I think one of the side effects of having this gi infection is the waiting game.I spend a fair amount of time everyday waiting for chicken to cook. If I do the math, and being an engineer I am always cranking out some kind of calculation, I eat minimum 4 times a day and a much as 6. 4 batches of chicken (2-4 bone in chicken breast pieces) in the oven at 36 minutes a piece is approximately 2 and half hours waiting on the chicken to cook. Then there is the roasting time. See I do not take the chicken right out of the oven; I leave it in to continue cooking and self basting. It ends up being juicy and tender and much more palatable. I like to let a minimum of 20 minutes pass but prefer at least 40 and have left it up to an hour and a half before eating it. If I use the average time of 30 minutes times 4 batches a day that is another 3 hours. So I spend at least 4.5 hours waiting on chicken every day.
And while I do not tend to write anything about the uncouth things associated with this horrible disease, let's get real. It is a parasite that takes over your colon, so yes there is a fair amount of time spent in the restroom.
And then let's add in the shopping for the chicken. When you need an excessive amount of something it makes sense to try and buy in bulk. This is where the BJ's membership comes in handy. I can buy large quantities at reasonable prices. So there are at least 2 and sometimes 3 trips to BJ's a week. I know when the chicken order comes in and plan the trips accordingly. The closest location is actually very close and takes about 15 minutes. If the shopping time is added in (and I can get in and out with chicken in 10 minutes if it is a chicken only run) I would estimate a minimum of 1.5 hours shopping for chicken. This does not include the grocery store runs for the rest of the family.
I spend a lot of time waiting for an epsisode, attacks, trigger, hours of being sick to pass. I literally just hang on and wait for the symptoms to subside. I am not sure how to crank out a number for that but I think at least an hour a day should be in the sum.
Now I would suggest considering the time spent waiting to see if something is going to hit me. I have a 4 hour trigger point. I know it sounds crazy, but I have learned over years (and I mean years as I am not going on 16 with the mother of all infections) that it takes my system 4 hours to process and move something I ate through to the point where the bulk of the infection is located. This is where the small colon meets the large. And while it is not accurate to add all these 4 hour time events up since most of the time I use the time between, the point is more time spent waiting.
Add in the time spent waiting in doctor's office. Account for the time spent waiting to see how a drug will effect me. Include the time spent waiting to see how a drug, or herb, or supplement will effect the bug.
Time.
