Dan Abel wrote:
> In article <XrMsf.92$JT.13@fed1read06>,
> PastaLover <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>Goomba38 wrote:
>>
>>>PastaLover wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>Don't bet on it. Due to a chronic digestive aliment I've had for
>>>>nearly 30 years, I'm currently on a clear liquid diet for the
>>>>foreseeable future. It was hard enough last time when I only had to
>>>>last 8 days on-ship.
>
>
>>>Clear liquid diets will not support life very nicely. We don't make
>>>patients stay on them longer than a few days.
>
>
>
>
>>Tell it to my gastroenterologist.
>
>
> I have to take your word for it, but I agree with Goomba38's statement
> about "will not support life very nicely".
>
> I was on a clear liquid diet recently for one lousy day. I was
> miserable and couldn't wait to get some solid food. I had a test and
> failed it, so they put me on a liquid diet with lots of liquid
> laxatives. I took the test a second time and everything was fine. It
> was a very routine test that you are supposed to have every ten years
> once you hit a certain age. I stopped at the deli on the way home and
> ate a giant sandwich.
>
> When my children were born, they were all Csection and they gave my wife
> something that stopped her digestive system. She was on a liquid diet
> until things started moving again. She really hated it. It was
> probably just a day.
>
I feel your pain. There are times when I have to do clear liquids for a
week or so at a time. I really hate it too. Hence my original statement!
Not that I really have to explain myself for stating an opinion, but
here goes:
The "traditional" clear liquid diet usually prescribed in US hospitals
is something like weak tea, jello, and bullion cube broth. You're right,
no one can subsist on that for more than a day or two.
I have Crohn's Disease. For various reasons, there are several
treatments for this that just don't seem to work for me. My current
gastroenterologist insists on "taking it slow" and does not feel that
I'm a good candidate for surgery to repair some strictures. I have
trouble healing from too many medically prescribed steriods for this
disease when younger. So, I occassionally get partial bowel
obstructions. When I get one, I switch to an extended "clear" liquid
diet until the obstruction passes. Sometimes, I end up in the hospital
for IV fluids and observation.
Stress makes Crohn's worse, and a long time deployment on a cruise ship
is quite stressful to me. I hate being away from home and my friends and
my dog. Plus just the hassles of having to deal with Customs and
security and all the travel...
I avoid bullion cubes (too much salt), and weak tea (too much caffine),
althought I do some herbal teas. With my doctor's permission, we've
extended the definition of "clear liquid" to be basically anything that
doesn't have any decernable fiber or bulk. So I juice my own veggies and
fruits, and then further strain them to get any fiber out. Taste fatique
is bad with a liquid diet, so I also add variety with odd-ball things
like crab juice or different blends of veggie juices.
I try to avoid refined sugar, but have found several "clear"
body-builder suppliments (that taste terrible) for protein and
electrolytes and carbohydrates.
When I get bad enough that I have to be on the liquid diet for more than
a couple weeks, I use a medical food called Vivonex or Tolerex (brand
names for two very similar products). Problem is, it's very expensive
and not covered by any insurance. And tastes about as bad as anything
I've ever tasted.
The liquid diet is followed in my recovery period by baby food and
cooked cereals (Cream of Wheat, etc.), and mashed potatoes, very very
well cooked pasta (no al dente for me), etc.
I did a week long cruise last Christmas to fix a problem that took me
all of 20 minutes to fix. I work in Customer Support on computer systems
and could have actually fixed the problem remotely, but the customer
wanted a warm body on the spot. Spent the rest of the cruise in agony
because my stomach was bothering me and I couldn't eat much of anything
but jello and some days vanilla ice cream. The cruise line doesn't
actually cater to infants (so I didn't have baby food available as a
fall back), nor do they do much in the way of special meals (outside of
a few Kosher dishes, etc.)
Cruising really isn't designed for anyone with any kind of disabilities,
dietary or otherwise. And that's why most of the major cruise lines are
actually licensed in foreign countries: So they don't have to abide by
some of the US equal opporunity laws.
PS: I'm currently looking for a less conservative gastroenterologist, as
well as looking for a different position that will not require this
amount of travel.