Two weeks later and I'm wondering how am I still fat?! I can gain 20 pounds in a week, but I can't lose it that fast? IT'S NOT FAIR!!! Yes, I'm stomping my feet and waving my fists in the air, much like a petulant child that was told "no" when asking for a quarter at the bubble gum machine.
Ok, now that THAT is out of the way....where do I begin?
What a long, but speedy, 2 weeks. Gosh that makes no sense, but that's what it has been.
My surgery went fine, got a little hernia repair along with the sleeve. I will say right off the bat....that was painful. Had it not been for that little booger, it might not have been the worst thing I've ever experienced. My doc warned me that the day after surgery I would hate him and ask why did I ever let him do this to me. He wasn't kidding. I was also the lucky subject of a swallow test. This meant I had to transfer from my bed, to a stretcher, to a very VERY hard table (that would lift to a standing position and then made me turn on my sides), back to a stretcher, back to my bed....all less than 24 hours after he made SIX holes in my belly and ripped out a majority of my stomach and stitched/repaired a hernia in my belly button and had what felt like a 4 foot tube and drain dragging from my side.
Then to add insult to injury, my meals were served in medicine cups. Broth, water, tea...clear liquids...in a teeny tiny medicine cup. This for the girl that could put down an entire bag of salt & vinegar potato chips in about 10 minutes. But...I couldn't even get the broth, water, or tea down. YUCK! For several days after surgery, it was all I could do to drink a bottled water. And it would take all day to get that bottle down. But I did. Dr. Dean stressed how important staying hydrated was. He said the most common complication after surgery is dehydration. I was not going to be THAT statistic! So gurgle down the water as best I could and hope it stayed down!
Dramatic? Eh...would you expect anything less from me?
Walking...walking the halls made all the difference in recovery. I hated getting in and out of that hospital bed, but once I was out, I could move pretty good. Holding my gown in place, pushing my IV down the hall...I challenged another sleever to a race. Bless her heart, she was on day 2 (I was on day 3), and she had the dreaded case of "WHAT DID I DO?!" I told her to give it another 24 hours and she would feel better. She didn't much look like she believed me. LOL!
Thank goodness for my parents, once again, my hero parents deserve every award in the book for taking care of me, putting up with me, doctoring me, taxiing me...and all they did to help with my kids...I just can't say Thanks enough! Really, how do I nominate them for sainthood? I could have statues commissioned. Mom would be holding a little sewing machine and coupons to JoAnns and Dad a baseball, camera, and bible. Wouldn't they be adorbs??
There was a night I decided to try to go to my house even though my parents asked me to stay with them a couple more nights. But with my hard head, I told them no, I could do it myself. When trying to get out of my super fluffy comfy recliner, I had to use way too much effort and it felt like a knife stabbing and ripping my abdomen. There I was stuck on the edge of the recliner. I couldn't get up, I couldn't move back. I hollered for Chaston who came running and found me in tears. I told him I couldn't move. I quote him: "Well mom, what's your options here? You just gonna sit like that all night?" And then he gave me a look that is one that will work wonders on his children when they say they can't do something. Hmph! So back to my parents we went for a couple more nights.
Now I'm not one to wallow in the pain and misery. Surgery on Tuesday...but mommy duty called on Saturday. So up and ready I got, time for a basketball game and a walk around the mall to try to get stronger. I lasted about 4 hours. Then done. So tired and sore. I tried to move around every day, but some days I just couldn't muster the energy. And those days I didn't move, I could tell. I would get very sore and harder to get up and down.
Okay, enough about all the pain...it goes away....eventually. On to the food stuffs...
Clear liquids. They suck. Here are a couple of tips: the veggie/tortilla soup from Casa Ole. Ask for as little veggies and as runny as possible. Delightful after only having survived through broth and Gatorade. Lipton's noodle soup...but leave out the noodles. While it might look like chicken broth, it does have some seasoning and flavor to it. With both of these soups (one order of Casa Ole and one packet of noodle soup) will last you the whole week. Because ain't much going down folks. And in the early days, every sip you take, you can hear go all the way down the hatch. Gurgle, gurgle...
Full liquids was the hardest week for me. This bumps up the options to protein shakes, cream soups, and pudding. I found a great chocolate cheesecake protein pudding that really helped with this stage. Also, Jason's Deli tomato basil soup was great (the best way to have this is at home after putting through the blender).
This week I'm on purees. I've found some good recipes on Pinterest, the best being Ricotta Bake. YUMMO! And of course tuna salad, crab salad, chicken salad, refried beans...whatever you can put in a blender, food processor, or your Ninja (like me!). But be warned...ain't not much going down! I've said it before and I'll say it again, the sleeve is doing its job!
The hardest part....the head stuff...the habit stuff. The sleeve does not take away the desire for snacking, munching when you're not supposed to. You know what I'm talking about...that up and down, hand to mouth motion, picking up a chip...bringing it to my mouth, crunch, munch...oh so good. I have NOT done this. Dr. Dean has done a great job of scaring me on the eating stages, enough so that I won't be jumping ahead and am happy with my purees, but only at meal time! When I feel the need to snack, I get a shake or water and let that try to fill that need for hand to mouth motion. This is where I pray for healing the most. The head stuff.
Now weight wise. I lost 5 pounds on the preop diet. I lost 10 pounds the week after surgery. And nothing since then. Nothing. Zero. Nada. I know I wasn't going to lose 50 pounds, but SOMETHING to show that this was all worth it. I didn't do much of anything last week, really just sat around the house while the boys were at school. I'm thinking...and hoping....that this did not help the situation. I went back to work today and that was the most active thing I've done in 2 weeks. I hope and pray as I move more and recover that the weight will start dropping. I can't have gone from eating like a disgusting pig to a tiny infant and not see results! This can't have been for nothing. I won't allow it.
So that's it. Whew...it was a lot, huh?
One more thing before I sign off....thank you. Thank you to all of you who texted, messaged, prayed, offered assistance with the boys. I love you all so much and can't imagine having done this without your support and acceptance and love. I'm overwhelmed...and a little verklempt over it all...talk amongst yourselves....sniff, sniff...
Can't wait to see what the rest of this crazy ride serves up...BRING IT!
