Well, it's been 9 days since my surgery. I'm doing pretty good. I still have pain at times. Sometimes a lot of pain. (Some of those people in the groups I belong to were not lying about the pain).
Trying to sleep at night is a flipping bear. I have to sort of sit up leaning slightly cause I cant lay on my side or stomach and I can't sleep laying down yet. I'm very emotional at times. But for the most part, I've been fine (in my opinion, others may have other opinions but this is my blog so their opinions don't get to enter here 😊 ).
My Superman(Doug) has been amazing as always. He's been very supportive and so very helpful and just plain awesome. He's been cooking, cleaning, remodeling and wiping tears when those things start to flow.
My children have been great also. Calling and checking up on me. Listening to me cry and complain or just vent. My daughter has hung out with me probably more than she has wanted to, lol. And it's been great. I've really enjoyed the time together.
Last night I fixed a full meal for Doug and Daniel(who didn't come home for supper even though he said I'll be there in a little bit(5 hours later he shows up). I already knew he was full of it about that).
I fixed bbq chicken in the crockpot with potatoes, corn on the cob and a salad. Of course, the chicken was dry 😐. *grumbles a lot* I wanted everything to be perfect and of course, that made a couple of tears flow.
I had 1/2 ounce of cottage cheese and 1/2 ounce of egg salad....yummy. It was really good. 20 more days till I move to 2 ounces! *wOoOoOot!* 💪
I had a hard time getting my fluids in yesterday so I had a bad night. Some pain and a little nausea.
Today I am feeling better and on the way to a good start with my fluids, protein and vitamins. I'm already 28-1/2 ounces into the day and it's only 11:23am. Not bad, although I got up at 5:30am and started this process. 😐 Only 36 more to go 😏😩
Doug is working on the bathroom. It's looking amazing. Can't wait till I can take a bathtub bath. But that will have to wait till the doctor says it's ok.
God has truly blessed me with a wonderful family and I thank Him!
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
Monday, July 16, 2018
You took the easy way out
So many times people that have weight loss surgery that is open about it get told, "oh you took the easy way out" or "can't you just diet?" or "you could just not eat so many times a day".
I'll address the first one:
"Oh, you took the easy way out"...Yeah, the easy way. Ok for those of you that do not know in order to have gastric bypass RYN with insurance you have to see multiple doctors to get clearance. Such as cardiac, pulmonary, primary care and psychiatric clearance. You also have to see a nutritionist normally for 6 months. There's lots of testing such as CT scans, echocardiogram, breathing, stress test, blood work and more. There's also surgical education and dietician appointments. Sometimes there is a couple of weeks of the liquid diet. You have to quit smoking and they test you before surgery. If you drink there's no drinking for a year after surgery. Yep, easy! But I'm not done.
The day before surgery you have to stop eating at midnight. Then the day of the surgery you are taken back asked lots of questions. Sign some papers. Then IV's put in. Then meds to relax and off to surgery you go. Now all I know is the next thing I saw was the mask coming down to put me to sleep. When I woke up I had 5 incisions and a pain medicine pump. You're not allowed anything to eat or drink all that day. They will give you the little sponge suckers and a cup of ice chips to wet your mouth with. 4 hours after you wake up its time to get up and walk. See while you are in surgery they fill your abdomen with air so that they can see what they are doing. This causes very painful gas. Walking helps to get rid of the air. It also keeps your mobile and helps to prevent blood clots. They want you to walk 6 times a day.
Pain from the gas and incisions and just feeling blah is such a treat!
Next day...liquid diet all day. Broth, water, crystal light...pick your poison. 1 ounce each meal. Don't to hit that pain pump when needed. You will also sleep from time to time except when the nurses or care partner comes in to take BP, check your sugar or whatever else there is to do. Oh, I almost forgot the blood thinner shots to the stomach every day! Oh yeah, we're still on easy. So let's see what's next? More walking. No shower. You can have a bird bath. Oh, and you're probably going to start your period if you are a female.
Day 3 I was allowed to have scrambled egg or oatmeal. I chose the egg. Shower day! And I was able to go home.
Now once you are home after you've hit every bump on the way home and figured out how to get in and out of a car without popping your incisions open...INCISIONS; remember there is 5 of them.
After you come home a flood of emotions hit you worse than in the hospital. Tears will most likely flow freely. You may or may not be able to have a bowel movement. If you can it may hit you like never before! If you have to go, I suggest you go as soon as the urge hits.
The pains in the incision are painful at times or they were for me. Pain meds help. I also had to sleep sitting up then slowly reclining a little more each night. Getting up is a job! Laying down is also a job.
Ok, now when you get home you have to eat 1 ounce of food 3 times a day. Just ONE ounce! For a month. Also, you have to drink 48-64 ounces of water(tea, protein shake, broth, crystal light, Jell-O, sugar-free popsicles etc) each day. 2-11 ounce protein shakes a day, which goes towards your fluid intake. Also, you take 2000mg of Calcium Citrate, 5000mcg of B-12 a week, 2 Flinstones Multi-Vitamin a day for the rest of your life. All meds have to be crushed or liquid. Now I've seen some of you "fit" people eat. Ya couldn't handle it!
"Can't you just diet?" Don't you think I've tried? Over and over? Every diet I could afford? Even things I couldn't afford. Not everyone just sits around and eats and does nothing to fix it. Sometimes it just gets overwhelming. You've put on pounds after pounds over the years. And you get lost.
"You could just not eat so many times a day". Yeah...that's stupid! Eating 3 meals a day is a healthy way to lose weight. It's also better for you than skipping meals.
It's not easy. There's nothing easy about it. There's also the fear of death. The loss of friends because they didn't agree with your choice. So before you start judging people for trying to be healthier think about this.
Now if you still have this opinion about it being easy...I feel sorry for you.
So yeah, I took the EASY way out.
I'll address the first one:
"Oh, you took the easy way out"...Yeah, the easy way. Ok for those of you that do not know in order to have gastric bypass RYN with insurance you have to see multiple doctors to get clearance. Such as cardiac, pulmonary, primary care and psychiatric clearance. You also have to see a nutritionist normally for 6 months. There's lots of testing such as CT scans, echocardiogram, breathing, stress test, blood work and more. There's also surgical education and dietician appointments. Sometimes there is a couple of weeks of the liquid diet. You have to quit smoking and they test you before surgery. If you drink there's no drinking for a year after surgery. Yep, easy! But I'm not done.
The day before surgery you have to stop eating at midnight. Then the day of the surgery you are taken back asked lots of questions. Sign some papers. Then IV's put in. Then meds to relax and off to surgery you go. Now all I know is the next thing I saw was the mask coming down to put me to sleep. When I woke up I had 5 incisions and a pain medicine pump. You're not allowed anything to eat or drink all that day. They will give you the little sponge suckers and a cup of ice chips to wet your mouth with. 4 hours after you wake up its time to get up and walk. See while you are in surgery they fill your abdomen with air so that they can see what they are doing. This causes very painful gas. Walking helps to get rid of the air. It also keeps your mobile and helps to prevent blood clots. They want you to walk 6 times a day.
Pain from the gas and incisions and just feeling blah is such a treat!
Next day...liquid diet all day. Broth, water, crystal light...pick your poison. 1 ounce each meal. Don't to hit that pain pump when needed. You will also sleep from time to time except when the nurses or care partner comes in to take BP, check your sugar or whatever else there is to do. Oh, I almost forgot the blood thinner shots to the stomach every day! Oh yeah, we're still on easy. So let's see what's next? More walking. No shower. You can have a bird bath. Oh, and you're probably going to start your period if you are a female.
Day 3 I was allowed to have scrambled egg or oatmeal. I chose the egg. Shower day! And I was able to go home.
Now once you are home after you've hit every bump on the way home and figured out how to get in and out of a car without popping your incisions open...INCISIONS; remember there is 5 of them.
After you come home a flood of emotions hit you worse than in the hospital. Tears will most likely flow freely. You may or may not be able to have a bowel movement. If you can it may hit you like never before! If you have to go, I suggest you go as soon as the urge hits.
The pains in the incision are painful at times or they were for me. Pain meds help. I also had to sleep sitting up then slowly reclining a little more each night. Getting up is a job! Laying down is also a job.
Ok, now when you get home you have to eat 1 ounce of food 3 times a day. Just ONE ounce! For a month. Also, you have to drink 48-64 ounces of water(tea, protein shake, broth, crystal light, Jell-O, sugar-free popsicles etc) each day. 2-11 ounce protein shakes a day, which goes towards your fluid intake. Also, you take 2000mg of Calcium Citrate, 5000mcg of B-12 a week, 2 Flinstones Multi-Vitamin a day for the rest of your life. All meds have to be crushed or liquid. Now I've seen some of you "fit" people eat. Ya couldn't handle it!
"Can't you just diet?" Don't you think I've tried? Over and over? Every diet I could afford? Even things I couldn't afford. Not everyone just sits around and eats and does nothing to fix it. Sometimes it just gets overwhelming. You've put on pounds after pounds over the years. And you get lost.
"You could just not eat so many times a day". Yeah...that's stupid! Eating 3 meals a day is a healthy way to lose weight. It's also better for you than skipping meals.
It's not easy. There's nothing easy about it. There's also the fear of death. The loss of friends because they didn't agree with your choice. So before you start judging people for trying to be healthier think about this.
Now if you still have this opinion about it being easy...I feel sorry for you.
So yeah, I took the EASY way out.
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