7 weeks post-op

Nov 18, 2011

I spent 2 hours out in the yard trimming bushes, climbing ladders and scaling trees putting up Christmas lights this afternoon. I actually "forgot" that I had surgery recently... or I might have thought twice about getting on that ladder. That's how normal I've been feeling physically lately. Yay! I joined LA Fitness a few weeks ago and I'm able to do the bike and treadmill for an hour without stopping. Two weeks before my surgery I couldn't walk a block without feeling like I was going to die. Huge improvement in my cardio-vascular health in the past two months. HUGE!

I've been really good about getting all my vitamins in every day. It's become a routine by now. However I have been slacking on my blood pressure meds. My bad. I bought a new weekly pill organizer box at Walgreen's and by the time I add my Vite's for each day there's no room in each compartment for anything else... hence no Lisinopril. Having said that I took my blood pressure reading a few days ago. 130/82. Amazing. My BP was 195/108 back in Sept (two mos. ago). I'm getting to the point where I probably don't need the BP meds anyway, so I don't feel too guilty about slacking.

I wish my new stomach was adjusting as fast as the rest of me. The slimeing/mucous thing has improved markedly in the past three weeks but it's not totally gone. I'm not consuming much in the way of normal, solid foods yet. I am surviving on Isopure Protein Shakes, Wheat Thin crackers, jello, pudding and Campbell's Soup at Hand cans of soup. Checked with my surgeon and he's not too concerned yet. I've talked to other DS and VSG patients and get mixed suggestions. Some say that I should be on solid food by now and my situation is NOT normal. Others say they had great difficulty in the first few months transitioning to solid foods and everything worked out fine.

I was craving a salad SO bad last night that I broke down and bought one of those Asian salad-in-a-bag things. I poured the bag of lettuce on my cutting board and chopped it up into coleslaw sized pieces. I was THOROUGH! Took me at least 10 minutes of dicing... then I added the dressing. I had 5 or 6 tablespoons of salad (at most). My husband and kids had the rest. It was divine, but of course 15 minutes later my stomach started to hurt and I ended up barfing up mucous and slime (yet the salad stayed down). Chalk that up to another food I guess I can't eat yet.

It''s frustrating. I have no problem with the new smaller portion size I'm relegated to eating. I totally fine with that. I'd just love to have something other than soup without getting sick. Maybe some chili or a few bites of "real" protein like chopped chicken or a scrambled egg. Sigh.

Right now I am averaging about 400 calories a day and logging everything I can (and can't) eat. I'm hoping to get up to 700 calories a day. If I am able to climb trees and workout for an hour at a time on such a low cal existence... just imagine the energy I'd have if I could eat more of a healthy diet with some solid or semi solid foods! I'm not holding out any hope for anything other than some turkey soup for Thanksgiving next week, but maybe, just maybe by Christmas my stomach will settle down enough for a thin slice of ham and a spoonful of veggies. Maybe. :-)

0 Comments