THREE WEEKS POST-OP

THREE WEEKS- today is THREE WEEKS since I had my complete gastrectomy.  I am feeling really good and honestly feel like I could go back to work, but because of my disability paperwork with Aflac being sent in already, Dr. Kendrick’s team told me to just hang tight and go back on the date they originally released me for.  So, my first day back at work will be Monday the 19^th.  I look forward to going back and having some normalcy in my life.  I think that will really help put things into perspective as to how life will be going forward.

One thing I really miss is having energy.  I get fatigued quickly.  Taking a shower, doing my hair, and makeup all at once is too much and I start to feel very weak.  Making supper is ok as long as I can take breaks to sit down.  I hate that I can’t run all kinds of errands at one time.  Two or three is usually about all I can do and depending on what they are and how much work they take, that sometimes can be too much.  I can’t lift anything more than a gallon of milk until next Tuesday, but I sure look forward to doing that, also.  All in due time.

I just started on solid foods last Tuesday and it seems as if that’s helped my weight loss to settle and not drop so much at once.  I’ve lost 25lbs so far and know there will be more to come, but not dropping it all so quickly will hopefully help my other organs to not go crazy.  I played it pretty safe for the most part, but I got a little gutsy with a few things AND I must say everything went very well (no dumping syndrome or spit-ups)!  I had a 2inx2in piece of pizza!!!!  I had a pickle (I was worried about the seeds, skin on the pickle, and acid)!!!!  I had ONE oreo!!!!  I had two Little Caesars breadsticks!!!  I feel like these are HUGE accomplishments!  Also, I don’t know why, but I’m surprised by how much I have to chew chicken in order for it to be broken down enough to go down…it’s a lot of work!

Over the last week, I have learned quite a bit about my new life.  I feel like I should bullet point the things I’ve learned…..here they are….

·         I don’t get hungry anymore without a stomach, but I can tell when it’s time to eat or it’s been too long when I start feeling nauseous.

·         I don’t get full anymore, either.  I can tell I’m getting full when I gurgle quite a bit, but have tried to be aware of how much I’m putting into my body so I don’t overdo it.

·         I have had food get stuck a couple times due to me not chewing as much as I should.  When food gets stuck, I get the hiccups like crazy.  Walking around and taking deep breaths help.   I, also, tap on my chest near my esophagus where I can feel the food is stuck and it hurts like heck, but I haven’t had any food come back up, thank goodness!  Taking a drink of water doesn’t help, either…just causes more pain.  The pain I’m talking of isn’t terrible, but it’s definitely uncomfortable!  I would say it usually lasts about 5 minutes on average.

·         I can’t go to bed and lay on my side immediately as I have pain.  Laying on my back for a few minutes and then rolling to my side works best.  Also, TMI…if I lay on my left side I usually have to get up and use the bathroom shortly thereafter.  I don’t know if that has something to do with all my organs shifting and laying on my new system and it pushes it out or what?

This is all a learning game and although I did a TON of research before surgery, each person is different and it’s all trial and error.  I learn something new each day and expect that to continue for a while, yet.  I’m still just floored as to how great I feel and am so thankful for that!