I made it to 2 weeks!

Well, the last two weeks have certainly flown by!  Yesterday was my two week "surgiversary" and I am feeling pretty good. I've had a few hiccups along the way like a three day bout of pain and indigestion after having some tortilla soup that was not on my approved list, and was thickened with potato.  My pouch was ANGRY at me for that.  After a couple of days I was out of pain, then started working on my fluids and protein again.  About that time I tried to convince myself I was dealing with a stricture, but it wasn't that.  I really think I've been dealing with some silent reflux.  My poor stomach is probably just super confused on why it hasn't seen food in 5 weeks, and why is a part of it missing.  The reflux, or GERD or whatever it is doesn't hurt per se, but it feels like everything is sitting in my throat or trying to come back up.  It's not super pleasant.  Yesterday I had some nausea, but no vomiting.  I just couldn't eat my soup, and didn't want water.  I had some peppermint tea as warm seems to sit a lot better than cold this last week.  The problem with the peppermint is that it also relaxes that muscle that keeps the acid out of the esophagus so while it helps it also doesn't at the same time.

As of this morning, I've lost just under 55 pounds since August 28.  I'm amazed.  I feel SO much better than I was feeling.  I totally don't get winded walking from one end of the office building to the other.  I feel like I can go farther.  I want to park at the farthest part of the parking lot, but also don't want to be soaking wet when I get to my desk, so I need to make sure to put my umbrella in my car.

I weigh myself every day.  I know some people don't think that's a good idea, but it's in the instruction manual I was given by my surgeon's office.  I think it helps you get a more accurate idea of what your weight is anyways.  Especially due to things like water weight gain during cycle, etc.  This will also be good to have for when I'm hitting a stall, or when I start eating pureed or soft foods as those will of course affect it in some way as well.  Overall, it's working for me and some days I have a bigger loss than others, and that is okay.  Big picture is the weight is coming off, and I've lost 21 pounds since surgery and think I'm right on track.  I've very excited to be weighed in at the surgeon's office on 10/31 because they will tell me if they think I'm doing a good job, etc.  I appreciate the feedback as it's motivating to me.

This morning I dealt with a super sour stomach.  I'm taking Pepcid twice a day and that doesn't seem to be helping lately.  I may call my surgeon's office and see what they say.  I'm allergic to Nexium so I don't want to risk being put on something like that. 

My incisions are about 70% healed.  Two of the five incisions have lost the glue cover on them and are fresh little pink scars.  I don't think they are going to be super visible unless of course they decide to keloid, as I'm prone to that.  My drain incision is healing a little differently since that wasn't glued shut after the drain was removed.  She just pulled it out and threw a couple little pieces of tape over it, which I later put a band-aid on.  That is a bit thicker scab, itches like freaking crazy.  As does the skin near it as I was allergic to the tape the nurse used to put the dressing on around the drain line.  Fun.  Hopefully that goes away soon.  It's not quite as bad, but still there.

I have not yet felt comfortable enough to try being intimate with my hubby.  Maybe TMI, but some people want to know about these things.  I am a bit afraid of pressure on my belly still as my pouch won't be fully healed for another month or so, and ripping my staples is a huge fear.  I was not given any restriction on this other than, " when I'm comfortable to do it".  I asked for a doctors note for 6 weeks. LOL.

People are starting to notice.  They are starting to see it.  I feel like I can see it in my face a bit, my neck, and my feet/ankles.  My pants all still fit the same, so I don't see much difference in my belly and waist.  I know that's going to be the last thing that shrinks down.  If I can get to a size 12/14 I'll be so freaking happy because then I can shop anywhere.  I know I'm going to have a lot of excess skin.  I've seen enough before/after pictures to have a pretty good idea of what it will look like.  I definitely won't be wearing any bikini's however a tankini and surf shorts is my style and I know I'll feel super comfortable in that (I may be planning a trip to Hawaii for my 40th birthday and estimate I'll be close to 125 pounds down by then putting me at about 290.  Anything less than that will be icing on the proverbial cake!).

I've been struggling a bit to get my protein and fluids in, so I'm really balancing on the edge of full-blown dehydration which sucks.  My BP feels like it's a bit elevated and I'm sure that has to do with the fact that I'm barely getting fluids into me.  I wish I could just make an appointment with my doctor for some IV fluids.  But it needs to be a bit more emergent for me to head to Urgent Care to do it.  I'm getting about 50 ounces of water and drinks in a day, and about 50 grams of protein overall.  I know I need to increase that but it's not been super easy with the reflux and stuff.  I keep trying each day to drink more, but it's SO hard to do.  That is no joke.  Though I was getting in about 70 ounces of water a day and 65-70 grams of protein each day, and after my stomach hurt, it's been a challenge to get back to that. 

Today I have a dentist appointment to pull two back teeth on the bottom that are super loose due to me having progressive gum disease most of my adult life, and the roots in those teeth are a single pointy root instead of the double pointed root that molars normally have.  I'm a freak. I have some anxiety of course since I just stopped my Lovenox injections yesterday (YAY) so I'm a bit worried about the bleeding but I'm WAY more worried about them numbing my mouth.  I HATE HATE HATE that feeling.  I'm always so worried I'll have a severe reaction though after surgery and all the medicine I've had to take, I'm sure I'll be just fine.  So that's pretty much my update for now.  I'll be back for another check-in in a couple weeks!