Time!

TIME!

I just have no time!

Anyway, I've licked the constipation. After 5 straight days of enemas, which were barely effective, I bought the strongest laxitives I could find, using two different chemicals, and took doses 12 hours apart, three times. Did the trick. Either that or the maltitol chocolates. Barely in time; I would have called the doctor later that day.

Had my last PT today. Wasn't really into it and my muscles didn't want to cooperate. But overall it has really been worth it. I'm stronger than I've been in years. I really need to get a gym membership.

Constipation.

Between one incident and the next, I forget the details.

I've been severely constipated - blocked - since Sunday, so this is the fifth day. And I've been trying to figure out what I did to deserve this. I actually improved my diet, eating high-fiber raw vegetables, raisin bran, and potatoes, and almost entirely eliminated sugar.

One of the unfortunate effects of sugar is to make your digestive canal weak. This can be seen in people, usually elderly diabetics, who drool while eating, and/or easily choke on their food. It also affects the entire intestines, making them sluggish and too weak to properly push food along.

So, with the elimination of sugar, why should I be hit with this now?

Sunday and Monday I was not aware enough of what was happening, and ate as usual, so that by Monday evening I was rather sick. Tuesday, I slowed down on my eating, and gave myself an enema. (Yuck.) It was not very effective, but I figured that it would help, and took some caffeine to stimulate the bowel.

No better by Wednesday. I didn't eat all day, took aloe and chlorophyll, and used a Fleet. This had some effect, and I was hopeful, to the extent that I ate some salad and very small potato in the evening. But still not the desired result.

This morning the reason dawned on me - chocolate! I had been eating chocolate nearly every day, and stopped abruptly. Chocolate stimulates the bowel, and the bowel becomes dependent on stimulants! By Sunday, I was really stopped up. Actually, I don't know how long it had been going on, I hadn't had a reason to worry about it.

So today another Fleet, and I'm living on TSF. Truly Sugar Free is candy sweetened with maltitol. Very much maltitol causes diarrhea.

Crossing my fingers.

I've been trying to get here since Monday! Too much to do for A Smooth Move.

I've now done two weeks of my last four at physical therapy. I'm doing three sessions a week for this last push, in an attempt to get my leg strong enough for SFX. I'm getting closer all the time, but I'm not sure I'm really going to be crutch-free for volunteering. Endurance isn't the best either, but improving. I'm now up to 8 minutes on the bike, and intend to do 9 tomorrow and 10 minutes all next week. Perhaps 15 the last week?

But diet has been, as always, the biggest problem. Two weeks ago, July 27, I started a good probiotic; GNC's Ultra Probiotic Complex 50 (50 billion cells). Of course, I am now coughing more - that's to be expected and means that it's working. I'm also taking Candida Quick Cleanse, which is an herbal blend.

I have finally cut the sugar entirely, for now anyway, as of Monday. I'm trying for an all-raw-veg day, but can't seem to quite get there. As usual.

Things I ate that were not raw vegetables:

Monday Crangrape juice Half cup blueberries V8 juice Piece of cooked potato Milk Handful of cashews

Tuesday Crangrape juice Lima beans Fake crab V8 Juice Potato Milk 2 chocolate chips Few cashews

Wednesday Crangrape juice Corn Potato Milk Papaya Non-flour crackers 2 chocolate chips Few cashews

I have *got* to do better! I will work harder on it today.