Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!

[ChouDoufu]

it's cold, it's drizzly, and i've got a tickle in my left nostril that
just won't go away.

been fighting it all morning, then finally.....first sneeze since avr...
then another, and another, and another.

painful, but not unbearable actually. the anticipation hurts more
than the sneezes. had time to prepare, pre-position pillows in
every room. still, once is enough. if it keeps up, i'm gonna
have to "neti."

 

[ctyguy]

I was REALLY REALLY lucky. Didn't have a first sneeze or cough until beyond 6 weeks post-op. I remember a few times I almost sneezed but I saved it. I don't remember the members name but they were post-op about the same time I was and that person had a wicked head and chest cold. Sneezing and coughing constantly and just absolutely miserable. I suppose if you can get away with only the occasional cough or sneeze during recovery your very fortunate.

 

[Dennis S]

Chou--I can sympathize. I woke up with the breathing tube still down my throat, and in my anesthetized fog tried to pull it out before the nurses stopped me and put me back under. It was gone when I woke the next time, but apparently the way I had pulled it up against against my diaphragm was responsible for a wicked set of hiccups that would plague me on and off for the next few days. Definitely not fun.

 

[ChouDoufu]

i've been lucky....i'm allergic to just about everything natural....dust, pollen,
mold, small furry creatures, various foods. have been fighting a sneeze
since i returned.....food stalls cook with sulpherous coal bricquettes,
construction site next door, mango trees dropping pollen, and don't forget
the two-stroke tractors and three-wheel taxi/delivery things. so very lucky
to have made it to seven weeks. but it started today and sneezing just
wouldn't stop. it's not a single sneeze that hurts, but the combined
effect of twenty or thirty. so, yes, finally neti'd. (google it if you don't
know. it's kinda, well................wait til after brekkie.)

hiccups i've had. for some reason spicy food, which i loves, causes
them.

 

[Karlynn]

It's been over 17 years and I still remember that first sneeze!!!!

 

[Ross]

A sneeze isn't too bad, it's the rapid fire, machine gun sneezes that'll kill ya!

 

[Bina]

Ah yes, I remember my first........the anxiety, the anticipation, the nerves, the racing heartbeat......what are we talking about again?
Right, the first sneeze.
Usually I enjoy a really good, full force sneeze.
However, post op I had a constant threatening tickle in my nostrils and I had to pinch my nostrils often.
After about 2 1/2 months I finally let one go......and I screamed.
Hubby came running. He knows that I don't exactly have dainty little girlie sneezes.
Anyway, once the initial spasm and shock had passed, it wasn't too bad. No damage.

Chou, is there a way that you can at least have a good air filter running in your room to let you sleep and rest in peace?
Chronic allergies can be a real nuisance.....

 

[Cameron]

Try the advice that was given by Danb some time ago - when you feel a sneeze coming on, put your finger up your nostril and press or stroke the inside wall of your nose. I have tried this and it works 90% of the time.
Sneezing is one good reason to still have your Huggie Pillow around somkewhere handy!\Cameron

 

[ChouDoufu]

Try the advice that was given by Danb some time ago - when you feel a sneeze coming on, put your finger up your nostril and press or stroke the inside wall of your nose. I have tried this and it works 90% of the time.
Sneezing is one good reason to still have your Huggie Pillow around somkewhere handy!\Cameron

in your nose? yuck! try this......hold your index finger horizontal beneath
your nose, use the bit between the 1st & 2nd joints to press upwards on
the fleshy/cartilagey bit between the nostrils, keep adding pressure until
the urge to sneeze goes away. this works 99.99% of the time! kept me
sneeze-free for 7-1/2 weeks.

unfortunately, i must have breathed in a chunk of pollen that lodged in
a sinus cavity. nothing can stop that tickle, although the neti thing
cleared most of it out. still, woke up at 5am needing a pain pill.

have a good air filter running

a good air filter? we don't have those here. and anyway, we rarely
append "good" in front of any noun. manufactured goods are total crap.
the "good" stuff gets exported to wal-mart, if that tells you anything.

 

[hensylee]

it's cold, it's drizzly, and i've got a tickle in my left nostril that
just won't go away.

been fighting it all morning, then finally.....first sneeze since avr...
then another, and another, and another.

painful, but not unbearable actually. the anticipation hurts more
than the sneezes. had time to prepare, pre-position pillows in
every room. still, once is enough. if it keeps up, i'm gonna
have to "neti."

tolja. we did warn and it sounds like you prepared as much as possible. watch that cold -rhinovirus. chicken soup available there? lots of liquids.

 

[ChouDoufu]

tolja. we did warn and it sounds like you prepared as much as possible. watch that cold -rhinovirus. chicken soup available there? lots of liquids.

no chicken soup, but duck soup is popular, in fact that's about all there is.
strangely, 5000 years of history, and they still haven't learned to use a
freakin' spoon to eat soup. it's a challenge with XXXL-size hands to use
those dinky half-size disposable chopsticks to eat soup.

i just wish they'd learn how to properly cut up a bird. the method here is
to put the whole bird, sometimes ungutted for hot-pot, on a wooden block,
and beat it with a cleaver until it's in sorta bite-size chunks. you'd get the
same effect by pressing it through a 1/2" wire mesh.

sneeze has cleared up, spent the day shopping for cheese. only american
processed cheese food clone is available in one of the stores, so tried to
buy some from a few local restaurants that serve "pizza." no luck, most
people here don't know what cheese is. ask at the restaurants for cheese
and they don't have a clue.

...you serve pizza, right?
....yes, we have pizza.
....then you have cheese, right?
....no, we have no cheese.
....well, what goes on top of the pizza?
....corn, fruit, some kind of meat.....
....and what goes on top of that?
....ummm, potatoes?
....aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrgggggggggghhhhhhhhh!!!

ah, learned something new today. this part of china doesn't use the
word "nailao" (milk or breast or grandmother jelly). no, they say
"zhishi," which, um, translates to........sesame soldier.

so now i'm scouring the internet for cheese recipes. wow, it seems real
mozzarella is made from water buffalo milk. now THAT i can get. found
some simple recipes using just milk and vinegar or lemon juice.

 

[Bina]

Chou, shall i send you a nice milking goat?

 

[ChouDoufu]

goats? hmmm.....goat cheese. yessss.....the bai and sani minorities in yunnan make a
goat cheese known as rubing. tastes like mozzarella, but doesn't melt. great stir fried.
too bad it's not available locally, but can be made easily enough....i think. will try that
as well as making mozzarella with water buffalo milk. i so want a pizza without corn and
bamboo as toppings.

goats we got. water buffaloes we got. oooh, and only two blocks away is a small
shop that sells water buffalo milk. no goat milk shops, tho.

Chou, shall i send you a nice milking goat?

sure, email me a couple. i don't see why i can't raise them on my high-rise balcony;
the neighbors have chickens. sometimes i feel like i'm living an episode of the beverly
hillbillies.

 

[Bina]

My goat breeder makes an amazing ricotta from goat milk....any kind of herb or red peppers can be added for a bit of zing.

 

[Lynlw]

goats? hmmm.....goat cheese. yessss.....the bai and sani minorities in yunnan make a
goat cheese known as rubing. tastes like mozzarella, but doesn't melt. great stir fried.
too bad it's not available locally, but can be made easily enough....i think. will try that
as well as making mozzarella with water buffalo milk. i so want a pizza without corn and
bamboo as toppings.

goats we got. water buffaloes we got. oooh, and only two blocks away is a small
shop that sells water buffalo milk. no goat milk shops, tho.



sure, email me a couple. i don't see why i can't raise them on my high-rise balcony;
the neighbors have chickens. sometimes i feel like i'm living an episode of the beverly
hillbillies.

Have you ever considerred writing a book? I would buy it in a second and am sure it would be a best seller. Maybe you can ask for cheese as part of the book deal pre payment

 

[Tbone]

Sounds like you need to open your own store when you get well. You could sell cheeses, real pizza, large spoons, and jelly beans.

 

[ChouDoufu]

Chou, shall i send you a nice milking goat?

success!! stopped by the water buffalo milk & yogurt shop to check
availability, and noticed a new shop a few 'doors' down. (most shops
are open to the elements in the front, at night there is a corrugated
metal garage door the close for security. kinda sux in winter) it was yet
another baby shop, and since i'm not in the market for babies, was about
to pass it by. however noticed two of the few characters (currently 1k
out of 90k!!!) that i can read said.............goat milk. yay! comes in little
cartons, littler bottles, and cans of powder. mmmm, powdered goat milk.

looks like i get to try to make both the rubing/goat cheese and the
buffalo mozzarella.

bina: what's the cost of goat milk where you are. no, not from your
goatses, but if you went to some kinda goat milk parlour. just curious.
all the goat/buffalo milk comes in 200-250ml cartons, so gotta buy by
the case. goat milk ~ US$3.25L, buffalo milk ~ US$1.75L. goat milk
makes for expensive cheese, but saves a three-hour train ride. the
buffalo milk, thick and gooey, almost like coffee creamer due to the
12% fat content, should make a nice melty cheese.

first couple tries, at least until i get it right, i'll use the carton stuff. later
on (when bike riding in the hills is sternum approved), i'll buy larger
canisters from the local pheasants, which should bring the price down
considerably.

 

[Bina]

Unfortunately, commercially sold goat milk is expensive, over $3.00/litre, double the price of cow milk.
You'll do better to bike into the farm areas and get your own, for sure.
It's better to see the farms before you buy their products.
So, I guess Tzatziki and Feta are out of the question?......too bad.

 

[ChouDoufu]

i've located another buffalo milk shop, this one run by some zhuan minority
folkses, will check it out tomorrow. hoping they can provide larger
containers, rather not have to deal with 100's of 200ml bottles.

It's better to see the farms before you buy their products.
So, I guess Tzatziki and Feta are out of the question?......too bad.

haha, better to see the farms!!! given the hygiene standards, you think
that's wise? better not to know.

 

[Bina]

Ewww......that water is nasty, nasty. I would be boiling all foods before eating.
Forget about fresh cheese or curds, you could end up dead.