One month post-surgery update

[eohartman]

It's been a month since I had gastric bypass surgery and things are going pretty well! I'm eating more "normal" foods, including steak, salads, and other non-soft-foods (Dustin is jealous, because at one-month out he couldn't eat any of the things I can!). I can't have extremely fatty or sugary foods, of course, but it's nice to be eating something other than mashed potatoes. :-) As long as I remember to eat slowly and chew thoroughly, then I don't have any problems. I still don't have any feeling of hunger or satiated, so it's hard to remember to eat 5 - 6 small meals a day. I'm up to about 4 meals a day, but even that's hard to accomplish sometimes.

Through this whole ordeal, I've been trying to be very conscious of my body and follow my body's cues. The bariatric program gives you guidelines on what you should be eating at each post-op stage, how much you should be eating, etc. While I'm not eating more than the full cup of food per meal, sometimes I eat only half a cup of food. I certainly haven't stuck to the soft-foods diet they recommend, either. It's been difficult, more psychologically than physically, to not be able to understand what my body is telling me. Is that pang in my side because I need to eat, or is it because I ate raw carrots three hours ago? Am I nauseous because I'm full or because I ate the wrong thing? All of those cues that I once knew are foreign to me. It's a bit stressful.

I've lost 34 pounds, which is right on track for what they want you to lose in the first month. It's funny - I thought I would be weighing myself every day, but I really don't think about it that often, only about twice a week. I'm not as concerned with the number on the scale as much as I am about being healthy. It's the right attitude, but it's a lot different than my weigh-himself-twice-a-day husband. :-) My clothes are looser, though I haven't dropped down a size yet (I probably can, but it's habit to just pull out the same clothes every day at 6:30 a.m.). I'm feeling better, too - although I still don't have my normal energy (or more!), I'm not as exhausted as I was a couple of weeks ago. Between having major surgery and my body adjusting to starving itself (I'm only taking in about 500 calories a day), I was getting pretty fatigued.

It was nice to ease back into work. Since we had so much snow last week, I had to work from home, which made it easier to transition back to work (I could take micronaps if needed, I didn't have to worry about the two-hour commute, etc). I'm SO glad to be back at work, though - after three weeks of a vacation and another week of being home-bound due to the snow, I was going stir crazy. I missed my coworkers! I missed being a productive member of society! I missed being BUSY!

I also missed my raccoons - even though I hardly interact with them now, it was hard for me not to check on them in the weeks after surgery. I didn't want to risk it, though - with five little (bullet-hole sized) incision sites on my stomach, the last thing I needed was to be mobbed by raccoons with sharp claws who want to play with me.

I've got my one-month post-op appointment with the surgeon scheduled for next week, at which point I'll (hopefully) be cleared to lift more than 10 pounds (I've been cheating occasionally) and resume normal activity and start exercising. I'm looking forward to it!

Comments

[silsbycarr.livejournal.com]

Yey! I'm so excited to see an update about this! 34 pounds is AMAZING progress! I'm happy to hear that adjusting has been challenging but doable.

The emotional side of weightloss is so complicated.

[sillygoosegirl.livejournal.com]

Only 500 calories a day?! Is that forever, or just initially?

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Just initially. I'll get up to a more reasonable caloric intake (around 1,200 - 1,500) later.

[dustinhartman.livejournal.com]

I hate you steak eater ;-D

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Thanks for your support, dear.

[trinity3x.livejournal.com]

I was hoping for an update from you when I logged into LJ this morning! I am so glad to hear you are progressing in a healthy manner even with some of the new body signal confusion. *huge hugs*

[enogitna.livejournal.com]

wow! It sounds complicated! You are doing great, it seems, and 34 pounds is a lot of progress. (You lost more than William weighs!)

But yeah, I hear you about going stir-crazy. Glad you are back out there, being awesome. Wish you a speedy continued recovery and the all-clear from your doctor. :)

[ftmichael.livejournal.com]

Glad things are improving steadily for you!

Tell me about this 'so much snow' you've had. ;)

[sailorgarnet.livejournal.com]

Glad you're doing so great!!

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Yes, the emotional side is extremely complicated. I've been so used to being "the fat girl" that it's hard for me to understand that might change (and I am SO afraid of getting my hopes up, so I use words like "might" a lot). I'm used to listening to my body, but that's no longer possible. It's very hard. It doesn't help that I'm TRYING to eat food, so I make foods that I enjoy (like tacos or spaghetti), but when it's time to eat, I'm not hungry at all so I only eat a little bit. The idea of eating anything is just so unappealing right now.

The stigma associated with weight loss surgery is hard, too - a lot of people think it's the "easy way out" and it's just a way that I can "continue to be lazy" and crap like that. It's hard, but I've learned to ignore the haters.

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Me too! It's not easy yet, and I'm still learning the ropes, but I'm trying to stay positive. :-)

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I think the most frustrating thing has been that I can't rely on my body's signals anymore. I've lived in this body for 27 years, so I knew it pretty damn well. Now, though, it's like I've been transported into someone else's body. I know it'll get easier, but it's still pretty hard for me to come to terms with.

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

It's very complicated. For anyone who says weight loss surgery is the "easy way out," I would like to cut them. It's not easy at all - it's major surgery, and you learn what you can/cannot eat by throwing it up or having massive stomach cramps or worse. Thankfully, I'm being cautious enough that I haven't experienced any of those yet!

I don't know how you northerners do it. Do you just have lots of inside activities? Do you go outside anyway? I was about to get all "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" on people.

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Hey now, when you have 10 snow plows and 8 salt trucks in a metropolis area with a population of nearly 6 million people.... you do the math. ;-) Our six inches doesn't have anything on your snow, but we don't have the infrastructure to deal with it!

[riscana.livejournal.com]

haha, this is the same reason northwest Washington essentially shuts down when we get any snow at all. My town sold their only snowplow a few years back, I don't think we ever replaced that... so any time it snows here, even an inch, the roads are a nightmare. So I feel ya, Lizzie. :)

[riscana.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear an update - 34 pounds in a month is AMAZING but the never-feeling-hungry and having to relearn your body's cues would be insanely difficult - good luck with it all, you're awesome!

[moober.livejournal.com]

Do you go outside anyway?

Yes. My neighbor and I are going out shopping and to a bar tonight. It's 2 degrees, wind chill close to 20 below. :)

I felt so badly for you guys with all your snow and ice! It's terrible to want to go places but not be able to.

[moober.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you posted an update! Sounds like you are adjusting well and it's really interesting to hear about the process! *hug*

[chapstickqueen.livejournal.com]

I am so excited to see how well you're doing! It certainly sounds like you have your head in the right place - sorry the adjustment period is rough. Keep it up!

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Ah, that makes it more bearable! I assume you can still drive around and such? And you have cold-weather clothes, which helps, too. We don't own such things down here. lol

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised y'all don't have the equipment up there! I would assume that any place up North (including the entire Washington state!) would have snowplows and salt trucks.

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Thanks! :-) I'm getting there, slowly but surely.

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Thanks! *hug* I'm so glad I'm on the other side of this - it can only get better from here!

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'm trying to keep my head in the right place. It helps that y'all will keep me accountable if I go the wrong way! :-)

[moober.livejournal.com]

Haha, most definitely. It hasn't been above freezing here yet all our streets are clear since we've got all the salt and plows. It's terrible to be stuck in your own house (and without warm clothes either!).

[deessedusoleil.livejournal.com]

This is kind of off topic, but I wanted to let you know that it's fine that you deleted my weddingplans post and I can see now why you did it. It hadn't even occurred to me that it could be misconstrued as spam.

Personally, I don't need a photobooth anymore (because my wedding is over).
I was just trying to spread the info on a cool discount.

Thanks for keeping an eye on the community, though!

[lizzie.livejournal.com]

Thanks for being understanding! No worries! :-)