tatirod

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Today is my 2 week post-op anniversary. I'm now able to eat pureed foods. My meals were as follows: breakfast--0% fat no sugar added Greek yogurt and coffee with Splenda; snack--1 egg turned into egg salad (fat free mayo + mustard) and 2 pieces of melba toast; lunch--creamy tomato soup with unflavoured whey protein isolate added; snack--GNC lean protein shake; dinner-- creamy tomato soup with unflavoured whey protein isolate added; snack: hummus with 2 melba toast

I have to say, being able to chew was amazing. Having something with texture in my mouth was new and exciting. Oh the things we take for granted in life. No serious tolerability issues, I was prepared to spend the day being ill but my body didn't mind the menu.

I have insomnia, but pretty sure that's unrelated to surgery. :) I also have a cold. Bleh!

Things are going well. I'm getting all my vitamins in like a good girl, I'm delinquint on the water in take though. That started with the cold. I've recognized the problem and am doing a better job of drinking throughout the day. 

The pain is almost completely gone. It still hurts to bend completely over. But hey, someone removed part of my stomach. I often sit and wonder what's going on inside... like are my other organs totally having a party in the extra space they have now? Weird, I know. 

My BP is normal (120/70) and I'm going to my family doctor for a quick check... just to make sure he has no concerns. I don't.

I'm 5 days post-op and just now feeling well enough to go on "the computer". The day after surgery was pretty rough for me, I got my pain meds bumped up to hydromorphone. Needless to say, I was pretty out of it. After that the pain was managed by oxycodone for another day, then I switched to Tylenol. I only had 1 bout of vomiting. My throat is still sore from the intebation. I am getting my water in and have no appetite. I try to eat, but find it difficult. Still, I force myself to do it. 

I feel pretty good considering all that happened. I was almost not discharge on the 2nd day because my kidney function was abnormal, I had trouble urinating, and I was dehydrated. After keeping me several extra hours and pumping me full of liquids, I was discharged. Even though I honestly felt like I should be in hospital, I wanted to be home more. I think it was a good call. I think I recovered more quickly in the comfy confines of my own home.

I'm so happy the day of my surgery has finally arrived. So happy and excited in fact that I can't sleep. I feel like a child waiting for Santa to come down the chimney (despite the fact that we never had a chimney). In exactly 12 hours my surgery is scheduled to begin. I have no fears of the procedure. My only concern is post-op pain. I know the hospital will do an excellent job managing my pain, so I trust I will be in good hands.

I also know I over packged. But, I am an over packer. If I go on a 3-day trip, I bring 8 outfits because I don't know what I'll "feel like" wearing. So, I have the basics--toothbrush, toothpaste, brush, extra undies, slippers, moisturizer, face wipes, my 2 hospital binders, and 2 books. I probably won't get to the books... but I figure they may be more use during the waiting peroid. Plus, I will look ever so scholarly in my sexy hot hospital gown reading an "emotional first aid" book. Rawr. You won't be able to keep the men away.

WOW, the time has really crept up on me. I can't believe in 3 days from now I will be going under the knife, getting irreversibly gutted. I'm very excited. I thought I would be petrified at this point, but nope, nothing but excitement. How have I prepared in the past week? 1) cleaned my house from top to bottom (I figure it will be a while before I'm able to get it a good polish); 2) found ample things to do (adult colouring books, beads to make jewelry, things to make cards); 3) got a massage at Shizen spa by Coulleen (LOVELY). 

So, I've been on a 900 calorie ketogenic diet for exactly 1 week now since I bombed on Optifast. I've been monitoring my urinary ketone levels and all has been great--moderate to high levels all day, throughout the day. I just tested and my levels are very low (trace). O M G. Of course I'm freaking out. I emailed my food diary to my dietician. I think she is going to dump me. LOL I must be driving her nuts. 

Anyway, just my current state of affairs. I'm dipping out of ketosis and it's making me nervous.

So, I couldn't tolerte the Optifast. It wasn't the taste... I actually didn't think it was that bad (as long as there was enough ice... odd how something as simple as ice can make such a big difference).

Optifast gave me severe diarrhea. I'm now on a food-based ketogenic diet from the hospital. I'm sticking to it... measure everything... but, I'm still paranoid I'll get out of ketosis. So far so good, though. I'm monitoring my urine for ketone bodies and I have a "moderate" level. I have lost 10 pounds since I started Optifast/ketogenic diet. Hopefully I continue to lose. 

I did find out 1 cup of kale has 7 grams of carbohydrates. That seems a bit high for such an unsuspecting vegetable like kale. I had a kale salad today and consumed half of my permitted daily carb intake. Aye, aye, aye.

OK, the Optifast is getting old now. At first I was excited to be at this stage. Now, I'm just grossed out and wish it were over. I swear the shakes get more disgusting every day. I ordered some sugar-free flavourings from Low Carb Grocery and expect them to arrive tomorrow. Hopefully that will be a bit of a help. I added some sugar-free marshmallow syrup to the vanilla Optifast and that makes it much more palatable. Still, it's not delicious. I guess delicious is way too much to ask for. 

I'm experiencing a lot of nausea. I think it's mainly the texture of the shakes. It's like chugging unset pudding. I have been making them on the thicker side so I don't have as much volume to get through. I initially started with ~10oz water + ice. And that seemed to take too long to drink. Now I'm ~6oz + ice. Next time, will go for 8oz + ice. Exciting information, I know. 

On the plus side: I'm in ketosis. My generalized anxiety disorder had me worried that I'd never make it, not burn fat off my liver, and end up with the surgeon getting annoyed at my fat liver and closing me up before operating on my stomach. I'm down about 5 pounds since starting Optifast. Well, maybe more now... need to put new batteries in my scale.

I survived! My first day of Optifast (all chocolate) went better than I had expected. I was never really hungry. I did get a slight headache midafternoon, but had an espresso and all was well. I will continue to decrease caffeine as the weeks go on so that I don't have major caffeine withdrawals post-op. I also bought some sugar-free flavourings from The Low Carb Grocery (online) to add to Optifast. I initially wasn't going to bother, but I figure I can use them post-op in coffee or protein shakes.

Yesterday was my pre-admission appointment. I met with a nurse, pharmacist, and anasthesiologist. I also had my blood drawn and an ECG. The ECG was normal but no word on my blood (obviously, as they had just taken it). Hopefully all is well and surgery stays on for November 6.

Everyone is different. I personally waited until I finished my assessments and knew I was having the surgery before telling my family (my husband knew throughout the process).

I couldn't stand the thought of telling the world I was having weight loss surgery only to turn around and tell them I'm so broken that they [the medical community] can't put me back together again (ie, I don't get approved).

Needless to say there was some shock and even some protest initially. With a little education (Q&A session), I was able to put everyone at ease. The biggest misconceptions were: "you'll never be able to eat more than a tablespoon of food", "you'll be malnourished and die", "you'll never be able to eat another Christmas cookie". I just went in with the attitude that this is my body, and this is what I need to do to fix it. Statistics aren't on my side if I decide to lose weight the "natural" way.