01-17-12
Hello,
I recently had gastric bypass surgery so I will be writing about that a lot (especially at first.)
The good news is I have lost twenty pounds.
WALKING:
The best thing you can do for yourself after surgery is walk (and walk some more) not only will you heal faster but it will help move that gas out (which makes your back hurt like crazy)
For me, the pain after surgery is right under my shoulder blades in the mid-back area.
Walking and Gas X will be your very best friend. Start walking as soon as they will let you out of bed even if it's just a few feet down the hall. (Then go a little further next time) Every time I got up to go to the ladies room I would take a little stroll down the hall with my walker. (The nurse will accompany you the first few time just to make sure you are steady)
There were times I would be out of my room walking up and down the hall in my pink Minnie Mouse pajamas and my baby blue velour robe; as I would make my way down the hall, I would see other patents in their various pajama/robe attire. As I started getting around better, my since of humor started to come back as well. I thought (and told them as such) that we looked like mental patients wandering 'the grounds" in a movie. I would always get a giggle, followed by a groan as we would both have to grab our stitches and laugh. Oh well, "laughter is the best medicine" right?
EATING (and vomiting)
I am one month out and relearning how to eat at this stage. Re-learning to eat is a harder task then I had imagined.
I am at the pureed and very soft food stage. Funny thing is, you go through your life being told to chew your food better and if you are like me, you think you do. Well, as it turns out, I have not done such a good job with that. I (on more than one occasion) have had items get stuck in my esophagus. It is a painful experience and the only option is to vomit.
I am one of those people that would almost rather eat a spider then to throw up; I will exhaust every avenue before allowing myself to barf. However, when I decided to have the surgery, (well more like a two weeks before "go time”) I had a talk with myself and came to an understanding about that.
You see, I have had the "luxury" to see several women at my place of employment go through this process. One of the things that I have learned about gastric bypass is that you vomit, period (at least in the beginning). So I came to an understanding that if I was going to do this surgery, I had to be prepared to get over it and puke when I had to. The song I have heard over and over is that if it's going to happen just go on and do it. <sigh> I will say, I am getting better at it and they were right, you feel a lot better sooner. What is bad is when you get something stuck in your esophagus, once stuck there is no way to "push it down with water or tea and especially not a carbonated (If you are a woman you really understand that last statement, especially if you have ever had a child).
A. Dawn
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