h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Ron ,

Interesting entry - it struck a chord as a friend had part of his stomach removed due to cancer of the oesophagus, and after the operation he had similar problems to the ones you mention - he could only eat tiny amounts or he would be sick.

Re. the title/first header, I would change the title of the entry to: 'Living With a Gastrectomy: One Researcher's Experience', and remove the first header (One Researcher's Experience). I don't think you need the bit about '9 years after the procedure'.

Reading back through the PR posts, I did prefer the format Oojakapiv suggested, with the first-person bits in italics and the rest as fact-based, third-person (not that your personal experience isn't fact, but you know what I mean!).

Also, a couple of questions came to mind as I was reading:

Does your digestive system (in terms of nourishment) suffer from your food not passing through the stomach, with its digestive juices (very non-medical terms here, hope medical-writer boyfriend doesn't see this )?

Also, do you have trouble keeping weight on if you have to limit your food intake?

Lbclaire

>"Re. the title/first header, I would change the title of the entry to: 'Living With a Gastrectomy: One Researcher's Experience', and remove the first header (One Researcher's Experience). I don't think you need the bit about '9 years after the procedure'. "

Great idea Lbclaire.

Emmily

Thanks Emmily

Lbclaire

Hello Emmily, Cyzaki and Lbclaire,

My thanks are due, and are gladly expressed to you all!

I was looking for an exact repetition of the main heading (silly me!).

When I applied GuideML I thought that the system had an independent command for each type of heading, so I did not envisage any problems arising from my actions.
I shall implement your great suggestions right away. Should they not turn out as intended, please do not hesitate to let me know; I am always open to suggestions to improve my work and to comply with the rules and procedures.

Ron

Well done, F

I also feel that I have lived with your gastrectomy.....

Hi again, Lbclaire,

Yes, I know what you mean about Oo's suggestions and the original format he helped me to follow. I have, some time ago, posted a suggestion to him that he re-instate that format for me. I also prefer it. I wanted him to have credit for his input and to italicize that first section again to 'claim' his credit, for which I wish him to be recognized. I could do it myself, but that may remove his name from the Entry.
I hope your friend's eating and general recovery improved. I had pain, often quite severe, for a good few months post surgery, but I am now used to the 'new anatomy' and chew my food to an almost liquid state before swallowing; and by this alone, I can eat a normal amount of food at one meal, and that is with no stomach at all! Lucky me! A friend of
ours also had his oesophagus removed for the same illness, and his wife worries because he eats very little for the large framed man he is, and has never improved. He had his op. at about the same time as me. I no longer have the 'apparatus' to be able to be sick, if I ingest something disagreeable, it goes out the other way!
As regards nourishment, yes, I can sometimes lose a little weight through malabsorption, especially when I am due for my two monthly injection of vitamin B12 (ie 6 per year) or because I am neglecting to intake enough vitamin C via fruit juice and/or vegetables and fresh fruit. The heaviest I have ever been in my life, before and after the operations, is 10 stones 5 lbs! I am currently 9st 10lbs! and 5' 10" tall.
It is surprising how well the body adapts to digesting one's food via the secretions from the gall bladder and the liver, such as bile. And it can do this quite efficiently, it appears.

Frontiersman, do you use a liquifier for making fruit and vegetable juices? These machines are great, you can put anything in the machine. All sorts of vegetables, carrots and parsley are a great combination for example. Every kind fruit, apples, bananas, strawberries and oranges and it comes out as juice. In Dutch it's called 'sapcentrifuge', literally translated it comes out as 'juice centrifuge' It's very healthy, especially when you drink is fresh and you can make the most creative combinations.

Hello Chips!
Such empathy from one so young, whole and wholesome!

Don't dwell on my problem, it can be a depressing subject for such a tender mind!

Keep smiling,

Ron.

Hello K,
Nice to see you again.
You know, we never have thought along those lines! It's a jolly good idea, I'll talk to Pat about it later.
I have been eating, on a daily basis, one large, sweet, and very juicy pear; of the commis variety. Also about eight prunes a day and 2 or 3 pieces of dried peaches, all delicious!
They all provide the fruit needs of the day. But it would be a good idea to supplement them with a natural fruit drink. Thank you for that wonderful idea!

Ron

Brown makes the machines.

Good attempt at verbal camouflage K!
Hope it works!


f.

Ron

Hi Ron,

You can italicize the personal bits by putting and tags around them. Have you looked at the <./>GuideML-Clinic</.> page? It's very helpful (and if you're still struggling, people here will help you, as they have already done).

Re. Oojakapiv's credit, you can add or delete his name from the list of researchers in the Edit the Researcher List box that is found under the editable text box when you edit this entry. It's more usual to add people to the list if they have contributed with information or personal accounts which you are adding to the entry, rather than formatting or typographical comments (useful and apt though they are!), though of course you're free to add anyone you like! Without speaking for Oojakapiv, however, it sounds as if he's happy for you to take the credit for this one yourself.

Glad to hear you manage to keep your weight up OK - it sounds as if you're pretty well up on what you can and can't eat!

Lbclaire

Morning Lbclaire,

Thank you for your pointer on italicization. As you can see, it has now been restored. I must agree, it gives a little 'edge' to the piece.
It won't ever be a popular read though, due to the nature of the subject-matter. I was never under the illusion that it would, of course; after all, who wants to read about someone else's operations!

You might be interested in my typical daily diet:

Pre-breakfast: 2 mugs of filtered and boiled water.
Breakfast: half a bowl of cereal (half oats/half wheat). Then, half an hour later, 1 biscuit of wheat cereal. (I have to eat little and often as a general rule.)
'Elevensies': A piece of 'heavy' fruit cake or ginger cake, or Pat's home made fruit cake. 1 cup of tea with milk and 1 sugar.
Lunch: (sometimes a bowl of soup: pea & ham or chicken and vegetable or potato and leek) followed half an hour later by sandwiches (3 slices of bread) with any of: good quality tinned salmon or sardines or tuna, or ham and tomato, or beef and tomato; with 1 cup tea, or 1 glass of a well known blackcurrant drink. Occasionally eggs on toast as a treat!!
4pm teatime: cake again, or fruitloaf or a custard tart with 1 cup tea or a fruit drink.
7pm Dinner: Always a full (normal serving size!) plate comprising:
Boiled potatoes, carrots, (and a green/s of either: dark green cabbage, or sprouts (a favourite), or broccoli, or mixed cabbage and broccoli, or green beans, or sprouting broccoli, or peas.) with any of: beef, lamb, pork, fresh salmon with parsley sauce, or cod (when we can find any these days) or plaice. Never any chips, except when away on holiday, when will eat in a good quality fish and chip cafe, where I will order cod or plaice with chips and sloppy peas, or fresh garden peas if available.
9pm: 1 cup of a famous nightcap milky drink with a couple of digestive biscuits.
10.30pm bedtime: 1 cup boiled and filtered water. (the filtering and boiling takes the chlorine out of the tapwater. We can always smell it at that time of night when they craftily put it in the supply at the reservoir!)

Hope that isn't too boring! This is (honestly) our daily diet!
Any additions or suggestions most welcome!

Ron (f.)

ps: Have you any idea why the title hasn't altered yet after my update as per your suggestions? It has in certain places, but not in others!

Hi Ron,

Title looks OK to me (apart from the fact that the house style is to capitalise each major word).

The italicised text is usually used for first-person stuff, so you can say 'I' instead of 'he' in there. I think it's usually done as a blockquote though, rather than just italics, now I think about it (see BLOCKQUOTE in A264520).

Have another look at the entry Oojakapiv suggested, A863345, which has clearly defined parts where the author is talking about his/her own experience, and parts where the facts about the illness are explained. Your entry doesn't separate the two quite enough yet, in my view (eg. later on you say 'the writer found').

I think you'd be surprised how many people are interested in other people's illnesses and a good 'true life' story is always interesting.

Your diet sounds very nice to me! And is making me feel hungry now...

The idea about liquidising fruits and veggies was a good one (can't remember who suggested it) - smoothies are supposed to be very nice...

Lbclaire

Hi Lbclaire,
I'll capitalize the first part of the title shortly.
Right now, 'Cardiff Singer of the World' beckons...

f.

Just to clarify Ron, as things can easily be misunderstood

It's the first letter of the main words in the title/headers and subheaders that need capital letters. ie 'Living with a gastrectomy: one researcher's experience. ~~> Living with a Gastrectomy: One Researcher's Experience

Emmily

Well anticipated, Emmily, I really would have capitalized every letter!
I kid you not, I'm not being sarcastic!

Thank you for your instant reaction on that.

Ron

Thanks for clarifying Emmily - sorry, I wrote that last post in a bit of a hurry as I was about to leave work!

Lbclaire

Morning Lbclaire,

As a 65 year old, there are many 'in' words that appear on h2g2 that I do not know the meaning of; 'smoothies' is one of them. What are they, please?

Regards,
Ron

Ah, well, I don't think 'smoothies' is an in-word as such, but I don't think they've been around for that long. Or if they have, they've only recently become 'cool'. I've never tried one myself, but they are drinks made from fruit and milk or yogurt, blended until smooth. You can buy very technical-looking 'smoothie-makers' - a friend had one once. Never used it of course - kind of like those other gadgets you buy and never use: sandwich-makers, healthy grill machines etc.

Lbclaire