Wow, they day time flies when you are having fun! Well, I MUST be having fun, cause today is the 3 WEEK anniversary of my surgery! It seems like the 3 weeks have just flown by, and I have to say, I feel SO much better than I did three weeks ago today!!!

When I woke up from my surgery I was sore and hurting (mildly) in the area of the five ports (incisional areas). It hurt to cough or take a deep breath. I felt like I had a huge gas bubble in my stomach that I couldn't belch up, and I just wanted to sleep, but my doctor and nurses kept telling me to "get up and walk, walk, walk!" I was SO tired to boot.

But today I am three weeks out, I have lost a total of 44 pounds so far (20 lbs pre-op and 24 post op) and I feel so much better. Initially I had trouble with getting enough water in. And it is still a small battle. I sip most of my waking hours, trying to get my 64 oz of water in. Some days I come close, some days I don't do so well. But this morning, I woke up at 5:00 AM (!) and was thirsty, so got up and got a ProJoe out of the fridge and drank the whole thing in just about 15-20 minutes! (ProJoe is a coffee protein drink from www.mybariatricpantry.com ). I ordered a sample pack of 12 and they came yesterday. This is the first one I have tried, and I was amazed that it was so good, and I could drink all 9.5 oz in that short of time!!! It usually takes me an hour or two to get 9 oz down. I am sure that my swelling (internal swelling that is) must be going away, allowing me to drink more fluid at a time.

ProJoe also has 20 gms of protein in the 9.5 oz, which is great. I have been really struggeling with getting my protein in every day(usually without success!). I was a huge Starbucks drink fan prior to my surgery, so am looking to substitute ProJoe for Starbucks. The drink I had (Magnifico Mocha) had 110 calories in the 9.5 oz, which is about the same as a Small Starbucks Skinny Iced Carmel Macchiatio (my favorite Starbucks drink).

Also have to report that I am swimming daily with my roommate. Yesterday I got up to 22 laps in the pool. (We have a pool just 1/2 block from our front door). My roommate swam every day in June, while I was home on vacation, and is up to 60 laps. Wish I was able to do that much. But am happy that I can add two laps per day! Am hoping that the swimming will help firm up my upper arms and thighs! I really want to improve my stamina and get some cardio exercise in, and hope that swimming will do that for me too!

In my opening paragraph I said I feel so much better today. I neglected to say that the "Gas bubble" sensation has finally gone away. I am finally having some bowel movements (sorry if that is TMI!) without the aid of a stool softener or laxative, eating a little bit without feeling miserable; in general, everything seems to feel better "all of a sudden"! Now if I could just get my energy back (I am still tired a lot of the time) I will feel REALLY GREAT!

So all you newbie VGSers out there, take heart! It seems that time does heal most things! Have a great day and GREAT weekend. I am off work this weekend, and am anxious to do something fun!

Later.........