Chris Magor
A Month Already!
Dec 21, 2007
I can hardly believe that my surgery was a month ago already! Time for some update pictures I guess!
All things considered, I have had a pretty smooth ride so far. Very little pain, very little nausea, both now mostly in the past. I sometimes don't feel much like eating, especially first thing in the morning but I eat something and feel much better. The one real challenge I have had is drinking, but I have found that by drinking warm drinks, adding Crystal Light to my water and drinking from a glass I am able to get a reasonable amount of fluid in! (It seems that I swallow a lot of air when I drink from a bottle, which was really uncomfortable, which is why I now drink from a glass!)
I really haven't been able to force myself to drink protein shakes very often, but now that I can eat meat I find that I'm able to get 50 to 70 grams of protein a day so I'm not too concerned about that. I've been getting all of my required vitamins in but am only taking half of the required calcium so far. The Citrical Petites aren't too bad to swallow, but taking 4 of them at a time is more than I can handle right now!
As a result of some unforeseeable problems with my store assistant it was necessary for me to return to work full time just 2 weeks after my surgery, and while I wouldn't recommend going back so soon, I really think it has been a blessing in diguise! It has kept me busy enough that I haven't had time to think about foods I wish I could eat, or the fact that I'm not quite back to 100% yet. The first few days were a real challenge - it was exhausting just getting dressed and driving the couple of miles to the store - but each day is a little better than the one before and by now I'm mostly back to "normal". I am certainly more tired in the evening (which is why I haven't been posting much on OH!) but that just means I don't have any trouble sleeping at night!
Oh yes, as you can see from my ticker below I have lost 28 pounds since surgery, but only about 2 pounds each of the last two weeks. I understand that it is to be expected and that the weight will come off in time, but it's hard not to get impatient sometimes!
9 Days After Surgery
Nov 29, 2007
Eating: I'm pretty much sticking to what was on my doc's list for the first 2 weeks, meaning that I'm getting very bored by now of such stuff as noodles/pasta (rather gas-producing), white low-fat cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt and watermelon. Have added some crushed pineapple to the yogurt and cottage cheese which helps a bit. Only item not on the approved list has been some peanuts. They don't seem to cause any problems and are a great source of protein! Which brings me to protein shakes... I managed to choke one down a few days ago, but since then, I just can't face it. I know I need the protein, so I guess I'll have to try harder! Can't wait until I can start eating meat again!
Drinking: This is one thing I have found more difficult than I expected! I seem not to be able to sip slowly enough, or something. The only way I am able to drink any measurable volume of water is by sucking on ice. When I try to sip water it just seems to "sit there" and on occasion it has come back up - not vomiting, more like a baby spitting up! Obviously I need to avoid getting dehydrated and sucking on ice is getting rather old - can't wait until I can just suck back a good, refreshing gulp!
Energy: I feel that I'm about at 50% of a pre-op "normal" energy level for me. After 3+ hours at the store yesterday (mostly sitting) I was pretty beat, and I slept about 10 hours last night! I'm sure tonight will be somewhat the same! Speaking of sleeping, I can't wait to be able to sleep on my side or front again! It seems to take forever to get to sleep on my back, and I wake up sore, but I guess sleep is sleep!
Pain: Virtually non-existent since before leaving the hospital! The first couple of days home I took the prescribed meds just to be on the safe side. The only time I have taken anything in the past 3 days was the nigt before last to help me get to sleep.
Bowel Movements/Gas: I've put these together because they kind of belong that way! The first couple of days home I had diarrhea, since then it's been 1 or 2 pasty bowel movements per day, plus voluminous gas if I have been eating noodles or pasta. I had one "untrustworthy fart" on my second night home, then last night had to drag myself to the bathroom at around 4:00am for my first BM of the day. I imagine things will get more regularized as time goes by!
Incision: The skin around the staples has reddened up quite a bit, but they are just warm, not hot to the touch and are staying dry. I was originally supposed to have my staples removed today, but my wife could't get time off to go with me so it will be done Monday (and I think I prefer keeping them for an extra few days anyway!)
I'm sure there were other pearls of wisdom that I was going to include here, but it seems this surgery has also increased the frequency of so-called "senior moments" even though I'm not actually a senior! Just finding the patience to work on something like this post can be a challenge too!
One thing I skipped was how cold I have been feeling! It seems like my fingers, toes and nose are always cold, which is not something I am used to! A couple of nights ago I had to get extra covers on the bed and last night hooked up a heater to my bed for the first time ever! I use a water bed, and used to love how cool it was in the summer! It was chilly a few times in the winter before, but only when the weather was colder than it is now. New reality I guess!
Oh and I did weigh myself this morning and it read 255 lbs which is down 15 lbs from surgery weight. I am sure much of this must be moisture loss, so I'll have to see how things work out as time goes by!
