As I get further and further removed from my gastrectomy, I find myself posting less and less often. I often think about posting, but don't make myself sit down and do it. I commented recently, "I was too busy living life to write about it." That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm going to try to make myself do better as I know it would be helpful to those who are going through the same things and others are just curious.
I thought it might be good to share my daily routine as far as food intake. I am 17 months out from my surgery (and that's how I usually refer to it, "my surgery"; I've had various surgeries over the years, but this one is just "my surgery" and life is defined as before and after surgery, just like before and after children). But anyway.....
Before surgery, I was never a big breakfast eater. I would usually eat a granola bar on the way to work. Now I emphasize protein every time I eat. I don't count calories or count grams of protein, but I try to get protein with every meal and every snack...and it seems to be working. Granola bars do not have very much protein, so they have went bye-bye. They have been replaced with Kellogg's Special K Protein cereal for breakfast. I have found that I like the Cinnamon Brown Sugar Crunch flavor straight out of the box. There are 7 grams of protein per 3/4 cup serving. I've actually never measured how much I eat, but I'm guessing around a serving. I carry it in a zip-lock bag and eat in on the way to work, usually finishing at work since I only have a 2 mile drive to work. I often don't eat breakfast until close to 9:00 (I'm not a morning person) and I usually eat lunch at 11:30, so I often don't have a morning snack. If I do have a morning snack, I like Atkins Peanut Butter Granola protein bars. They have 16 grams of protein. A lot of the snacks I eat later in the day, I don't like to eat in the morning; this is one of the few things I enjoy in the morning besides my cereal.
As I said before, I usually eat lunch around 11:30. My lunch is, more often than not, leftovers that I bring to work and heat up in the microwave. It includes some sort of meat, potato, and sometimes a vegetable. It also includes unsweetened iced tea. Before lunch, I drink water periodically, but then I drink tea with lunch but not too much) and will continue drinking it all afternoon.
In the afternoon, I have several snacks. Using the criteria of eating every 3 hours, it would only be one snack, but instead I tend to eat 2 or 3 snacks during the afternoon, eating every hour or two. At work, I keep a supply of cheddar cheese sticks, mozzarella string cheese, pretzels (that I eat with the string cheese) and protein bars. Protein bars vary a lot in the number of grams of protein. For the most part, I have stopped buying the ones that are only 7-10 grams figuring I might as well eat one that's 20 instead. I particularly like Pure Protein. They are small bars (I never have problems finishing them which does sometimes happen with bigger bars), but have 20-21 grams of protein. Costco sells a variety pack with 21 bars of Chocolate Peanut Butter, Chewy Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Deluxe. Others that I particularly like are Cliff Builder's Protein-Chocolate Mint or Chocolate Peanut Butter (20g), ProMax-Double Fudge Brownie (20g) and Balance Chocolate Mint Cookie Crunch (14g). I also really like Atkins Caramel Chocolate Nut Roll Bar. It's only 7 grams of protein, but I still buy it because it's almost like eating a candy bar.
I also always carry snacks in my purse. I usually have peanut butter filled pretzel nuggets and nuts, either regular mixed nuts, peanuts or honey roasted peanuts. Lately, I've been mainly doing honey roasted peanuts. I didn't do them for quite some time, afraid that they would be too much sugar. I don't know if I would have had troubles earlier, but I've had no problems now. I stopped doing mixed nuts because I don't like cashews and I got tired of the number that were in the mixed nuts.
At home on weekends, as well as doing the above snacks, I do a variety of cheeses with crackers. I'm so glad I don't have any dairy issues as I know some people do after TG as cheese is a big part of my snacking.
I eat a variety of things for supper. There really isn't anything I won't eat, but grilled fish and chicken are my "go tos". I also eat steak, hamburger, pork, etc. We often go out to eat, which almost always means I will have leftovers for lunch the next day as American restaurants serve too much food. If I fix my own dinner at home, I will often eat an entire frozen fish filet or chicken breast, partially because the serving size is smaller and partially because I don't fix as many side dishes. If I need leftovers for lunch, I'll go ahead and fix an extra serving.
I had been having a smoothie almost every night as I found it did better than many other snacks in the evening. My typical make your own smoothie is 2 ice cubes crushed in the blender, add some juice (strawberry watermelon or mango), 4 tablespoons whey protein powder, 1 container Greek yogurt (any flavor), frozen fruit (some combination of mangos, peaches, and berries) blended all together. Just over the last few months, I have found myself having other snacks in the evenings and doing less smoothies, although I still like the smoothies too. I particularly do a lot of the peanut better pretzels and honey roasted peanuts in the evening.
It's nice that I've pretty much fell into a routine and have a system, but at the same time, I'm not afraid to experiment and venture outside of it. Occasionally, things don't go well, but more often than not, they do.
Sunday, July 22, 2018
Sunday, April 8, 2018
Drinks, Sweets and Dumping
Dumping syndrome is a condition some people experience after a total (or partial) gastrectomy. It is caused when food, especially sugar, moves into your small bowel too quickly. Symptoms of dumping syndrome include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, dizziness and rapid heart rate.
I have been very fortunate. I have not experienced much dumping. Actually, in my first year, I didn't have any severe dumping. There might have been a few times that I had a little, but not really much at all. I don't know if what I had would even be considered dumping as it was so minor.
Fear of dumping syndrome is one of the reasons I don't do a lot of sweets. But I have built up to doing them more often, a little at a time, and haven't had any problems....until a couple of weeks ago. It was the same day as my last post where I drank a whole can of Coke while watching the KU game that afternoon. I was fine, no issues. Then that night, I could tell I was going to have trouble getting to sleep, so I decided to have a mixed drink before going to bed. My go to drink is a fuzzy navel (orange juice and peach schnapps). Yes, it is sweet, but I've had it before, and I've been fine. I actually didn't have any orange juice, but had mango juice from my Smoothies. I've mixed mango juice with peach schnapps before and had no problems. As I was having the drink this time, I could tell it was starting to bother me. I didn't finish the drink and went on to bed. As I was laying in bed, I started having abdominal cramps really bad. I got up and went to the bathroom. Went back to bed, still cramping. I got up again. This time I was successful in having a bowel movement. Went back to bed, still cramping. I was laying there, curled up, in a lot of pain. Got up and went to the bathroom one more time. This time I had loose bowels. After that, I actually felt better. I was finally able to go back to bed and settle down and eventually go to sleep. I think that was dumping syndrome. My first experience with it and I hope my last. I really don't want to go through that again.
I haven't had my peach schnapps and orange or mango juice again yet since then. Not sure how long I'll wait before giving it a try. One of the frustrating things with all this is something that can be fine one day, isn't another day. You never know.
I did have a celebration with dessert this Friday night. We had some friends over to play bridge and I made a frozen strawberry yogurt pie (Cool Whip, frozen strawberries, and strawberry yogurt, poured into a graham cracker crust and frozen). I made it one other time since surgery. That time I was tempted to eat the whole slice, but made myself stop at half. This time I made it with Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt. I figured adding the protein would make it better for me. It was still yummy and I did eat the whole slice this time. No dumping. No regrets. I felt totally fine afterward.
There are leftovers from the pie in the freezer. I may just have to go have a slice....
I have been very fortunate. I have not experienced much dumping. Actually, in my first year, I didn't have any severe dumping. There might have been a few times that I had a little, but not really much at all. I don't know if what I had would even be considered dumping as it was so minor.
Fear of dumping syndrome is one of the reasons I don't do a lot of sweets. But I have built up to doing them more often, a little at a time, and haven't had any problems....until a couple of weeks ago. It was the same day as my last post where I drank a whole can of Coke while watching the KU game that afternoon. I was fine, no issues. Then that night, I could tell I was going to have trouble getting to sleep, so I decided to have a mixed drink before going to bed. My go to drink is a fuzzy navel (orange juice and peach schnapps). Yes, it is sweet, but I've had it before, and I've been fine. I actually didn't have any orange juice, but had mango juice from my Smoothies. I've mixed mango juice with peach schnapps before and had no problems. As I was having the drink this time, I could tell it was starting to bother me. I didn't finish the drink and went on to bed. As I was laying in bed, I started having abdominal cramps really bad. I got up and went to the bathroom. Went back to bed, still cramping. I got up again. This time I was successful in having a bowel movement. Went back to bed, still cramping. I was laying there, curled up, in a lot of pain. Got up and went to the bathroom one more time. This time I had loose bowels. After that, I actually felt better. I was finally able to go back to bed and settle down and eventually go to sleep. I think that was dumping syndrome. My first experience with it and I hope my last. I really don't want to go through that again.
I haven't had my peach schnapps and orange or mango juice again yet since then. Not sure how long I'll wait before giving it a try. One of the frustrating things with all this is something that can be fine one day, isn't another day. You never know.
I did have a celebration with dessert this Friday night. We had some friends over to play bridge and I made a frozen strawberry yogurt pie (Cool Whip, frozen strawberries, and strawberry yogurt, poured into a graham cracker crust and frozen). I made it one other time since surgery. That time I was tempted to eat the whole slice, but made myself stop at half. This time I made it with Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt. I figured adding the protein would make it better for me. It was still yummy and I did eat the whole slice this time. No dumping. No regrets. I felt totally fine afterward.
There are leftovers from the pie in the freezer. I may just have to go have a slice....
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Have a Coke
I love iced tea (unsweetened!). Always have. Before TG, I was more likely to have iced tea with my meal than anything, but occasionally enjoyed a Coke...real Coke, don't like the aftertaste of diet. After TG, iced tea has been my go to drink. No sugar, no carbonation. I like it, I have no issues.
Before today, I had had 2 cokes in the last year. Both times I had about half of a 12 oz. can. I don't know if it's been all the Coke commercials which watching the NCAA tournament or what, but I decided I needed to have a Coke. Partially, I wanted to have one at home so I would know if it was safe to have one while I was away from home. If I'm at a party or something, iced tea isn't always an option. I need to know if I can drink a whole Coke. So this afternoon, while watching KU play Duke in an incredible game and advance to the Final 4, I had a Coke. I drank the whole 12 oz.
Truthfully, it didn't taste all that great. When you've got used to drinking drinks with no sugar, it just tastes sort of weird. But I did OK. My left side actually hurts a little. Not a lot, but a little. Maybe I should describe it more as just a little discomfort. I actually have had this happen several times over the last few weeks after I eat. I don't know what causes it. It's not that bad. I live with it. It passes in a few minutes and I'm fine.
I'm still going to drink lots of iced tea. That's not going to change. But if I want to have a Coke or if iced tea isn't an option, I can have a Coke!
Before today, I had had 2 cokes in the last year. Both times I had about half of a 12 oz. can. I don't know if it's been all the Coke commercials which watching the NCAA tournament or what, but I decided I needed to have a Coke. Partially, I wanted to have one at home so I would know if it was safe to have one while I was away from home. If I'm at a party or something, iced tea isn't always an option. I need to know if I can drink a whole Coke. So this afternoon, while watching KU play Duke in an incredible game and advance to the Final 4, I had a Coke. I drank the whole 12 oz.
Truthfully, it didn't taste all that great. When you've got used to drinking drinks with no sugar, it just tastes sort of weird. But I did OK. My left side actually hurts a little. Not a lot, but a little. Maybe I should describe it more as just a little discomfort. I actually have had this happen several times over the last few weeks after I eat. I don't know what causes it. It's not that bad. I live with it. It passes in a few minutes and I'm fine.
I'm still going to drink lots of iced tea. That's not going to change. But if I want to have a Coke or if iced tea isn't an option, I can have a Coke!
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
One Year!
It's been one year since I wrote these words:
The amount of food I can eat in one setting keeps increasing. Sometimes, like tonight, my plate looks like a real person, eating a real meal. This was my supper tonight. I ate everything on my plate. When eating frozen fish fillets prepared at home (this one was salmon), I can pretty consistently eat the entire thing. Potatoes are a staple for me, these are sliced and coated with olive oil and garlic seasoning and then baked in the oven, along with the salmon which was preseasoned. I only started doing corn a couple of months ago, but it has been doing OK. I haven't really encountered anything I can't eat at all, but there are things I didn't try for months and corn was one of them. I still don't do a lot of it or salad or bread, but I can eat any of them. I mainly just don't want to fill up on foods like bread or lettuce that don't supply me with protein or many other nutrients.
I'm sitting here on the eve of my surgery. I'm freaking out. I can feel my heart rate accelerating. I try to take deep breaths to relax and stay calm. How did I get here? Am I really doing this? Am I really having my stomach removed in less than 12 hours? What will the rest of my life be like? There's no turning back. (View the whole post here)I had no idea what the future would bring. I was scared, probably more scared than I've ever been in my life. The year hasn't been easy, but in general times it hasn't been as bad as I feared. I had set myself up for the worst. There have been bad times, but the good times have far outweighed the bad times. I've been blessed. Some people have a rougher time than I have. I don't understand the difference. I don't feel like I have done anything in particular, but I had a great surgeon (Dr. Mansfield at MD Anderson), and I do try to listen to my body, eat every 2-3 hours (sometimes only an hour), eat protein every time I eat and keep hydrated by drinking mostly unsweetened iced tea, water, and smoothies. I have a smoothie that I make myself (I don't like the store bought ones and they don't always settle well) almost every night as I found it often settles better in the evening than food does.
My smoothie "recipe" is simple: ice, 100% fruit juice and/or milk (I originally used all juice, but have recently been using a combination of juice and milk), whey protein powder, Greek yogurt, frozen fruit. Blend.
The amount of food I can eat in one setting keeps increasing. Sometimes, like tonight, my plate looks like a real person, eating a real meal. This was my supper tonight. I ate everything on my plate. When eating frozen fish fillets prepared at home (this one was salmon), I can pretty consistently eat the entire thing. Potatoes are a staple for me, these are sliced and coated with olive oil and garlic seasoning and then baked in the oven, along with the salmon which was preseasoned. I only started doing corn a couple of months ago, but it has been doing OK. I haven't really encountered anything I can't eat at all, but there are things I didn't try for months and corn was one of them. I still don't do a lot of it or salad or bread, but I can eat any of them. I mainly just don't want to fill up on foods like bread or lettuce that don't supply me with protein or many other nutrients.
I wish I could say that it was always easy and there weren't surprises, but that's simply not true. Sometimes after eating there's a few minutes that I don't feel good. I can't really describe it, but things just feel a little out of balance. It usually isn't severe. It seldom lasts long. It doesn't happen all the time. I just live with it. It's not a big deal. I don't know if this is something that will be part of the rest of my life or not. I do know it happens less often than it did 2 months ago when it was happening less than it was 6 months ago. So I'm guessing it may totally go away at some point or it may always be there occasionally. Only time will tell.
It had been a long time since something hadn't set so badly that it came back up. That was until last night. I had some peanut butter filled pretzel nuggets for a snack. Everything seemed fine at first, then I started not to feel well. I don't want to be too graphic but I want to tell it like it is for those who might be anticipating or recovering from a TG. It took two trips to the bathroom with it coming out of both ends before I felt better. But once it was over, I was fine. It would be easy to say that I just shouldn't eat the peanut butter pretzels, but I had some both Friday night and Saturday night and everything was fine. I didn't feel the least bit sick then. This is one of the mysteries of life post total gastrectomy. You never know what is going to bother you one day that didn't bother you another day.
My weight seems to be stabilizing. I've been right around 163 (162.7-163.4) for 6 weeks now, down 80 pounds from the 243 I weighed going into surgery. It is a weight I am very happy with and think I look good at. I will be thrilled if this is a weight that I maintain and won't be concerned about trying to gain weight. Actually, wouldn't want to gain any more than 10 pounds or so and if I end up losing another 10 pounds that would be OK too. I'm basically where I want to be.
Here's to one year of life without a stomach. Hoping and praying the second year is even more uneventful, which I am expecting it will be.
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Almost 1 year follow-up
When I saw Dr. Mansfield in June, he wanted to see me again in 6 months, which would have been December, but December is too busy so I scheduled the appointment for January. That means it is just shy of one year since my total gastrectomy on February 21, 2017.
As I said in an earlier post, I was a little concerned that I would get yelled out for losing too much weight as he had stressed needing to have the weight stabilize when I saw him in June and it didn't start to until November and then I started losing again (although at a slower rate) in December.
But that wasn't the case at all. The nurse actually commented about how much I had lost since my June appointment, but that I looked really good and that it appeared to be a healthy weight loss. Dr. Manfield's assistant reviewed all of the blood work and everything basically looked good. The only one that was a little low was the prealbumin protein (I think) which is better than it was in June, but still a little low, but not of major concern. B-12 levels and everything else were good. The only other thing she mentioned was so insignificant that she wasn't going to mention it, but of course, she mentioned it telling us she wasn't going to mention it and that was hydration.
When the assistant looked at my incision, I made some comment about how pleased I am with how the scar looks and she agreed and said it was one of the best she has seen. I don't think I can take credit for that, but I like it.
When Dr, Mansfield came in, he didn't even look at the lab results like he normally does. He too was happy with where I am weight wise and said that as long as it has slowed down and I don't lose it too fast, if I lose another 15 pounds or so (over several months), that would be OK. It was nice to hear that we are on the same page which I didn't necessarily feel in June. I'm not looking to lose another 15 pounds, I'm very happy with where I currently am. but if it happens, it would be OK.
The report was good enough that he doesn't want to see me for another year. So I'm good with that!
As I said in an earlier post, I was a little concerned that I would get yelled out for losing too much weight as he had stressed needing to have the weight stabilize when I saw him in June and it didn't start to until November and then I started losing again (although at a slower rate) in December.
But that wasn't the case at all. The nurse actually commented about how much I had lost since my June appointment, but that I looked really good and that it appeared to be a healthy weight loss. Dr. Manfield's assistant reviewed all of the blood work and everything basically looked good. The only one that was a little low was the prealbumin protein (I think) which is better than it was in June, but still a little low, but not of major concern. B-12 levels and everything else were good. The only other thing she mentioned was so insignificant that she wasn't going to mention it, but of course, she mentioned it telling us she wasn't going to mention it and that was hydration.
When the assistant looked at my incision, I made some comment about how pleased I am with how the scar looks and she agreed and said it was one of the best she has seen. I don't think I can take credit for that, but I like it.
When Dr, Mansfield came in, he didn't even look at the lab results like he normally does. He too was happy with where I am weight wise and said that as long as it has slowed down and I don't lose it too fast, if I lose another 15 pounds or so (over several months), that would be OK. It was nice to hear that we are on the same page which I didn't necessarily feel in June. I'm not looking to lose another 15 pounds, I'm very happy with where I currently am. but if it happens, it would be OK.
The report was good enough that he doesn't want to see me for another year. So I'm good with that!
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
New Clothes for Christmas
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| Men's, size Small |
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| Men's, size Medium |
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| Men's, size Medium |
I ended up getting five shirts total. A nice variety of clothing and sizes, but everything fit. The size differences are crazy, but that's how it is. It's fun to have new clothes that I look good in.
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| Ladies cut, size Large |
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| Ladies cut, size Large |
As I type this, I'm actually on an airplane headed down to MD Anderson for a follow-up appointment tomorrow. I have a feeling Dr. Mansfield won't be happy with my continued weight loss, we'll see.