The Post-surgery Diet
When it comes to pain, I have a pretty high tolerance so I don't have many complaints in that area. I have had a few surgeries so I knew what to expect in that aspect. Honestly, the hardest part for me was the diet. After the surgery, you aren't able to eat solid foods for 28 days. Going into the surgery I wasn't too worried about it because I was just so excited to get the surgery and start my new life and weight loss journey. This mentality changed after I had the surgery!
The first 3 days consisted of clear liquids only. This included things like Jell-O, water, Gatorade, broth and popsicles. This wasn't bad on the day of surgery. Mostly because I was out of it and didn't care much about eating. Once I got to the third day, I was starving! I knew it was necessary to promote the proper healing, but it was hard. On day 4 and 5 I was able to add skim milk. I had NO IDEA that skim milk could taste so good! It was a little helpful to get some protein each day. I couldn't wait for day 6!
Starting on day 6 and going through day 9, I was able to go to "full liquids." This included strained soups, smoothies, yogurt drinks, smooth yogurts, puddings and protein drinks. Being able to add these things helped a lot, but after a couple of days I felt like I was starving again. Christmas couldn't come soon enough!
Sure, I LOVE Christmas every other year, but this year was even better. I was able to add in pureed foods! My Christmas dinner consisted of DELICIOUS mashed potatoes and gravy. I wasn't able to eat very much (which is good) but I enjoyed every bite! The pureed diet was from day 10 through day 14. It was wonderful and I definitely lost the "starving" feeling. Next came the "healing diet....."
The healing diet is the final phase of the post-surgery diet. This diet is pretty much anything that you can puree into the consistency of applesauce. I am currently on day 19 and I haven't had a problem finding things to eat. I am able to eat scrambled eggs, cottage, cheese and cooked squash. There are other items on the list but these are the staples for me right now. I am also able to have a lot of soups if I am able to puree any big pieces. There are definitely a lot more options but I still can't wait to move to solid foods.
The Complications
I didn't have any problems during the surgery or with anesthesia. My problem was actually with one of my incisions. I have five incisions total. Four of them are small (no bigger than an inch) and have healed as expected. The fifth incision is the "port incision." This incision is larger than the others because the doctor has to be able to get the port in. After the surgery, I had steri strips on the incisions and they were covered with bandages and a waterproof covering. The doctor and his nurse said that I could take the bandages off after one week.
The day came for me to take off my bandages. I started with the four small incisions because honestly, the biggest one made me nervous. I could tell it was pretty bruised underneath the bandages. The first four incisions were fine. I'm considered a "slow healer" so they weren't scabbed over yet or anything but they were closed up. I moved to the scary one. I got about halfway through taking off the bandage when I realized something was not right. It was gooey and it didn't look the the incision was closed up at all. WARNING: I'm posting a picture of what it looked like. Skip the picture if you are squeamish.
I am very lucky and I have an amazing nurse that welcomes text messages at any time. I sent her the picture and she had me meet her at the office after hours to look at it. Luckily, it just looked a lot worse than it was. It wasn't infected so that was good. She cleaned it with hydrogen peroxide and put a new steri strip on. She said that I should leave it on for another week and she would take the bandage off at my 2 week follow up.
Well, a few days later, I noticed that the new bandage was looking quite gross and gooey. Even more gooey than when I originally took the bandage off. Once again, I sent a picture to the nurse and she told me to just take off the bandage since it was so gross. It was not a pretty site. I have a picture but it doesn't do it justice... but I will post it anyway.
Gross right!? Well, I went in for my 2 week appointment shortly after. The doctor didn't think it was too bad but he put me on oral antibiotics just in case. It has finally scabbed over but it still looks pretty bad. It's still tender but it the redness around it seems to be getting better. This is what it looks like now....
I have a follow up appointment on the 7th so that my doctor can look at it to see if he has any concerns. I'm hoping that it is on the way to being better, but it's annoying for now.
I'm SO sorry about the novel! Like I said at the beginning, I had a lot to say! My plan is for my next post to be my one month follow up. I'll update my weight and measurements. See you on the 16th!
The healing diet is the final phase of the post-surgery diet. This diet is pretty much anything that you can puree into the consistency of applesauce. I am currently on day 19 and I haven't had a problem finding things to eat. I am able to eat scrambled eggs, cottage, cheese and cooked squash. There are other items on the list but these are the staples for me right now. I am also able to have a lot of soups if I am able to puree any big pieces. There are definitely a lot more options but I still can't wait to move to solid foods.
The Complications
I didn't have any problems during the surgery or with anesthesia. My problem was actually with one of my incisions. I have five incisions total. Four of them are small (no bigger than an inch) and have healed as expected. The fifth incision is the "port incision." This incision is larger than the others because the doctor has to be able to get the port in. After the surgery, I had steri strips on the incisions and they were covered with bandages and a waterproof covering. The doctor and his nurse said that I could take the bandages off after one week.
The day came for me to take off my bandages. I started with the four small incisions because honestly, the biggest one made me nervous. I could tell it was pretty bruised underneath the bandages. The first four incisions were fine. I'm considered a "slow healer" so they weren't scabbed over yet or anything but they were closed up. I moved to the scary one. I got about halfway through taking off the bandage when I realized something was not right. It was gooey and it didn't look the the incision was closed up at all. WARNING: I'm posting a picture of what it looked like. Skip the picture if you are squeamish.
Well, a few days later, I noticed that the new bandage was looking quite gross and gooey. Even more gooey than when I originally took the bandage off. Once again, I sent a picture to the nurse and she told me to just take off the bandage since it was so gross. It was not a pretty site. I have a picture but it doesn't do it justice... but I will post it anyway.
And here is a picture the next day...after it aired out.
I have a follow up appointment on the 7th so that my doctor can look at it to see if he has any concerns. I'm hoping that it is on the way to being better, but it's annoying for now.
I'm SO sorry about the novel! Like I said at the beginning, I had a lot to say! My plan is for my next post to be my one month follow up. I'll update my weight and measurements. See you on the 16th!
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