RNY Post-Op Progress Report

It’s been 2 weeks today since my Roux-en-y surgery and I’m still amazed by it all. I take one tablespoon of Tylenol with Codeine at night and that’s it. I still have some harsh gas pains from time to time that strike with no warning and take my breath away with their severity, but by and large I’m pain free.

When the doctor took my staples out (it was no biggie after all!), he lifted the No Lift, No Bend rule slightly. I can lift if it’s not more than 25 pounds and I’m not sure I could lift more than 25 pounds right now anyway! I can bend down to pick up the millions of every day items that women/moms have been picking up since the days of keeping the bones off their cave dwelling dirt floor! I had one of those old-people-picker-uppers and was using it regularly. I was quite the sight in my front yard wearing my gown and robe and using my rigid claw looking device to snag the newspaper. It worked great for the daileys, but was a tad trickier for the overgrown Sunday advertisement fest. For that I’d snag some of the plastic bag and pull it upright and then bend down ever so slightly and carry it in by the plastic bag. The main thing I have to watch out for is using my abs for the next 4 weeks. Heck my abs are the most unused muscles in my entire body anyway so that should be a piece of cake!

I’ve been allowed to drive for a whole week now and I went to the grocery store by myself Saturday. I’d forgotten that Saturday is the LAST day in the world anyone wants to go to the grocery store that doesn’t HAVE to! All those working people HAVE to shop then, I do not. I was a little tired by the time I got home and parked my buns in a chair for awhile to the utter consternation of my dog Cody who wanted to poop, eat and play in that order. I’ve washed a load or two of clothes and changed the sheets on my bed. I take out the trash with the help of my handy dandy rolling device. I’m doing whatever I need to and asking for help on the stuff that I don’t need to be doing.

I’ve been going through drawers and closets pulling out clothes that are already too big for me. A friend of my daughter’s came over Saturday and hauled off several plastic bags crammed full of stuff. She was delighted but not nearly as much as I was for getting more room in my closets and drawers. I was stunned at the sheer volume of clothes I own! I rarely wear anything out or ruin it but one gets tired of wearing the same old same old so I’d go shopping and drag home new. Like most women I also have 2 or 3 sizes because one always thinks they’ll be back in a smaller size just as soon as they trim down. Well dip me in flour and fry me in Crisco, I’m going to be able to wear those smaller sizes soon! Who would of thunk it!

When I run out of smaller stuff around here my kids suggested I go to the brand new Goodwill thrift store less than a mile away from my casa. I’m going to try and limit my clothes volume until I reach goal. Again thank God for not having to work because I can go around looking like Farmer Ted and be perfectly happy.

My official weight loss at the doctor’s was 10 pounds in 10 days for a total loss of 32 pounds in 4 months. Today on my scales I show 6 more pounds are gone. My scales never agree with any of the others, but it gives me hope that the fat is being burned in the great inferno called my body every day! Yea, me!

Next question to tackle is what exactly do I eat now. That’s a tough one to answer because it depends and it varies. Yesterday I had about ½ cup of chicken broth for breakfast, ½ of a very thin leftover half a pan seared pork chop for lunch with some asparagus, and a newly pan seared pork chop half with some more asparagus for dinner. When I got hungry around 9 or so I cut up some cucumbers and ate them with a little salt. They were yummy! I’m not supposed to eat snacks, but I couldn’t resist and I figured that cucumbers were the least evil thing I could snack on around here. The problem is that like the pork chops, one can’t just go to the store and buy 2 chops or a couple of slices of chicken. I’ve still got 4-5 pork chops in the package and they’ll go bad at my current rate of consuming ½ per meal. So I’m going to Sam’s Club and buy one of those devices that seals food in plastic to cut down on freezer burn and pop those puppies into my freezer. What I wish is that the grocery stores and such would delegate a section to those with a lesser need! I’d like to see lots of items for singles in addition to the giant family sizes! Just think, they could charge us more for smaller packaging! Now I know I could go to the butcher section and buy just one of something, but if you’ve ever looked at the selections they are HUGE too. I’m still working all this out, I’ll get back to you if I ever figure it out….