I had my total gastrectomy 3 months ago today. Before surgery, I had basically set myself up to be sick for 3 months. Well, those 3 months are over and while I'm not 100%, I have done so much better than I ever anticipated. I really only had a couple of days after I got out of the hospital that were pretty bad. I've been able to do lots of things that I didn't expect to be able to do so soon, whether eating out, attending a KU basketball game, attending a Royals baseball game, attending graduation parties...it's all been good.
I am starting to get up a little earlier, but that means I'm getting up at 9:00 instead of 10:00 or 10:30. I'm very aware most people wouldn't call that early. I get to work around 10:30 and then come home for lunch and then work till 4:30 or 5:00. So I'm still only getting about 5 hours in a day. At that point, I'm tired and ready to come home and still have little energy for any evening activities.
Eating is going pretty well. There are still things that I don't eat and some things that have worked one day, but not worked another, but overall things are good. For the first two months, breakfast was usually a scrambled egg and a toasted mini bagel or english muffin. I really didn't like eggs every day and was looking for some different options, but wanted something with protein. I finally found Special K Protein Cereal and it has done pretty good. It's high in protein, but low in sugar. Too many cereals are too high in sugar. I sometimes add banana slices to it (about 1/3 of a banana) to add more nutrients. Having a little variety is nice. Since I'm still eating breakfast pretty late, I don't have a snack before lunch For lunch, I usually come home and fix something quickly. That may be warming up leftovers from a previous meal, grilling chicken breast or fish and microwaving a small potato or something else simple. For an afternoon snack I may have cheese and crackers, string cheese and pretzels, a protein bar, greek yogurt or a smoothie (with protein). Then supper is usually a more traditional meal whether at home or a restaurant. It usually includes meat, potato and vegetable, but it varies Sometimes it looks a lot like lunch. Depending what time I eat supper, I may or may not have a snack in the evening. I don't like to eat too late. I do often do a smoothie in the evening. Originally, it was almost every not, but it's not any more. As I eat more at supper, I have reduced how often I have something in the evening.
I have started eating sweets. I limit myself to just 2 or 3 bites of cake or cookie or whatever it is. Likewise, I'll have just a small piece of candy. A had a fun-size Babe Ruth candy bar a week ago and it was wonderful!
As far as beverages, I drink quite a bit of water and iced tea. I was a big tea drinker before surgery and still am. You can only have a small amount while eating, so need to drink more between meals. I've heard some people say they have trouble with water or tea. I have not had any troubles. Some people say they have to drink them at room temperature. I have always liked my drinks ice cold and continue to drink them that way with no problem. I don't know what the difference is. I have never been a diet soda drinker, but enjoy regular Coke. I have had two Cokes since surgery. Each time I had about half of a can and drank it over 2-3 hours. It was fine and nice for a change, but in general terms, I'll stick to my tea which doesn't have sugar.
As far as alcohol, the only drink I've tried so far is a fuzzy navel (peach Schnapps and orange juice). I've done fine with it and sometimes enjoy it for a change in the evening.
I'm making progress. Still a long way to go, but getting there!
No comments:
Post a Comment