It is 9 days since my RNY procedure. (A bit unusual because I had open surgery and also had a gastric band removed.)
After the surgery? Well, it iwa a brutal surgery because they used a rib spreader to give maximum easy access, and an incision from rib center down to tummy button. The wound felt ok, but my chest felt like I had been kicked in the chest by a horse. (My family were bemused as I inadvertently txted them all that it felt like I had been licked in the chest by a horse, and they couldn’t understand if that was good or bad!) The joy of open surgery - no gas pain!
Slept rest of day 1 and much of day 2. Self pump morphine allowed a dose every 5 mins, but needed way less. Walked corridor 4 times on day 2.
Day 3 30ml (medicine cup) or water an hour. Diarrhoea begins - daily once or twice. Don’t trust a fart!. Last morphine dose 10am. Short walk every 2 hours.
Day 4 60ml hourly in the morning, 90ml afternoon. Lear broth for dinner with a tablespoon of jelly for after. Slightly longer walk.
Day 5 Tablespoon of purée fish for lunch, over 30mins - and when it goes down, off home (to a big city hotel). Hooray. Nice, peaceful home, where no one wakes me up every three hours to take my blood pressure!
Sleeping a bit uncomfortable, need a pillow ‘under’ my tummy to sleep on my side.
Now I am on day 9. Diarrhoea stopped day 7 and quite normal now. I am going for gentle walks maybe 300 yards/metres but they do quickly tire me out. Can sleep on my side with near comfort now.
Eating: 3 teaspoons yoghurt for breakfast, slow - 15-20 mins. 3 teaspoons cottage cheese with pesto/mild chilli/flavour for lunch, also over 15-20 mins. Protein soup from BariatricPal pal for dinner - 8oz over 1/2-3/4 hour. In between, water (20% Apple juice cos I hate water) constantly, and 1/4 chai latte in a cafe today made me feel like a million dollars!
About 250 -300 calories, 30-40g protein and I am up to 6 cups fluid today. Not enough hours to get in All the food and the liquid!
Eating speed is hard to judge - I was told to expect a lump in my chest if I ate too much or too fast, but don’t get that. So just trying to be sensible - if I AM too fast I get mild sharp tummy pain about an hour later.
No regrets so far - really manageable surgery. Not half as rough as a hysterectomy!!
No weighing yet - till I go home on Boxing Day...