Tammy M
Recovery
Oct 19, 2009
Well I'm on my way to recovering! This was by far the most intense surgery - more intense then my c-sections, knee, gall bladder, lap band, impacted wisdom teeth, tonsils - all of them combined don't compare to the intensity of this surgery - I was under the knife for 5.5 hours in recovery for 4 hours and a hospital stay for 2 nights - which realistically I would think should be a longer stay but I would so much rather be home then in the hospital - what a fiasco that was! Some good people were there taking care of me, but I have some really crappy memories that I don't want to hang on to - needless to say there are people in the health care that have no business what-so-ever being there - shame on them!My surgeon wants me at the gym on a treadmill - I know he is not going to be happy that I don't do exactly as he says - but my lifestyle right now doesn't fit with that so instead I have Wii Active, Wii Fit and taking walks with my family - that is what works for me. Tonight I walked around the block for the first time - it is a mile (maybe a bit more) - I think it was just a little much for me because I got this pain in my side about half way around - it goes up a little bit of a hill - nothing huge but at least I wasn't winded! Every day I just feel like I'm getting a little bit better and am healing slowly but surely!
I can not wait to be able to just sip liquids from a regular cup or bottle or whatever instead of pouring everything into 1 ounce cups and writing it down every 15 minutes. One part of me is glad to have the structure and to ensure I'm getting the right amount of protein and liquids in each day - who would have thought that getting a sleazy 48 ounces in a day would be such a task - especially when that is the ONLY thing I'm getting in is liquids! I feel no restriction with the liquids so that is a good sign! At the end of this week I think I get to eat yogurt, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese and scrambled egg for week in addition to the clear liquids - I don't know if this is the week the one ounce cup goes away or not - hopefully so - I know this is a journey but I really just can't wait to be out of the recovery phase and into the "real life" phase. I suppose the best thing about this part of the journey is I really don't have to think too much about my choices because there aren't any - or many! Sometimes simple is best. I only have two more lovenix (blood thinner) shots to give myself and then I'll be through with that - I really do not like giving myself shots but better to have a shot then die of a blood clot going to my heart! Dr. Raftopolous is extremely meticulious - probably one of the most in the country from what I gather reading about what people are given for pre-op instruction and post op instruction - he is very, very strict - it can be a pain but I'm also thankful for his thoroughness. The man came to see me in the hospital - and called me every day for 5 days until I saw him at my post op. And I have a two week post op as well - then a one month, a three month, a six month and then a year - he is unbelievable at follow-up - like nothing I've ever experienced before. He wanted to know exactly what I was drinking, how much, making sure I was taking my multivitamin, giving myself the shot, taking the pain med, etc. ya' gotta respect that!
I'm down 20 pounds - 13 pre-surgery - 7 since 10/9! If I keep at the rate of 7 pounds every 10 days I'll be down at least 20 or so more pounds by Thanksgiving - wow!
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About Me
Somers, CT
Location
31.4
BMI
Surgery
10/09/2009
Surgery Date
Jul 01, 2005
Member Since
