One Week Post Op!

 

One week today!  Wow.. it's flown by, but I have to admit that a couple of the past few days I've felt like I've been on this journey forever! I blame the gas! :)  I had my first post op doctor's appointment this afternoon which was fabulous for many reasons.  I am 17.4 pounds down from my starting weight.  That's AWESOME news.  17 pounds in one week makes me very happy!  I can't decide if it's better to weigh myself every day, or if waiting and weighting in once per week is a better plan.  I can't seem to quit checking though.. it's exciting to wake up in the morning wondering what the scale is going to say.  I had a couple of days when my weight actually went up a pound or a little over though, and I've got to say I could definitely have gone without knowing that!  I want to try to do once a week, but I just can't see myself sticking to it :)  It's too nerve wracking not to know.

I got the staples removed today, and the incisions look great.  They are beginning to heal quite well, and along with that comes some itching.  UGH!  I hate that part.  I'm sure I look like an ape when I can't stand it anymore and give in to scratching the itch.  I don't "think" I've scratched my belly in public yet.. God I hope I haven't, but you know how it is when you just kind of automatically do things..   Ahh well.  That's a little thing right? Hee-hee!  Doc said the incisions look so good that I need only give it one more week and I can get back in the pool! Hip Hip Hooray!  I'm very excited to swim again.  Even if at first it's only in the therapy pool.. I love my water exercise.

Doc also said that I can now "advance" my diet!  Wow! That was awesome news.  I figured I'd be on pureed food for a month or more after reading some of the stories out there.  My doctor is not one of those guys who believes it's necessary though.  He said "Take it slow, eat what you want, go ahead and eat some meat just cut it up and chew, chew, chew!"  What? No more pureed lasagna and chicken broth for dinner?   Yee Haw!  I'm down with that!  He is very adamant that I get my protein from meat as much as possible.  He's not a fan of protein shakes, and I'm very happy about that.

I think I'm mostly through the gas issues I had.  I still have some pain in my shoulder in the evenings, but it's nothing compared to what it was, and I'm grateful that it's not.  I'd say that was the worst part of the surgery for me.  I'm definitely glad it's about gone.

I can't say that I notice any changes with the 17 pounds gone.  I didn't really expect to though.  Doc said that by the time I go in for my first fill (May 18th) in one month, I will notice some changes in the way I feel.. he said I would probably notice that I'm hungrier between meals, able to eat more at a time, and my weight loss will have slowed down a bunch.  He said I could expect the fill to decrease my appetite and the weight would begin to drop off again.  And that is how it will go until we find the "sweet spot" fill that keeps me feeling fuller and less hungry all the time.  Right now I do get hungry, but not really often, and I can't eat more than 1/2 cup of food before I feel absolutely stuffed.  Right now my biggest challenge is eating S-L-O-W-L-Y.  I'm horrible at it.  I have to constantly think about it while I eat.  Taking 30 minutes to eat a meal isn't easy for me.  It doesn't seem difficult I suppose, but I'm not good at it.  I'm learning though.. I can do this!

All in all I'm a happy camper, and feeling pretty good.  I do have some pain where the port was set.  He said that was completely normal, and that as I lost weight I would probably continue to feel pain there as muscle mass decreased bit by bit.  He assured me that it wouldn't last forever.  He also wrote me a lovely prescription for some liquid pain relief that I will hoard! haha!  It's better than the first stuff he gave me, and I like it! It tastes like crap though.. and I definitely won't be able to take it during the day if I want to actually accomplish something!

That's about all the update I have for now.  Thank you for all of the encouragement and inquiries about how I'm doing via email and facebook.  Your support means EVERYTHING to me!