Being Sick

I experienced a first since my total gastrectomy in February this week…..being sick.  This sickness had nothing to do with my stomach, or lack there of, nothing to do with something I ate, it was just old fashioned being sick.  Last Saturday, we celebrated my birthday a couple of days early.  Late in the evening, I started not feeling great with a little of a sore throat.  Sunday morning I still didn’t feel well.  Throat was still sore, felt weak and my body was aching all over.  I wouldn’t have went to church, but had a meeting afterward, so went.  During worship, I found it necessary to sit down during a couple of hymns which of course made people around me notice.  And of course, if I’m not feeling well, it’s because of my surgery, there’s no other options, or at least so people think. 

I didn’t go to work on Monday, my birthday.  I slept all day, not getting out of bed for any length of time until 4:30.  Because I slept all day Monday, I didn’t get the doctor called until Tuesday and they couldn’t see me until Wednesday.    They suggested I could go to Urgent Care on Tuesday, but first of all, I didn’t feel like sitting and waiting for what sometimes can be a long time at Urgent Care and secondly, I didn’t want to have to explain the whole “no-stomach” thing to a doctor who didn’t know me.  I actually hadn’t seen my regular physician since my surgery, so I sort of wanted to see her anyway.  When I went to the doctor on Wednesday, she determined it was strep throat and put me on antibiotics. 

I managed to go into the office for about an hour or hour and a half tops on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, but that’s all I had energy for.  Friday, I made it up to about 3 ½ hours.  In case you’re every wondering, it’s hard to get a week’s worth of work done at an hour a day.

My throat was so sore all week that it hurt to swallow.  Since it hurt to swallow, I couldn’t make myself eat much.  I survived the week on yogurt and Smoothies was pretty much it.  I ate a little other food, but not much.  I lost about 8 pounds. Originally, after surgery, I was losing 1-2 pounds a week.  That was starting to slow down and my weight was beginning to stabilize.  I’m wondering now if I will gain back the 8 pounds I lost this week being sick or if it’s a new threshold.  Only time will tell. 

When I did start to feel like eating more at the end of the week, at first I found it difficult to consume very large quantities.  It was sort of like the expanding that I had done over the last few months of being able to eat more, took two steps back.  But after a day or so, I seemed to be close to where I had left off a week ago.

I’m curious to see where I am a week from now.