12 Days Post Op

[stanh]

Well, today marks 12 days post op...

I think I am doing pretty good, and am recovering well. I don't have anything to measure my recovery against, so I may be fooling myself!

I had been on clear liquids (water, Isopure, decaf tea) since 2 days before my surgery, and added Greek yogurt to the mix about 5 days post surgery. Soon I also added cottage cheese ( I had to "chew" something!). I also threw in some cream of wheat a few times as well, along with an order of egg drop soup!

All went well. I only had one surge of feeling nauseous, but it wasn't food or drink related.

Started adding protein shakes..Probably over did it the first time...18 oz of chocolate shake, 90 grams of protein.....Equaled 5-6 trips to the bathroom the next day.

I was jonesing so badly for real food....I added pureed tuna to my meals today..Oh man....SO GOOD! Tuna, mayo, a splash of pickle juice, then puree....Still had to "chew" it...Felt like real food...Meat too...So good.

Went to Sam's Club with my wife and daughter today and bought a rotisserie chicken for dinner ( got tired at the end of the shopping trip)...Had 2.5 ounces for dinner. It was awesome! Even cut up some skin and had that as well. That was good.:biggrin:

Drinking is a pain in the butt, but I am getting my ounces in. I'll finish today at over 64 oz again and I'll have consumed 85 grams of protein (59 grams from real food, not protein powder!).

Passed on going to a St. Patrick's Day party at a neighbors today...Didn't want to face a gauntlet of questions, nor watch everyone else drink Irish Car Bombs, etc....

I posted this elsewhere, so bare with my repetiveness, but I did make a trip to the ER the day after I was released from the hospital. Every time I would get up, blood and fluid would leak (stream) out of the incision hole that my drainage tube was in...Seemed like a lot to me. Called my doctor, answered a bunch of his questions (was it blood or was it bloody saline, etc.?) Looked like blood to me. He gave me the option - he would meet me in the ER, or I could see how the night went. I chose to see how the night went.

The next morning he called me before I even got out of bed (7:30am). My gauze was soaked, the towel I was lying on was wet as well. Still "streamed out when I stood..So he sent me to the ER...Long story short - just "normal" leakage. Dealt with that until this past Thursday. I went to my post op appointment that day and had the tube removed. The tube had a long clot in it, which had drastically slowed its effectiveness. But, I was ecstatic to have it out. I leaked a little at his office, but nothing like before..He put a large bandage over the hole, and viola, I have been leak free since!!! (knocking on wood).

Oh, I had lost more weight since my pre-surgery weigh in...Yay for me.

I started this journey in August at 357, pre-surgery I weighed 326, Thursday I weighed 313...I don't use a scale at home, so the next time I am weighed will probably be in about a month when I schedule an appointment with my PCP...

So that is where I am at....My birthday is next Wednesday...We will go out for sushi (my daughter is home on Spring Break), so it will be a big treat for her...I'll have some sashimi, so I'll be OK! I go back to work 3/24.

 

[Whit]

Glad you are doing well Stanh. Keep up the good work.

Whitney

 

[Sheanie]

Glad you're doing well. I did Isopure, too.

 

[JackieOnLine]

most excellent, Stan, glad you are doing so well. I also drank isopure, I put it in the freezer and had it slushy.

I don't blame you for going to the ER - sounds scary, and better safe than sorry.

next time you weight, ooh boy! meanwhile, careful you don't lose your pants while in public. maybe some suspenders?

 

[jjordan8130]

Well, today marks 12 days post op...

I think I am doing pretty good, and am recovering well. I don't have anything to measure my recovery against, so I may be fooling myself!

I had been on clear liquids (water, Isopure, decaf tea) since 2 days before my surgery, and added Greek yogurt to the mix about 5 days post surgery. Soon I also added cottage cheese ( I had to "chew" something!). I also threw in some cream of wheat a few times as well, along with an order of egg drop soup!

All went well. I only had one surge of feeling nauseous, but it wasn't food or drink related.

Started adding protein shakes..Probably over did it the first time...18 oz of chocolate shake, 90 grams of protein.....Equaled 5-6 trips to the bathroom the next day.

I was jonesing so badly for real food....I added pureed tuna to my meals today..Oh man....SO GOOD! Tuna, mayo, a splash of pickle juice, then puree....Still had to "chew" it...Felt like real food...Meat too...So good.

Went to Sam's Club with my wife and daughter today and bought a rotisserie chicken for dinner ( got tired at the end of the shopping trip)...Had 2.5 ounces for dinner. It was awesome! Even cut up some skin and had that as well. That was good.:biggrin:

Drinking is a pain in the butt, but I am getting my ounces in. I'll finish today at over 64 oz again and I'll have consumed 85 grams of protein (59 grams from real food, not protein powder!).

Passed on going to a St. Patrick's Day party at a neighbors today...Didn't want to face a gauntlet of questions, nor watch everyone else drink Irish Car Bombs, etc....

I posted this elsewhere, so bare with my repetiveness, but I did make a trip to the ER the day after I was released from the hospital. Every time I would get up, blood and fluid would leak (stream) out of the incision hole that my drainage tube was in...Seemed like a lot to me. Called my doctor, answered a bunch of his questions (was it blood or was it bloody saline, etc.?) Looked like blood to me. He gave me the option - he would meet me in the ER, or I could see how the night went. I chose to see how the night went.

The next morning he called me before I even got out of bed (7:30am). My gauze was soaked, the towel I was lying on was wet as well. Still "streamed out when I stood..So he sent me to the ER...Long story short - just "normal" leakage. Dealt with that until this past Thursday. I went to my post op appointment that day and had the tube removed. The tube had a long clot in it, which had drastically slowed its effectiveness. But, I was ecstatic to have it out. I leaked a little at his office, but nothing like before..He put a large bandage over the hole, and viola, I have been leak free since!!! (knocking on wood).

Oh, I had lost more weight since my pre-surgery weigh in...Yay for me.

I started this journey in August at 357, pre-surgery I weighed 326, Thursday I weighed 313...I don't use a scale at home, so the next time I am weighed will probably be in about a month when I schedule an appointment with my PCP...

So that is where I am at....My birthday is next Wednesday...We will go out for sushi (my daughter is home on Spring Break), so it will be a big treat for her...I'll have some sashimi, so I'll be OK! I go back to work 3/24.

So glad to hear you are doing so well!!!! My DS was last Wednesday. I was discharged by Friday. I've had an uneventful recovery so far (knock on wood). I'm getting in about 2L a day of clears. Post op appt is tomorrow morning. Hoping to be put on fulls (I think I'm ready) and get this JP drain out. My focus the past few days has been purely on hydration. I've mixed in some protein when I can, but I'm only getting about 25-30 grams a day right now. Surgeon says that's ok. When I get on fulls I'm sure it won't be an issue getting them in. No nausea at all. Still taking Dilaudid when I need some pain relief. Each day I feel better and less sore. I do get worn out easily, but I rest when I feel that way.

 

[newanatomy]

Thanks so much for the update! I am glad to know you are doing so well. Seems like a pretty typical recovery, whew! That is just what you want.

 

[stanh]

So had to get tested for C-Diff last week..That was fun (collecting the sample)....Everything had been just plain watery...Test was negative, and miracle of miracles, the wateriness has pretty much stopped (knock on wood)....Things aren't pre-op normal, but much better....Sorry for the TMI.....Oh, weighed in at 5lbs less than when I was at the surgeons the previous Wednesday...So that's good.

Trying to eat as "normal" as I can. Trying to max my protein...Still tuna salad, chicken salad, etc...Gonna add egg salad, smoked salmon, cream cheese, other cheeses to the mix. I'm going back to work tomorrow so want to pack a decent assortment of 2 ounce-ish size snacks/meals. Found some cool things at Sam's Club...Prosciutto, Soppresata, and some other meat, wrapped around a small pinky sized piece of mozzarella (1 type of meat wrapped on 1 piece of cheese). Going to try those.....Having chicken tacos tonight, except my meal will just be the chicken (no tortillas), maybe a little cilantro and some avocado....Oh, and I bought a jalapeno....We'll see how that goes.

Had to buy new pants for work. My old ones were falling down, even with a belt...So that's cool.

We took our daughter to the airport today so she could fly back to school...That was not cool...Love and miss her.
Our son came home last night for his Spring break, so that is the bright side...

My birthday was last week...So you have this 53 year old man using the word cool in his post.....That's probably not cool!!!

20 days post op.

Hope you all are well.

 

[brooklyngirl]

Sounds like you're doing pretty well! Happy you don't have c diff, and that that area is getting back to the new normal, but be careful with that jalapeño, It could burn in more ways than one!

 

[stanh]

Well I went to my Endocrinologist today...Had labs drawn last Thursday..

The big weigh in took place..I haven't stepped on a scale since 1 week post surgery, when I weighed 306 ( was actually 3/13, so it was 10 days post op).

290.

Yep.

290. So unbelievable for me.

Phew....

My A1C?........5.2.
Five. Point. Two.
Big thumbs up.

Liver function normal.
HDL a little low. LDL is good
Blood pressure 120/80.
BMI is 37

I am officially off of diabetes medication.
Very happy with that.

 

[shann]

Awesome report!!

 

[Terri]

Fantastic

 

[stanh]

Hi everyone,
I haven't really posted much lately. No reasons other than reverting to my more private self, I guess.

I don't know how much I currently weigh, although I do know it is less than the 290 I posted back in April...Our house scale is something I don't trust, so I don't use it...Sort of. I used it once. I got 3 different weights within 5 minutes of each other. So I scoffed...Was something like 276, 283, 277. I think that was back in May. People ask me how much I have lost, and I tell them I don't know, I don't have a scale.

I have had to make a few shopping trips with my wife and daughter serving as style consultants. It goes something like;
Them; "No. That's too big. You need a smaller size"
Me: "But this is comfortable. I like loose shirts"
Them; "Here try this one instead"

With pants, it's a no brainer.. I don't like my pants falling down. Belts - same thing. Punching your own holes in them only goes so far.

I was wearing 4XL shirts. Now I wear 1XL and any 2XL's that my wife has allowed to hang in the closet still...It's not easy donating your "favorite" shirts. Pants were a size 48. Now I am wearing a size 42. Those might be a little looser now too, but I don't think I am ready to try a 40 yet. Bought some swim trunks - size XL...Was shocking to me. In a good way.

Well, if you have read this, thanks. I hope the nice people of this site are doing well!

 

[newanatomy]

I'm with you, I hate tight clothes.

 

[hilary1617]

Congratulations on the shrinking sizes. Keep one favorite shirt so you can put it on in 18 months and be amazed. Donate the rest. I know the instinct is to hold on because good clothes in larger sizes are sooooo hard to find and there's usually a thought in the back of a new-DSer's mind (based on previous diets that failed us), that we might need those clothes again. But the wonderful reality is that DS, we won't. They will never fit again. Pre-op sizes are a thing of the past, for good!!!! So happy for you!

 

[southernlady]

Congratulations on the shrinking sizes. Keep one favorite shirt so you can put it on in 18 months and be amazed. Donate the rest. I know the instinct is to hold on because good clothes in larger sizes are sooooo hard to find and there's usually a thought in the back of a new-DSer's mind (based on previous diets that failed us), that we might need those clothese again. But the wonderful reality is that DS, we won't. They will never fit again. Pre-op sizes are a thing of the past, for good!!!! So happy for you!

I have some leftover T shirts from before, but I use them in all sorts of ways...like painting shirts! If I am gonna ruin something, may as well ruin one too big.