5 Days Out

Jul 04, 2009

Well, I'm five days out from surgery and am beginning to feel like myself again. Each morning I wake up, I feel exponentially better than the day before.

I was able to leave the hospital about 24 hours after arriving. The surgery itself went well with no complications and I could not WAIT to get home. I am so happy to have had the surgery with Dr. Feng. I feel that he is not only an excellent surgeon, but he really cares about his patients - I was in good hands throughout my stay.

I had some pains just out of the hospital - kind of like someone had beat me with a sack of oranges. Pain went down to having a few oranges hurled at me. Now pain mostly feels like hunger, an emptiness inside (phantom tummy?).

Exercise: Walking around hospital Monday and Tues. a.m. Walking around house Tues. Walked to end of block Wed., then around it Thurs. Walked to the park Friday morning (very tired) and around Walmart in the heat of day - lots of walking. Today I walked to the park via a longer route and alongside it - close to an hour (granted, that's a sleeve shuffle, not a strong walk. All in all, I feel good about the exercise.

Food: Some days I feel all I am doing is eating and taking vitamins. By the time I go for a morning walk, have breakfast and vitamins, it's nearly time for the mid-morning iron. Drinks are going down more easily now, but I've reverted to mixing with only 8 oz of fluid - doubling the fluid took WAY too long to drink.

Water: Not where I would like it to be. I am nowhere near what I should be drinking, probably close to 44 oz (which includes the shakes).

Surprises: After hearing that VSG sometimes causes irregular periods, sometimes stalling it for up to 8 mos., I was thrilled to have mine start Wed (please note extreme sarcasm).

Difficulties: Getting in enough water. Slight constipation (probably related to water intake). Getting in and out of bed was very difficult on my first few nights. It's easier, but still not easy - getting in is easier than getting out. Remembering all of my vits, especially the bedtime multi (strange time to take one for me). I've solved the problem by pouring all meds I need to take for the day into a little bowl to help keep me on track - working so far. Not weighing myself. Posture - I feel like I stoop while walking due to the pain from incisions (mainly the one near my bra strap and the one off to the right of my belly button (waist band).

Anyway, am getting better daily and hope this exponential gain will continue.

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