mclean

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

I am doing well 22 days post op! I have no more pain and I am sleeping much better then I first did. I realized after the first week, that  If I ever wanted to go to the bathroom again that I would have to go off the, oh so wonderful Percacet and make a trip to the drugstore for help with constipation. Sorry to be so graphic, but that was a bit of a miserable issue and my best advise to any of you pre-ops is, If you can't go by 3 days post surgery give your surgeons office a call. Don't wait as long as I did! One other thing, after a week, my incision started leaking, clear fluid( fat) after the staples were removed. Apparently this is not so uncommon and I was told to keep it clean. I called my surgeon's office and went in to see the Physician's Assistant, Tiffany. She drained the fluid and yes, it was fat that had detached from the blood source and needed to just drain. It's still draining, I just put gauze and a pantyliner between my bra and binder to absorb any more leakage. It's not so bad and it looks like it will stop soon. I don't think it will effect the beautiful handywork done by my surgeon. I really think my scar will only be barely noticable in time. I've lost somewhere between 24-26 lbs all together. I lost six pounds between my consultation and surgery date and between sixteen to twenty as of today. I am in that monthly preperiod bloating phase where I sometimes gain 4-5 pounds, then it's gone a week later. 

Every day  it has been getting easier to eat and get my protein and suppliments in. I don't care much for the protein powers, but Injury unflavored is my main protein. I like to blend it with 1/2 a frozen bananna and frozen strawberries and skim milk making a smoothie in my bullet. I drink it on the way to work. I also use chocolate Isopure blended with milk, a bit of decaf is nice in it too. I also went on line and ordered some AchieveOne pre blended coffee protein drink. This is good but expensive. I have to figure out a cheaper way to duplicate this,
because it is expensive!! Right now I am drinking my AchieveOne as a treat when I don't want to whip up a smoothie or I am not at home or work and I have to get my Protein in. 

I actually went to a party last Saturday night and had a great time. I didn't drink because alcohol is a no no for now, but I was able to find a few things I could very happily eat, hommus and spinach dip on pita triangles (1 Tbs.Hommus and 1 Tbs.spinach Dip) just a couple of tine pita triangles, and 2 meatballs. It went down so well I did it again a few hours later. I brought an AcheiveOne to drink and also drank a mixture of 1/2 minute Maid Lite Lemonade and Decaf. tea. 

I feel almost back to my old but self, but lighter. I am tired in the evenings and I do need to get out and walk in the evenings more often.I get up at 5:00 am and leave for work around 7:00 am. My day is a long one. It's cold and dark now when I get home around 6:00
I'll be very glad to get my surgeon's ok to swim again. Swimming is without a doubt my favorite exercise and I usually swim laps 3 days or more times a week. I'll see more weight loss progress when I can resume my swimming I am sure. The Gazelle will have to do for now.

Fair Oaks Hospital was great! I received fantastic care there and have no complaints at this time. My surgery was uneventful. My only surprise was taking my first breaths unassisted as I awakened after surgery. I guess it takes your lungs a few seconds to resume functioning fully on their own and it  was hard not to gasp for breath and inhale deeply while they resume their normal state of functioning. I was a bit panicked but the very skilled recovery nurse talked me into breathing more normally after a little while. I walked as much as I could in the hospital, just short of overdoing it. I'd hit the morphine pump and go crusing the wing. I was terrably afraid of blood clotts so I made myself walk and it really wasn't so bad after all. The nurses were great and responded relatively quickly when I got tangled in all of my wires and tubes. My husband had to watch our 12 year old during my hospital stay so I tried to be as independant as I could. I quickly learned how to get off my inflatable moon boots off if the nurses were busy and I had to use the bathroom or walk around. Getting them back on and functioning was another story. More later...