My "runny" first week

Warning: This segment contains gross subject manner which may not be suitable for all audiences.

SUMMARY: I had the runs for two days straight and blamed it on the chocolate soya drink. Two months after that ordeal, it wasn’t the chocolate soya drink.

Part I – The First Night

I've lived away from home many times; four cadet summer camps between 2003-2007, ranging from 2 weeks to 7 weeks. So being away from home is not something new to me. But cadet summer camps were different because I didn't have to worry about food.

"So what?" I think to myself, "Food, I don't have to worry about it. I can cook and can tell the difference between raw, rotten, and cooked meat. I know I WON’T get sick from my own cooking." (cue foreshadowing).

Oh my first week was rough... or should I say, runny. It was VERY runny. It began like so.....

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My second night there, I feel very nauseous and have the urge to vomit. I finally force myself to vomit and I could recognize remnants of my breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That only meant one thing, for the last 12 hours, my food has not been passing through.

“No worries!” I say to myself. I ask my co-worker to pick-up some ginger-ale and Pepto-Bismal. I consume both and hope for the best.

As I was about to sleep ... then there is rumbling in my intestines. There is no sharp pain (as one would get from food poisoning) but something is not right. Since I already puked, the only option is to sit on the toilet.

“Welcome to Niagara Falls” is the only thing I could think of. I immediately think back of what I ate that day to see if I can determine the culprit.

“Was it the ‘Edo Japan’ teriyaki beef?”

“My roommate had the same thing and he’s okay... maybe this is a one-time thing.”

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Well, it was NOT a “one-time thing”.

Part II – The Ordeal

Well, it was NOT a “one-time thing”. IT LASTED FOR A TOTAL OF 2 DAYS!!! And I couldn’t just stay at the apartment the next day – I had a mandatory orientation to go!

So.... I bring my Pepto and extra underwear... just in case.

I purposely sit at the table closest to the exit... closest to the washroom. Good thing I did because I literally had to go every 15 minutes. (dang you, Pepto, for failing me). Actually, I had to go every 7 minutes but I held it in so my tablemates wouldn’t raise a suspicion (probably didn’t matter because they probably noticed).

This procession would continue at my Info Tech training the next day. Instead of every 15 minutes, it became every 20-30 minutes. At the end of that day, I was getting worried because the instructions on the Pepto-Bismal said “Consult a physician if it continues longer than two days.” ... and it was coming up close to the 48-hour mark.

Miraculously it subsided after two full days.... then the investigations began...

Part III – The Investigation

After the two-day ordeal, it was time to get to work. It was time to find the culprit. I thought of a list of culprits in my mind:

- Edo Japan teriyaki meat

- “cooked” dinner meat

- Chocolate soya drink

- Fort McMurray water.

My roommate did not get sick, so it ruled out:

- Edo Japan teriyaki meat

- “cooked” dinner meat

- Fort McMurray water

“NO WAY, it couldn’t have been the Chocolate Soya drink from President’s Choice”, but that was the only thing I had that my roommate didn’t; so I tentatively blamed my ordeal on the chocolate soya drink. And down the sink it goes as I poured the rest of it out.

Ten weeks later, My roommate used an aloe vera bottle (which I drank all the aloe vera) as a water bottle and when we went to play badminton, a fellow badminton-friend said every time he drinks aloe vera, he gets “the runs”.

*ding ding ding *

I get back to the apartment and immediately google the following “Aloe Vera laxative properties”. WHAT D’YOU KNOW... it does. Then I suddenly realize, I bought and drank a lot of that Korean aloe vera drink during the two-day ordeal. I drank it with water or ginger-ale to rehydrate myself since I was losing so much water... little did I know that it made it worse.

Have I learned my lesson?

Yes – I have mastered control over Aloe Vera and its laxative properties. So I drink about 1/6th cup of it after dinner... just to keep things running smooth.

All I can say now, Aloe Vera is stronger than Pepto-Bismal.