Variety - I crave variety!

I'm 2 weeks post-op and I'm bored out of my mind. I wish I had a wider variety of foods I could eat. I'm tired of my choices. I guess technically I do have a pretty wide variety of choices ... it's just that many things on my list I don't like or it doesn't make sense to make a big batch of something just so I can eat 1 or 2 ounces of it. For instance hummus and liverwurst is on my list. Ummm... no thank you. I've had egg salad for several days, getting tired of that. I've had refried beans, taco sauce and melted cheese for several days, getting tired of that too. Peanut butter and crackers is pretty yummy, but I'm approaching the "tired of that" stage with it too. I definitely need to do some research and find some more variety for these next 2 weeks... I've got a few WLS recipe books so I'm sure I'll be able to find something good. My protein shake situation isn't good at the moment. I bought the 21-sample pack from www.enjoyhealth.com. This was a great idea and I'm glad I did it! However, I'm down to the last half of those samples .... the ones that didn't sound all that great and got pushed off to the end. Now I've got things like Apple Ecstacy and Fruit Punch and Lemon Tea --- ya know, the strange ones that don't sound that great. I did discover that I love the Champion Whey Cookies -n- Cream flavor --- so I've got a tub of that ordered and on the way. I've discovered that I don't like the Wal-Mart brand powder now that I'm post-op. Seems to be a bit gritty and I've got a half tub of the chocolate left. So I'm suffering through what I've got left for the next few days until my order arrives. I still need to find a good vanilla powder I love so I can use it as a base for the recipes I've got lined up. The hour-by-hour schedule that Hurley handed out has been invaluable for me. It's really helped me train myself in setting up a workable eating and drinking schedule. I've inputed the schedule into my PDA and get a reminder alarm everytime I need to do something (eat, drink, take a pill, etc.). Even though the alarm is annoying at times, it certainly helps to keep me on track. So far.... lost 27.5 pounds. ~Pam

I'm Sleeping!

For the first time in over 2 years, I'm sleeping! Sleeping all the way through the night with good quality rest. I can go all the way through the day without feeling overly fatigued because of lack of sleep. It's amazing! I still get tired easily because of the surgery, but it's not the same kind of "tired" as I used to feel. I get up around 9:00 in the morning and it's not unusual for me to stay up until midnight or 1:00 am without any problem. I don't know if it's because of the weight I've lost so far or because I'm no longer drinking caffeine. Because this sleeping phenomenon actually started during the liquid diet phase before I'd lost a bunch of weight.... I'm thinking it's the lack of caffeine that's done the trick. I've got some updates on how the diet and recovery is going... but I'll write that in another post. Just had to share my good news about sleeping! ~Pam

Home at Last

I wrote this post on my OH profile early Saturday afternoon when I was just 5 days post-op. ===

Surgery went smooth. Doctor said I was the easiest surgery of the day - no surprises and everything went by the book. I struggled with nausea while in the hospital - complete with dry heaves and gagging. At first I figured it was just because of the nasal tube which I could feel in the back of my throat. Wednesday morning was really tough because I must had dislodged that tube sometime in the night so when I woke up it was even worse. The nurse told me the tube would be removed around 4am, but it didn't happen until 7:30. So during those few hours of waiting, I just laid in bed as still as I could trying not to think about my gag reflex being stimulated. But even after it was out, I still had nausea problems. I think the morphine contributed a bit as well as the patch behind my ear that was suppose to dispel motion sickness. Thankfully when I got out of the hospital the nausea went away and I haven't had a problem with it the past couple days.

I also didn't walk enough. I knew it as I was laying in bed moaning and whining (internally) ... but still I resisted getting up and walking as much as I should have. They took the cathetar out early on day 2, so I was up often to pee --- since they kept the fluids pumping all along. So at least that got me up and walking regularly.

Day 2 I didn't drink enough fluids either. Probably because I slept so much. They took away the morphine pump early on Day 2 because it was causing me nausea and the lortab they gave me instead knocked me out completely. So I slept through most of the meals that were served. I know - no excuse. But it contributed to my lack of fluid intake.

Day 3 I tried even harder and did much better. So my advice to all is to walk even when you won't want to and to sip even when you'd rather be sleeping.

After being released from the hospital I spent a couple days at my parents' house. So today is my first official day home in my own space and I'll get to sleep in my own bed. WooHoo!

I'm still a bit sore, but haven't had pain meds since the day I was released from the hospital. Tylenol takes the edge off. Mainly I'm laying off the narcotics because I want to drive as soon as possible and doc says I need to be off for 3 days before I can drive.

I've been struggling with getting in all the protein and water I need each day. I did better today than I did yesterday and I'm sure it'll just get easier as I move forward. Having an hour-by-hour eating schedule from the nutritionist has certainly helped. Although I feel like I'm clock-watching all day long ... I'm sure that will ease up as I become more familiar with what I need to do.

My parents are loaning me their treadmill for a couple months - so that was delivered this evening. That'll help me meet my goal of 5 minutes of walking for every hour I'm awake.

I'll keep you posted as I progress. So far I feel good and so happy to be on to the next phase of my life.

~Pam

1 Day 18 Hours 39 Minutes

I added a countdown timer on my Google homepage. The time is ticking down to my surgery day and everything is a bit surreal with how quickly the big day is approaching. Wow! I’ve still got a To-Do List to work my way through, but most of the things on it could easily be eliminated if I needed to. Although, “finish client project” can’t be ignored. Gotta get the first phase of that album project finished and in the mail so she gets it before Thanksgiving. (I create custom scrapbook albums using other people’s photos.) I’ve got about 6 hours worth of work still to do before it’s ready for mailing. Knocked out a solid 3 hours last night. I’ll work on it a bit tonight and a bit tomorrow. I’ve lost about 13 pounds so far (12.7 to be exact). The liquid diet has been tolerable, I suppose. There have definitely been several very hard moments. I cheated with pizza once but otherwise I’ve been true to the plan. Tomorrow’s program is a bit different because instead of the standard 3 protein shakes, 1 soup, 1 fiber drink…. I need to have 7 protein shakes from a special box that came in the kit. Not sure if it has a different nutritional balance or some special additive. Who knows. Hopefully it tastes good since I’ve got to drink so many of them. Everyone keeps asking me if I’m nervous. I’m really not. I have complete faith and trust in my surgeon and the primary physician who will be in charge of my care while I’m in the hospital. I know I have no control over the actual surgery itself – and I’ve done everything I can to prepare myself for the healthiest surgery possible. So I’m not nervous about that. Mostly I’m anxious and eager. I’m SO ready to begin the next phase of my life. I’ve already bought the groceries I’ll need when I get home from the hospital. My kitchen cabinets and pantry has all been cleaned out and reorganized. I’ve read and reread my surgery book – the instructions I received from the nutritionist. I’m ready. The countdown clock is still ticking away. It’ll be here before I know it.~Pam

The Liquid Diet

I’m into day 8 of the liquid diet and surviving. The first 3 days were really rough – major cravings, major headaches and major resentment for not being able to chew. But it got better after day 4. I’m not saying is great and wonderful… but it’s doable. The protein shakes are surprisingly filling and keep me satisfied until my next meal. And when I mix them in the blender with some ice, they taste like a Wendy’s Frosty. The soups are horrible! I mean really really horrible. Imagine a soup made from powdered flavoring and mixed with water … but the powder never really dissolves so when you eat a spoonful of soup you’re left with a strange powdery coating on your spoon. Yuck! I’ve been substituting normal canned soup for the powdered stuff… just drain all the broth off and throw the noodles away. Much more palatable. The fiber drinks have a strange after taste, but if I just drink it fast, it’s alright. The good thing is that my nutritionist allows me to supplement the boxed-diet-plan with other clear liquids like Jell-O, broth, decaf tea, sugar free popsicles and a whole list of other good stuff. So that’s why it’s not so bad. So I weighed in this morning … after finishing 7 full days on the diet I’ve lost 10 pounds! Can you imagine?! After working my butt off for the past year and not losing a single pound, suddenly I’ve dropped 10 pounds in a week. Granted… I’m only eating about 600-800 calories so you’d expect me to lose weight, but I’m still amazed. Guess that’s all for today. I’ll share more later. ~Pam