My situation in brief...

Jan 20, 2009

I had RNY surgery on January 13, 2009 just three days before my 43rd birthday.  I have my first follow up visit with the surgeon tomorrow morning and am hoping he'll pull my drain tubing!  So far, I am feeling quite good although I am surprised that I have not lost a little more weight since surgery.  I am amazed that I am not hungry, even though I am having trouble getting my calories in (averaging only about 300 per day).  The sweet juices just don't sit well in my stomach, so I am preferring broth, V8 and hot or iced tea.  I have also, just in the last couple days, develop allergic symptoms to my Whey protein.  My mouth and around my eyes get very itchy and irritated when I use it.  Of course I feel like I have to have the Whey at this point, so have been taking Benedryl to help with those symptoms and that seems to be working out ok and allowing me to get in my 30 grams of protein needed per day.  I'm having trouble remembering my vitamins consistently, and also my Pepcid (for acid reduction).  It seems like trying to get in all the different things in just the right combination is quite consuming!  I'm surprised how much thought and planning it takes!

I have tried to reduce my use of pain meds in the last couple of days.  I was hoping to switch to Tylenol, but I can't tolerate any more crushed pills than I already have to mix into my fluids, and the liquid Tylenol is soooo sweet, thick and yucky that I just can't stomach it!  So, 1 tsp of the Rx pain meds every 4 hours or so keeps me fairly comfortable (2 tsp makes me nearly pain free, which is nice at bed time!).  One thing I am trying to do now is stand and sit up straight -- I have been hunching over a bit so that there is less "stretch" pressure on my abdomen, but that is causing my back to hurt.  I think I'll treat myself to one of those Shiatzu (sp?) back massagers tomorrow, to help get my posture straightened back around!  :-)

My surgeon is great -- Dr. Glascock in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  I found and selected him based on information from this site, so THANK YOU to others who took the time to provide feedback on him!!!  He is highly experienced, having done over 1600 WLS, including 600 or 800 in the past couple years at the Sartori Hospital in Cedar Falls.  He specializes in laparoscopic surgery, and while he does different surgeries it seems WLS is his speciality.  When he visited with my Mom immediately after surgery, he said my procedure went to well it was "boring" (I don't mind boring the surgeon!!).  The next day when he visited me in my room he said his surgical team had named mine their best RNY yet!  All very nice to hear!  I think it helped that I am on the lighter-weight side (this is the ONLY context in which I can say that, and I have to admit that it feels kinda nice!!), with just over 100lb to lose, I had lost about 30 lb prior to surgery, had been pretty compliant with the liver shrinking diet (Dr. Glascock's is quit restrictive, and lasts two weeks pre-surgery!), and I have no comobidities to create complications.  Overall, a fairly low risk profile for this surgery. 

I am sooooo glad to be on THIS side of surgery, and through my first week of recovery which I'm sure will be my hardest.  I feel like things will just keep getting better from this point forward!  :-)  I am really looking forward to progressing from the all liquid diet to a little bit of mushy food soon!  I'll post more as my recovery progresses! 

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