One week out, things I wasn't prepared for... long (of course)

As much as I thought I was well prepared for post-op life, some things still caught me by surprise.

Before surgery,I was worried about things like major complications, or being so nauseated that I would not being able to keep things down, but so far I have been lucky, I am having a very easy time of it.

It is the small tihings I wasn't prepared for - like taking pills. I have a really hard time at the best of times with pills. I have always had to take a pill and swallow it down with lots of liquid and a few bites of something like a carrot to carry the pill down. Of course I can't do that now so on top of having to now cut the pills into smaller pieces, I have to try to wash them down with less liquid or with something like pudding or yogurt which isn't working all that well. A minor inconvenience in the scheme of things but a pain none the less. As a result, I've avoided taking pain meds for the most part but I have a pretty high pain tolerance so I can live with it. I tried liquid extra strength Tylenol but yuck! I can't take Vicodan so they couldn't give me that in liquid form.

The other thing I wasn't prepared for was how difficult it is to remember to take small sips/bites, and to take breaks in between - no surprise to those of you who have gone through it I'm sure. If I could focus on nothing but eating or drinking it wouldn't be as hard, but because you have to eat and drink all the time, it's almost impossible (for me anyway) to stay focused every minute of the day so I either forget or take sips that are too large or too closely spaced.. I'm doing all the tricks like using a sippy cup, keeping it in my hand as much as possible (a little tricky to type and do that) and using a baby spoon but it's still a learning curve.

Fortunately because it is full fluids that I am eating/drinking at the moment, it isn't too serious (painful) but I'll have to do a better job of it when I move onto more solid food. I also thought it wouldn't be difficult to get all the fluids in because after all, you have many hours in a day to do so, but again, because it is so easy to lose track of time or get distracted, it is turning out to be harder than I thought it would be.  I have Attention Deficit Disorder so staying focused is not my strong suit at the best of times.

I find myself obessing about making every bite/swallow count in terms of protein content. My sister made me a lovely squash and apple soup - it is so good! But I feel guilty eating it because it doesn't have any protein in it. I've tried adding milk to add some protein but it didn't taste as good.

Tracking the amount of liquid/protein I'm taking in I'm also finding tricky. I can pour a glass of water but if I'm busy trying to down a shake, I end up pouring most of the water down the drain and getting a fresh one so can't always tell how much I actually drank.

I thought I was prepared for dealing wth the emotional eating side of it, but I wasn't expecting to feel angry about not being able to eat what I want - angry at myself I guess - as in what the hell have you gotten yourself into. It's managable though, and I guess a natural part of the grieving process around choosing to get a destructive friend out of my life. Necessary but still painful.

All in all, I'm doing very well, being pampered by family and friends, enjoying my time off work, and of course, looking forward to eating real food down the road.

Good job Lorraine! It is a learning curve!! Just do your best and try to get a little better each day. Same with water and protein - set a good by attainable goal... My "final" goal was 70g/day and early out, I was aiming for a min. of 65% of that (for 45g). And just up it each week as you can. Same with the liquids... I still can't/don't get in 64 oz a day... probably in the 48-55oz range on a really good day

PS. Do you have a Starbucks near you? Get a kids or a small (tall) protein latte - I'm fond of the cinnamon dolce (just tried it this week - finally broke out of my vanilla phase) skinny latte. Skim milk, S/F cinnamon syrup and I get protein added. 12 oz of fluids with 15 g of protein. A nice treat (with 90 cal). Or go (ahem) big and ask for 2 protein shots and you'll have 21g - a good 1/3 of your protein goal (I'm betting approx).

Thanks Jennie. I'll just keep telling myself I am a work in progress!

Strange question but can you get any of these Starbucks concoctions without coffee in it by any chance? I actually don't like coffee (or tea) would you believe.

Well... they do have a really nice drink called the Milano - it's a fruit smoothie (choc & banana is my fav). It's 16oz - it's HUGE but you could nurse it all morning and it's 24g of protein without asking for another scoop.

I am NOT a coffee drinker either - but a latte is kind of like a sweet drink with some in it (it's 1oz of coffee/espresso that you can't really taste and the rest is warm milk). Or ask for a hot chocolate if they can make it sugar free (although - up to you - but while you're on liquids, you're not exactly eating tonnes of calories so you might as well enjoy a treat now & again!). And if they make you a latte and you don't like it, they'll make you something else. Or ask for the kids size and see what you think - it's not expensive (under $2).

OH!! If you'd like to meet this a.m. for "coffee", I could meet you at the Train Yards or something and I could order my latte and you could taste it. I just have to be back in Barrhaven for noon so my daughter can go to school. You have my number?? Call me!! I'm up & dressed - 3 are now off on buses and #4 just woke up so I'm going to make us breakfast and get her dressed.

You certainly can get hot drinks at Starbucks with no espresso in them. Ask for the steamed milk/foam with the flavour added (SF Vanilla, Hazelnut, Cinnamonn or Caramel are the ones they have I think). You can also do steamed milk with tea (regular, chai, green) whatever you like.
My kids love steamed milk with SF Eggnog syrup that we make at home. I have lots of flavours of Torani and Davini syrups at home and we make all kinds of smoothies and hot drinks with them.

Linda

Thanks Linda, good to know. I had chai tea once and quite liked it so I'll know what to try.

I just wanted to applaud you- you;re doing great!!

Thanks!

You are doing an amazing job.    Being self-aware is half the battle in this process.