Today has not been easy, so far. I've spent the last 2 1/2 hours in my commode chair, ready and willing to do the deed. My body says there is a deed to be done. Alas my core muscles are unable to comply. I am having far too much trouble pushing out, bearing down. Things are just not happening in a reasonable manner.
My solution so far has been to sit over the toilet and do what I can, then take a break of say 15 minutes. Then, it's back to the toilet to push a bit more, until I become exhausted. Then it's another 15 minute break. All of this is to produce what I might have produced in a matter of a few minutes in days gone by. It's not that I don't have to go. It's not that I can't go. It falls back to my old mantra of all things ASL; nothing is easy, nothing is fast.
This has implications for my upcoming road trip. I will need longer in the morning to do even a part of what I have to do. In addition I am going to have to eat foods which encourage activity and soften the outcome. That means fewer burgers and fries, a lot more salads, more fruit, especially prunes and grapes. I love both of those, so that won't be a problem. Getting a digestion friendly meal while on a road trip through the dietary catastrophe of the USA is going to be the real challenge.
It's a good thing I am going to the ALS Clinic tomorrow. I am going to seek professional advice on this from people who have seen a great many PALS go through it. We all do at some point. It's so predictable that it is already on my charts for this visit even though I declared otherwise. Unfortunately it is not otherwise. I have to admit my new weakness. It's been building up for a while but now it has reached the critical point. In addition to diet, I will need to take some sort of laxative or stool softener. My body has not failed me completely, but it sure is getting there.
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