Poop Progress Report February 8, 2023

Part of the reason for sharing this blog is to note the progress of aging on my body, in the hope of providing a guideline of sorts for others who follow me.

Everyone has some ailment or other, especially after we reach eighty. I am fortunate not to take any prescription medications and not to need surgery on any part of my body. My only difficulty has been, since I was fifty years old, problems with digestion, which was diagnosed as lactose intolerance after two years of  eliminating foods and adding them back into my diet.

Last week, I just started taking the stronger probiotic and I was having no diarrhea, but lots of flatulence. The Garden of Life company reassured me that they are not physicians and are not prescribing, but the product is reorganizing my gut and it will take time for the good bacteria to overcome the bad bacteria. Only folks who also have this problem will be interested in this description, but I find it fascinating to watch. The stool is getting more organized and the flatulence is decreasing, day by day. I did not increase the dose of one capsule per day of 80 billion CFU's and 15 strains.

I have a normal full movement in the early morning and a process after lunch and/or before noon . Then nothing for the rest of the day or evening, no matter what I eat for dinner.

I am not letting this process interfere with my activities, but I am constantly aware and wary. I have no pain or bloating and no change in my weight. I am drinking lots of water. No more halitosis either.

I watched the State of the Union speech happily last night and I have invited people from the Reconstructing Judaism group who are going with me to Alabama in March to watch a film here tomorrow evening. I hope I do not embarrass myself!

Journal or Blog..How are they different ? Feb 3, 2023

The difference for me is that a journal entry is for me.. to remember thoughts, feelings and events so I will be able to recall them when needed. The blog is for publication , an attempt perhaps to inform, to teach, to share my feelngs with others, who may identify or benefit in some way from my thoughts, feelings and life cycle events.

Today it seems to be both. I am lactose intolerant, and so is at least one of my grandsons. They may someday benefit from what I write. Maybe there will be advances in microbiome studies which will resolve the issue for them before they are inflicted with this embarrassing problem in the future.

Right now I need to vent.  Ihesitate to get medical advice from folks who know less about a problem than I do. But first, the primary care md has to run the tests she knows on how to eliminate more serious issues. The blood test results are negative. I still don''t have the stool sample results, but they may not find anything worthwhile as Dr. Astor once expained to me. The gut bacteria die soon after they are removed from the body.  The stool n eeds to be examined shortly after production which no one does anymore.

When I was in Florida, Ted fouund a new probiotic that, instead of 50 billion cfu's has 80 billion. Instead of 10  strains, it has 15. I started taking the new ones this week and for the third day, I have had no explosive diarrhea. But I do have smelly flatulence! From oatmeal, salmon and tuna salad! I now need to search for a homeopathhic md. They are hard to find!