Well, I took the plunge. Today is my one month anniversary of having gastric bypass surgery. It's been a hard month of learning what I can and cannot tolerate, sipping water all day long, remembering vitamins and watching the scale slowly move. As of today, I've lost 27.5 pounds.
I no longer need medication for my blood pressure. My clothing choices are no longer limited by what's not too tight yet. I put on a pair of pants today that I could not fit in pre-surgery. Today, I have about 1 1/2 inches to spare in the waist. I even had to buy a small lunch bag to take to work.
I'm thankful for these positive changes...but, it hasn't been easy. It's been hard. I've had to learn when to stop eating. If I eat too much or eat something that I cannot tolerate yet or eat to fast, I feel horrible until I throw up... I know that's gross. Last weekend, I forgot to thoroughly chew up a strawberry and swallow small bits at the time - I soon paid for it. I can't afford to "forget" how to eat.
The surgery did not take away my "want" for cake and other sweets. But now I know if I eat those, I will be very sick. Dumping Syndrome does not sound like a walk in the park and I do not want first hand experience.
I have found that people are very curious as to what I eat and how much I eat. I used to be ashamed at how much I would eat at one sitting. Now, I eat like a bird and people are amazed - "that's all you ate?!?" Yes, any more and it will be on your shoes. Mornings are the hardest. I'm not hungry and a little queasy, but I have medicine to take and I know I need to eat... 2 to 3 bites and I'm done.
I try to have a protein meal bar or protein snack bar during the day. If I don't get enough protein, my hair will fall out and my nails will quit growing. I don't really care about the nails, but I enjoy having hair on my head.
The vitamins are gross. Everything has to be chewable, but not gummies. It's basically like chewing flavored chalk. The only exception is my calcium chews. They taste like lemon bars and I like lemon bars :-) I have 2 multivitamins, iron, B12 and 3 calcium chews each day. They all can't be taken at the same time - iron and calcium don't mix. Also, your body can only absorb 500 mg of calcium at the time, so my calcium has to be spaced out from each other and the iron. It's a juggling act to get them all in before the end of the day.
I should be getting 48 to 64 oz of water in each day. Not being able to gulp a bottle of water makes this very hard. If I haven't sipped all day, my supper will consist of LOTS of water sipping. My stomach just can't handle food and water at the same time - amazing. And it has to be ice cold. I used to be able to drink room temperature water. Not now. It's gross.
So many changes. So much weight already gone. So much room in my clothes. So much left to learn.
