Ardith,

AH>In any case, have your doctors said anything further about diet?

  The standard stuff...avoid sodium, fat, sugar, and carbohydrates. I guess
they want me to starve to death. :P Most of the processed foods has a ton of
sodium in it. I did find some low sodium ham, and while everyone does need
some sodium, like everything else, it's best in moderation.

  The only "sweet stuff" I have now is the M&M chocolate sandwich cookies.
They have vanilla ice cream, surrounding by 2 cookies with some M&M candies
with them. Not even enough for a 1/4 of a candy bar, but that satisfies my
sweet tooth.

  I can NOT convince them that I can NOT stand at a stove to cook. For that
matter, it's difficult to stand at the sink for more than a minute just to do
the few dishes I make...let alone standing at the toilet to urinate, or to
take a shower, as my legs will begin to spasm on me. They did just that at
Cracker Barrel last week, when I got up to assist my elderly Mom in cutting
her food...we both ordered the "chicken fried chicken", but her portion was a
bit tough around the edges.

  To make matters worse, at Kroger (an area grocery store), my toes curled and
crunched up, and both feet were in intense pain for a few minutes...I couldn't
move. Both times, I thought I was going to fall...it was scary.

  But, in short, if I can't make it quick, like a sandwich, or cook it in the
microwave oven, I don't buy it. I have been diagnosed with cervical
osteoarthritis, but the nurse said she thought that was caused by rheumatoid
arthritis. I didn't think one could have both...but in any case, when the 5
year disability review comes up again in a few years, when they ask how my
health is going, it won't take much hesitation to mark "WORSE". :P

  I have a liver ultrasound this morning, as I have a "fatty liver". But, I
haven't been able to eat or drink since midnight, so I'll be ready to join my
Mom for lunch afterwards.

  The healing after the removal of the large benign cyst that was on the left
buttocks cheek, just below the waistline, is going well. It was non-cancerous,
but like a cyst on my back several years ago, it was VERY DEEP!!

  But, with the skin working to close up, etc., just sitting in a chair or
even driving or riding in a car, is quite uncomfortable. At least it was high
enough where it didn't conflict with sitting on the toilet...never mind the
risk of fecal contamination with e.coli bacteria!! The stitches were removed
last week, and the home health care nurses are coming by on Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday only, instead of daily...to clean the wound, measure the size of
it, and change the bandage and gauze. I see the surgeon again on January 6th.

  I'm still supposed to have that scrotum cyst removed on Dec. 22, and I know
I'm going to be uncomfortable after awhile on that. But, after all the
problems I've had with cysts over the years...and especially in that area...if
it were to become a boil or abscessed, getting it lanced could result in fatal
bleeding.

  The home health care nurses have been real sweet...all female, and with both
black and white nurses. I don't know if I'll need home health care after the
scrotal surgery, but I know nudity means nothing to them. A friend of mine
steadfastly refuses to go to the doctor, because "he doesn't want them to see
him naked". Like it's something they haven't seen before?? They have no qualms
about seeing or cleaning ones genitals or buttocks areas...similar to a parent
changing their child's diaper.

  In fact, when I usually end up getting hospitalized with gastrointeritis
attacks (thankfully, they don't occur that often), I usually end up convulsing
so violently with the vomiting, that I can barely move for the intense muscle
pain and strain...and it's so bad that I can't clean my genitals or buttocks
after using the toilet, so I have to call the nurse to do it. It takes a few
days for the muscles to stabilize again after that.

  It made me think of the late Red Skelton when he did the "Guzzler's Gin"
routine. Tom Mullica had a show, in a tribute to Red Skelton, and

(Continued to next message)
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