Today was my 1 month anniversary (surgiversary?) and you could read some of my other posts here for different parts of my experience. Today I'm having one of those rough days where I question why I did this to myself. I have really bad periods (PCOS) and the cramps are horrible and I've always had a hard time on those days but usually popped a few Advil and it was better. I can't take ibuprofen anymore. Though the cramps were there pre-op, they seemed to make something in there unhappy. I don't know what exactly but I know that it's not happy. It started 2-3 days ago with a lot of diarrhea (which I've experienced often in this last month - no vomiting though, thank God). I managed to get things somewhat calm with imodium and then I was very nauseated and dizzy Tuesday. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. Even some Zofran that I had left from coming home wasn't working. Turns out I was dehydrated (hello, genius!) and I managed to get some pedialyte down - plain water and even "smart water" wasn't giving me enough electrolytes because there was a huge noticeable difference after the pedialyte. I felt well enough to eat yesterday. I probably did not make the best choices but one night salmon and broccoli makes me sick, the next I can eat a little bit of Mexican food and be fine. Today I was really sick. It could have been the cramps, lingering dehydration or the food choices that I made yesterday (whole wheat tortilla with chicken salad, beans/rice/chicken/cheese/sour cream mixed together and tortilla chips with a tbls of queso - all eaten in very small bits over the course of the day). I'm having a pre-packaged cup of applesauce with a baby spoon tonight and hoping for a better tomorrow. A FEW foods have upset my stomach (within minutes of eating I was very uncomfortable and knew right away that I couldn't eat that ever again - example: lemonade with real sugar) but most of my issues come the next day with gas, bloating, growling belly, frequent BMs and generally feeling gross.
I admit that at least half of my difficulties have been trying to figure out what I can and cannot eat. You may have an easier time tolerating foods but I've struggled since the beginning (then again, I had allergies/intolerances pre-op). I also have to take daily medication that can cause stomach upset and there's just no way around taking it. There was a lot more food diluting the meds and whatever I was sensitive to before so they weren't very noticeable. If you require maintenance meds for conditions unrelated to obesity, I suggest talking to the doc about possible alternatives in case you end up have stomach problems from them. Truthfully though, the majority of my problems aren't "stomach" problems - all of the craziness happens in my lower abdomen in digestive tract.
Vitamins seem like no big deal pre-op but I really struggle with them. My stomach feels "full" for hours and hours after eating or just drinking a glass of water. I'm learning the difference between "don't put anything else in there" and "my stomach is a little swollen because it had to digest something" but I sometimes get them confused and gag on a vitamin. Ugh. You already have the VSG so this is probably already figured out for you. Kudos. Sometimes I wonder if I should have done it in steps but insurance wasn't going for that.
Protein also seemed like a no brainer because I'm a big meat eater. I always have been. I love meat. Chicken, pork, beef, turkey, duck, rabbit, venison, fish... I love it all. My doctor wanted me to have 80-100g of protein right away. I still haven't found a protein shake that doesn't make me sick (again, me and my intolerances) so that's roughly 12-16oz of meat. I can just now eat 3 oz at a time (meat sits heavy). 4 or 5 times a day seems reasonable but with me feeling full all of the time it's a tough sell. I'm getting there though, so I think that in another month it will be no biggie. Again with the VSG, you probably know what you can put in your stomach but you really have to refocus your diet on protein if you've gotten used to eating a wider variety of things.
Water was really tough too at first because I couldn't figure out how to drink it without swallowing air (I'm fairly strange, it's obvious by now) and I kept having gas-x strips with my water. Now I'm doing the 64oz on at least a few days a week and other than the crazy diarrhea, I haven't had any serious dehydration issues. No IV fluids so far. I'm not sure how much this is a stomach issue and how much it's an intestines issue because it sometimes seems like all of the water goes into the bowel and none in the bladder. The recent pedialyte experience has me more cognizant of my need for electrolytes and that may change.
Overall? I still recommend the DS to people that I know and I still believe that it's going to work but it's not magic. It's hard some days. It feels like a job to remember the vitamins and water and protein. I regret it sometimes and I am glad that I went through with it sometimes. I know that it's only been a month, so I don't have any great wisdom to share but I do think that these days will fade into distant memories before too much longer. Today I just wanted a brownie and some hot fries and a chick flick and a good hard cry. I never realized how much food is entangled in how I deal with having a bad day and for THAT psychological breakthrough, it's worth it.
A funny story: When I met my husband I was convinced that he wasn't the one for me. Convinced. He pursued. We dated. Drama happened (we're both divorced, you can imagine) and I remember thinking to myself that this was the stupidest thing I'd ever done. Again and again and again. My therapist asked me to describe our relationship and I just gave her the really ugly things that I was going through at the time and how horrible it was and she told me to leave him. I couldn't. My heart just told me not to. It's been 7 years and (almost) every day I'm thankful that I stuck through the crap. Tonight when I was really down about this whole DS thing, he asked me to think about how crappy our relationship was in the beginning. Not the glittery, glamorous falling in love but the gritty real life beginning. I laughed. I hadn't though of it in years. He said that we could talk about how much I hated the DS in 7 years.
For the above posters, they know what they're talking about. They're on the other side. The first week and month SUCK and maybe even the first 3 months but diabetes, heart disease, cancer and just being fat also suck. The difference is that the DS gradually gets better while the others gradually get worse. I was told that I'd be back to work and fine 14 days post-op and I really had this fairy tale in my head where I would be just fine and dropping weight like magic if I just swallowed some pills and drank a few shakes. I wish that someone had said "This is going to suck but that's temporary and you'll be much happier that you did it in the long run." They told me that about my advanced degree and childbirth and I still did both of those.
. I eat every couple of hours. All types of meat, cheeses, nuts. I don't really eat carbs during the day as I don't want gas issues. I wait to eat carbs (if I want them) in the evening or on Sat. in my apt. I lift weights (when I don't have hernia problems) to try and help my bones and I walk as much as I can.
