Then, I woke up. Holy hell. Pain. Excuse me, but who do I need to speak to about changing my mind?
My husband and mother were with me and trying to explain that the surgeon had discovered a hiatal hernia during the operation and had repaired it. This, they soothed, was what was causing the intense pain that I was not expecting. In retrospect, it makes sense...at the time I just wanted it to stop.
Luckily, pain medications were invented. Not a perfect system, but better than the suicidal alternative, lol. I was up and walking by nightfall.
Bring on the thirst. There's really nothing like the thirst that comes from having no liquid by mouth for 36 hours. By the day after surgery, I was ready to drink the sweat from an old man's upper lip. Before I could have a drink, I had to pass the "Blue Ice Test".
This consisted of 3, one ounce cups of ice saturated with blue food coloring. The ice is to be eaten slowly, each serving about 30 minutes apart. Then the bulbs at the end of the tubes coming from my incisions were checked for blue or purple coloration in the drainage they were collecting. As soon as I finished with a "no leaks" clearance, I was allowed my first tall frosty single ounce cup of water and told to sip it over the course of a half hour. This would be the story for the next 2 weeks. Sip, sip, sip, walk, walk, walk.
Liquids turned to pureed foods at 2 weeks. I could eat creamed soups, protein shakes and tuna fish from a blender. Two weeks later I graduated to soft foods and added such delicacies as cottage cheese and eggs to my diet. By the eighth week, I was allowed to try most anything, keeping in mind to avoid high carbs or fat and sugar. My protein requirement is 85 grams a day...no big deal for a pre-surgical stomach, but a major accomplishment for my picky little pouch.
I'm 3 months out now. I have trouble with meat, can't eat sugar without wanting to die afterward, and can only get down about a 1/4 of a cup, or 2 ounces every few hours. If I eat too fast, too much, or too anything, I throw it up. Seriously, one bite too many can cause an hour of discomfort. My husband Rudy had his surgery 3 weeks after mine, and has many of the same issues, so we have learned to stop eating right before we think we could be full, and I've started learning how to prepare healthy meatless high-protein dishes.
The kicker?
I've lost 70 lbs...in 12 weeks. You bet you're sweet ass, I'd do it again...twice!
