Unusual Day

[JillianRN 0]

:huh2:

I am not hear to whine or complain and I hope that I do not appear to be doing it but I need some answers and hopefully some solutions. I am post op day 11. I am still on a liquid diet per my Dr's orders. I have been ordered to drink between 60-90 grams of Protein. I can have low sodium broth and low sodium Tomato Soup. I exercise between 30-60 minutes a day and I am getting in at least 64oz of Water on top of sugar free ice pops and unsweetened tea (no caffeine). I've had several surgeries c-section laparoscopic partial hysterectomy and a very complicated complete hysterectomy (abdominal incision). Those surgeries, especially the last one was extremely painful and I deal with pain very well. This surgery by far has been the most painful. I had 4 puncture wounds and 1 incision about 3 inches long where the port is. All are healing well with no drainage, but the port one and the one to the left remain extremely painful. All sutures are out and I have steristrips on the two painful ones. I had some vacation days to burn so I took a week off. I returned today for 1/2 a day and I worked from home for 1/2 a day. I have so much bloating, not necessarily gas you can expel. I put my lose fitting clothes on this morning when I left and by noon I looked like I was 6 months pregnant. My stomach feels like it is eating itself, almost like if you had a virus and you were getting over it and a saltine cracker would settle it. I drink slowly and at intervals but everytime I drink my Protein Shake or Soup my stomach does this same kind of thing. I am able to go to the bathroom without difficulty. I have no restriction as the Dr. does not put any Fluid in for the first 6 weeks. I have no difficulty swallowing. I am hungry, but not all of the time. I keep myself mentally busy so that I am not concentrating on food all of the time. And if I have not complained enough, I have absolutely no energy. Everything I do washes me out. I am usually a busy person, and productive, but just to fold clothes or do normal household cleaning, I find myself short of breath and weak. I have checked my blood pressure and it remains on the low side of normal. We did have to reduce my dosage because of very low blood pressures a few days after surgery. Can anyone offer any advice to me? Is this normal? Do I need to do anything different? I do not regret the fact that I have my Band whom I lovingly call Cha Cha....long story. BUT I need some reassurance. I have pulled my big girl panties up and am trying to be optomistic.:cursing:

Jill

(Sorry for such a long post....just needed to unload)

[JillianRN 0]

Sorry for the typos....I usually can spell better than the above post...lol

[Nicole74 4]

You are very normal at 11 days out. Dont push yourself too much on the exercise at this time..you need to let yourself heal. when I was 11 days out I was just doing short walks and still alot of resting. The eating is what it is and you have to work with what your allowed to eat at the stage. Call your doctor if your concerned especially about your low blood pressure but I think you are very normal at this stage..it all does get better. I think it was about week 3 when I started feeling much better and it took at least a month to get some energy back...everyone is different hang in there its still very early for you!

[JillianRN 0]

Thank you Nicole!

[lovemysgt 4]

yeha slow way down on the exercise i wasnt allowed to do anything except walk for about 4 weeks. i am just now allowed to pick up the pace of my walking. you re doing ok not to worry. i was banded on sept 13th and still taking me a bit to get back to normal. chin up were here for you:biggrin:

[honk 780]

Were you exercising presurgery? If so I would'nt be that concerned about walking. Prior to surgery I was doing an hour of swimming 7 days week. Four days post op I went to the gym and did the treadmill at flat incline. Gradually increased the speed (up to 2 mph I have short legs what can I say) and length of work out for the next two weeks. At day 15 I went back to swimming. For the first 7 days back to the gym I did take a nap after the work out. I think the second week is hard because you feel like you need to be "normal". Only problem is you are feeling way better than you were but you are not back to "normal".

[JillianRN 0]

Thanks Lovemysgt and Honk. Before surgery I was not a big fan of exercise...lol I did walk a couple of times a week and used the WII fit a couple of days.

[samomom 19]

You sound like what I felt like about the same time. The bloating was not fun and the going no where gas just sucked, but it will go away. I'm 3 weeks post op today and I feel totally normal. You might want to try some GasX chewables.< /p>

[mrsbure 0]

I am almost 3 weeks post op and I too now feel fine. Your body went through a lot and now on top of surgery your not feeding it what it used to get. I am in the mushy stage right now and I recently went out and bought some unflavored Protein to add to my carnation instant Breakfast because I am not getting enough protein and it aids in the healing. You are doing great and every day will get better. I promise!

[JillianRN 0]

Thank you..it helps to hear from others...

[ElfiePoo 109]

Jillian,

Don't be too hard on yourself. My doc told me nothing more strenuous than walking 2-3 weeks and absolutely nothing that would bend/stretch the abdomen too much since everything was still healing in there. I had no pain after surgery, but I did get tired out more easily during the first two weeks. I just thought I was overdoing it too soon in trying to return to my normal activity level...no exercise but I'm usually on the move all day.

You might try backing off on the exercising and just focus on movement, like walking. Maybe add even more Protein into your diet. During my first month, I was probably taking in 160gm of protein each day (through protein shakes).

.

[ddow58 2]

I was the exact same as you describe. It felt like my stomach was the emptiest it had ever been and almost hurt from it. It was constant for awhile. My doc also told me little to no exercise for 4-6 weeks because he didn't want to take any chance of the band slipping.