3 weeks post op and feeling terrible

Hi, i'm new here!

I'm three weeks post op and feel terrible. I bled a lot after surgery. My entire abdomen was one huge bruise and I have three large hematomas that still hurt quite a bit. They ended up keeping me in the hospital for an extra day because for the first 48 hours I vomited every two hours despite being on two different medications for nausea, and my hemocrit dropped so low that they were considering giving me a blood transfusion. When I finally went home I continued taking the two nausea meds and did ok with getting all my fluids in. I've never been able to get in the 60 grams of protein. Some days I get only 25g while others i've gotten up to 45g. Since starting purée foods last week i've been finding it harder to get my fluids in (i'm Down to just one nausea med now). I'm averaging around 35oz a day. Calorie wise i'm only eating anywhere from 125 to 300 calories a day. After eating I just feel too full to drink and i'm only eating an once to two onces at a time and only once to twice a day. Since surgery I haven't been able to tolerate my protein shake and have been trying to drink the clear premier protein drink. My biggest issue is that I feel so tired and weak. I'll take a shower and get dressed and it takes so much out of me that I feel like i'm gonna pass out. I saw my surgeon today and she said my hematocrit is finally normal so it's not the anemia making me feel terrible it's because i'm taking in so few calories. She said that I just need to push myself. I am pushing myself to drink more to the point that I get nauseous so I really don't know what to do. Has anyone else felt this terrible 3 weeks out? I'm just so sick of having no energy and feeling exhausted all the time, and these hematomas are terrible.

Your nausea is likely caused by dehydration. Hydration is your full time job. Once you get the hydration up, your nausea will get better. Drink, drink, drink! Try fluids at different temperatures. I could not drink anything cold right after surgery. I did well with herbal teas. You can even warm up your protein shakes. Just make sure you don't get them too hot or they clump up. I made "hot chocolate" with protein powder and warmed almond milk. Make a slurry with your powder and a little lukewarm water before adding the hot almond milk.

It's very common to become lactose intolerant after surgery. Check your protein to make sure that there is no whey concentrate in it. Whey Isolate is 99% lactose free, whey concentrate is not. Try going dairy free (cheese and yogurt are OK, they have very little lactose) and see if your nausea improves.

Don't worry too much about getting all 60gms of protein right now. You will not become deficient in a few weeks. As long as you are getting some you will be fine. Hydration is far more important early out from surgery.

Also don't worry about calories. You have enough fat to burn for energy for quite awhile. As long as you get your protein in and you are taking vitamins, you will be nutritionally sound.

You just had major surgery. You are going to feel weak and tired for awhile. Give it time. It does get better.

it is normal to feel tired and weak after major surgery. You may feel that way for 6 weeks or more. Your body has been through a lot and had to have time to recover.

dont worry about eating right now. Focus on drinking all you can , like it is your job, cause it is.

You have plenty of body fat stored for your body to break down and use for energy.

Dehydration is your worst enemy. Dehydration causes nausea and can be life threatening.

Try liquods at different temperatures, room temp, warm, ice cold. Whatever works. Drink broth, hot/cold tea, and use sf ice popsicles. I know this is liquid stage but your body may not be ready for anything else.

You must drink constantly. Keep something in your hand all the time and liquid on your mout all the time. 35 oz I'm not nearly enough. You gotta do it.

I had a similar experience...did ok on full liquids for 2 weeks and as soon as i started soft food, i had horrible pain and nausea again. Nausea was brutal for about 2 months. I've heard that women are much more affected because of hormones and around 8 weeks for those who have a tough time, you turn the corner. I feel like that happened for me. I agree with what others said, fluids are more important than protein but protein is what will help you heal and feel less weak. I did a lot of soup (try trader joe's box soups...the black bean has more protein and you can add protein powder if needed). The warmer liquids helped a bit with the nausea and i got to the point where i couldn't take another shake. Drink water all evening long too. After dinner time, i would get a 6oz plastic cup (think costco has them) and try to get in at least 2 more of those while watching tv. Don't be too hard on yourself...it has only been 3 weeks into a major life change. I struggled to get the 64 ounces in but you get a routine and figure it out...i would also stay away from coffee cause i went back quickly and i think it was just too much adding to the nausea...try peppermint tea.

Good luck-you will get through this!