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Early Post-Op... The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

I wanted to post my experiences from the first three weeks post-op. Everyone is different, but it helps to hear about other's experiences so here goes....   Week 1: The hardest thing was working my way up to the 8oz per hour that I was supposed to be drinking. Honestly, some days that is still a struggle if I'm not paying attention! But all in all this was a good week. I slowly weaned myself off of pain meds (except at night because laying down was hard for me). I walked a mile each day and slowly met my liquid goals. I was tired and sore, but I felt like I was making a great come back.   Week 2: This was the WORST for me. It had little to do with the actual surgery, except that anesthesia managed to crack one of my teeth. That tooth proceeded to develop an abscess, which hit me like a ton of bricks the night of my one-week post-op anniversary! OMG! I have never felt pain like that. It was all consuming... like I couldn't remember a time when I hadn't been in pain and I couldn't imagine a time in the future when the pain would go away. I got those pain meds back out and drank them religiously every four hours. I had to wait four days to see a specialist and have a root canal. I don't remember anything about those four days except a haze of pain and being stoned out of my mind on percoset. I guess the good news is that my surgeon had warned me that week 2 would be tough because I would feel exhausted. I have no idea if I was exhausted or not so maybe ignorance is bliss?!!   Week 3: I feared this week. I had heard so many stories about the "third week stall". I hadn't lost that much weight in the first two weeks (wk 1=7lbs and wk 2=1.5lbs -- nothing to be ashamed of, but not LOTS of weight) and I didn't want to go in to my follow-up with my surgeon looking like a slacker (or cheater as the case may be). But, I set up myfitnesspal.com to allow 800cal/day, 90g protein, 30g carb, and 35g fat and I tried my best to stick to it. Alot of days I didn't make 800 cal (some days I didn't even get half of that) and I think my highest protein intake was 50g. But, I managed to consistently stay under 50g carb and 50g fat, which, while higher than my goal, was still not too shabby. I managed to lose 3.4lbs in my third week and I'm happy with that. At the same time, I have been really lucky! I have yet to find a food that I can't tolerate. I don't drink plain water much, but its more because it doesn't taste good to me anymore, I can still drink it and be fine. I tried some sugar-free, fat free ice cream and while it went down fine, I ate it too fast because I didn't want it to melt so I've stayed away from that since. But, everything else from salmon to veal that I've tried to eat has gone down and stayed there! I will say that I chew everything to within an inch of its life and I've always tended to take itsy-bitsy bites, so maybe that helps.   So, to summarize: I started my pre-op liquid diet at 248lbs. By the day of surgery I was 240lbs. After week 1 I was 233lbs, after week 2 I was 231lbs, and now I'm 228lbs. These are not HUGE losses, but they are consistent and at this point I will take that! Loving the sleeved life so far!
AbacoRaveness

AbacoRaveness

3
 

Finally... Post-Op!

My surgery was on Tuesday. I was supposed to be first of the day, but got pushed back since I was relatively healthy compared to the other cases. So I didn't get out of recovery and into my room until 6pm that night. I had alot of pain that first night, mostly from the gas that they pumped in. But I asked my nurse to help me get up... I think I only walked about 10feet but it really helped loosen everything up and I felt better afterwards. I had my leak test first thing Wednesday morning... I'm convinced that was the WORST part of the whole thing. I still don't know how I managed to NOT vomit! But, it was good news because there were no leaks. When I got back to my room, I have never been so excited to see chicken broth in my whole life! I walked a mile that day (in small increments) and did my one-oz-per-hour. I stayed Wednesday night because I still had drainage from my JP. On Thursday morning the fellow came by and told me I could go home that evening. I told him I didn't care whether I went home or not as long as they took that stupid drain out! I was hard to do anything with that attached! I walked another mile that day and worked my way up to about 4-oz-per-hour. Last night I slept in my own bed, albeit propped up quite a bit. So, my goal for this weekend is to work my way into sleeping flat! I'm still trying to increase my liquid intake, thats been hardest, but I'm "sip, sip, sipping" just like every one says to. I'm glad I took two weeks off work because I definitely could not face going back on Monday!
AbacoRaveness

AbacoRaveness

1
 

Quote Of The Day

Today is day 3 of my pre-op liquid diet. It's actually going really well. I don't feel hungry, but I do feel kinda weak, like I'm walking around in a cloud. I got dressed and drove to work like a zombie, but I've been worse.   I walk in to my office and a co-worker says, "What's the countdown? How many days do you have left." I reply, "It's T-minus-five. But, I'm three days into all liquids." He says, "Wow! Three days? You look great! You should take a picture of yourself today because you're gonna look horrible in about a week!"   Wow... thanks so much! I don't know what I'd do without such caring and supportive friends! LOL One day at a time...
AbacoRaveness

AbacoRaveness

2
 

One Week Until...

Today officially marks one week until my surgery.   I did all of my pre-op testing this morning and barring some bizarre result will be in the OR bright an early on Jan. 31st.   Today I also started my all liquid diet to shink my liver before surgery. So far so good, but its only been six hours I'm really gung-ho about it all right now and I just hope my resolve doesn't fail me too soon.   I'm excited and nervous all at the same time. I'm excited to finally be starting on a life journey to being healthy along with a crutch to help me get through the first few months of change. I keep visualizing all the things that I will be able to do soon that I've always wanted to, but never been able to because I was too heavy. I'm nervous because I worry that, at least for awhile, I will be so sick (pain etc.) and weak that I won't be able to do anything at all. I also worry that I won't be able to change my eating habits for good and this will all be for naught. I'm both scared and hopeful to see what the next few weeks will bring.
AbacoRaveness

AbacoRaveness

2
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