Almost 6 weeks out..

Oct 02, 2011

 So i had this little operation and wonder if my doctor even did anything to me....ok so i had a real aversion to smells for the first 2 weeks but after that i slowly got better and am not so sensitive to smells.  I had aversions to foods.  I just can't eat any more broth if my life depended on it.  lol  Still my mouth will water when i think of something i want to eat and i crave but when i go eat it i can only eat a bit and i start feeling like yuck i don't want this or its not as good as i thought it would.  OK lets rewind...

After surgery - i get back to my room.  I can't really remember much of my first day post op.  I always have remembered recovery before but this time i don't remember anything.  I don't remember being brought back to my room either but do remember getting situated in my bed and being told to eat some ice chips.  I slept mostly the first day but did eventually get up and go to the bathroom (no cathedar for me) and take a walk and i drank some water.  Second day i got up and it dawned on me what i had just did. I had my insides rearranged and did i really think this through clearly??? then i quickly realized i couldn't go back and change a thing so i was ready to start my new life.  I drank some water, did some walking, drank more water, snoozed, walked, took a quick shower and then slept some more.  Day 3 after surgery day i got up took a shower..drank some more, ate some broth, did some walking and took a good long shower that felt so good.  They took out my IV and my Jacson pratt drain and my husband came and got me and we went home.  

That first week after surgery was just spend moving as much as i could...resting as much as i could and healing. Blowing into my spirometer, eating my broth (a big YUCK to broth) and drinking water.  5 days after my surgery was my 1st appointment where was told i could start on a full liquid diet.  This is when i started realizing that everything i ate was to sweet for me.  But i ate jello, and drank what i could and tried some yogurt.  Three days after that i was allowed pureed foods.  This was also tough for me.  By this time i was feeling decent and starting to get some hunger a bit.  Pureed foods just didn't seem to be right for me but i did what i could.  Ate mostly all the foods i could puree and lived mostly on pureed refried beans warmed  up with some cheese melted and some greek yogurt on top.  Three weeks of this and i graduated to soft foods.  I can now pretty much eat anything soft.  I try to make sure i eat protein first and then some soft vegies.  I fix most all my foods so that they will end up soft such as stews where the beef is tender and i can eat it with vegies.  I am only allowed to eat 1/4 cup.  As of late i have noticed that i can eat my 1/4 cup for breakfast, 1/4 cup for lunch (maybe as i am not usually that hungry) and by dinner i can eat probably upwards of 1/3 cup before i start feeling full.  Need to spend more time in the evening meal concentrating on my food, and how it makes me feel like is it filling me up or am i totally missing something.  I feel guilty for eating more than 1/4 cup but do not feel satisfied after that little bit.  Next i will graduate to soft foods which don't make sense to me because i am already pretty much eating soft foods.  But i think i can add some harder foods like carrot strips and cucumber strips and such to my list.  Then finally, right before thanksgiving i can go to normal foods.  I am assuming by this time i will be somewhere around 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup each meal.  Can't wait to get my protein in the morning by eating a protein bar.  Instead of trying to choke down protein shakes and such.  Which i fail at miserably.  

My plans from that time forward are to just keep the white carbs at a minimum and try to keep up with my protein and vegies and a few fruits.  I loved bananas before so hope i can eat them later.  I have had a bite and it was good and didn't bother me in the least.  I can't wait to be able to eat a few chips and salsa though.  A craving i have had.  Or an occassional sandwich with a piece of bread (whole grain).  I can take or leave pasta and rice but i do so crave an occasional soft shell taco or a small taco salad.  

Vitamins i take right now:   Calcium Citrate which i get from bariatricadvantage.com.  I eat the chocolate and carmel chews and the lemon calcets.  Looking forward to swallowing pills again someday.  NO calcium carbonate for RNY people because the carbonate will not absorb.  

Multivitamins..i only take 1 a day for now as thats what my BSrn told me to take.  NO childrens vitamins i take Centrum silver chewables.  I should be taking 2 a day and will eventually do that.  

B12 1000 - i take these 3 times a week.  I was told to take once a week by my BSrn but am taking them three times a week.  I take the Natures Choice ( or whatever its called) from CVS and they are sublingual that melt immediately in my mouth.  They are cherry flavored and tasty.

B3 sublingual -  I take 1000iu's a day.  I take the Dots brand.  One tab under the tongue.  Its a bit tart and takes about 20 minutes to melt under my tongue.  

Eventually i will add Iron and vitamin c to the mix.  Am curious for my first labs at my 6 months to see what i need to increase or decrease or whatever.  Then i will adjust from there.  

Thats pretty much whats going on in my little corner of the world.   thanks all ...... Laurie

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