Finally... > Life Advice

Living with crap food, lactose intolerance, and no money.

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Ohlawdy:
I made a topic a few months ago about how I was having stomach issues and a low weight. I asked for advice on cheap healthy diets.
Well I found out I am lactose intolerant and the doctor nor I never noticed because I failed to notice everything I ate has lactose. Actually it seems like everything has lactose. I mean even bread contains lactose.

I stand at 5'10" and weigh 123 pounds, 125+ if I go on a streak of eating good foods. I always feel sick and weak because of it. When I was at my healthiest I was 160 pounds.
I was buying my own food for several months and now my checking account is at $6.23. I have no money, no one to ask for money (that will give it to me), and no source of income as due to my health I had to quit my job sorting cherries. At my weight (I managed to reach below 120 pounds at the time) and contracting the stomach flu I could not work 16 hour work days 7 days a week. I had to quit or they would find any reason to fire me like they did with some of the other people I got to know working there. Plus I was becoming a danger on the road as I started experiencing microsleep constantly and if I was allowed to I would literally sleep 16 hours in a day and not do much more than lie there struggling to stay awake. The doctors almost had me hospitalized.

My family has been very inconsiderate of my lactose intolerance and digestive issues. Other than what I bought my food options for the past 5 months have been:
Hot pockets
Ramen
Frozen meals (250 calories each, 100% daily recommended intake of sodium)
Microwaveable burritos
Chicken nuggets
and yes, all of them have a lactose. Even the ramen.

I have sat my family down and explained that I cannot eat this stuff. It kills my stomach and while my lactose intolerance medication helps, it isn't perfect. I explained, maybe buy some rice, or at least some vegetables (canned or fresh, anything). Something that doesn't have lactose and won't be hard on my digestive tract. They just say "Well you have the medication and you always ate the stuff when you were younger. No one else is having trouble so I don't see why you are complaining.". I point to my health problems and they respond by saying it is my fault and I just need to eat more. When I was buying my own food and learned that I was lactose intolerant I managed to get back up to 130 pounds and was started to feel a lot better. But then my bank account went dry. I've even tried telling them it would probably be cheaper to buy some healthier foods rather than the crap they keep getting. They won't listen and won't reason with me. Even my non-immediate family which contains several healthcare professionals (nurses and doctors) are saying it is extremely important for me to change my diet.

I can't find a job and it seems too late now that I am moving for college in less than a month. I've tried finding another job before but I am unable to (yet still trying). Even when I call back on my applications, take time to make the highest quality cover letter I can, I can't even get an interview at McDonalds or any other place. At least I can find solace in that I will be move and be able to buy my own groceries and that I am getting a total of $15,000 a school year in financial aid (tuition is only $8,000 a year) and then if I must I can take subsidized loans up to $5,000. I then have multiple opportunities to start work at the university as soon as I move. But until then I am stuck.

I'm actually about to start going around trying to get paid to mow people's lawns and pick up a few newspaper routes. Something to get money so I can feed myself and hopefully not move completely broke. At least my girlfriend is so lovely that she tries to get food for me whenever she can, is helping me move, and will help me with my first month's rent & utilities.

I'm just really not sure what to do in this situation for the next month.

LordBucket:
I apologize...but it's always easier to answer questions, and your post contains none.

You've described a problem in great detail, you've stated the background that led to it, you've stated what you intend to do about it, you've stated that your girlfriend is helping and you've stated that you're uncertain about next month.

Nowhere is there a question.

Are you looking for an opportunity to vent? If so, then suggestions won't help and instead we should be responding with "oh, that's terrible, I'm so sorry." Or did you want advice? On what topic? Money? Food? Dealing with your family? Emotional support? What is it you're hoping to get out of this thread?

Do you have questions?

Mr. Dwarfinton:
If you pay attention to the entire post it's pretty obvious. He is requesting advice on how to survive the next month with lactose intolerance. Hell, you don't even need to read the entire post. Just understand what's going wrong and then read the last sentence.

I'm sorry to say I have no advice, hopefully I cleared things up and you will soon get advice.

LordBucket:

--- Quote from: Mr. Dwarfinton on August 04, 2012, 09:15:45 pm ---If you pay attention to the entire post it's pretty obvious. He is requesting
advice on how to survive the next month with lactose intolerance.

--- End quote ---

Kind of isn't. Looks like venting to me. Second to last paragraph makes it sound like he has it all figured out, has plans, a girlfriend helping out, etc.


--- Quote ---He is requesting advice on how to survive the next month with lactose intolerance.

--- End quote ---

...ok, but he's survived for years on bad food. It might not be ideal, but one month is unlikely to kill him.

Reading the post...it would seem to me that the larger problem would be that he's apparently moving into an apartment with no income, no way to pay the second month's rent, and a health problem that makes it difficult for him to work even if he is eating properly. But he doesn't seem particularly concerned about that.

So..again...it's not clear to me what exactly he's looking for.

Truean:
Come now. Let's not have a scuffle over form. It's easy to imagine he wants all of the above suggested things..... You have to consider the source of whatever you read. Here, we have a fairly young guy in a bit of a crisis and a very basic, very real need not being met....

a.) Specific Dietary Needs: Not necessarily something you can immediately fix, but you're going to have to research and figure out what foods don't have lactose (or milk or whatever) in them, and obviously the cheaper ones are favored. Perhaps you or someone who knows about this stuff can look up some information on lactose intolerance and how people manage to deal with that in a cost effective way.

b.) Lack of immediate funding: Simply, you don't have the means to get much of any food at the moment. This is clearly and presently your most immediate problem. If you must, a food kitchen or pantry that provides meals might be an option. If you feel bad about taking from them, then consider volunteering some time later. This is of course assuming that the next part doesn't pan out.

c.) Family Understanding: You say your family has not been considerate of your lactose intolerance needs. This must change. First, how do you KNOW that you are specifically lactose intolerant? It could be something else. If at all possible, consider seeing a doctor (at a free clinic if need be and possible) to determine exactly what the problem is so the right thing ends up being fixed. If your family has the ability to provide you food, but is not providing you the right type of food, then that could be an issue. Maybe they don't believe you are lactose intolerant on the grounds that you've had milk your whole life and it doesn't make sense that you can't now. Point being, nail down the problem and they'll come along, if they can.

You mentioned that you have non immediate family members who are health care professionals. Use that. Maybe talk to them and ask them how to deal with the fact that you're not getting the right kinds of foods and how to go about talking to your parents about it effectively. State that you aren't getting through to your parents and do not know how.

Hopefully, that might help some.

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