You know the candy? Well they have more purpose than just tasting good to all you folks like me who like the taste of black licorice (not including my Z). They help you have BM's. Yeah, I know TMI, but let me tell ya folks ever since surgery I've had a doozie of a time! Z almost took me to the ER on the 2nd night after surgery because I was so compacted I was going to die! I tried Colase (sp?) and suppositories (never used them until that night) but it took forever. I was in so much PAIN! I only took pain pills for the day of surgery (Tuesday) and the morning after surgery (Wednesday). After that I only took Tylenol. By Saturday I was only taking 2 Tylenol in the middle of the night (3am) when the pain became unbearable so that I could fall asleep again, so all in all I didn't think the know constipation that pain killers cause would be a problem. Boy was I wrong. I always had issues having normal BM's. People think I'm crazy, but I HATE it. I wish I didn't have to do it. I pee like it's going out of style just because I drink like four 64 oz bottles of water or several 32 oz cups of water throughout the day without a blink. I've been especially thirsty after surgery. I was told that your body can suffer from the anesthesia for weeks afterwards which can result in bloating and issues with regularity. I went to dinner with my girl friends last night and mentioned I've been having more issues than normal in that department. One of them has been cancer free for a year (YAY Kim!), thus she had lots of experience in this area. She said that black licorice worked for her. She said there is a natural chemical in the licorice that is used in some natural laxatives that does the trick nicely without being overly harsh. So I picked me up 2 small boxes of Good & Plenty's from the store and I have to say it does work! Woot! I just completed number 2 for the day (Yes I know TMI again!) which for me is STUPENDOUS since I normally and lucky to get one a day. That is with only eating 1 piece of whole wheat bread, a Myoplex shake with 1 cup of skim milk and some Good & Plenty's.

Shoo I should rename my journal to Good & Plenty!!!

Kidding.

(Engaged 9/16/05)