Post-Op Week One: The Week In Review

As I lazed around this morning, taking my time to wake up and get dressed, it occurred to me, wow, I've actually had gastric bypass surgery!  You would think that it would have sunk in by now but I'd been on a liquid diet for two weeks prior to surgery and clear liquids all this week so it really has felt just like an extension of that liquid diet, even though I feel full so much faster.  I've been eating the same individual Jell-O cup for 3 days and it's not even halfway gone!  I'm still dealing with pain but it's getting better and I'm able to go for long walks without feeling weak so are you sure I had surgery?

I think what finally made it real to me is that tomorrow I get to start Phase 2 of my diet: the Pureed Phase.  After a nice hour long walk with my mom and my dog in the park today, we went to the grocery store to shop for the week and I was never so excited to shop for food!!  I can remember being excited about going to buy my favorite junk foods before in the height of some sick binge, but this was different.  I was happy that I get to eat again, but I also brought my resource book from the nutritionist with me because I so want to get off to a good start and follow my new diet to the letter.  At other times when I've started some new diet I've gotten excited about going to the store to buy my healthy foods, but today the real difference was that not only is this a new diet for me, but it's one where I know that I will definitely lose weight and have a really great opportunity to never gain it back again.  There's no guarantee, but I now have the best chance to lose weight and maintain that loss than I've ever had before.  (btw, I couldn't believe how small the total bill was and I look forward to cutting my grocery budget by leaps and bounds!!)

I made a preemptive call to the therapist that I have here and scheduled an appointment because I know that I will always have to work on my food issues.  I've spent the last several months addressing why I eat and how I've gained my weight, but I know that this new change in lifestyle is sure to bring up additional issues that I never thought of.  I cannot ever allow myself to forget the mantra that I've been taught, "...they operate on your stomach, not your head."  Just like anyone else who starts this process, I not only want to meet a goal weight but I want to surpass it.  I once heard that it takes 40 consecutive days of performing a behavior in order for it to become a habit.  I started changing my eating behaviors months ago and healthier eating is now more than a habit, it's a lifestyle.  One thing I've learned from successful post-ops is this, you simply cannot get through this journey successfully if you don't learn to settle the voice inside that cries for food when the heart is broken and the stomach is already satisfied.

My New Life Begins...

Today is my first full day home from the hospital and it feels so good to be back in my own pet-filled bed.  My surgery could not have gone any better.  I was up and walking Monday night and feeling pretty good. The nurses at Carolinas Medical Center Mercy were the absolute best that I could have asked for.  This was my first major surgery and although I wasn't nervous, it was still such an unfamiliar experience being the patient and having to allow others to do things for me. 

While in the hospital, I wasn't able to take my regular medications which was a problem because without them, I have complete insomnia.  On my first night, it didn't matter so much because I was still under the influence of the anesthesia but night 2 was spent wandering the halls, surfing the internet, and laying in bed with my eyes closed wishing that I could sleep even though I was wide awake.  When my doctor came by for morning rounds I begged for my meds just so that I could sleep and I was finally allowed to take them.  I got a few quick naps throughout the day and slept some last night but sleeping is still a challenge.  I typically sleep on my stomach occasionally rolling to my side and while I can sleep on my side now, my stomach is completely off limits.  I've gotten a little rest today but I'll be glad when I am completely pain free so that I can really knock out for a good 8 hours!  After surgery, I was given a pca pump with morphine to help with the pain and was given toradol every 6 hours.  The toradol was awesome!!  The morphine didn't really help very much and neither has the lortab elixir that I was prescribed for use at home.  My pain today at home has been probably among the most difficult that it's been.  I imagine that I'll spend these first few days trying to catch up on sleep but I'm still working to keep up my walking as well.

Today is also the first day without the safety of iv fluids to help me to remain hydrated!  The goal is to try to get in 64 ounces of fluids a day and yeah, that isn't quite happening so far, which is scary for me.  I feel like I've eaten a huge meal and am trying to force myself to continue drinking on top of that and it's hard.  It's so very interesting experiencing this feeling now as a post-op that I'd heard so much about before....just feeling FULL!  I'm trying to consume fluids when I have that same feeling that I used to get when I'd visited one of my favorite restaurants and eaten until I literally couldn't consume one more bite.  My mother made the suggestion of sucking on ice and since I have the super duper Blendtec blender....I put the ice in the blender and made snow out of it and have been able to use that to increase my fluids a little.  I know for a fact though that I haven't come anywhere close to 64 ounces for today.

My hopes for the rest of this week.....that my pain will subside and I will be able to extend my time walking even more.  Hopefully walking more will produce a greater need and desire to drink more and we can get the hydration train a rolling.  The weather is supposed to be beautiful and about 72 degrees this weekend so that sounds like the perfect environment for some outdoor exercise and a great opportunity to celebrate my new life.