For the past week I have been recovering from my operation at my in-laws and I will be here until the end of the week. I am staying here as we live an hour an a half away from the hospital and my surgeon wanted me to be a bit closer for the first week and a half in case there were any issues.
For the most part my day has involved reading, snoozing and watching a few movies and tv series that friends downloaded for me. I have not been in any real pain just a bit of discomfort. I am taking panadol 4 times a day and that is all I have needed. All of this interrupted by my alarm going off every 15 minutes reminding me to drink my 15mls/30mls of shake. When I first went on to liquids it was 15 mls every 15 minutes but for the last 4 days it has been 30mls every 15 minutes.
I know that this seems like the most ridiculously small amount to be consuming but I have not felt at all hungry and at times it has been a bit of an effort to get it all down without being turned off the taste. Following surgery the inside of your stomach is swollen and until the swelling goes down the internal capacity is about the size of a drinking straw. This slowly goes down over the 2 weeks following surgery but this is why you have to pace your self with the liquids.
I am really missing real food and every night when dinner is being cooked my mouth waters. The shakes are starting to taste really yuck but I know it is important to be drinking them to get my full nutrient intake. As well as my shakes I am managing to drink a bit of fruit juice and some water but it is a strange feeling to never feel hungry when you are consuming so little.
I tried a cup of tea today, well I should say half a cup of tea, but I could not drink it all before it went cold and I ended up reheating it in the microwave. But a reheated cup of tea is not really the same.
Every day I have been for a walk and gradually I am feeling up to walking a bit further. The first day I was only up to walking to the end of the street and back (about 800m) but today my mother in law and I walked around the suburb which was about 2km.
I am feeling quite low in energy but I think this is more to do with my body healing than how much I am consuming. I am sure it will improve over time and hopefully when I go back to work next week I will have enough energy to not need to take any more time off.
One thing I have noticed is that I need to have a few sips of water as soon as I wake in the morning before I even get out of bed. My stomach kind of feels like it is all dry and needs some lubrication. Only once I have done this do I feel well enough to get up. I think I must be quite dehydrated when I wake up.
I am sure this will not last but I do not remember anyone else mentioning this.
I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave. Feel free to ask questions.
If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.
Tuesday, 25 February 2014
Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Leaving Hospital
Well today I got to leave hospital and I was really looking forward to getting out. Not that the staff had not been wonderful it was more that I wanted to feel like I was on the path to getting back to normal.
When I got up in the morning my IV was beeping telling me that the fluid was not going into a vein but into my arm again. I called the nurse and she decided that since I was going home today and I was able to drink they would not put another one in.
This was great because it allowed me to have my first shower without an IV in my arm. Because of where my canula was in my arm I could not bend my arm enough to brush my hair let alone wash it. So it was great to be able to have a shower and wash my hair. After that I felt like a new woman.
Normal check out time was 10 am but I was not discharged until 1pm. I had to prove that I could drink a shake drink not just water and then I was given the all clear to go home.
Here is a photo of my stomach 5 days post surgery. Most of the bruising is from where the base of each of the instruments sits and was not really that sore.
Now it is just time to sit back and relax and let my body heal. That plus my 15 minute alarms for drinking will be my life for a while.
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I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave. Feel free to ask questions.
If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.
When I got up in the morning my IV was beeping telling me that the fluid was not going into a vein but into my arm again. I called the nurse and she decided that since I was going home today and I was able to drink they would not put another one in.
This was great because it allowed me to have my first shower without an IV in my arm. Because of where my canula was in my arm I could not bend my arm enough to brush my hair let alone wash it. So it was great to be able to have a shower and wash my hair. After that I felt like a new woman.
Normal check out time was 10 am but I was not discharged until 1pm. I had to prove that I could drink a shake drink not just water and then I was given the all clear to go home.
Here is a photo of my stomach 5 days post surgery. Most of the bruising is from where the base of each of the instruments sits and was not really that sore.
Now it is just time to sit back and relax and let my body heal. That plus my 15 minute alarms for drinking will be my life for a while.
I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave. Feel free to ask questions.
If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.
Monday, 17 February 2014
Swallow Test and Finally Getting to Drink (If you can call it that)
During the night my canular tissued which basically meant that my IV fluids were going into the tissue of my arm not into the vein. I woke up in the middle of the night with a very swollen arm and a nurse had to come and put a new one in my other arm. My body will reabsorb all of the excess fluid over the next few days but I sure am glad I did not have m wedding ring on.
So today is the day we get to test out the holding ability of my new stomach and make sure there is nothing leaking out. All going well and the X-Rays not showing any leaks I would be able to start drinking water later in the day.
At about 8am a nurse came with a wheelchair to get me and we set off for the X-Ray department. I was still feeling a bit unwell from the anesthetic but it was definitely better than the past few days.
When we got to X-Ray i waited for a few minutes in the wheel chair in the waiting room before being wheeled into the actual X-Ray room.
Once there I had to stand in front of the X-Ray machine and the X-Rays were taken on 3 different angles. The Barium solution was given to me in a plastic glass and the instructions were that I had to take a small sip, hold it in my mouth until the radiologist told me to swallow. I did this 3 times so they could get the 3 different angle X-rays.
I had heard that the barium solution tasted awful but that does not even begin to explain it. It is some really foul tasting liquid that they try and disguise the taste of with a super sweet glucose solution type stuff.
After 4 days of not being able to drink anything at all it was a pretty awful first drink. After the X-Ray they asked if I wanted to wash my mouth out with water. YES PLEASE.
Thankfully the taste did not linger too long and was gone by the time I was wheeled back to my room. I was starting to feel much better and so I chilled out watching TV until the nurses came and told me my X-Ray results were back and I was fine to start drinking.
At this stage I am allowed to drink 15mls of water every 15 minutes, which is basically half a shot glass so you can imagine that this is hardly quenching your thirst. Because of how little you are able to drink I still had an IV in my arm but at a reduced rate. To make sure I was remembering to drink every 15 minutes I used the timer on my mobile phone.
It was so good to be able to swallow liquid again and refresh my mouth but I know I am going to get sick of hearing that beep every 15 minutes.
I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave. Feel free to ask questions.
If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.
So today is the day we get to test out the holding ability of my new stomach and make sure there is nothing leaking out. All going well and the X-Rays not showing any leaks I would be able to start drinking water later in the day.
At about 8am a nurse came with a wheelchair to get me and we set off for the X-Ray department. I was still feeling a bit unwell from the anesthetic but it was definitely better than the past few days.
When we got to X-Ray i waited for a few minutes in the wheel chair in the waiting room before being wheeled into the actual X-Ray room.
Once there I had to stand in front of the X-Ray machine and the X-Rays were taken on 3 different angles. The Barium solution was given to me in a plastic glass and the instructions were that I had to take a small sip, hold it in my mouth until the radiologist told me to swallow. I did this 3 times so they could get the 3 different angle X-rays.
I had heard that the barium solution tasted awful but that does not even begin to explain it. It is some really foul tasting liquid that they try and disguise the taste of with a super sweet glucose solution type stuff.
After 4 days of not being able to drink anything at all it was a pretty awful first drink. After the X-Ray they asked if I wanted to wash my mouth out with water. YES PLEASE.
Thankfully the taste did not linger too long and was gone by the time I was wheeled back to my room. I was starting to feel much better and so I chilled out watching TV until the nurses came and told me my X-Ray results were back and I was fine to start drinking.
At this stage I am allowed to drink 15mls of water every 15 minutes, which is basically half a shot glass so you can imagine that this is hardly quenching your thirst. Because of how little you are able to drink I still had an IV in my arm but at a reduced rate. To make sure I was remembering to drink every 15 minutes I used the timer on my mobile phone.
It was so good to be able to swallow liquid again and refresh my mouth but I know I am going to get sick of hearing that beep every 15 minutes.
I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave. Feel free to ask questions.
If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.
Sunday, 16 February 2014
Hospital Stay
Let me tell you about the my hospital stay. I had my own room with bathroom, visitors chair and TV with all the free to air channels as well as some pay TV channels too.
The day of my operation and the next 2 days were not the most fun times. I am not someone who copes well with the after effects of anesthetic and it makes me very very nauseous. My surgeon was aware of this and so were all of the nurses so they kept me well topped up with anti nausea medication. Even still I felt really sick each time I got up to go to the bathroom and a coupe of times I started heaving. This was something I was really worried about as I was concerned that I would damage the staple line on my stomach. Thankfully my stomach only heaved a couple of times and by the time I got back to bed it settled down.
The nurses were great and they made sure I always had my pain in check and was comfortable. They encouraged me to get up and walk as often as I could and were always happy for a chat as they did their observations. Dr Hatzafotis visited each day to check on my healing and to see how I was going. I was happy to just rest since I was not feeling well and other than having a shower I did nothing at all for the first 3 days. I stayed in a hospital gown for my entire stay as it was so much easier with the IV in my arm. Plus I was not having visitors other than Hubby so I was not worried about how I looked.
I had my surgery on Friday morning and I was not having my swallow test (more about that in another post) until Monday so that entire time I was was nil by mouth. So that means I was not even allowed to sip water. I had to be really careful when brushing my teeth as the temptation was there. I never felt thirsty and I guess that is because the IV fluids were quite high.
Overall I was really happy with my hospital stay and all of the doctors and nurses were great. I will tell you about the last 2 days of my stay next time.
I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave. Feel free to ask questions.
If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.
The day of my operation and the next 2 days were not the most fun times. I am not someone who copes well with the after effects of anesthetic and it makes me very very nauseous. My surgeon was aware of this and so were all of the nurses so they kept me well topped up with anti nausea medication. Even still I felt really sick each time I got up to go to the bathroom and a coupe of times I started heaving. This was something I was really worried about as I was concerned that I would damage the staple line on my stomach. Thankfully my stomach only heaved a couple of times and by the time I got back to bed it settled down.
The nurses were great and they made sure I always had my pain in check and was comfortable. They encouraged me to get up and walk as often as I could and were always happy for a chat as they did their observations. Dr Hatzafotis visited each day to check on my healing and to see how I was going. I was happy to just rest since I was not feeling well and other than having a shower I did nothing at all for the first 3 days. I stayed in a hospital gown for my entire stay as it was so much easier with the IV in my arm. Plus I was not having visitors other than Hubby so I was not worried about how I looked.
I had my surgery on Friday morning and I was not having my swallow test (more about that in another post) until Monday so that entire time I was was nil by mouth. So that means I was not even allowed to sip water. I had to be really careful when brushing my teeth as the temptation was there. I never felt thirsty and I guess that is because the IV fluids were quite high.
Overall I was really happy with my hospital stay and all of the doctors and nurses were great. I will tell you about the last 2 days of my stay next time.
I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave. Feel free to ask questions.
If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.
Friday, 14 February 2014
Operation Day
So was time to head off to hospital and this is how the day progressed.
I was first surgery of the day (8am) which means I had to be at the hospital at 6.30 am. Because we live out in the country Hubby and I stayed at his parents the night before. I was told that all I need to do before coming in was to have a shower and wash myself well with soap and water.
On arrival at the hospital I filled in some paperwork and paid my excess then there was a short wait in the surgical admissions area. A nurse then came and got me and I was weighed and asked a series of questions. From there I was taken to a cubicle with a bed where I was provided with a hospital gown and some undies for surgery. Thankfully these were not the paper undies that you may have hear of. They were more like a pair of very stretchy hot pants made of what I can only describe as thick pantyhose material.
They were really comfy and meanwhile I was provided with a green bag like you would get at the supermarket, to put all of my clothes in.
I relaxed on the bed for about 15 minutes in which time a nurse came and did an ECG and another came and helped me get some pressure stockings on. I was then visited by the anesthetist where I explained to him that I always felt very ill after anesthetic and he assured me they were all aware of it and would look after me. A bit more of a rest and it was time to kiss Hubby goodbye as I was wheeled off to surgery.
Once in the surgical outer room I was met but a lovely nurse and the anesthetist again and I had a canular put in my arm. I do remember lying there wondering if I was making the right decision but by then it was really too late and I knew that I had waited an entire year so I had thought this through and it was the right thing to do. I was given an oxygen mask to put on and was wheeled into the operating theatre. I was transferred to the operating table and slowly drifted off to sleep.
The next thing I know I was waking up and my oxygen mask was being replaced with a nose plug. The rest of the day is a bit of a blur but I do remember being woken every few hours for obs where I was required to provide my name and date of birth. My pain medication and anti nausea medication we kept up to date and I was not in much pain at all, just a little uncomfortable.
From what I know my experience is pretty typical and all went smoothly for which I am glad.
I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave. Feel free to ask questions.
If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.
I was first surgery of the day (8am) which means I had to be at the hospital at 6.30 am. Because we live out in the country Hubby and I stayed at his parents the night before. I was told that all I need to do before coming in was to have a shower and wash myself well with soap and water.
On arrival at the hospital I filled in some paperwork and paid my excess then there was a short wait in the surgical admissions area. A nurse then came and got me and I was weighed and asked a series of questions. From there I was taken to a cubicle with a bed where I was provided with a hospital gown and some undies for surgery. Thankfully these were not the paper undies that you may have hear of. They were more like a pair of very stretchy hot pants made of what I can only describe as thick pantyhose material.
They were really comfy and meanwhile I was provided with a green bag like you would get at the supermarket, to put all of my clothes in.
I relaxed on the bed for about 15 minutes in which time a nurse came and did an ECG and another came and helped me get some pressure stockings on. I was then visited by the anesthetist where I explained to him that I always felt very ill after anesthetic and he assured me they were all aware of it and would look after me. A bit more of a rest and it was time to kiss Hubby goodbye as I was wheeled off to surgery.
Once in the surgical outer room I was met but a lovely nurse and the anesthetist again and I had a canular put in my arm. I do remember lying there wondering if I was making the right decision but by then it was really too late and I knew that I had waited an entire year so I had thought this through and it was the right thing to do. I was given an oxygen mask to put on and was wheeled into the operating theatre. I was transferred to the operating table and slowly drifted off to sleep.
The next thing I know I was waking up and my oxygen mask was being replaced with a nose plug. The rest of the day is a bit of a blur but I do remember being woken every few hours for obs where I was required to provide my name and date of birth. My pain medication and anti nausea medication we kept up to date and I was not in much pain at all, just a little uncomfortable.
From what I know my experience is pretty typical and all went smoothly for which I am glad.
I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave. Feel free to ask questions.
If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.
Tuesday, 11 February 2014
Nearly There - 2 days To Go
So here we are with only 2 days to go and I can't wait to get this op done.
So how has it been? Well I am well and truly sick of diet jelly (I hate artificial sweeteners) but other than that not too bad. I have not been hungry but you never feel satisfied from just shakes, jelly and veggies.
I have really missed meat and cheese and a few days ago I had a piece of cheese about the size of matchbox and it was divine. On Sunday I had to go to my brother sister in laws baby shower where they were having a BBQ. My dietitian suggested I stick to a small piece of steak and salad which I did. I also took along a zuccini and grilled it on the BBQ. All in all it was a good option. But ohhhh the smell of BBQ sausages, potato bake and then there were bread rolls and real butter. I had to look away. But I have been good other than that.
But the best thing is that I have lost 6kg which is great according to my dietitian. He tells me that it is a sure sign my liver is shrinking.
My meeting with him today was to discuss my post op plan and this is how it goes:
14th Feb - Operation Day, no drinking allowed IV only
15th Feb - no drinking allowed IV only
16th Feb -no drinking allowed IV only
17th Feb - allowed to drink shakes and water @ a rate of 60ml per hour that is 1 teaspoon every 5 minutes
18th Feb - Time to go home still drinking as above.
After 7 days I can increase my liquid intake to a rate of 100ml per hour.
Apparently it will take me about 3 hours to get through 1 protein shake... crazy.
Well that is it for now and I am not sure if I will blog again till after my op.
So see ya on the other side... maybe.
I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave. Feel free to ask questions.
If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.
So how has it been? Well I am well and truly sick of diet jelly (I hate artificial sweeteners) but other than that not too bad. I have not been hungry but you never feel satisfied from just shakes, jelly and veggies.
I have really missed meat and cheese and a few days ago I had a piece of cheese about the size of matchbox and it was divine. On Sunday I had to go to my brother sister in laws baby shower where they were having a BBQ. My dietitian suggested I stick to a small piece of steak and salad which I did. I also took along a zuccini and grilled it on the BBQ. All in all it was a good option. But ohhhh the smell of BBQ sausages, potato bake and then there were bread rolls and real butter. I had to look away. But I have been good other than that.
But the best thing is that I have lost 6kg which is great according to my dietitian. He tells me that it is a sure sign my liver is shrinking.
My meeting with him today was to discuss my post op plan and this is how it goes:
14th Feb - Operation Day, no drinking allowed IV only
15th Feb - no drinking allowed IV only
16th Feb -no drinking allowed IV only
17th Feb - allowed to drink shakes and water @ a rate of 60ml per hour that is 1 teaspoon every 5 minutes
18th Feb - Time to go home still drinking as above.
After 7 days I can increase my liquid intake to a rate of 100ml per hour.
Apparently it will take me about 3 hours to get through 1 protein shake... crazy.
Well that is it for now and I am not sure if I will blog again till after my op.
So see ya on the other side... maybe.
I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave. Feel free to ask questions.
If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.
Wednesday, 5 February 2014
4 Days Into Pre Op Diet
So here we are 4 days in and so far so good.
I have not been as hungry as I thought I would be but I have been filling up on jelly and cucumbers. I have found that I am having a cup of tea when I get up and my breakfast shake at about 9.30. This means I am not starving when it gets to lunchtime. I think the Metamucil helps fill you up too.
One of the other things that my dietitian told me is that you cannot drink anything within 30 minutes before eating or up to 45 minutes after eating. Apparently this flushes your food through more quickly and leaves you feeling hungry sooner. In all my years no one has ever told me that but I can see how it makes sense.
This drinking habit is something I will be stuck with for the rest of my life as after my op there will not be enough room in my stomach for both food and drink.
So for dinner so far I have had stir fry twice and salad twice in addition to my shake which I had 30 minutes before.
At this stage I can say that I am missing meat and cheese, but I'll get over it.
Anyway I have some ideas for a dip for veggies and I might try a veggie juice too in the mornings which will help give me extra energy but not count towards my 2 cups since all the pulp is taken out.
I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave. Feel free to ask questions.
If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.
I have not been as hungry as I thought I would be but I have been filling up on jelly and cucumbers. I have found that I am having a cup of tea when I get up and my breakfast shake at about 9.30. This means I am not starving when it gets to lunchtime. I think the Metamucil helps fill you up too.
One of the other things that my dietitian told me is that you cannot drink anything within 30 minutes before eating or up to 45 minutes after eating. Apparently this flushes your food through more quickly and leaves you feeling hungry sooner. In all my years no one has ever told me that but I can see how it makes sense.
This drinking habit is something I will be stuck with for the rest of my life as after my op there will not be enough room in my stomach for both food and drink.
So for dinner so far I have had stir fry twice and salad twice in addition to my shake which I had 30 minutes before.
At this stage I can say that I am missing meat and cheese, but I'll get over it.
Anyway I have some ideas for a dip for veggies and I might try a veggie juice too in the mornings which will help give me extra energy but not count towards my 2 cups since all the pulp is taken out.
I really appreciate any comments you take the time to leave. Feel free to ask questions.
If you are on this journey too or any other type of weight loss journey feel free to say hello and share your story.
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