Back to Cafe Samana in Tulsa, OK & Kristin Goes To The Doc
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Written September 21, 2012
Have you ever seen a pregnant person trying to get up and out of a chair? This is basically what I look like right now. I’m terribly uncomfortable from this darn side pain. It hurts to breathe, sit up, lie down, move, drive…well, anything really. As I was trying to fall asleep last night I was truly wishing my mom was here. She’d know what to do. When the pain started moving down my back I decided that it was time to see a doc because in the meantime I wasn’t getting much accomplished.
I went to two walk in clinics, neither of which took my out-of-state health insurance, but I felt so awful that I decided to just pay whatever the general cost was. According to the doctor, I likely picked up an allergy while my immune system was weighed down from the two-day cold I had a few weeks ago. The allergy (though I’ve never knowingly had allergies before) caused me to cough like I have been, which is what led to the pulled intercostal muscle. Ouchies!
The visit was $100 and then thanks to a small, community supported pharmacy store my two Rx’s and allergy meds only cost $16. Total! While I was waiting for my Rx’s to get filled I noticed that this pharmacy also carried some vegan-labeled, preventative health care supplements. Neat!
Since I’d be on an antibiotic (as a precautionary med) I decided to stop by Whole Foods to pick up some Probiotics.
Since antibiotics kill the good bacteria along with the bad bacteria, taking probiotics along with antibiotics can help to keep the population of good bacteria in your gut from being totally destroyed. Sometimes antibiotics cause diarrhea or lead to infections of other bacteria due to the destruction of the healthy bacteria in the gut. Taking the right type of probiotics in these situations can help to minimize the risk of this happening. – Jessica Bruso, Live Strong
[NOTE: It’s highly advisable to take probiotics regularly but particularly if you’re ever on antibiotics. Just be sure wait at least two hours between taking the antibiotic and the probiotic or else they will cancel each other out.]
When I was at Whole Foods I asked one of the employees if there were any probiotics that didn’t need to stay refrigerated. He pointed me toward a plant-based brand after spotting my ‘vegan’ necklace (by Design Specimen). Nice! And despite his recommendation I did pick up some ice and keep the bottle of probiotic pills in the cooler, just to be sure they’d remain effective.
I took a probiotic and then decided to go back to Cafe Samana for lunch where this time I enjoyed the Tempeh Reuben sandwich with a side of Butternut Squash soup. It was delicious!
I wanted to get Gerty all cleaned up in preparation for my mom’s arrival. It’s kind of like, when your family comes to visit you at your college dorm or your new apartment/home and you want it to look all spiffy and as if you don’t just throw your crap all over the place when no one else is looking. Hehe. So I brought Gerty to a car wash/vacuum place, after lunch and got her all cleaned up! I was also trying to find something to do while letting the probiotic digest, before taking the rest of my medicine cocktail. So, it all worked out.
The cough syrup I was given has codeine in it which means no driving (or operating large equipment). Since most of my days involve doing exactly what I’m not supposed to do, for at least a few hours, I decided to see what movies were playing at the nearby theater. The only thing I hadn’t seen yet was Dredd. Eh, it’ll do. I drove to the theater, bought my ticket, went into the ladies bathroom to take the antibiotic, the cough syrup, and the anti-allergy stuff, and then sat hazily through a terribly unentertaining movie.
Once the movie let out I was already feeling the effects of the stuff I had taken and the pain was being successfully covered up – at least a bit. I figured it’d be okay to drive so I set out and as I was going along everything hit me a bit harder. I felt super drowsy and had to pull over. I decided to splurge on a hotel room tonight because a deep sleep in a nice bed sounded too irresistible to pass up. I chose a hotel on the cheaper side, which meant it was a little sketch, but all I really wanted was a space to relax and not worry about … all the things I worry about whenever I sleep in the van.
I totally passed out and woke up aroudnd 7:30PM. I took another probiotic and then went to pick up dinner from The Tropical. This time I ordered garlic rice and veggies with lettuce wraps (peanuts, glass noodles, onions, and veggies) to-go. Those lettuce wraps were pretty phenomenal. Yum!
After I ate I took the next dose of the rest of the meds (I am supposed to take them three times a day – sans the cough syrup if I’m going to drive), opened up NetFlix, watched some 30 Rock and now I’m writing to you!
I’m going to go back to sleep y’all but glad to be on the mend!! Write you tomorrow! xo :)
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Hi Kristin,
I hope this message finds you feeling better.
We have a little motorhome and we frequently overnight at non-campgrounds, so I know exactly the fears you describe in the scary parking lots.
I’ve found truck stops to be the best place to stay.
I don’t like Walmart unless other campers are there. The same with Cracker Barrel restaurants.
One thing you might look into is joining goodsam.com.
We’ve belonged for years. One nice benefit is that there are fellow Good Sam members who volunteer to help fellow travelers on the road.
The list is printed and is also online.
The immediate benefit for you is that you would have a list of people to call to provide you a safe place to stay.
Anyone is welcome to stay beside my house. We live in a safe development. Or, I can recommend some areas to stay.
If you get near here, my wife, Jan and I would welcome your plugging in at our house. We can play tour guide and take you or direct you to Hershey, Lancaster (Amish) and Gettysburg.
There is a Walmart that is safe and there is another Walmart that is dangerous, but if you didn’t live here you wouldn’t know. They both look the same. Well, except for the all the trash in the parking lot of the unsafe Walmart.
Maybe that’s a warning flag?
I’m proudly sporting my Will travel for Vegan Food sticker on my RV and car.
I’d like to pay you for those and purchase one more. How can I do that?
Warm regards,
Rod Sams
Lancaster PA -
I developed something very similar to what you described while I lived in the deep south. Over the holidays I would travel to my brother’s and I would almost always pick up a cold from his kids. It would run it’s course and then I’d head back down south. The cold would move on but the coughing wouldn’t. And it was horrendous coughing. After a trip to the doctor, it was apparent that I didn’t have bronchitis, pneumonia, or any of the other standard things. But I had developed respiratory issues that appeared to be related to my environment. I never got tested for any allergies, but my guess is that I was reacting to the mold and mildew that is a constant in the south. My doctor said that my normal respiratory issues were aggravated by the cold which is why I couldn’t stop coughing.
You’ve spent a lot of time in parts of the country that are humid regardless of the time of year. Makes me wonder if you aren’t dealing with something that was similar to what I had.
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