Recovery Days

It's been four days since my Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy and I'm doing pretty well.

I came home from the hospital the day after surgery and honestly, that was probably the roughest night of all. I was suffering from a lot of nausea and couldn't drink much so I got dehydrated pretty quickly. I had a low grade fever that night and most of the next day, but not enough to concern the doc.

Every day since then has gotten easier and easier. Today I only took one dose of pain meds and went on two short walks around the neighborhood. Mom is using her spring break to be here to cheer me on, play with the kids and enforce my walking. The walking feels nice, so it kinda stinks that we are predicted to have an unseasonable late March snow storm tonight. Might need to dust off the treadmill.

I've been eating three 'meals' a day and drinking protein drinks in between. My meals are no more than 2 oz, which is equivalent to a small baby food jar or condiment cup. It seems crazy to think that that little amount of food gets me through the day but it does. Most times I eat it really slow while my family eats their food, and it seems like about all I could manage.

I've been having a lot of weird pains/cramps/gas that makes it hard to identify hunger. I've come to figure out that when it's about meal time and I start to feel nauseous...that's my most reliable sign of hunger.

A few people have asked me if I've weighed myself yet. I did on the day I got home and I was actually up a couple of pounds due to liquids, air and swelling. So I'm going to wait a few more days before I do it again. No sense in rushing that just yet. It will come on it's own. For now, I finish healing.