Today is TWO WEEKS since I had my complete gastrectomy (complete removal of my entire stomach) so that I don’t have to worry about an 83% chance of stomach cancer along with 4% chance of survival if I were to have waited until/if I got it. TWO WEEKS and I feel SO good. The way I feel today is how I felt I’d feel SIX MONTHS from now. I expected to be sleeping constantly, just now getting off of pain meds, and I thought I’d be dealing with food getting stuck constantly and dumping syndrome.
I take a nap every afternoon because who doesn’t love a good afternoon nap and it’s not like I have anything else to do. Ha! I haven’t been on pain meds since last week. As for food getting stuck/dumping syndrome, I just started on solid SOFT food today so time will tell.
I had a piece of bread with butter on it last night to see how it would go and it went great. Only downfall was my non-stomach was EXTREMELY loud going to bed last night while lying on my left side- no pain or discomfort, though. Once I switched to lying on my back, it was quiet and everyone could sleep peacefully. I just had a wedding/funeral sandwich for lunch (you know, the small little buns with butter and ham or turkey on it) which has been something I’ve been craving since surgery. (I may not be hungry, but cravings still come about now and then) That went very well, also! I had one case last Friday where food got stuck, but I knew exactly what I did to cause that. I knew it was time to eat and I took 3 big bites of applesauce at once time as I was trying to hurry. The new me has to eat VERY slow and chew VERY thoroughly. I’ve been making sure I’m eating slow and thorough since Friday and have had no issues. I’m taking this food bit very slow and I hope that does me some good.
I got to drive today for the first time since surgery. That was kind of exciting as it’s nice to know I don’t have to stay cooped up at home constantly! I, also, removed all of my steri-strips (two last ones today) and that feels good!
I realized after last Friday that I still have to take things somewhat slow. It’s great to get out and about and walk, but I’m really only TWO weeks out from surgery and still need to take it easy. One errand at a time is probably best for a little while, yet.
TWO WEEKS and here we are. I’m sure there will be uphill and downhill battles to come, but what I know is I couldn’t be happier with how things are going! I’m shocked and surprised, but beyond thankful at the same time. Cheers to TWO WEEKS!
I had a piece of bread with butter on it last night to see how it would go and it went great. Only downfall was my non-stomach was EXTREMELY loud going to bed last night while lying on my left side- no pain or discomfort, though. Once I switched to lying on my back, it was quiet and everyone could sleep peacefully. I just had a wedding/funeral sandwich for lunch (you know, the small little buns with butter and ham or turkey on it) which has been something I’ve been craving since surgery. (I may not be hungry, but cravings still come about now and then) That went very well, also! I had one case last Friday where food got stuck, but I knew exactly what I did to cause that. I knew it was time to eat and I took 3 big bites of applesauce at once time as I was trying to hurry. The new me has to eat VERY slow and chew VERY thoroughly. I’ve been making sure I’m eating slow and thorough since Friday and have had no issues. I’m taking this food bit very slow and I hope that does me some good.
I got to drive today for the first time since surgery. That was kind of exciting as it’s nice to know I don’t have to stay cooped up at home constantly! I, also, removed all of my steri-strips (two last ones today) and that feels good!
I realized after last Friday that I still have to take things somewhat slow. It’s great to get out and about and walk, but I’m really only TWO weeks out from surgery and still need to take it easy. One errand at a time is probably best for a little while, yet.
TWO WEEKS and here we are. I’m sure there will be uphill and downhill battles to come, but what I know is I couldn’t be happier with how things are going! I’m shocked and surprised, but beyond thankful at the same time. Cheers to TWO WEEKS!
So glad to hear that things are going well but take it easy and just let your body heal slowly. The dumping syndrome is a bit of a pain and I had it a lot but these days I have not been bothered with it for ages. I am just about to celebrate three years and in all that time have not had one bad day or felt ill. I have only suffered a few colds in the winter time.
ReplyDeleteMy iron levels are usually lower than normal so in the future watch yours when you begin to lose weight. Keep well and happy and your life ahead will always be like that. My best regards.
Thanks Julie! Yes, I do really need to take it easy. It's hard to do sometimes and as nice as the nurses were, I don't really want to go back to the hospital because I was pushing it too much!
DeleteThat's good to know about iron levels! Thank you!