6 weeks post surgery

wow. Things are starting to feel more “normal” now. I’ve had some hiccups along the way but overall I’m very pleased with my recovery. I’m now down 20kg. I was meant to take 2 weeks off after surgery to recover but I was feeling well enough to get back to work after 1 week. I was up and walking about my ward just a few hours after surgery, I was discharged after 2 nights in hospital. I had some yoghurt a few days after surgery and it was the nicest yoghurt I had eaten. ever.

In the first few weeks after surgery, I found it uncomfortable to sit down. I had pinched a standing desk at work and was doing a lot of walking.

My first slip up happened a week after surgery, we were having a diwali festival at work and I made some gulab jamuns for it. My downfall was I like to sample my food as I bake. So I had 3 gulab jamuns and I had to lie down and moan for a bit because my stomach was too full. I felt like chundering but I didn’t. It was like when you eat too much at christmas time and you feel like lying down and moaning afterwards but it was a tiny amount of food that made me feel like that. My next slip up was Melbourne cup, at work we had everyone bring in a plate of food. I find it hard to want to sample everything. I overate a little and had to lie down for half an hour afterwards.

The post surgery diet hasn’t been horrible. On an average day I now have some yoghurt for breakfast, a tin of tuna for lunch, some sort of protein beverage during the day and dinner is more varied. Some days I’ve forgotten to eat breakfast. I’m not really hungry much. When they remove that much stomach they remove a large portion of the cells that produce the hunger hormone ghrelin.

In 2 weeks in back to “normal” food but I will always have to prioritize protein and nutrient rich vegetables. I’ve still had some emotional lows but I hope they get less intense as time goes on. I’m glad now that I’ve gone through the procedure. I feel like I’m taking control of my health rather than letting my emotions dictate my health. It’s still hard though, there’s many habits I still need to break. The idea of many sweets now grosses me out, it’s the idea of “if I ate all of that I would feel physically sick”. I’m happy to sample sweets but the size of dessert servings almost makes me feel ill. It’s a lot easier for me to waste food now.

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