Home Again

I was discharged from the hospital around 6:30pm last night. The ride home wasn't too bad because I had taken a pain med at 5:00, but the bumps and short stops of traffc in our city at rush hour were No. Fun. In fact the entire surgery and post-surgical recovery are No. Fun. Lots of pain, lots of nausea, lots of getting up and walking around even with the pain and nausea. I have 5 incisions and they all have a bunch of nasty bruising next to them, but I feel much better today (my first full day at home) than I even did yesterday, which gives me hope that every day will be better.

I've been pretty good so far about getting in all the required clear fluids. Propel grape has become a favorite so far. :) The "full fluids" (pudding, yogurt, etc.) has been harder to stay on top of and spacing it out w/the iron supplements has been tricky. The iron supplements have to be taken with an hour on either side of anything containing dairy, which I totally forgot about this morning. But it's a learning process, right?

Last night wasn't too bad, but I'm still very sore and achey. I was up approximately every 2 hours and tried to get in at least 3-5 minutes of walking around the house each time. Preventing DVTs is sort of  major priority for me right now. :)

Ok...I'm to take my foggy brain on a little walk around the house and then I'm taking a nap.

Vitamins and Blenders

This week I finally got around to ordering the calcium supplement and multivitamin that I'll be taking after surgery and they arrived today. I'm curious about the flavor of the calcium citrate chews, but I only bought exactly enough dosees for the first 30 days after surgery, so I'll have to wait to find out. The multis I've had before...they taste like a chalky orange creamsicle. Yum. *snort*

The real gem out of this shipment is the blender "bottle." It's more of a travel cup, IMO. Whatever you want to call, I call it a paragon of practical design! The lid screws down and the mouthpiece cover snaps in tightly, so you can dump in the liquid and the protein powder, batten down the hatches, and shake it all together. It has a spherical whisk inside - appropriately called a "blender ball" - that breaks up the protein powder as you shake with minimal bubbles, thus largely eliminating the foamy head problem of mixing the powder in a blender. (There were no lumps, either, unlike mixing with a spoon or fork.) I did a brief "antigravity" test (I turned it upside down and shook it for a few seconds) and there was nary a drop spilled, leading me to believe that there are possibilities of being able to prop this upright in my messenger bag with some liquid in it for protein shakes on the go. It's made by Sundesa, is BPA free, has liquid measurements imprinted on the side, and at around $7-$8, it's a good deal.

I may need to buy a few more. I can see this getting daily use.

Changes, They Are A Comin'

As I edge closer and closer to my surgical date, the many less-monumental changes that will happen in my life are beginning to solidify for me. I say less-monumental because they aren't the Big Huge changes like the surgery, itself, or the accompanying weight loss. Instead, it's the smaller but more daily changes I'm thinking about. There's a whole list of things that will leave my life for either a very long time or forever after surgery.

Now, I know that there is a lot of controversy and different docs have different things that they tell their patients, but this is what my doc has told me, and I plan to listen.

1. I'll be sipping water from the moment I wake to the moment I go to bed every day, forever, to prevent dehydration (a minimum of 64 oz. daily!)
2. I'll have to take vitamin supplements every day for the rest of my life to fend off malnutrition, anemia, and osteoporosis
3. Quarterly blood draws to ensure appropriate vitamin/mineral levels
4. My (currently mild) lactose-intolerance could very likely get more pronounced
5. No gum (If I accidentally swallow it, I'll end up back on the surgeon's table.)
6. No soda (It can expand the stomach "pouch." If I'm having surgery to make my stomach smaller, I'm not doing anything to counteract that, period.)
7. No alcohol (I hardly drink anyway, so no great loss) - though I've heard from one doc that this is only for the first year, I've also heard from another doc that it's best to just never drink again.
8. No time-released meds
9. Risk of stomach ulcers
10. Smaller portions
11. Very few sweets, fats, and carbs - a diet emphasizing veggies and protein
12. A more active lifestyle with daily exercise

I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff or there are things I don't know about yet, but that's quite enough all on its own, isn't it? Deep breath. I can do this.

That Was Fast!

I ordered a MedCenter from Amazon on Friday and it arrived this morning!

It's monstrous, isn't it? It's takes up about 12" of real estate on my counter, but the organizational benefits outweigh the space costs. I'm a visually oriented person and having a Big Visual Cue to take my vitamin supplements every day after surgery (and for the rest of my life) is perfect. I like that it allows me to fill a month at a time and I can get my meds filled for 90 days at a stretch ( 90 day Rx = fewer copays) and I can buy my vitamins in giant bottles and I'll know way ahead of time if I need to order refills. Each red square is actually the end of a tube (one for each day of the month) with 4 compartments (for 4x daily dosing) and the other end is marked in green. That way you can put them in the holder green-end-up when they are full and turn them red-end-up as you take your vitamins each day and the tubes are emptied. When I refill my meds this week, I think I'll make the transition to using this system.