So you try and you fit in the horse pill sized chew-able vitamins twice a day and the icky tasting calcium tablets the size of half dollars as well, and those you cant have within like 3 to 4 hours of the vitamins, so figure out that math. Add in the 64 ounces of liquid, and 60 to 70 grams of protein you have to have and its difficult to do without pain or discomfort.
I wanted to show you yet another picture of that amazing bed that transforms itself into a chair.
Now thankfully the gas pains and weird hunger like pains which i associate with Gastritis, probably just due to the removal of a large piece of stomach from the rest of it, have dropped in frequency, they haven't stopped but they aren't 24/7 like they were. Of course when things get better something has to get worse. Well first a few of my incisions aren't looking so wonderful, I've been using an antiseptic wash and using an antibiotic ointment on them recently to help but a few just don't look so good. Now since they are sealed with medical glue its not like i can blame it on sutures or anything those are all inside deep.
So I have to contact my surgical team first thing tomorrow. The worst however, was Saturday morning about 6 AM i was awakened out of a sound sleep by one of the single most devastating headaches I have ever had. I removed myself tot he living room recliner and sat in darkness trying to get my head on straight. Which did not work. Now i knew i could take a Vicodin, but i had already stopped taking them the day before so i did not want to start again due to their propensity for lowering the respiratory function. So I know i cannot take aspirin nor any other NSAID, like naproxen or ibuprofen, they are absolute no-no's to a post surgery bariatric patient.
Well this headache literally had me on my knees tearing up like a baby. I literally started to wonder if I was having an aneurysm or a stroke. Thankfully neither was correct. After a series of cold compresses, my wife went to CVS up the street and got some liquid Tylenol. It does not taste good, but It certainly helped. After an hour i was finally able to function, as of now I dread going to bed for fear that this headache might return. I don't know if it was dehydration? or Sleep-Apnea related or if it was a combination of things, although
I am leaning toward the perfect storm of multiple things all driving one powerful headache. I posted on the Bariatric pal forums and several other people mentioned they have had the same and they had been told they were due in part to the not taking in food for a several days and things associated with your body getting used to not having what it is used to having. I will of course mention it to the surgeon as well, if I can get some migraine meds that are allowed, if any, I would be happier just in case.
So things are to the point where food just dominates my thoughts. This stage that I am at is called Stage three and therefore I am on the stage three diet. Basically it consists of liquids, ( you must get as close to 64 ounces per day as possible) mostly water or i like vitamin water. no caffeine no carbonation, no sugar. Which leaves so much to the imagination right? Well when i get clearance to go to stage four diet I will be able to incorporate eggs into my diet, which trust me, scrambled egg will be like the finest french meal ever. Haute cuisine will be nothing compared to this.
The other addition will be soft meats. Well what is soft meats, well tuna fish
( not whole tuna) mixed with some light mayonnaise is allowable, no bread however. Flaky type white fish, no breading, and I will be able to try some things like chili, and pulled pork, and maybe even ground beef turkey and chicken. I know I have dreams about eating some ground turkey sausage.
Hopefully my nutritionist will allow me at least the scrambled egg for Christmas. We shall see.
Funny thing is my co workers in Hanover are having a Christmas pancake breakfast tomorrow morning and Since I am not taking pain meds anymore i was cleared to drive, so I am thinking about getting up early and showing up to say hello and to say merry Christmas and to thank them for the wonderful flowers and balloons and their support as well.
Well I think that is enough for now. I hope you enjoyed it , see you all soon and i'll try to get another blog post up on my birthday the 23rd, tomorrow. lol
P.S. You don't realize how many commercials and tv shows on tv deal with food until you want that food lol.
Heres my cartoon for today, it explains a lot of what I am doing this for.
Recovery is up and down, and the bad headache was a real downer. But the fact that you are driving, going to visit the coworkers -- and not on pain med anymore is all very very good. Don't watch the food ads on TV -- watch the car ads instead (they're just as frequent, all for BMWs and Jaguars, and you can't have those either!) Be well.
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