2 Weeks Post Op

Sep 10, 2012

 Hmmm...what to say about where I am today...

Okay, so Walter and I are getting along a little better now. If you'll remember, Walter is what I now call my tummy because I've learned that my tummy is an ornery old man and it reminds me very much of the puppet named Walter in Jeff Dunham's ventriloquist act. Walter lets me know pretty quickly if I'm doing something wrong or if I've eaten something he doesn't like. One thing he and I both agree on is that protein shakes SUCK. I'm thrilled that he hates them too because they taste (to me) like swamp water smells. I don't like 'em and I'm not gonna drink 'em. And don't tell me to "think of them as medicine". No. I don't have to and I'm not gonna. They're gross! So how am I getting any protein in? I am using SlimFast shakes and they do have 20 grams of protein per shake. Granted, it takes me an hour or more to get one down, but I'm not racing anyone, so it's okay. I have two of those a day. In the evening, I have begun eating a pate that my dad cooked up that is almost pure protein. Between the SlimFast shakes and the pate, I think I'm doing pretty good for now. My biggest hurdle each day is getting my hydration. What used to take a few minutes to chug now takes much longer, so I have to make a conscious effort to remember to constantly have a drink in my hand or near me and keep sipping. It's getting easier, but it's still a challenge. 

So what else am I eating? I'm sticking to things that don't make Walter mad. Cottage cheese is something I just added back last night and it was like hanging out with an old friend. Mmmmm! So good! And so filling! I like pudding (sugar free only) and I've become a popsicle connoisseur. My favorite sweet treat is still fudgsicles though, but I try to keep those to a minimum since they're not fat free. Basically, I have thrown the post op diet out the window. (Did I mention said window was the window to my truck and I was doing 90 down the interstate?) If there are those of you that can strictly stick to that thing, good for you. ~clap, clap, clap~ No, seriously! I mean it! Good for you! I simply can't do it. The diets are so different between surgeons for patients who have all undergone the same surgery. How can one be so much better or more right than the others? It can't. So my plan has become to simply follow what my body tells me to do. And with Walter, trust me, it's not like I can stray without being punished. He keeps me in line... As he tolerates more, I will slowly add more variety to my diet while staying within the guidelines I know I need to keep to continue losing weight. I lost 32 pounds on my own before having this surgery - it's not like I don't know what to do. I got this.

That's my diet, so now we're on to exercise. Ugh. My energy levels have been in the tank since the surgery. Just no get up and go whatsoever. It's only been in the last few days since I've begun to get real meat protein that I'm beginning to perk up again. (Thanks Dad!) I have a treadmill in my living room and today is the day I will begin using it. My two week mark was a milestone in my journey that I had set as my time to begin a workout routine. I don't intend to go nuts, but I do intend to start slowly and add time on the treadmill every couple of days. I'll eventually work my way up to doing some reps on my son's weight machine thingy on the porch, but I'm not there yet. I'm still having some issues with my sutures and don't want to do any more damage. With the treadmill in the living room, at least I can keep myself occupied with the tv while I walk and it'll be easy to keep a drink nearby (and there's NO dogs! LOL!). 

So about those incisions...yeah...I really thought those would be all closed up and starting to fade by now. A little eager, I know, but I was hoping for them to be better than they currently are for sure! Actually, all but one are doing well. I have one on my right side that was doing well up until about day six and then it just went stupid on me and split from side to side. Like, gaping. (So gross!) I have butterfly bandages on it and I peroxide it and put neosporin ointment on it daily. I keep it covered with a large bandaide to ensure that nothing I come into contact with throughout the day can further infect it. It doesn't look angry or deep red or infected now, but I'm keeping up the regimen until it heals. With no health insurance, I don't need any complications.

For any newbies reading this that are still pre op and have questions about bathroom stuff, I'm sure you've read a lot about how some people have some real problems in this area. You're probably also wondering about something referred to as foamies or slimies. Foamies and slimies are both really the same and are what they call it when you regurgitate "foam" or "slime" if you eat too quickly.  (I know, it's gross. Get used to it. There's a lot that's gross about this surgery.) Has it happened to me? I hate to admit it, but yes. I got excited about some banana pudding and before I knew it, I had eaten more than my stomach could hold. The banana pudding didn't come up, but the foam and slime did. I was miserable, MISERABLE!, before it did and felt like a million bucks once it did come up. My biggest fear at that moment was that I would tear a staple and do damage to my stomach, but I was fine and a hard lesson was learned. It hasn't happened again, but that doesn't mean it won't. I'm trying very hard to pay attention to what I eat now so I don't have to go through that again. As for the bathroom stuff, I've been lucky. (Look out...gonna get gross again!) I do have loose bowels and sometimes diarrhea, but nothing that requires me to carry a travel toilet in the back seat of my truck or to wear bariatric briefs. I can control it and can typically tell when it's time for me to find a bathroom. Remember Walter? He gives me signs when it's time to find a toilet. If I listen to him, I get there in plenty of time to avoid any embarrassment to myself of NOT making it in time.

Thus far, no accidents. 

 I'm still taking my gummy vitamins, my sublingual B-12, and my Zegrid (twice a day) and I'm still pushing all the fluids I can drink in a day. I was 218 on the day of surgery and 14 days later, I'm 207 (that's a loss of 11 pounds). I've been in a stall for three days, but I'm okay with it. You can't eat as little as I'm eating right now and NOT lose weight. Maybe I'm losing inches right now. I need to measure to be sure, but even if I'm not, I'm not stressing over it. Seems to be pretty common, so I'm just taking it in stride. I'm sure once I get my back side on that treadmill, it'll jump start the weight loss again. All in all, I'm doing pretty good and life is getting back to a new normal. I'm sure I have days of frustration ahead of me, but for today, I'm doing okay.

By the way, I'm really enjoying the site/app My Fitness Pal. It's set up very similarly to Facebook with status updates and friends and such and the support you get from others is phenomenal. Not everyone there has had VSG or any other kind of WLS, so sometimes they don't understand until you tell them, but everyone is similarly focused on getting healthy and losing weight and I've already made some really good friends. It's a fabulous way to track what you eat and exactly what you're putting into your body, so it's yet another tool for success. If you decide to try it out, feel free to friend me. I'm known on MFP as StuckeyLaRue...

Hope to see you there!!!  

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