretch its figurative legs a little.

Here’s hoping we can make something happen this weekend. Assuming Friday the 13th lets us through the day, right?

When Your Stomach is a Jerk but You’re a Bigger Jerk

Havin’ one of those days, I guess. One of those gastric bypass surgery recovery kind of days.

I woke up with a stomach ache this morning. It was bad but not too bad. I thought it was a sign that I was going to have a rough day but after a little time in the little boys room (TMI, sorry) I was a lot better. I still waited a while before I had anything to eat. When I did have breakfast it was free of any issues. I guess my problems worked themselves out, right?

Sometimes I have stomach pain when I am hungry. My stomach is empty and it lets me know by hurting a bit. I fix it by having a little something to eat and then the pain goes away. That happened today at around 11:30. That’s when I screwed up my whole day.

I had a snack. Unfortunately it was too big of a snack. It took a little too long to get through it, and it was too much. I have to wait 60 minutes after eating before I can have a drink, and I needed to have a drink to take my lunch time vitamins, and then I have to wait 15 minutes before I can eat again. The snack meant I wasn’t going to be able to have a drink before it was time to make lunch, which meant my lunch time vitamins were going to wait until late afternoon at least. It also meant that I wasn’t quite hungry when lunch time came. I managed to have something but it left me low on my protein count going into dinner.

Then what happened? I had something to drink, but not quite enough to hit my daily goal, and I had my afternoon vitamins, but by the time I punched out of work I had a hungry stomach ache again. Oh good. I had a small protein snack as I was cooking dinner, knowing it was going to mess up my dinner the same way I messed up my lunch. I had a tiny snack this time and my stomach ache was already inching back by the time I sat down to dinner. It still left me feeling super full really fast though and I couldn’t finish dinner.

The cherry on top? I paused dinner while I was feeling full because I really wanted to finish my chicken and mashed potatoes and broccoli but 10 minutes after I paused dinner I had myself a nasty dose of the foamies. I felt nauseous out of the blue but I didn’t throw up. That’s good, right?

So now it’s almost 8:00 and I am still behind on my liquid goal and my protein goal and I still have a dose of vitamins to get through tonight. I am 100% sure I am going to reach all three goals, but I am also really ticked off at myself for screwing up my whole schedule today. All because my stomach was bothering me when I woke up.

Nice work, red head.

Rough Night

It started a little after 4:00. Migraine. Shit. Usually my vision goes weird, then the headache comes a little while later. Today it was the other way around. The headache hit out of nowhere and it was bad. Then my vision went all screwy.

After about an hour and a half my vision was okay but the headache was hanging on. Not nearly as bad as it was at the start, but it was lingering. Jen made chicken in the air fryer for dinner and it was fabulous. Unfortunately I had one bite too many and the foamies hit. Worse than that? It’s been two hours and my stomach still feels blocked up. I have another 15 grams of protein to go to hit today’s goal so I have to have something to eat.

One last annoying thing. I am friggin’ exhausted. Is it the couch to 5k’s fault? I don’t think so. I just don’t sleep enough and sometimes it catches up with me and kicks my ass. Yippee.

Tomorrow is going to suck out loud. It’s an in-the-office day and I have meetings almost all day. Worse, I am running all of those meetings. I hate when that happens. Before work though I will need to watch the series premier of Marvel’s Secret Invasion. I’ll also have to play some guitar. I have four songs leftover from May that need rhythm guitars. Only two are ready to go though. Hopefully I’ll be able to sneak one of them in before I have to pack up and get ready for the commute. That means I am going to have to get up early.

Yeah, tomorrow is going to be a tough one. Tonight has already been a tough one. It’s going to be the old one-two punch of suck.

Wish me luck.

Twice Over Night

My last post was me saying a stomach ache woke me up around 1:30am and having a small snack made me feel better so that I could go back to bed. Truth. I didn’t get to sleep until about 2:30, but that had more to do with playing with cats than stomach issues.

No, the stomach didn’t become a thing again until about 4:30 when the second stomach ache woke me up. Ugh. Same deal. I went out to the living room so I wouldn’t disturb my beautiful bride’s sleep (though she did wake up with me the first time around. Sorry, my love) and had another small protein snack. It didn’t fix me quite as clearly as the first one did, but I did feel a lot better, and I was 14 grams into my 80 gram goal before the sun came up.

I missed both my liquid and protein goals yesterday. I missed them both three times this week. Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Not good. I was trying to cap off the liquid last night, and I was only eight ounces away. I was down to 12 ounces left in the water bottle I was drinking from. I wanted to finish the bottle, wait 15 minutes, and then have a protein bar to put me over the 80 grams of protein for the day. Unfortunately, by 10:00 or so I was having trouble drinking. My body just didn’t want to do it anymore. On top of that, I was dead tired and couldn’t stay awake. I called it a night and gave up.

That means I hadn’t had anything to eat after dinner, which was probably why my stomach was empty enough to hurt so much when I woke up the first time, and the one small thing I ate wasn’t enough to hold me over until morning. So I guess maybe the solution to the problem is to actually make sure I eat too much before bed? That seems counter intuitive. I was actually worried about how much I was eating after dinner/before bed over the last couple of months. Based on the past week, maybe I had nothing to worry about. We’ll see how it goes tonight.

Once I got up and started my day today I tried to get some liquid in, like I always do at the start of the day, but it was still weird. I was having the same problem I had before bed last night. My body just doesn’t want to drink anything. Does that have anything to do with the mostly empty stomach? There was a mild stomach ache that kicked in after I took a few sips, but nothing near as bad as last night. I just didn’t want to drink anything. It took me almost two hours to get through the last 12 ounces from last night. Once I did, I waited the required 15 minutes and then had some actual, real, non-protein bar food. I feel a little better after that.

So in summation, this week has been pretty bad stomach/food/drink wise. I am hoping I have it all figured out, and not having to drive to Foxborough and back each day will get me back to my sort of normal routine. Wish me luck kids.

I asked chatgpt to write a one page essay on dealing with the side effects of gastric bypass surgery. What did it come up with?

Gastric bypass surgery is a weight loss surgery that has become increasingly popular over the years. It is a highly effective way of helping individuals who are struggling with obesity to lose weight and improve their overall health. However, like any other surgery, gastric bypass surgery also comes with its side effects.

One of the most common side effects of gastric bypass surgery is nausea and vomiting. This is usually experienced by patients during the first few days or weeks after surgery. It can be caused by the body’s adjustment to the reduced food intake or by the changes made to the digestive system during the surgery. To manage this side effect, patients are advised to take their time when eating, take smaller bites, and chew their food thoroughly. They may also be given medication to help alleviate nausea.

Another common side effect of gastric bypass surgery is dumping syndrome. This occurs when food moves too quickly from the stomach to the small intestine, causing symptoms such as abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and dizziness. Patients can manage this side effect by avoiding foods that are high in sugar or fat, eating smaller and more frequent meals, and avoiding drinking liquids with meals.

Some patients may also experience hair loss, which is usually temporary and can be attributed to the body’s nutritional changes following surgery. To manage this, patients are advised to take supplements such as biotin and to consume a protein-rich diet.

In addition, gastric bypass surgery can increase the risk of developing nutritional deficiencies, particularly in vitamins and minerals such as iron, calcium, and vitamin D. To avoid this, patients are advised to take supplements as prescribed by their doctor and to follow a balanced and nutritious diet.

Overall, gastric bypass surgery can be a life-changing procedure for individuals struggling with obesity. However, it is important to understand and manage the potential side effects to ensure a successful and healthy recovery. Patients should work closely with their medical team to monitor their progress and address any concerns they may have.

Another Late Night

Once again I woke up at 1:30am after just a couple of hours of sleep to find myself with a stomach ache that kept me from falling back to sleep.

Fortunately I think it’s just one of those hunger aches. I had the smallest protein snack in the house and I’m feeling a little better. I think I can go back to bed now, after being up for about 40 minutes.

Wish me luck, oh internets.

I’m an Emotional Mess Today

This week has been rough. I didn’t expect it, but three days of window project turning the house upside down has messed me up in a big way. Being sick on Tuesday didn’t help. Waking up at 2:00am with a stomach ache today and not being able to get to sleep until around 4:00am certainly hasn’t helped either. After eight ounces of water and a protein bar this morning I feel a little better, but the stomach ache is still there, just milder than it was.

It got to Jen too, and both of us being on edge lead to pointless, stupid arguments and I hated it. Hate hate hate it. I can’t apologize enough for being an ass. Then today, after very little sleep last night and very little sleep every night this week and being broken in general for days, I watched the series finale of Star Trek Picard and let’s just say… I’ve been following these characters through TV shows and movies since 1987 when I was 16 years old and watched Encounter at Farpoint with my father… I’m not ashamed to admit it… but I balled my eyes out a few times. I am just an emotional train wreck right now.

Season three of The Mandalorian ended yesterday and it was wonderful. Season three of Picard ended today and it was wonderful times 10. I am just a sucker for story lines about parents loving their children that are designed to violently yank at your heartstrings and I am fine with that.

Then on top of all the other shit going on, both home improvement wise and science fiction wise, I went to punch in to work just now and realized I forgot my friggin’ laptop charger in the office yesterday. FFFFFUUUUUUUUU! Jen bailed me out with a sweet USB C charger so I can get through the day. I just hope when I go to the office after work tonight the charger is still on the desk I sat in yesterday. Cross your fingers, kids. I don’t want to have to buy another charger.

Okay. I am punched in to work now. Everything is well. I’m being added to meetings left and right so it’s starting to look like a busy day. Busy is good. Busy is better than too quiet… sometimes. I guess it depends on what kind of busyness it is, you know?

Right. Work. Post this drivel and get to work, Robert.

Take a Step Back

I thought I was doing all right yesterday. I had a bit of a blocked up stomach at lunch time, but there wasn’t any pain. I just needed to be patient while it passed.

Dinner was different. I had a mostly protein bar and snack dinner because we started lunch super late. I over did it. No blocked stomach or any fun like that, I just ate too much. I was super stuffed at first, but then it morphed into one of the worst stomach aches I’ve had since surgery. It was bad, but the pain wasn’t the worst part. The worst part was that it just didn’t stop.

The fun started at about quarter after 8:00pm. Around 11:00pm I was sitting up in bed, really wanting to go to sleep, but in too much pain to try. Around midnight I was still a mess but I tried to lay down. It didn’t work. Laying down made things worse. I moved to the living room so I could try to sleep sitting up. I think I nodded off for a few minutes a couple of times. Around 2:00am I went back to bed. I was able to lay down, finally, and I managed to sleep.

When I woke up at around 7:00am today the stomach pain was gone, but I still don’t feel 100%. I have a lot of gas (TMI, sorry) and I feel sort of sensitive, as if one zig in the wrong direction would send me right down into the abyss. I took it easy at breakfast, just a protein bar. I’ve had half of my daily water goal but only my morning pills. I’m about two hours late for the lunch time pills, but I’ll have them soon.

I tried a normal lunch, but I took a big step backward in the post-surgery recovery process. I used a stop watch to force myself to pause between bites. At least 30 seconds, but mostly a full minute. The end result was a very long lunch, about 90 minutes, but I’m down to the last bite and I haven’t had any problems. Just the same gas that was there when I woke up (TMI, sorry).

I’m way behind on reaching my protein goal today, but I’ll get there soon enough. I’m pretty optimistic that I can get through the whole day without any stomach screw ups. I just need to be overly, overly cautious. I can do it.

Another Absurd Day

This week… I just can’t win. What the hell?

TMI is on it’s way. You’ve been warned.

I mentioned earlier that I woke up with a stomach ache today and didn’t really know the cause. By the time the clock was approaching noon that issue was more or less resolved. I wasn’t 100%, but I was okay.

At 12:02 I started the process of taking my afternoon Calcium Citrate dose. Two pills. I had eight ounces of grape flavored water in my water bottle. The plan was to take the two pills but spread it out over 20-30 minutes or so and to drink that whole eight ounces. I had the last sip of water at 12:38 and all was well.

Or so I thought.

A couple of minutes later the foamies started. I was spitting up left and right. I feel so sorry for the little trash barrel next to my desk. There were bigger nightmares to come though.

The spitting up kept getting worse but it was topped by the gagging. Really. Gagging. I started yacking up grape juice. Not a lot, just a bit here and there, but it was awful and it was gross. The longer it went on though, the more grape juice was coming up. Make it stop, please! I don’t know how much came back up, and I’m sure it wasn’t the whole eight ounces, but what the hell, digestive system? It was water. Water!

It stopped around 1:10 or so. It lasted about half an hour. It’s not the first time something I ate came back up after a little while, but it was very much the worst experience yet. I know this post is living in TMI land, but I just had to vent. I was well enough to start lunch at around 1:45. I had another short foamies episode an hour later, but it cleared quickly. Maybe my rebuilt stomach just had mercy on me.

What a day.

What a week.

I need a vacation.

Stomach Ache the Next Generation

Bad reactions to food on Sunday and Monday. Migraine on Tuesday. Bad stomach aches all day on Wednesday. Mostly okay except for a bad lunchtime food reaction on Thursday. What does the shit roulette wheel have for us on Friday?

Another stomach ache. But it feels different today. It’s not an oh I think I might be hungry kind of ache. Today it’s more like a you are disagreeing with something you ate last night kind of ache. Lots of gas, eating doesn’t help at all. I’ve had eight ounces of water, a protein bar, and a little protein snack. Still feeling it pretty much exactly the same as when I woke up.

Shit.

The good news though is that I have watched the season two premier of Yellowjackets. You know that show, the single most fucked up thing on television at this point in time? Yeah, that one. Great freakin’ show that is seriously disturbing while also really funny. No spoilers but the first episode was excellent and the last second reveal at the end… ewwww.

I checked the forecast for the weekend. Guess what’s not going to be out in the morning on either Saturday or Sunday. Go on, guess. You know it… the sun. No sunrise pics for me this week. It’s getting to the point where I might start taking this personally.

If we go to California in the fall, should I think about making a photo book for fun? Not like, oh I took a bunch of pictures so let’s throw the best ones into a book type of thing. More like planning out what I want to see in it and then trying to take pics that make it happen. Something like that. I’m sure I can get that done super cheap through Shutterfly or something. Maybe I can talk Jen into going up to the mountains a lot this summer and I could do something similar there. Just a thought. I like projects sometimes, you know? Like creative projects and stuff. I’m old, leave me alone.

The cats are in the cellar with me but they are avoiding me. I don’t think they like me very much. Sad face.

Unrelated productivity note: I am watching a youtube video of a guy using a folding camera from 1940 with a discontinued film format that expired in 1970. He’s in his home office talking about how he handled the ISO on the expired film and he’s standing in front of a white board that’s hanging on his wall. That’s super cool, of course. The stand out thing though, is that he has a Texas Instruments TI-83 calculator velcro’d onto the white board. Oh my god my nerd brain just exploded with how awesome that is! KaBoom!

Better Today… So Far

As expected, after a migraine on Tuesday and a bad gastric bypass stomach on Wednesday, I feel pretty good today. A little warn out but mostly okay. I drank a nice chunk of water while getting in my exercise this morning, and then had a protein bar breakfast afterwards. No issues so far. I overslept a little and I am still tired but I think that’s to be expected.

I have three hours of sick time this morning. I’m going to see my primary care doctor to talk about migraines and see what I need to do to try and get it all under control. I had one on the drive down to Florida just after New Year. I had another one, a minor one, on our last night on that trip. I think I had one in February, but was it two? I had one on the first night of the kids’ spring break. That was March 10th. Then the last one on March 21st. I don’t think this qualifies as chronic, or regular, or whatever the correct medical term for “lots and lots” might be. It’s enough to scare the shit out of me though. I mean, to quote Woody Allen, my brain? That’s my second favorite organ!*

Okay. Time to go start my morning. Shower, shave, dress, go see the doctor, go to work, listen to a lot of Peter Garbriel and Steve Hackett and try to talk myself either into or out of going to see them both in concert in the fall.**

*Quoting Woody Allen bothers me. It was bad enough when he cheated on the mother of his kids with her adopted daughter, but at least they are still together so we can argue that as gross as the relationship is it was apparently something along the lines of real, or if not real then lasting? I don’t know. I can’t get past the child molestation allegations though. I haven’t watched one of this movies since hearing about that, even though there have been a couple that I really wanted to, and some of his early 70’s movies are among my favorites ever (including the movie the above quote comes from). I try not to quote him the way I did back in the 90’s when I couldn’t go a full sentence without dropping something of his. They still slip through now and then when they fit too perfectly to ignore. I feel disgusting every time though, in case you were wondering.

**Peter Garbriel at the TD Garden in Boston on September 14, 2023. Steve Hackett at the Wilbur Theater in Boston on October 12, 2023. Like… how can a 70’s Genesis fanatic say no? Both of them within one month? I’ve seen Steve Hackett once, in one of the last shows I went to before the pandemic, back in September 2019. I’ve never seen Peter Gabriel. I’ve never even investigated the possibility before. I’ll never see Genesis in any of it’s forms as Phil Collins is physically unable now and there’s no way they’ll tour without him. My chance to see all five of them evaporated in 2007 when Gabriel backed out of the proposed Lamb Lies Down on Broadway reunion tour, which really never seemed like something he would have done anyway. Still… I’ve only seen one of the five of them live, and the chance to see two of them within a short space of time just seems like destiny in a weird sort of nerd way.