It seems these days that nothing is out of bounds when it comes to documenting one's experience of anything. Doesn't seem to matter how trivial or important that experience is so long as it is either recorded and published via a video or a still picture or a carefully crafted written work. Everything is fair game. In the spirit of that no-limits approach and nothing-is-too-boring approach, I will be documenting my experience. It's not just any experience, mind you. It's the experience of a vegan/plant centered person and it's mine! I will be writing for the full seven days about what is working and what isn't. I hope you will follow along and maybe at the same time, I can provide some useful information.
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In April of this year I turned 50. I was looking forward to that, had a nice day in fact, and went on about my business after celebrating quietly. Just another birthday you say? Hardly. The age is significant because when you turn 50, among other things, you get a colonoscopy. There is no doubt that colonoscopy screening can catch cancer before it gets going in earnest. Who doesn't want to prevent that?
It took awhile to get things going with an appointment though (wrong doctor, Covid, etc.) but finally, the date has arrived and prep time is here. I received a set of instructions from the surgeon's office: what laxative preparation to buy, what to not eat in the days leading up to the procedure, and what to do on the day of preparation and on the procedure day. The instructions, not surprisingly, aren't too detailed and they are geared to omnivores. What is a vegan supposed to eat? This problem sent me online in search of more information.
Well, as can be imagined, there is a lot of different and conflicting information. In general, it's recommended to go on some sort of low fiber/low residue diet several days prior to your procedure. (The length of time varies-anywhere from 7 to 5 to 3 days.) There are many lists of dos and don'ts, what can be eaten and what should be avoided. Unfortunately for vegans, these lists are sort of omnivore leaning. If you love tuna fish or chicken, this could be a great time for you!
I continued to do some research and as I read further, I could see that all of the lists of foods had the same thing in common. You essentially have to eat some real crap (no offense to my omnivore friends) for a particular length of time in order to eat as little fiber as possible. (Fiber, while great for digestion and motility, can leave a residue on the inside of your colon. That residue makes it hard for the doctor to see everything including polyps and lesions and God knows what all else.) Anything with seeds in it is a problem as well. Seeds tend to get stuck and can look like other things that could be lethal. So, like it or not, low fiber it is!
To move things along (ha! ha!) and to ensure some better nutrition, I made up a menu of sorts for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. I then made my shopping list. And that is where the trouble started.
At this point, a smart person might ask why I needed to go grocery shopping. Don't I do that every week? Isn't my pantry Covid-full and ready to go? I do and it is. It sounds ridiculous but I don't actually have many of the recommended items in my pantry. Here is a list of what I bought:
Gatorade (lemon lime for the preparation day).
White rice, white bread, crackers made with white flour, cookies made with white flour (I need a reward), apple juice, canned peaches, and white flour pasta (2 types).
I also bought acceptable vegetarian broth (no tomatoes), russet potatoes, green beans, carrots, summer squash, and apples. These are things I normally eat anyway. I also bought some high end carrot juice and veggie juice, two items that contain acceptable ingredients but most importantly, very minimal fiber (like, 0 grams per serving). I already had two boxes of tofu.
The list I hope will be helpful for vegans or any plant powered people reading. Sweet potatoes are evidently OK too so long as they are skinned and super soft (pureed). I surmised that so long as the veggie or fruit is approved, cooked like mad, and pureed, things should be OK.
Why bring any of this up? Who cares since the information is mostly out there? I mention it because the shopping trip nearly did me in. It physically pained me to buy some of those items. I have been a vegan for about 3 years or so and just eat in a very particular way, which I happen to love and enjoy. Buying those foods felt foreign to me at this point and produced heaps of anxiety. It just felt like a lot of food too that I was now obligated to eat. (I don't like to waste food.) Plus, let's be honest, I eat what I eat not only because I enjoy it but because of fiber's main and well known benefit. Ahem! Fiber keeps things moving along. Am I gonna be able to be regular on this sort of diet? I am a little nervous about tomorrow morning!
Lastly and to wrap this up for day #1, I have a few tips to share. Well, maybe not tips exactly but some things that I am trying to do to make life better on both the day of preparation and the procedure day. Here they are:
1. I am trying to drink more fluids than normal (including fruits and veggies). I will need an IV and if I am dehydrated (which I always am) the IV insertion may be that much more difficult. So far, cold water from the fridge seems to be the best option.
2. Piggy-backing on the above, I learned why you have to drink so much damn fluid with the laxative preparation. It not only helps to move the laxative along but it washes down the walls of your colon making it easier for the doctor to see things.
3. I am monitoring my blood glucose a little more than normal. Hyper or hypoglycemia is a real possibility. I am also trying to include enough protein and fat at each meal and have snacks in between.
4. I am going to make some seitan since in theory, I think it would be OK to eat. It's all protein with very little fiber (say less than 1 gram a serving).
5. I made a nice pureed soup of skinned carrots, skinned sweet potatoes, skinned and de-seeded zucchini. It is delicious! It needed just a little general seasoning and a pinch of salt. veggies are delicious on their own. I also made some white flour muffins using pumpkin as the binder. Very tasty! (monitoring my blood sugar too!)
6. I am very involved with myself right now. I have very little head space for anything else. Is it Christmas or something? I couldn't tell you!
7. After my freak out/melt down at the grocery store, I took a Xanax and layed down. It helped. I got some perspective. This is only for a short period of time and I can go right back to what I love to eat. I have made it through cancer (chemo and radiation), the norovirus, several bouts of the flu, major dental work, heart surgery and several other things that mercifully, are a distant memory. I can do this.
Got any suggestions or comments?
libbyfife@ymail.com
the prep is always notoriously the worst part of the whole procedure, even for omnivores! I've had 3 over the years; this year's was the best because the gatorade was by far more palatable than the other swill I've had to drink in the past. I look forward to the rest of your commentary!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I definitely have Gatorade on the agenda. My surgeon didn't make any flattering comments about the SuPrep. She said, "Why would you want to drink that?" So, I have the OTC regimen: laxative pills and Miralax. Should be fun I think! Stay tuned...
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