It’s been two weeks now since my gastric bypass surgery on Aug 6. I thought it would be a good idea to give a general overview of what the past two weeks of recovery have been like.

Week 1 – the first two days I felt pretty awful and had moments of thinking, “what the heck did I do.” But my first two days were not typical because they had had trouble putting me under due to the way my vocal cords are (up to high or something like that) and it resulted in me having to have a breathing tube in for over 24 hours after surgery. I was sent home from the hospital on day 2. By day 3 I was feeling like I had turned a corner, tired, sore throat (from the breathing tube), but definitely feeling better. During the whole week I never needed a pain killer and I walked around the house a little, used my light handweights 2 or 3 times a day. Diet for week one was clear liquids only. It was helpful having a variety in the house, a bag of ice in the freezer, and sugar-free ice – which really helped with the sore throat. There was no hunger at all and no cravings, though I did dream of scrambled eggs and peanut butter a couple of times. Once I had some muscle milk (a protein drink) on a daily basis the dreams stopped. By the end of the first week I was looking forward to the next week of smoothies just so I’d have more options for tastes. Calories for week one have ranged from about 350 to 450 a day.

Week Two – feeling better every day and usually napped for a little bit. It was nice to finally be able to drive and have a diet of “smoothie” foods – so anything that could be put in my blender was ok. I experimented with some cream soup combos that turned out very tasty but after having them once or twice I wasn’t interested in having the same thing again. Which is unusual for me, because prior to surgery I could eat the same thing for a meal four or five days in a row without a problem. I tried low sodium V8 juice because I was wanting to get some veggies in me but only had one small can and didn’t feel like having any more. By the end of the week I was getting fairly bored of just having “smoothie” consistency foods and looking forward to the next diet stage (soft foods such as scrambled eggs and cottage cheese). I tired having a small cup of coffee, but ended up feeling icky for two days and not wanting to eat anything at all. Prior to surgery I had to have my one BIG cup of coffee every day – without it I would get severe caffiene withdrawal headaches and feel awful, plus it was my one indulgence by starting off the day with something warm and satisfying. I guess after two weeks I have managed to get past the stage of withdrawal symptoms, but I do miss having something warm and tasty to slowly sip and start the day with. However, I won’t be trying coffee again any time soon if ever, because I really don’t like feeling sick to my stomach. I’ve been craving tomatoes and cucumbers, but the doctor says I need get enough protein at three meals and most likely there won’t be any room for veggies any time soon; plus tomatoes and cucumbers are not soft mushies foods so I’m not ready for them any way.

It was very helpful having a very good blender that I had bought a few months ago to make green smoothies and also a dozen 4 oz containers on hand, so that when I made a batch of soup I could measure it out and freeze most of it for another time. The 4 oz of creamed soup meals were a bit too much and sometimes I didn’t finish it or would finish the rest about an hour later. Calories for week one have ranged from about 450 to 550 a day.

The vitamins I got from Whole Foods are not that good. I made the mistake of depending on the sales person who was in the aisle at the time and asking their advice. I explained I needed a multivitamin and calcium supplement that were very easy to digest, preferably chewable or if not at least small and gel type. The person suggested exactly the opposite – both tablets ended up being huge and hard to swallow but since I didn’t know that until I got home and opened them the purchase was a huge waste. A huge pill just sits in the pouch feeling icky. This type of tablet doesn’t digest well, and therefore most of it just passes through without being absorbed or doing much good. I’m just going to have to bite the bullet and accept that I wasted a lot of money, and order from online vitamins made for bariatric patients so I can be sure the nutrients are being absorbed. I am taking a sublingual B12 tab which is working out ok.

I’ve made a point of going out at least once day for a small errand, such as taking my daughter out to start back to school shopping. I haven’t needed a nap every day, but when I do get tired I rest as need to do. I haven’t gotten anything much done that I had hoped I would, like working on a crochet project I want to finish; my focus, energy and motivation are definitely on the low side but physcially I’m getting better and better. So for now healing and focusing on getting in enough liquids and protein are my priorities, the rest of all things I want to do I get to over time as I get back more stamina.

I am so glad I decided to have gastric bypass surgery. It has truly been a joy not being hungry at all for these past two weeks and I’m hoping this honeymoon period lasts as long as possible (the usual time frame is 3 to 6 months).

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Currently Diet Pulpit is rarely updated. Lady Rose is now blogging at Blissful Moon, where she is staying healthy and continuing to have adventures, please stop by and visit.

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