My Apologies

My apologies for staying away so long. I really felt like no one was reading the blog and with so many things going on, I just stopped. Ive been off work for the past week and had considered getting back to blogging but saved my post and didnt publish it. Today I got a comment on my last post and so I thought, yeah, maybe I should update the few who read.

I was on the pre op diet for two weeks and when I weight in one week prior to surgery I had lost a few pounds. When I went in for surgery I was 20lbs lighter! I had hoped to lose at least 20 lbs before surgery and I did!

Things went along pretty smoothly except for the difficulty in getting an IV started! Ive always been hard to stick but I was dehydrated from not being able to drink since midnight. The nurse tried twice (including in my left wrist which hurt like the devil!) She decided to get help. The next nurse used a cool device that showed my veins and was able to get one but the IV was running slow. She said she would let the surgeon decide after I was alseep, if he needed to do another one.

Next thing I knew I woke in recovery and was being wheeled to my room where some of my family were waiting to see me. I was groggy and slurring speech but remember feeling like I had done a lot of sit ups. The nurse came in and checked everything and then told me I should be up and walking by evening. It was then I noticed that I had been stuck two more times !

Sure enough, after a few naps I was able to get up and start walking the halls. I didn't feel pain, just soreness. They wanted me to start drinking water (with or without crystal light) and they had it in ice. BIG MISTAKE! As soon as I drank it my stomach started with spasms which felt equal to labor pains. I quickly learned that cold things make the stomach spasm.

The next day I started vomiting off and on and ran a fever at night. The spasms and the vomiting was the worst thing ever! I didn't go home the next day as expected. They kept me until I could keep fluids in and the fever was gone. I was glad to get home!

The spasms got less and less and after four days were gone. My five incisions never hurt at all. My belly was sore and that's it. In fact, on day two in the hospital they came in and told me I had not asked for pain meds all day and wanted to know if I was ok or if I needed them. I didn't take many pain meds after the first day.

When i got home I discovered that I gained 8lbs in the hospital! It took two weeks to lose those 8lbs again.

For Thanksgiving I desired NO food. I made myself eat some chicken broth. For two weeks I didn't want any food but after two weeks I started to notice that my stomach felt empty every three hours. My surgeon said that was a great sign! Many have a difficult time figuring out when to eat as you don't feel hunger after having a VSG. At two weeks out I was released to eat soft foods like yogurt, cottage cheese, re fried beans etc... 

I am now 6 weeks out and I find that I still cannot tolerate things that are very cold. In the mornings I need something warm to drink to get my system moving (like hot lemon ginger tea) I struggle with getting 64 oz of water in and I should consume 60-80 oz of protein in a day and I can easily do that if I have at least one protein shake.  I am branching out now, yesterday while shopping with my girls we ate at Chic-fil-a and I ordered 4 grilled nuggets and was able to fit 2.5 in my belly before being full.  I am satisfied, am never hungry and feel healthy and happy.

I did go through a stall in weight loss for nearly 3 weeks but Im happy to say that I lost 2 lbs since yesterday. Ive lost a total of 38 lbs since the beginning of my journey. I have a ways to go but am now noticing a difference in comparing photos and in my clothes.