Tuesday, February 24, 2009

A quicky

Wanted to drop in and give a quick update since I have not posted in almost a month! Things are just starting to settle down in my life so I can hopefully get back in a routine. I went back to work last Wednesday, a week after I was supposed to. My surgeon released me on the 11th to go back to work but my dad went in for surgery (tracheotomy) the next day so I stayed with my mom at the hospital and then on Friday, the 13th, my uncle passed away of a massive heart attack. The good news is my dad is getting better and we are hopeful they can wean him off the trach and I have lost 30 lbs. I am off the oxygen except at night when I sleep and that will go away once I get my C -Pap machine. I had horrible acid reflux the 1st 2 weeks and asked the doctor for some meds but it has since seemed to have subsided and I am not having any issues but I will keep the meds just in case. My incisions have healed nicely and I am losing my boobs!!! LOL My biggest struggle right now is getting that water and those vitamins in. The doctor told me to drink some 100% juices to help maintain water intake but I don't want the extra calories but the oj is soooo good. So I allow myself one 8-12 oz of oj a day. Besides I figure the Vitamin C is good for me. Chewable vitamins yuck! I got the bariatric mixed berry fusion. I am supposed to take 4 a day but I find that it takes forever to suck and chew one up and then it feels like it is expanding in my stomach like an alka seltzer. My doc says I can start swallowing pills now but I am a little scared so I have yet to buy them. Besides it is going to be more expensive to do the pills versus the chewable ones but I am willing to pay for the convenience of downing those pills with some water instead of chewing for 30 minutes 4 x a day. I am on a soft diet now and am eating about 3-4 oz every 3-4 hours. Thank God, there has been nothing that I have eaten that didn't agree with me and I have gotten sick only once, and that was totally my fault. I was at my aunt's house after the funeral and was working on eating some chicken. Rule of thumb is chew chew chew chew, nice and slow so it goes down easy...well too many people were talking to me and I was standing up, before I realized what I was doing I was taking normal size bites and swallowing. I ate too much too fast and it was now sitting in my throat. I had to excuse myself to the bathroom. I tried to swallow it down but the saliva kept coming up (I guess this is what they call foamies) so finally after about 10 minutes I gave in and threw it up. I felt better within a few minutes.
I was measuring everything out perfectly but now I am starting to be able to guage when I am full. I never thought so little amount of food would satisfy me but it does and I finish about the same time as everyone else because they are scarfing down their food and I am eating slow. Ok, well it is back to work I must go. I will post again ASAP. Thanks for reading!