My Progress: After Surgery

My Progress: After Surgery

The first week of my surgery, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. The worst part for me was sleeping at night. I was experiencing, what I think is indigestion/heart burn, I don’t know because I’ve never had that feeling before. I also HATE sleeping on my back. I never have liked it and probably never will. I was still feeling discomfort though. I mean, I did literally just have almost an entire organ ripped out. I was sore. Sleeping on my side wasn’t even an option. One item I bought several, several months ago was a pregnancy pillow. No, I have never been pregnant. I bought the damn thing because it simply it looked comfortable and it just so happened ‘pregnancy’ was in the description. That thing was a life saver. I still had heart burn or whatever the hell that shit was/is. I didn’t know if I could take anti-acids so I just waited until my follow-up with my surgeon. My ‘foods’, aka liquid diet, consisted of the following for the week after my surgery:

Meal: 2 ounces of chicken broth

Meal: 2 ounces of diluted unsweetened applesauce

Meal: 2 ounces of diluted Greek yogurt

This is basically what I lived off of for a week-gradually moving to 3 ounces and then I tried 4 ounces. It wasn’t that bad to do. I was actually impressed how satisfied and full I felt after consuming so little. I loved it. I’ve never experienced it before. To eat to the point of being satisfied-how lovely of a concept. I knew I made the right decision.

Everything sounds like puppies and rainbows right now but trust me, I had two moments of remorse. I first had ‘buyer’s remorse’. Thinking of the ways I could have spent that money. That fire was quickly put out when I talked to myself about my ultimate goals, adding years to my life and it was all fine. The other feeling I had been, “What the fuck did I do to my body?” This lasted for about 10 minutes and came with a good cry. It happened because I felt my house was falling apart and was a complete disaster and I felt so helpless. I don’t know if it was my period, feeling alone, jealous or what but I got over that too with the help of Brian explaining why I did it.

The day of my surgery, August 25^th, I was 233lbs. I wasn’t sure when a good time to weigh myself after surgery but I decided before stepping in the shower that I would see what the Fucker (aka scale) said. On August 28^th, which is three days post-surgery, I was 223.2lbs. I couldn’t believe it. I will go back to my original feelings on the Fucker-it isn’t as important to me as getting fit. My goal weight is 155 (whether that’s realistic or not, I don’t know but I will try my damnedest and in a healthy way). My tool is working! I am officially eight pounds away from weighing what I did when Brian and I got married.

This past Monday, I received a lovely phone call from the bariatric coordinator at CHI. I love her, she is a very blunt yet caring individual. We had a discussion about my recovery and when she asked how I was, I automatically replied without any hesitation-“To be honest, I feel freakishly amazing. Just awesome and I don’t know if that is normal”. I really don’t know if that normal. Everything I’ve read online, you know-since everything posted online is the absolute truth and reality of everything that ever happens, people struggle with their recovery particularly with drinking water and getting enough protein. I hadn’t really ‘eaten’ much in my week of recovery but focused on getting water in as you read above. They told me to focus on staying hydrated-which I did. That is a huge danger to bariatric patients is the dehydration especially for those who are only able to consume so little after surgery. The fact is, you’ll die of dehydration before starvation so I was not worried about my food/calorie intake. I did not have the issues that I had read about-so many horror stories that I won’t share because I honestly don’t want to scare others in what I read. Everyone’s experience is different with the surgery and that includes pre-op, during surgery and post-op. I am getting on average 40-68 ounces of water in a day. It is a bit of a chore, almost a full-time job, but it is not awful. I was consuming approximately 100 ounces or more a day before surgery. I had enough practice. I prepared the best I could before my surgery. The coordinators immediate response to my answer, “That is fantastic! You are doing so well. We are going to talk about progressing your diet”. I wasn’t sure what that meant-I thought maybe she wanted me to focus on protein since I focused on staying hydrated.

On Tuesday, I had my follow-up with my surgeon-Dr. Hovey. Luckily I called about getting my invoice for my surgery because they didn’t have me down for my appointment that they had given me during my release from the hospital. They fit me in later in the day which was fine. My mom was an absolute Saint, yet again, taking care of me. I was not released to drive so she came all the way from North Platte to take me to my doctor’s appointment. My appointment went very, very well. I weighed in at 221 even. The coordinator came to talk to me. She told me that my maximum protein is 100 grams-didn’t even mention that my minimum was 60 grams just because she knows I’m an over achiever. She mentioned my indigestion could be lessened by taking a couple of tums. The next thing we talked about was my progression of my diet. It wasn’t just protein intake, it was moving on to semi-solid foods which means cottage cheese, soft/thin sliced deli meats, shell-fish, string cheese. I was so excited! That was very, very unexpected! Next was the surgeon-he saw my incisions, they looked good! Told me I could peel the tape from my wounds. I was immediately frightened by this thought. I had an image in my head that once I started peeling them off, what was left of my guts would just pill out. I know, it is illogical but to me, it was a legit concern. The surgeon meeting was short and sweet. He was happy to see my progress. I got the OK to go to the gym and do treadmill, weights will be another 2-3 weeks and bowling will have to wait another 2 weeks and a lift restriction of 20 lbs. That made me sad but I do not, I repeat, DO NOT want a hernia. He would have to do surgery all over again to get it fixed. My next follow-up is the end of the month for my one month progress.

Right after my surgeon, I told my mom that I wanted shrimp. I have been craving shrimp and I wanted it like a pregnant lady wants pickles and peanut butter. We went to Hy-Vee in Lincoln and I went a little crazy on food. Once I got the OK to eat normal-ish things, I wanted everything I could have. I got shrimp, scallops, deli meat thinly sliced, cheese, cottage cheese-everything I was allowed to eat. I still had my stock pile of liquid diet stuff I had just purchased-the $46 of groceries that was to last me for a month! Oh well, I felt as if I deserved all this.

My first meal was cocktail shrimp with spicy Louisiana cocktail sauce. I had two shrimp to start but after waiting a bit, I decided I was hungry for more. I finished four more and was d-o-n-e eating. I had taken the bites a little too literal but I am still learning my tolerance with my bite sizes. I had cut the pieces into 1/5 of my pinky nail. I had chewed about 20-25 times each bite. It took me approximately an hour and fifteen minutes to eat. This was entirely too long to eat but I was so worried I would do something wrong and be in pain. I did, however, learn what the feeling is like if I don’t chew well enough-it feels like a whole piece of food is slowly going down your throat, into your stomach in which it feels like throw up/overly full/indigestion. Lesson learned. I figured I would give myself a break being it was my first ‘meal’ since April 15^th. Approximately 14 shrimp equaled 3 ounces of protein so I finished a little less than half. I had some indigestion but again, I was so amazed that I ate so little and was satisfied. I felt like I had eaten my ‘normal’ amount which is about a pound or so of shrimp. I love that it my tool is working!

In the morning, I had one large egg-sunny side up. If my mom was awake at 4:30am, she would have told me not to do this because I wasn’t thinking. The egg was a little rough-it needs to be soft foods like scrambled eggs. I had some spicy guacamole and spicy salsa as well. It took me less time to finish this which was good. One egg did it though-I was satisfied. Unbelievable!

Another meal I made was my bariatric take on surf and turf. I had pan seared scallops in some garlic/I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter and I put them on a bed of medium rare thinly sliced roast beef. Again, probably shouldn’t have done the beef. It wasn’t the softest deli meat I could have chosen and I could tell. Even with my chew-chew-chew philosophy, I could tell it was digesting differently. The scallops on the other hand were perfect! I do need practice on cooking them but really, it was soft and flavorful. I also made garlic cauliflower mashed potatoes. If you haven’t tried that, do it! It is a wonderful substitute to the starchy real stuff! If you want the recipe, I will gladly share it with you. Or I guess there is Pinterest.

I tried cottage cheese for the first time. My mom filled up 4 ounces of it to see how much I could do before I got full. I maybe had eaten 2.5 ounces-we aren’t sure because we have a shithead of a dog who also loves people food for some reason even though we do not share food in our household. I loved it. It went down so smooth. It is hard to chew cottage cheese 20+ times. I dare you to try it next time you eat it. I have been adding medical grade plain protein powder to my cottage cheese. It does alter the flavor a little, I also added some skim FairLife Milk (which if you haven’t tried that stuff-DO IT! It has more protein and lasts way longer than normal milk). I was also told to put some scrambled egg whites in cottage cheese to add more protein. I am excited to try that.

Protein shakes haven’t changed for me-the taste is just the same but I have to drink less of it. I was very worried about this. I had bought two cases off of Amazon and I had heard, read and warned by my team of support at CHI that my taste buds may change after surgery. Luckily, I have not experienced any difference with that sense. However, since surgery I am very sensitive to smells. It is ridiculous! I could literally be a drug sniffing dog.

Another good little snack are the new P3’s. There are P3’s now, located in the grocery section that has Lunchables, with grilled chicken and different sauces (see picture below). They have 4 small grilled chicken fingers, un-breaded. They are the perfect portion for me. I actually cannot finish it-I can eat maybe 3 to 3.5 chicken fingers. I do use very little sauce, almost as a lube to help go down in case it seems dry for me. It isn’t enough for me to freak out about calories since I am only consuming 300-500 calories a day. I think I can allow myself a sliver of sauce per bite.

Saturday I went to the gym for the first time since surgery. It was game day. It was 5:15am on a holiday weekend. I walked for 65 minutes on the treadmill which burned 265 calories and was 2.89 miles. My goal was an hour. I felt great, I loved my sweat. I wasn’t able to drink because I had half a protein shake while driving there. I was thirsty. As soon as I got home, I realized I may have over-did the exercise. I passed out in bed for 2.5 hours which felt amazing but I had yet another lesson learned. We went to the football game at the Pinnacle Bank Area around 11:15am. It was a fairly active day for me. I was hungry more often throughout the day. I had eaten a P3 before the game, the BBQ sauce P3 to be specific. I had also eaten maybe an ounce of chicken from Kendra’s salad with about an ounce of avocado about an hour and fifteen minutes later. While watching the game, maybe two and half hours into it, I also got hungry. I ate just the tiny hot dog with ketchup and mustard-no bread. I can tell my metabolism is changing yet again. This was my most active day since surgery. I had almost 13,000 steps on my FitBit, I was in the heat a fair amount in which I had approximately 86 ounces of water. I was wore out needless to say once the day came to an end.

Surprisingly, I am doing fantastic at not drinking 30 minutes before, during or 30 minutes after eating. It is easier than I thought it would be. I suppose it all goes back to my preparation which I think strongly helped me. The things I did to prepare and would highly recommend to anyone considering the surgery: 1). Working out-this is a tool as I have preached before and weight does not simply fall off on its own. It takes work, dedication and will power 2). Eating slowly-this will help with the process of chewing, thinking about the flavor of the food, appreciating it. 3). No soda/carbonated beverages-this is a forever thing, no cheating. This can harm your tummy after surgery. 4). Protein first, veggies second, starches third. This is priority of the nutrition pyramid. Even this small change can help tremendously. 5). Be organized-I have folders and paperwork galore! Without this, I would be lost. I always carry the folders with me-just in case I need it. That’s all I can think of right now-maybe I will make another blog more in-depth once I get more accommodated to my new lifestyle. I am sure the list will more detailed.

While eating, I have to focus. I am not really supposed to socialize, be on my phone or watch TV. Why is this? I need to think about each bite. I need to talk to my stomach and my mind. This sounds super strange but it is necessary. I am learning all over again how to eat. I am learning my limits. I am learning how I feel both with my stomach and my mind. This is something that I was told to do by several people including my bariatric team at CHI.

I weighed myself and I was at 219lbs. I hit my 50lbs mark with weight loss! That is half way to my doctors goal for me. Courtesy of Kendra, I am doing a motivational weight loss goal thing by treating myself to purchasing a mantra band every 10lbs I loose. Since there are so many I want on the website, I will also extend my goal/mantra band purchasing to also include any goals I achieve on my vision board-whenever I make it.    I am having a hard time seeing the difference, sometimes I see it-sometimes I don’t. I worry I will struggle with my image. This is where I am hoping that therapy will help me. I also am justifying wearing clothes that probably are too big for me since I do not see the difference. It is frustrating. Only a couple of people, Brian is one of them, tell me they see a difference. I cannot get discouraged with that. I am happy with my slow progress. I would rather do this journey healthy and slow than harm myself.

I am doing fantastically to answer all the questions. I can eat little bits and I am so satisfied with that. I am getting my water in plus some, my protein is going great. The only thing I wish I could get to be better is my ‘narcolepsy’ which I get randomly tired and feel like sleeping at strange moments. It also happens after eating, my guess is I get tired of chewing. I am now able to sleep on my side now! Being directly on my stomach still bothers me but that is to be expected. I’m excited what the next few weeks bring! I’ll keep you posted!