Back to work

I am still getting acclimated to the lifestyle changes this surgery has engendered. I am having some struggles with getting all the supplements and pills on a schedule so that I am taking enough, taking them at the right time, and still managing to get enough protein to eat.

The first week home was when it was so incredibly hot. I found it really hard to get enough liquid, since I could only drink a little bit at a time. I was always thirsty. Finally, I starting eating frozen fruit Popsicles, but even then, it was hard to get enough. I didn't eat much at all that week. I just couldn't seem to get a routine going that encompassed all the ins and outs of this process!

First thing in the morning, I have to take a powder version of Prilosec OTC (mixed with water). But I cannot take anything else within an hour of taking that. Then I have to take my daily medicines that I have been taking for years. I take an antidepressant daily, and previously I took an extended release version so I could take it once a day. Of course that won't work now because I have to cut or grind it to make it small enough to pass to my stomach. So I had to switch to a version that I take 3 times a day. Only when I crush that tablet, it is so bitter (even when hidden in other food), that I can't keep it down. The doctor is having me cut the pill now into quarters so that the bitterness is not so pronounced and I can keep it down. I am also going in to see my primary care doctor to explore other types of antidepressant that can be taken in liquid form.

Ah, then there are the supplements. I have to work very hard on getting enough calcium. I can no longer process calcium carbonate, so I have to take calcium citrate, and I need 1200 to 1400 mgs. per day. That translates to three very large tablets that I have to suck on until they are gone. And I cannot drink or eat anything within 15 to 30 minutes of finishing the tablet. I also have to take B12 sublingually (under the tongue) every day to make sure I get enough of that. This vitamin can no longer be processed in my digestive tract, so it has to melt in my mouth.

I must take a multivitamin, which I did before anyway. This also is bitter when it is crushed, but it is bearable mixed with a little yogurt.

And I have to get 60 to 90 grams of protein every day, but I can only eat 1/4 cup at a time. So far I have found this great yogurt - Greek Yogurt, which is sold, as far as I can tell, only at Trader Joe's. Regular yogurt has about 6-8 grams of protein in a cup (8 oz.). Greek yogurt has 24 grams per cup. It doesn't taste bad either, as far a plain yogurt goes, and even the nonfat version is very creamy, so that was a real find. I also drink these chocolate protein shakes which are pretty good. When it was so hot I would mix them up with ice in the blender and it was like having a chocolate milkshake. I also froze some and ate them that way. But again, only 4 oz., or half a cup at a time.

I went in for my 2-week checkup last week, and it all seems to be going well. I started eating solid food this week and that's all stayed down too, so now I am getting some protein from that as well. It's nice to be chewing again.

Last night though I had an episode where I didn't chew something well enough, and it hurt like crazy until it made it's way through. I don't want to do that again, so I will be chewing each bite 100 times, or until it turns to mush, whichever comes first!

Next week I hope to start doing water aerobics to add the exercise element. I have not had a lot of pain from the surgery, but my back is still hurting quite a bit (which it was doing before the surgery). I've been seeing a chiropractor, and it's helped a bit. But I really must get it back to normal soon to be able to stand up in front of a classroom for 90 minutes!

I have lost 30 pounds so far, though some of that is from the pre-operative high protein liquid diet I went on two weeks before surgery.

See you all soon.

Tia