Hi Helen!
Yes I have some suggestions about water, attitude & excersise :-)
After my April 9 surgery I had to be re-admitted to hospital with a suspected blockage....I was in agony! I am like Mary & even keep a glass bottle with a stopper next to my bed, as soon as I have had a drink I refill my glass....ready for the next time I want a sip! I even drink through the night when pain wakes me & I have to visit the bathroom because of my extra small bladder :-) I didn't know about the drowning thing though! Sheesh! no wonder the doctors & nurses asked me to slow down my water intake on that second trip to hospital! LOL
I was on 3 different laxatives before being re-admitted to hospital & nothing was working.....I know my body & told my doctor just that! I begged him to allow me 2 days & nights on pethedine for pain (less likely to block you up....) which allowed me enough pain relief to walk! I walked up and down and around the hospital wards.....everyone would say to me "you walking around again!!!!" On the third day.....success...no more blockage, it took several more days of rest to fix it and reduce my pain to tolerable level.
Shane now takes me for a little drive down to our local shopping centre (Mall for my USA buddies) and I do a little strolling there....it's getting pretty cold here, winter is upon us!
Oh Helen....yes, water DOES help us loose weight, it helps to flush our system, also good for kidney's and our liver :-)
As far as attitude, I have learned through LOADS of personal experience these things:
a) Open the blinds all through the house EVERY DAY let the outside in.....even if you are at home alone, it will help you feel better. Dark gloomy homes, make dark gloomy moods, if it is winter....so what! put the heater on!
b) SMILE....try it, it's infectious! Experiment I challenge you all to go for a walk & smile at a stranger or 3...count how many returning smiles you get! "A smile a day keeps the blues away"
c) LAUGH as often as you can! It DOES release the bodies endorphins...our natural morphine and will help our pain levels. It is also good brain food I am told :-)
d) WALK my dad is supposed to be confined to an electric driven wheelchair BUT he gets out of it whenever he can & takes a short walk with the help of special crutches...it causes him pain but it makes him SMILE because he hasn't let the pain beat him :-)
e) VOLUNTEER to help someone else :-) I am a volunteer for my home town's cancer cottage....where patients receive treatment and all kinds of support. A program called "Look Good - Feel Better" is run there once every few months. The idea is that over a three hour workshop we teach cancer patients about the changes in their skin during treatment....they are taught how to give themselves a facial, and how to apply makeup....especially making up for hair loss.....eyebrows, lashes etc......then we try on wigs, turbons etc. Everyone leaves with a smile and a new attitude and face! :-)
Volunteering for this program makes me feel better too :-) because I have helped someone else :-)
f) put your face on every day! :-) from the "Look Good - Feel Better" program, I HAVE learned how much difference putting on a bit of make-up each day helps! I put full make-up on the morning after my surgery & blew the doctors and nurses away, because I looked fantastic! *cheeky grin*
*sigh* sorry my posts are always novels..... sorry Sally! :-) I know you try to read and answer all the messages... :-)
love hugs & cheers, Jo
-- You will never never know.......if you don't give it a go :)