TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Pills, Caffeine, Fiber And Feelings

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 20, 2007

Now that my husband and I are retired and have the time to travel freely, the road has become an open invitation: visit the kids, stop and see friends, explore the country and the world.

However, at my age, I pack more than just a hair dryer and clothing.

Since we take a cornucopia of vitamins, natural supplements and medications, traveling involves planning more than the route. We must make sure to take all the 'health enhancers' we need to keep our blood pressure down, kidney stones at bay, bladder functioning and hormones humming.

If necessary, I can follow my morning regimen of supplements in the motel or the car with bottled water. But my fiber poses a challenge. I need a tall glass of orange juice to get it down. That means a breakfast stop somewhere. Yes, it's easy to slip into my juice and stir vigorously.

So, you may ask, why feel uncomfortable? I'm not sure.

But I feel conspicuous. I keep wanting to tell people that four of the multicolored tablets are just vitamins!

Sometimes I think I'm crazy for feeling this way. It doesn't bother my husband at all. No one is looking at us, and the server couldn't care less. It almost feels as if the process reveals too much about me and what my body needs to keep going.

Just recently, my doctor advised me to completely omit caffeine from my diet.

For someone who loves coffee, this is tantamount to starvation. Luckily, my husband discovered Postum, a coffee substitute that's completely caffeine-free.

So now, in a restaurant, after surreptitiously taking my rainbow of morning meds, I ask the server for just a cup of hot water and some cream. Then I carefully extract a small plastic bottle from my purse and pour in a few teaspoons of the brown powder. Ah-h-h-h! I don't care if anyone is looking.

But somehow, lately I've begun to feel that my purse is slowly morphing into a pharmacy, and I have to keep reminding myself that if this is the price of good health, it's a cheap way to get it.

Judy Kramer can be reached at JudyandOz@tampabay.rr.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT