When I first made it home I threw on a very loose dress. I didn't want anything touching me. My mom bought me a recliner to rest in and it was lifesaver (eventually). That first day home was pretty rough. I wasn't in severe pain, but I was really frustrated because I just couldn't get comfortable anywhere. I was exhausted, but couldn't get comfortable enough to sleep in bed, the couch or the recliner! I just had to stick it out and hope for the best the following day. I had stocked up before hand for my first week of only liquids. I was able to drink protein shakes, broth, and eat sugar free popsicles or jello.
These are awesome by the way! Pineapple was the favorite!
The nutritionist said to try to get in around 75-100 grams of protein a day. It took me a while to drink the protein shake. I had three prescriptions when I left the hospital: hydromorphone, zofran, and nexium. I discovered later that in my body, hydromorphone caused insomnia. I would stay awake in bed until early in the morning. My mind was racing and I just couldn't shut down at night. I realized about a week after surgery, that I could take it during the day, but needed to take tylenol at night if I had pain. The lack of sleep created a huge knot of tension in my shoulders/base of neck. After I got the medicine straightened out, this went away. The doctor said I should try to get around 30 minutes of walking in. I started out the day after I came home with laps around the yard. Later on that week, my mom and I would go to stores and run errands. I wasn't allowed to lift more than 10 pounds after surgery and I got tired and overheated easily. People couldn't believe how well I was doing after surgery! I was able to go to the evening service at church 6 days after surgery. Honestly, I had imagined the recovery to be more difficult. I didn't have very many problems with throwing up or sensitivity. I did make one big mistake about 2 weeks in. I thought I could eat chick fil a grilled nuggets if I chewed them very carefully. I was very wrong. They went down ok, but for the rest of the day, I felt like they were just sitting in my throat. I felt like someone was sitting on my chest and spit up foamy saliva. I was miserable and nothing helped but time. Listen to your doctor's eating schedule!! Don't try to think you can handle food ahead of schedule! The first week I could only consume full liquids such as shakes, popsicles, and s/f jello.
This is my go-to brand of Protein powder, Optimum Nutrition:
Week 2, I moved onto soft foods such as cottage cheese, eggs, and soup. Weeks 3-6 I moved to pureed foods. This was the most challenging time. I tried to be creative and make recipes that everyone could eat. I ended up making a lot of soup recipes such as taco soup, chili and pureeing them, if necessary. I found some great recipes on The eggface blog . She has a baked ricotta recipe that is delicious! Also, another tip for this 6 week phase after surgery: don't watch the food network! I did and I craved everything like crazy!! In my third week, I went back to work. I work in an office so there isn't much strenuous movement. I felt pretty comfortable going back. I just had to take it easy lifting anything heavy. By this time, I had lost about 20 pounds. I was very excited that the weight had came off so quickly! I wasn't doing much exercising yet besides walking around at work and on errands.
This is me at about 3 weeks out. You can't notice much of a difference yet, but the spark of hope is there! I felt like my life was going somewhere, finally! I was happy!
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