3 Months Out and Making Adjustments

Aug 24, 2011

Well, the 19th marked my 3 month Surgiversary - and things are moving along nicely.  As of last night I am down to 277, that's 87 lbs off my pre-op weight and 78 lbs off my weight when I was discharged from the hospital.  Not too shabby.

I'm still having , er.. Adjustments to make now and then.  That's what I like to call them - "adjustments" . You know what I'm talking about; those things that aren't really major, or tragic, or debilitating, and from I've learned thus far, can be pretty much par for the course.  But troublesome, nonetheless.

Things like:

Adjustment: I can no longer tolerate milk.  At all.  Which really sux because I have always been a MAJOR milk fan.  I used to LOOOOVE milk!  I used to guzzle the stuff straight from the gallon jug. All. The. Time.  Now I can't have more than a splash in my coffee.  The tiniest bit causes a major sugar dump - cramps, sweats, chills, diarrhea, the whole bit.  
I know what you're thinking: "There's plenty of milk replacements out there, Sabrina, you big cry-baby!" Lol  But here's the kicker:  Since having the couple of MAJORLY unpleasant experiences with the stuff, I can't stand anything that resembles milk.  Just the the consistency makes me want to gag. Everything about it just turns me off.   Such a bummer. But hey, definitely not the end of the world - just another "adjustment".  (By the way, I can eat cheese all day long without problems - how weird is that?!?!)

Adjustment: Rice is no longer my friend.  I now understand why it is no longer tossed at weddings out of consideration for the little birdies.  Well, I understood before, but now I can empathize with the birds.  Even cooked rice expands in the tummy - and it doesn't take more than a few grains to feel it!  =

Adjustment: Life without bread.  Although I've been trying to avoid most wheat products for the most part, (I have psoriasis, and my dietitian said it could be linked to a gluten problem), I've found that bread does the ol' expando trick too.  If I eat more than just a tiny bit of bread, I feel like I swallowed a dough ball and can feel it all the way up into my throat.   Ick.

Adjustment:  Speaking of feeling things all the way up (or down, in this case) - One of my most difficult adjustments to date has been the ability to slow down when I drink fluids.  Slowing my eating has been easy-peasy by comparison, and maybe this will get easier when the weather is cooler, but time and time again, especially after I've worked up a sweat, I'll just automatically guzzle my water or whatever it is I'm drinking.   O.M.G.  It feels like I swallowed a friggin FIST!  Not a dainty fist either, but some big ol' man-sized fist complete with callouses and engine grease under the fingernails (not that it tastes like that, I'm just sayin..). And the feeling isn't isolated to my tummy; it feels like a fist down into my throat, through my chest, and into my pouch.  The feeling passes quickly - a few seconds to a minute, tops, but it's definitely uncomfortable and a HUGE adjustment.

And currently my biggest..

Adjustment: The whole hair loss thing.  In spite of me doing all I can to get my protein in, I've been shedding hair like crazy.  For a while now, I've found that I need to pull my hair back into a ponytail before fixing family meals lest someone find a surprise in the mashed potatoes.  But my big adjustment moment was when I was in the shower two nights ago, and while I was running conditioner through my hair, mass amounts came out in my hand.  I mean a crazy amount.  The good thing is I've always had very thick hair, so it's not like I have bald spots or anything, but it was a surreal & somewhat scary experience. But since I knew it could happen, it's just another one of those Adjustments I have to make and deal with it.


But ya know what?  Even with all the adjustments I've had to make, and may have to make in the future... I would do it all over again.  =)

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