Thursday, June 11, 2009

Update after the 'real' doctor's visit

Today was my 2 week post-op check up, and it went great. I was down 21 pounds from my last visit (5-6-09) and they were very pleased with that. It was a busy check-up, I saw 5 different people:

1. The nurse - she took my vitals and weighed me. She asked me tons of questions about bodily functions you probably don't want to know about and told me I needed to be getting more water each day than I have been getting. She took my stitches out of one of my incisions, she said she didn't see any others. The stitches had already 'busted', so she didn't even have to use scissors to cut them. She was very pleased with how my seven incisions had healed.

2. The psychologist - she talked to me about what I had been doing since surgery, how I had been spending my time, etc. She was very pleased with the support system that I have (thank you everyone!), and overall was please with my progress. I told her my biggest fear was gaining weight. It sounds silly, but it's true. For so long, every time I stepped on a scale, my weight would have increased, so I have those same expectations now.

3. The surgeon - he was very please with my progress; he ended up taking another stitch out of one of my incisions that the nurse had missed. He's really funny and joked with me about what a great job he did! He was concerned that my protein was making me feel sick, but admitted he was not the expert on food/protein, so he made a note for the dietitian to talk to me about it. He released me to go back to work on Monday, and said to keep doing what I'm doing.

4. The dietitian - she's great. I really like her a lot; I've been seeing her monthly for the past six months. She wasn't pleased with me feeling sick after I 'eat', and told me that the protein I have been using isn't absorbed very well into the body (she showed me a research piece about it), and suggested I use something different. She is pretty convinced the change will make me feel better. She suggested I stay on a mostly liquid diet for at least another week and ease into soft foods as I feel like it. Her suggestion was to try one 'meal' and three shakes a day and progress from there.

5. The exercise physiologist - she's the greatest. She's about my age, and we have a great rapport. She didn't believe me at first that I had been jogging a little, and was pleased; however, she did caution me that too much jogging/running could stress the internal incisions and stitches, so she told me to take that part easy. She was pleased with how much activity I am getting each day, and we talked about ways to make sure I am getting enough water when I exercise. She also reminded me that I can not lift anything over 10 lbs until I go back in 4 weeks, and she said I can't get in the pool for at least another week, until my incisions are completely healed. BUMMER!

So, that's all the news that is the news today. I went from there to this awesome toy store I found online this weekend. It's called The Learning Tree, and carries a lot of educational toys for kids. I just love stores like that, and I found an awesome birthday gift for my Sadie (who is going to be 4, but I'm in denial!), and lots of ideas for Makaela's 1st birthday next month. They even gift wrapped it for free! Awesome! Stores like that make me want kids so bad! Oh, well, some day....

I'm off to the gym before all the 'commoners' get of work - haha! I'm going to miss this luxury when I go back to work on Monday! After that I may head to the pool, even though I can't get it - I can always read my book and eat Sonic ice-cubes. Here's hoping these clouds go away while I'm in the gym!

Have a great rest of the week! God Bless...

1 comment:

  1. I am so glad to hear a good report for you. You do sound like you're mentally doing well and I'm sure that's a huge battle. Hang in there and I can't wait to see pictures in a few months!!

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