8 weeks post op

Aug 16, 2009

Hi everybody,

Thought I'd tell you what it's like to be 8 weeks out from surgery.

Actually, I feel almost normal!  I have good energy, still take naps most afternoons, although I did that pre op too.  Starting at about 6 weeks, all of a sudden I could eat slightly more at one sitting.  For example, I can eat a whole hot dog at a meal (with a small part of the bun).  Or I can eat about 6 chicken nuggets from Chick Fil A.  Sometimes I eat a scoop of regular ice cream or some dark chocolate.  I can't eat nuts yet.  I want to try popcorn but I'm scared I'll have a blow out!  KABOOM!!

Lots of foods still play havoc with my intestines/bowel movements, and I may have been trying too many new foods to figure out which are the worst for me.  My poop schedule is not regular yet--I poop  2-4 times a day, not necessarily at the same times each day.  Still poop in the middle of the night, dammit.  But some poops are now more solid, almost like pre-op, some still runny/watery.   Aren't you so thrilled to get all these poop details??

I've had a hemorrhoid flare up a few times; it's finally calmed down now and I'm hoping it will stay calm while I go to the Netherlands where I hope to be doing a lot of biking.

I can drink a lot more easily--5 swallows right in a row, almost chugging.  My little lap surgery wounds are completely healed so I've gone swimming, but mostly I walk for exercise.  I am walking 1.25 miles  in about 1/2 an hour, almost every day.  I am actually enjoying it!

And yes, I've lost 50 lbs--I'm down to 245.  I tend to go about 2 weeks without losing, then, in two days, I'm down 5 lbs.  This suits me just fine!  My main measurements have gone from

chest  was 55.5 now 50.5
waist was  52.5 now 47
hips were 58.5 now 53.5

For the most part, I have little or no appetite.  Sometimes I eat because I think I should.  Other times I think I'm starving but after a few bites lose interest.  Sometimes I might be hungry but nothing in the frig appeals to me.  I guess my ghrelin has finally petered out ..  it's such a relief not to be endlessly hungry and never satiated.

I am still taking Nexium; tried last week to get off it and ended up with a throatful of acid in the middle of the night.  I go in next week to have my blood pressure checked, to see if I can go off my one HBP medication.  My PCP will be THRILLED at my weight loss! 

I've been having trouble sleeping so was taking sleeping pills, but finally got off those and am now in the process of seeing if I can go without my CPAP.  I did a two night sleep test with the little thingy on my finger-- oxygen meter?-- one night with no CPAP, and the next night with the CPAP, to see how my oxygen levels were.  That will be analyzed next week and we'll go from there.

The sugar "itols" give me the worst gas of anything, so I avoid them.  That's why I eat regular ice cream.  I ate KFC grilled chicken once and barfed up the whole thing, after an hour of an upset stomach.  I may have eaten it too fast, but I'm not sure I'll go there again.  That's the only time I've barfed up an entire meal.  Two other times I barfed slightly, because I had eaten too much.  Sometimes now I'll actually spit out the bite in my mouth if I realize I've eaten enough.  Just 1 or 2 bites too many can be really uncomfortable.. and come back up.

So, I'm getting used to my new life, my new little tummy, and my newfangled intestines and bowels.  It is SO DAMN EXCITING to see the scale drop!  I'm in territory I haven't been in for 10 years!  It's like going back in time.

I'm glad to answer any questions newbies or preops may have,

mspppants 

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About Me
Leicester, NC
Location
52.3
BMI
DS
Surgery
05/20/2009
Surgery Date
Aug 08, 2004
Member Since

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