2 days to go and quietly freaking out

[educationrulz 18]

I'm glad to hear the surgery went well for you! It's nice that you are able to drink easily -- it took me weeks to be able to drink larger quantities. Mashed potatoes and Soups went down pretty easily for me. I don't think it will bother you much, but everyone is unique in their experience. For me, regular food was when I started having the most feelings of restriction.

I'll look for your posts to follow how you are doing. Congratulations on starting your journey to a healthier YOU.:thumbup:

Well, I may have spoken to soon on this one. After my sister left to go home this past Sunday, I totally fell apart. I stopped moving around, stopped eating, and stopped drinking! I just fell apart! Good Lord I was a mess and ended up dehyrated and feeling like I was going to die. I guess there's more to be said for having some moral support around than I ever thought.

I drove myself to the doctor's office Monday and after reviewing everything with the nurse my suspicions were confirmed - dehydration! It wasn't bad enough for me to need an IV but I went to get an EKG just in case (because my heart was trying to beat out of my chest for some reason:scared0:) and the EKG was normal. So, I went to the little cafe in the doctor's office building and bought some gatorade and started working on my sipping skills.

Since yesterday, I'm alternating gartorade with Water and meeting my goal of 32 ounces of Clear Liquids. As of yesterday's stage in my post op diet, this should be combined with 32 ounces of full liquids for a total of 64 ounces. I drank more clears since I wasnt' getting that much full liquid in. I still get that tight feeling in my esophagus (I guess that's where it is) when I'm drinking, so I hope that gets better with time. It would be so much easier to get in fluids if it didn't hurt after every 3rd sip. Any advice on that would be appreciated...

Today, my diet progressed to pureed/soft foods. I scrambled an egg this am and was only able to eat less than 2 tablespoons. The recommended amount for this stage is 4-6 tablespoons. I pureed a low cal froz dinner tonight and still couldn't get in 2 tablespoons.

Overall, I can tell that I am slowing turning the corner today and on the right path. I did some things around the house, went to the grocery store, and took my daughter to ride the carousel at the mall. I was exhausted and had to take a nap after, but I did it. :laugh0: Hopefully, I can make it to the park tomorrow and do some walking. My mood is improving and one person I know mentioned that I appeared to have lost some weight. Although what she is seeing is really preop loss, it still gave me a little something to look forward to when the real losing kicks in.

Thanks for everyone's advice and support. I've got to remember to make myself log on when I'm not feeling well because it's easy to get lost in self pity when you feel like crap!:tongue_smilie:VST really helps keep me out of that mindset.

Judy, I'm glad to hear that you're doing well. I think you'll find lots of info on postop diets in various areas of the forum. These should give you some ideas of things to eat. I posted mine in my blogs.

DON'T GET DEHYDRATED! :thumbup:

[breezy 8]

It would be so much easier to get in fluids if it didn't hurt after every 3rd sip. Any advice on that would be appreciated...

I know exactly what you are talking about! At your stage, I was doing the same thing: forcing myself to sip on Gatorade and wishing I could just chug a big glass of Water. Just to be clear, my doctor had me on clear fluids 1st week, full fluids for the 2nd week, pureed food for the 3rd week, and then I could eat "regular" food. I found that warm/hot fluids were a little more comfortable to drink than cold (for me). I remember that when I went on full fluids I found a really good tomatoe Soup and it went down easily.

The hard part for me was that I couldn't take more than a couple small sips at a time, so I had to keep remembering to reach for the glass/cup again and again and again. It does get easier as time goes by. Let's see, my surgery was April 13th and now I can drink almost normally. I still feel the little bit of discomfort/restriction but it is MUCH better.

I have relied on this group, too, to help me understand what is happening to me. I'm glad you find it helpful too!:scared0: