Thursday, July 16, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
The Ups and the Downs
I want to end this on a positive note so I'll write about the bad first.
Really, I only have two complaints. They both revolve around food.
I'm three and a half weeks out and I'm still having issues with a lot of foods. I've had to purge myself four times in the past two weeks. I've discovered my stomach holds two tablespoons and not a drop more. I've vomited more in the last two weeks than I have in most of my adult life. It's not terrible but it's very discouraging.
Since I had such a terrible day yesterday I'm doing full-liquids today. I think that is a good policy.
And my second gripe, I'm still not able to figure out my portion size. Some days 1/3rd of a cup is just perfect, others it's excruciatingly too much food. I still think I'm eating too fast.
OK... now that that is over here is the good!
I've discovered Worldwide Pure Protein Shakes. It's so easy to get my daily protein. I have a shake for breakfast since I'm not much for food and I have a shake before I go to bed to give my body something to gnaw on while I sleep. The good part... 70g of protein is easy. I'm totally in love with the cookies and cream flavor. To me it tastes more like coconut than anything else. I also like the banana flavor.
My bowels are basically back to normal. This is very encouraging. The diarrhea was driving me nuts. I think they should warn patients pre-op that they will have rather significant diarrhea.
And my healing is still progressing rather well. Some days I have a slight twinge and others nothing at all. The bruising is 90% gone and my incisions are glue free.
But taking the bad in consideration with the good, I still do not regret what I have done. My habit is to consider the future is far more significant than the present and hopefully with enough time and "training" I will know my limits.
I do not regret this...
Really, I only have two complaints. They both revolve around food.
I'm three and a half weeks out and I'm still having issues with a lot of foods. I've had to purge myself four times in the past two weeks. I've discovered my stomach holds two tablespoons and not a drop more. I've vomited more in the last two weeks than I have in most of my adult life. It's not terrible but it's very discouraging.
Since I had such a terrible day yesterday I'm doing full-liquids today. I think that is a good policy.
And my second gripe, I'm still not able to figure out my portion size. Some days 1/3rd of a cup is just perfect, others it's excruciatingly too much food. I still think I'm eating too fast.
OK... now that that is over here is the good!
I've discovered Worldwide Pure Protein Shakes. It's so easy to get my daily protein. I have a shake for breakfast since I'm not much for food and I have a shake before I go to bed to give my body something to gnaw on while I sleep. The good part... 70g of protein is easy. I'm totally in love with the cookies and cream flavor. To me it tastes more like coconut than anything else. I also like the banana flavor.
My bowels are basically back to normal. This is very encouraging. The diarrhea was driving me nuts. I think they should warn patients pre-op that they will have rather significant diarrhea.
And my healing is still progressing rather well. Some days I have a slight twinge and others nothing at all. The bruising is 90% gone and my incisions are glue free.
But taking the bad in consideration with the good, I still do not regret what I have done. My habit is to consider the future is far more significant than the present and hopefully with enough time and "training" I will know my limits.
I do not regret this...
Saturday, July 4, 2009
10-day check up
I forgot to post about my 10-day check up. The surgeon says I am progressing well and he removed the drain I had sticking out of my side. That was a rather weird experience. Not necessarily painful, just a very odd sensation.
I weighed 31 pounds lighter as well or better stated I have lost 11% of my excess body weight. My weight loss really didn't sink in until about a week later when I had a thought come to me as I was walking through Walgreens.
I will never gain those 31 pounds back again! That was a very good feeling.
I weighed 31 pounds lighter as well or better stated I have lost 11% of my excess body weight. My weight loss really didn't sink in until about a week later when I had a thought come to me as I was walking through Walgreens.
I will never gain those 31 pounds back again! That was a very good feeling.
Learning my limit
I'm 2.5 weeks out from surgery and things are going reasonably ok. I'm no longer sore from the surgery and my incisions are healing well.
On Tuesday I was able to progress to phase three of my diet which is "soft foods". I have been having a hell of a time with this phase. This may sound gross but I never knew I could make myself vomit until I tried to eat eggs. According to other WLS folks, eggs are notoriously hard to eat and it may take as many as five or six months before I can tolerate them well.
I'm having a difficult time learning the limits of my food intake. I'm constantly eating too much and it always seems like I'm eating one or two bites too many. I'm guessing I'm eating too fast and my stomach cannot tell my brain I'm full until things are literally backing up. So far I can eat about two or three tablespoons of food. Or it could be I'm eating the wrong foods. I'm not sure. I'm certainly not a fan of vomiting.
I ordered a food scale that should be arriving this week coming up. I'm really hoping this helps me measure my food intake and things.
Tomorrow's strategy: Measure out 3oz (1/3 cup) of food and see if that helps.
On Tuesday I was able to progress to phase three of my diet which is "soft foods". I have been having a hell of a time with this phase. This may sound gross but I never knew I could make myself vomit until I tried to eat eggs. According to other WLS folks, eggs are notoriously hard to eat and it may take as many as five or six months before I can tolerate them well.
I'm having a difficult time learning the limits of my food intake. I'm constantly eating too much and it always seems like I'm eating one or two bites too many. I'm guessing I'm eating too fast and my stomach cannot tell my brain I'm full until things are literally backing up. So far I can eat about two or three tablespoons of food. Or it could be I'm eating the wrong foods. I'm not sure. I'm certainly not a fan of vomiting.
I ordered a food scale that should be arriving this week coming up. I'm really hoping this helps me measure my food intake and things.
Tomorrow's strategy: Measure out 3oz (1/3 cup) of food and see if that helps.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Emotions
Walks are a good time for reflection. The past week has been a blur for me which I attribute to anesthesia and IV pain medication. But it's still hard to believe that all the waiting and preparation is over and the surgery is complete.
The thing I thought about the most during my walk is the fact that 85% of my stomach has been removed. And that thought introduced some interesting emotions. I'm not quite sure how to write them out but I am going to say that one of the emotions is a mild state of shock.
It's not shocking the surgery is over or the things I have to do to recover, it's the fact that most of my stomach is gone and never coming back. Some of the other emotions are pleasing. This mostly has to do with the fact that I will never be able to eat the way I used to again and that my portion size will always be from this point forward small. I will never sit down to eat the same way again. And another feeling I had was motivation. The pre and post-op procedures are enough to keep me on the straight and narrow for a while.
I think something has changed since surgery. They were right when they said you have no idea how your thoughts and feelings for food will change after surgery. At times before surgery I was preoccupied with what I would eat after surgery and how I'm going to handle this and that but in reality, it's been a chore to eat and drink.
The thing I thought about the most during my walk is the fact that 85% of my stomach has been removed. And that thought introduced some interesting emotions. I'm not quite sure how to write them out but I am going to say that one of the emotions is a mild state of shock.
It's not shocking the surgery is over or the things I have to do to recover, it's the fact that most of my stomach is gone and never coming back. Some of the other emotions are pleasing. This mostly has to do with the fact that I will never be able to eat the way I used to again and that my portion size will always be from this point forward small. I will never sit down to eat the same way again. And another feeling I had was motivation. The pre and post-op procedures are enough to keep me on the straight and narrow for a while.
I think something has changed since surgery. They were right when they said you have no idea how your thoughts and feelings for food will change after surgery. At times before surgery I was preoccupied with what I would eat after surgery and how I'm going to handle this and that but in reality, it's been a chore to eat and drink.
5 days post-op
I was released from the hospital on Thursday evening. The surgery went well and the doctor estimates that he removed 85% of my stomach or leaving me with about two or three ounces. So far recovery has been progressing slowly but surely. Each day I feel better. I don't really have pain, it's more of a sore feeling in certain spots of my abdomen. I have used two pain pills since returning home. I'm not really a fan of them so the bottle sits there basically unused. However, due to the fact I decided on the VSG procedure I can take ibuprofen. I have been taking 400mg about every 6 to 8 hours and that really helps cut down on the soreness. I am able to sleep on my right side for the most part. I have never been a back sleeper and frankly cannot wait to sleep on my stomach again.
I'm not sure if this is a product of the pain medication, change in diet, or surgery itself but in the hospital my blood pressure was very normal. I believe the lowest reading was 112/57. I cannot remember my blood pressure being that low. So the doctor advised me to forgo the blood pressure medication and see what it is when I return for my 10-day post-op exam.
Since surgery my diet has consisted of clear liquids with the exception of milk for protein drinks. I looking forward to Tuesday when I can introduce "full liquids" into my diet. This consists of yogurt, thinned cream of wheat, blended soups and even blended chili.
Exercise has been progressing. Today I decided to hit the street and go for a walk. I'm disappointed I cannot bring the dog for another week but I'm sure he doesn't mind. His time at the doggy daycare wore him out. I'm not sure if I over did it today but I walked a mile. I guess I will know later. I think I'll do the walks in the morning since it's cooler at that time. However, I'm still not convinced I'll do any outside exercise when it's raining.
I'm not sure if this is a product of the pain medication, change in diet, or surgery itself but in the hospital my blood pressure was very normal. I believe the lowest reading was 112/57. I cannot remember my blood pressure being that low. So the doctor advised me to forgo the blood pressure medication and see what it is when I return for my 10-day post-op exam.
Since surgery my diet has consisted of clear liquids with the exception of milk for protein drinks. I looking forward to Tuesday when I can introduce "full liquids" into my diet. This consists of yogurt, thinned cream of wheat, blended soups and even blended chili.
Exercise has been progressing. Today I decided to hit the street and go for a walk. I'm disappointed I cannot bring the dog for another week but I'm sure he doesn't mind. His time at the doggy daycare wore him out. I'm not sure if I over did it today but I walked a mile. I guess I will know later. I think I'll do the walks in the morning since it's cooler at that time. However, I'm still not convinced I'll do any outside exercise when it's raining.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
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