PlicketyCat

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Another 3 lbs exactly this week... this is too weird, I never lost exactly the same amount of weight week after week. Sure I've averaged 3 lbs a week... but never exactly every week. I'm happy that I'm losing, don't get me wrong, but it's weird that it doesn't vary from week to week. I certainly hope I hit a sweet spot soon and lose a big chunk to offset the inevitable stalls I'm going to encounter. I'm in moderate ketosis now, according the the urine values on the KetoStix, so at least I know I'm burning fat.

Otherwise, things are going well. I still have a hard time eating and drinking in the mornings and semi-solid food works best until after noon. I am getting in all my water (and then some) and taking my vitamins. I'm probably short on my protein because the protein shakes are irritating Oscar (my grouchy pouch) lately; but I'm at least getting a decent amount because I can eat lots of dairy and can tolerate shrimp and ham pretty easy. Other meats, I still have to mix in mashed potatos to tolerate... poultry still doesn't make Oscar happy no matter what I slather on it. I think I'm also a little low on calories because I can't eat much for my first two meals of the day... probably averaging between 900 & 1000 instead of 1000 & 1200. No worries, I'll get there.

I have been having some success with the Ready Fiber liquid and probiotic supplements. Still not going everyday, but more than once a week which feels much better! I also bought a yogurt incubator and prbiotic starter so I can make my own low sugar, low fat, super healthy fresh yogurt in any flavor I want without any weird additives. Our first batch is pretty yummy even if we need to work on the texture a bit next time! Anything to help out my gut and keep Oscar happy!

So, I tried the probiotics... which taste extremely nasty, but might have worked. I'm drinking extra water and taking fiber. Finally had my weekly bowel movement... this better get more regular soon because it feels horrible to be so constipated and bloated.

I am losing some weight, but nothing dramatic. I mean, I didn't expect to magically lose a lot of weight even though many on this site have had big drops their first few months; but I was kinda hoping to lose a little faster than my average 3lbs a week... at this rate I'm still going to be overweight when my weightloss "window" expires. It's just frustrating and a little disheartening. Maybe things will pick up when I can exercise again, and if I can get my finicky guts sorted out.

I met with my nutritionist this week for my first post-op appointment. She said I was doing everything right and that I'm doing really well. The mini-dumping and one episode of major dumping are all normal in this stage, and she's not too concerned about it. I am doing better with food than with liquids, so she cleared me to move up on my diet schedule a little so I can get in enough calories.

We did find a chewable multivitamin that I could tolerate, which I'm glad about since it was starting to worry me. She also put me on soluble fiber to help my regularity. I hope it works because I've always had bowels problems, and gas pressure definitely doesn't feel good when you're guts are still healing. I'm also investigating pro-biotics on the recommendation of a homeopath who works at my supplements outlet... with all the antibiotics and trauma to the gut, the natural intestinal flora might be out of whack and taking some pro-biotics might help move things along.

It's funny, but I'm so brainwashed from years of being told to eat less and exercise more... when my nutritionist told me to eat more and just rest and recuperate I couldn't believe it. I mean, I know I'm only two weeks post-op, but I feel like I should be doing more than eating and sleeping.

Me and my slow bowels strike again. Even though I'm drinking 2 liters of water a day, I'm still not entirely regular. Then, of course, I come to the pureed food portion of my post-op diet and start enjoying split pea soup, ricotta cheese and hummus. Well, last night I got the joy of total constipation and rejection of food. I'm not sure if the hummus I had for dinner just didn't sit well or if I was so full of bean fiber that nothing else would stay down because it had nowhere to go; but I spent most of the night with terrible abdominal cramps and the heaves. I guess if I'm going to continue with the high fiber foods I'm going to have to limit them and drink even more water because I never want to feel that wretched ever again.

And to top it all off, I didn't lose any weight this week either :(

At least most of my incisions are completely healed up and the allergic rash I had from the steri-strips is mostly gone. The only incisions still giving me a bit of trouble are the two on my lower belly where waistbands rub. Still having a bit of pain in my left side if I walk too long or try to bend over. Can't wait to heal up and stop hurting so I can get some more exercise... I think that's why I'm not losing any weight.

Just got to my pureed food period... I never would have thought simple mashed potatos with whipped baby food ham would be so wonderful. My mouth and tummy were very happy to finally have something semi-solid... and after a few minutes of grumbling so did my intestines. 

I'm having a terrible red meat craving... hmm, wonder if I can throw a steak in the blender?!?!?!?

Had my post-op visit and everything is going well, except that I am having a mild skin reaction to the steri-strips and am developing a rash around my incisions. I'm actually happy to hear that it's just a rash because I was worried that I might have an infection or something. I can remove the strips in two days so I just have to deal with the itch until then.

My official post-op appt is tomorrow, but my unofficial one week weight is 265 - down 4.9 lbs. I'm still bloated, so who knows what my real weight is and there is some discrepancy between my scale and my surgeon's.

I keep having nightmares that I'm going to be one of those people who don't lose any weight, or only barely loses. That would suck, but at least I wouldn't just keep gaining. I hope I'll start to lose a bit more and a bit faster, once my left side isn't as achy and I can get back on the treadmill.

My pouch is starting to accept things a bit better. Micellar Milk and Light Soy Milk are the mainstay of my protein right now and go down nicely. The IsoPure RTD juices will go down, but they feel a little hard so I have to drink them slowly. Gatorade and broth go down much easier than plain water which also feels hard. Jell-o and popsicles are great when I want some "mouth feel". 

I did "cheat" a little last night and had two shrimp from my hubby's dinner. I chewed a LOT and my pouch didn't get cranky, so that's good... at least I know next week when I go to blender food I should be able to tolerate it well. My surgeon and nutritionist are very conservative with food since they've found the majority of their patients have less issues with pain and nausea when they have 3 days clear liquid, 1 week full liquid, 1 week blendered food, then 2 weeks soft food before adding in regular food.

My surgeon explained how he tests for leaks - he fills the abdominal cavity with saline, clamps the bowel, and then fills the pouch and new intestinal branch with pressurized air so he can check for bubbles (much like testing a tire for leaks). In a lot of cases, people have to stay in the hospital until they've passed all the air out through burping and flatulence, but since I wasn't in any pain and I had passed a little gas I got to go home.

Well, it turns out that I have what they call "slow bowels".  For the first couple of days after surgery I didn't pass any gas at all and I had no gurgles on the right side, but some on the left. Four days after surgery, I was passing a little gas while coughing but not much and I was beginning to feel bloated. I kept hearing gurgles and feeling like something had to move, but nothing was going anywhere.

Last night, I tried to take my liquid vitamins (very diluted) and became seriously ill. I didn't vomit, but I kept productive burping and my tummy was definitely not happy. I had successfully ingested 17oz of Micellar Milk earlier in the day which felt wonderful, but I think the chocolate protein shake I was trying to have for dinner also contributed to my unhappy tummy. My pouch finally settled down after an hour or so, but I just sipped seriously diluted Gatorade the rest of the evening... wasn't taking any chances with getting sick again.

This morning, six days after surgery, my bowels finally woke up (thanks to the Micellar Milk I think) and I finally passed a bunch of gas and had a real live bowel movement. I can't express how much better I feel now! I'm still not taking any chances and am going back to clear liquids with a little protein powder added (chicken broth seems to work best) and maybe some more Micellar Milk. I might get brave enough to to try some Light Soy Milk. I definitely don't want to feel ill like last night again.

Mornings are still hard... my tummy doesn't like even tiny sips of water until I've been up and moving for an hour or so. I heard this was common with LapBand procedures, but hadn't heard anything about it with gastric bypass. Just something else to log for future reflection :)

Surgery went well on Monday and they released me from the hospital on Tuesday afternoon. Have a little bit of pain on my left side, mostly when I cough; but otherwise I just feel sore and tight. Walking helps A LOT, so I'm doing laps around the house. Had my first episode with drinking too much too fast and had a very productive "fountain" burp, almost like vomiting except without the heaves. Feel much better now, and drinking much more slowly!

So the hours are counting down... got my overnight bag & CPAP packed, my anti-nausea patch behind my ear, and my jewelry in the box.

I took pics today (post after I get back) and my weigh in was 271 this morning.... hooray for the pre-op low carb mostly liquid diet! Pretty sure my liver has given up every drop of it's sugar store and should be nice and slim for my surgeon to work around tomorrow.

Starting to get anxious, but spending the day snuggling with my hubby since he doesn't like the thought of me under the knife... he was a peckish when I had my gallbladder removed, too.

See ya'll on the flipside