Two Weeks Later

Life has been interesting in these two weeks since surgery happened to me. I have learned that the surgery it self, which I worried about the most, was actually the least of my worries. This slow recovery is going to be one of the biggest challenges of my life…

Honestly, I was looking forward to the nine days of work that I took-off after the surgery. I knew it would be spent recovering, but it’s the first vacation time I have taken for as long as I can remember where I did not have an agenda full of shit to do. I just got to lie around the house for the most part. And I’ll tell you, I needed it.

The physical stuff that happened during surgery seems to be repairing itself nicely. As mentioned, I was given Vicodin for any pain at home. I am proud to say that I only needed the pain medication for about three-and-a-half days after I left the hospital. The incisions do not hurt anymore – in fact they are itchy which is a sign of them starting to heal. The tape has come off of all but two if the cuts. While I’m sure my new stomach is still healing, it feels alright unless I accidentally over-fill it or give it something it does not agree with – which has already happened a couple of times. I’m pushing my limits a little bit, only to see how far I can go.

I started off having a hard time sleeping when I got home from the hospital. I utilized about eight or nine pillows to try and recreate the hospital bed, but quickly learned I was more comfortable with my regular two pillows. Sleeping on my back was killing me, but I got used to it. In fact, I am now sleeping on my sides and am getting very close to being comfortable with sleeping on my stomach once again. Another plus that Tess mentioned last night – she said she has not heard me snore since I got home. That’s pretty cool, I guess...

I got out and about too – the second week of home stay. I drove, I walked around the store, the mall, took the kids to school… It kicked my ass, but I needed to get out there. I have also had some adventures with my diet, to my wife’s chagrin…

You see, the diet plan calls for slow build-up from the week one liquid diet. Essentially I am not taking much in still, which is why I’m so beat, me thinks. Anyway, the breakdown for my diet, simply put is: Week 1 - same liquid diet as before surgery. Week 2 – same liquid diet add protein mix, strained cream soup, etc. Week 3 – keep adding very soft foods, i.e. applesauce, scrambled eggs, etc. The catch everything should be puréed… yuck. This is where I am supposed to be now. However, I have pushed it a little and tried just chewing well enough instead of having liquid tuna… I don’t think I have pushed too hard. Things are settling and I have avoided puking (except for the one chewable multivitamin incident). The diet goes on slowly increasing regular food intake for the next three to six weeks. I imagine I’ll get more strength as I build up on the diet.

Then again, I have been told that I have a lot of hormones going crazy inside of me thanks to this surgery. There is no doubt that my body is going through all kinds of changes. Not to mention the fact that one-half of a cup of applesauce fills me up. This should have been expected considering the size of my new food pouch, but it still shocks me. I could eat, boy, I’ll tell ya’!
One day before the two-week out mark – today - I went back into work. I’ll tell you what; I was so worried about the surgery itself that I honestly underestimated the recovery time. I figured that once it was time to go back to work, I would be feeling like myself and ready to jump back in. Oh no, not even close. I ended up doing a half-day today and warned the bosses that this may be a whole week of half days. Fortunately I work with the greatest group of people ever – they actually care about my health and I have been told to take my time, do not push myself too hard, and get better. I love NetDevil. Heh… good thing too… I spent the morning catching up and emails and trying not to puke. Seriously.

This coming Thursday, the 11th of March, I go in for my two-week follow-up with the surgeon. I’m pooling questions and hoping I’m doing everything correctly. I am also very excited to see how much weight I have already lost. My clothes are fitting looser and more comfortably already and I have been told multiple times that my face has already thinned out. I wouldn’t be surprised if I was down another 10-15lbs from the 13lbs down at surgery check it. We shall see!

In short, at two weeks I am still definitely on the road to recovery. I am looking forward to that road starting to level out and eventually slope downward. Stay tuned – it’s bound to be a fun year!