1 week post-op

Wow 1 week gone already and 6kg (13lbs) gone as well :).
Starting weight 119kg [262lbs] now 113kg [249lbs]
Starting BMI 48 - now 45

Have been doing reasonably well considering what my body has gone through.  Have bouts of feeling extremely tired so tend to have to nap during the day.  Pain is now about 98% gone and only get occasional uncomfortable feeling on my left side.  It's a internal pain that I can't really explain but it's not bad and I have not had to take any pain medication for a couple of days now.

Although the pain has been very very little I did get a reaction to the plasters over the cuts on my stomach and that has been driving me crazy.  I had to remove the main plasters and you will see from the photos below some of what the plasters did to me (a lot of the irritation has now gone down).  The small tape directly over the wounds is also causing irritation and I have had to trim some that have lifted because of blisters forming  under them.   The wound that has no tape on it is where the pain is located.  It's not the actual wound that is sore it is an internal pain / discomfort.  This was the area where I had the tube for draining whilst I was in hospital.  I was amazed at how small it is and how well it has healed.  Amazing what one's body can do to repair itself.

I am on the full liquids part of the diet and am mainly living on low fat yoghurt and homemade cream soups.  This morning I made some oats for breakfast and just made sure it was the consistency of a cream soup and then added a splash of milk.  Went down very well and was a nice change.  I also drink loads of water and have 1 cup of fresh orange juice (diluted) and then at night have a cup of green tea.  Am using Splenda as a sugar substitute as I would rather not have any sugar at this stage.

Eating requirements given by my dietician were that I should have a protein shake a day and at least 4 cups of food a day (ie. 2 cups yoghurt and 2 cups soup).  I need to break down the meals to 5 or 6 a day.  Unfortunately the protein shake I was given is disgusting and I have been unable to drink it.  As protein is a very important part of my new life I took a chicken breast and added it to the pumpkin soup I made.  I just made sure to blend everything so that it was very fine and able to go through a strainer.
I have no feeling of hunger at all but do get the feeling of being full (just an uncomfortable feeling).  I haven't been eating as much as I am supposed to but think that I am not too far off the mark.  The foods at this stage are all what they call "sliders" and they do not stay in my new pouch for long, they just slide through.  

I have my first post-op appointment with the doctor tomorrow so will see what he says.  I think and hope all is going according to plan.

Back home

Wohoooooooooooo finally back home.   Was actually discharged yesterday but to be honest I just didn't have the energy to even update the blog.

The operation went well and the doctor was happy with the whole procedure which is fantastic as far as I am concerned.  Doc says they made the pouch as small as they could which I hope will be small enough LOL.  I forgot to ask how much intestines they bypassed but will try and find out when I go for my first post-op check up on Monday.

I am a bit of a chicken when it comes to hospitals and operations so really thought I would be majorly worried and stressed just before the op.  Fortunately it was all so different and I was as relaxed as I could possibly be.  All I remember about the surgery is going to pre-op, having a chat to the anethetist who gave me hell for smoking before the op and then getting wheeled into surgery, transferring over to the operating bed, opening my arms to the side and then it was ............................................ The beauty of whatever it is they give you - sweet oblivion.

I don't recall getting woken in recovery and the first I remember is being back in my bed in the ward and being in pain trying to move.  Hubby and a friend were there to welcome me back and what a hoot to listen to them telling me how vocal I was when I woke up (guess I become a bit of a baby after an operation).

Surgery was originally scheduled for 9am but because of an emergency it was then shifted to 11am.  Was back in the ward by 3pm so a fair amount of time for the surgery.  I would think it probably took 3 and a bit hours for the surgery.  Don't know what the normal time is for surgery so nothing to compare to unfortunately.

I was out of it for a bit when I got back to the ward but  later that day I was out of bed and walking.  Also had my first visit to the toilet to pass water which I was soooooooo happy happened so fast.  Doc was talking about putting in a catheter which I was not overly keen on.  I had nothing to drink at all that day - only IV fluids allowed and one thing I noticed was how very dry my mouth and especially my tongue was.  Hubby kept dipping his finger in water and moistoning my tongue as it felt like I had a wad of sandpaper in my mouth.  Not a nice feeling.

Days in hospital after surgery went well.  First post op day had IV fluids in the morning and by lunch time started clear fluid diet.  Yum NOT lol
Pain was bearable but I'm sure all the pain meds they kept putting into my IV helped. Once I started on the liquid diet I just had to make sure to sip sip sip, walk walk walk and do breathing exercises regularly.  The walking definitely helps with easing the pain as a lot of it is due to gas in your system from the op.  On the 2nd day after surgery I was changed over to full liquid diet and that is definitely more bearable than the clear liquid diet.  I also had my drain removed that day and all I can say is OUCH, bloody OUCH.  I asked the doc if it would hurt and he said no (what a liar).  The tube was long and every bit they took out felt like they were pulling part of my insides out.  It was horrible.  I can only think the pain is caused by some type of suction in your system but whatever causes it all I can say is that it is definitely not a pleasent experience.  On the 3rd day after surgery I was seen by the docs early morning and approved for discharge.  Was on my way home by lunchtime which was a great feeling that everything had run smoothly with the operation and my recovery in hospital.

Today is my second day home and I am definitely starting to feel so much better.  Pain is mostly minimal - a bit uncomfortable when walking for an extended period or when I move around in bed.  The pain is definitely all on the left side of the stomach.  It's around the area of the main incision where they put in the big moving equipment but it's not the incision itself.

Eating is going well I think.  I am living on mainly low fat plain youghurt and cream of chicken soup and also lots and lots of water.  In total today I have eaten about 3 cups of food so good going I think.  I have just had my first cup of green tea tonight and it was oh so nice.  Before surgery I was a big (and I mean big) coffee drinker but I had a sip of hubby's cup tonight and it just didn't taste good.

Well this is it for today - I will try and give some more info tomorrow as I am sure I missed some in this post.  Brain is dead and body is shutting down (need to rest) so signing off for now.

PS - feel free to post comments or questions and I will try and answer as I can