My Gastric Bypass: Two Month Catch-up

I wrote weeks one, two and three at length because I feel like they were the weeks where I went trough the most changes.  It was one huge learning curve and my body was adjusting and recovering.  Going into week four things changed and while they have continued to improve, there hasn’t been a massive amount of differences from week to week.  So I’m going to catch up the rest of the way in this one post so I can move on and start writing day by day again (or as often as I feel like it).

The Food

At the beginning of my 4th week I had a check up with my clinic and the nutritionist said words that were like music to my ears… NO MORE PUREE!!! It was time to stop blending my food and start chewing! YAHOO!!!

She stressed that it was crucial that I started to chew at every single meal, and I was so ready. I couldn’t wait to start trying new things and feeling normal again.

Of course, I was nervous and my first few meals were a little nerve wracking.  I got in the habit of only taking a bite every two minutes (yes, I was OCD enough to keep an eye on the clock) and would chew each bite for at least one minute.  Maybe it was obsessive but I didn’t have any issues from eating too quickly or not chewing enough so better safe than sorry, I say!

I started off with things like plain chicken breast and veg, but one of the things the mental health coach (and the nutritionist) stressed to me is that I need to try to get back to a normal routine as quickly as possible.  They made sure that I was aware of all the things I should and shouldn’t eat, but also that I wasn’t going to live off plain chicken and carrots.  I needed to try to find a balance in my new lifestyle.

Above: My husband’s plate next to mine.  I ate approx 3/4 (1/2 cup) of mine that evening.  He had two plates.

After about 3-4 days of eating somewhat bland and careful meals I decided that I was going to listen to what they said and make normal (healthy) meals and try to get back to some sort of normalcy.   The above photo is of one of our regular dishes from before, just with a few tweaks.  It’s cabbage roll casserole, which consists of shredded cabbage, (lean) ground beef, a small amount of brown rice and tomato sauce.  It tasted fantastic and this was the first night that I really realized that things weren’t going to have to change quite as drastically as I had imagined.

I started collecting recipes on Pinterest months before the surgery, as I wanted Xander and I to be able to eat the same meals, feel like we are having variety and to not get bored.  The meals had to fit into my new lifestyle (very low fat and as little sugar as possible) and be as tasty too.  I managed to gather quite a collection and I’ve been having a really good time over the past few weeks experimenting and trying new things.  I will write about a lot of the recipes later but you can have a look at my Bypass Friendly Recipes board if you are interested.  All of the recipes on there are either already ok for me to eat or can be tweaked (with sugar substitutes, for example, or a different type of meat) to become Tammy-friendly.

All in all, food has not been an issue ((( KNOCK WOOD ))).  It’s now just a few days past my two month mark and I can say with complete honesty that I feel 100% fulfilled with the things I eat, I have not had any issues with dumping syndrome, have not been sick from anything I’ve eaten and food just is not a problem. I eat because I need to, not because I want to every minute of the day.  I think about food because I want to try new recipes and make sure that my husband and I can still live as normal a life as possible, not because I’m constantly feeling the need to fill some kind of void or I am craving something.

Before my surgery I thought I would be severely limited when it came to food, and yes there are definitely things I can’t eat.  I don’t even look at candy, chocolate, cookies, ice cream, fast food or anything like that anymore… but I don’t feel deprived.  I find alternatives that keep things interesting and just honestly don’t think about food any more than is necessary.  It’s gone much better and is far less restrictive than I had imagined it would be.  It’s been great.

I still have many many recipes I want to try, and my husband has been thrilled to death.  I had weight loss surgery, we have never eaten better and we are BOTH losing weight – go figure!

The Physical Bits

Physically things have been great.  After the first few weeks I had little to no pain in my belly.  If I did extreme movements or stretched in a certain way I’d still feel the reminders but that really did stop after about the fourth or fifth week.  I still have the issue with the nerve damage in my upper belly on the left side.  There is still a spot that’s completely numb while the left side of my waist and just above it are hyper sensitive.  It’s not something I notice anymore unless something rubs against my belly or I am actively thinking about it.  I can go entire days without noticing it at all so I really consider it to be a non issue right now. It certainly doesn’t get in the way of anything.

Now at two months out I have no pain at all from the incisions or in my stomach muscles, I can move every which way, exercise and do whatever I please.  It feels like I’ve never had anything done, to be honest, at least in that regard.

I am getting more and more used to my little pouch, I’ve learned what my new feeling of full is (a weird sort of pressure feeling below my breast bone) and I feel a little burpy.  I still don’t experience any hunger at all, and my feeling of fullness is entirely different but at least I am able to understand what MY feeling of fullness is now… or the feeling of when to stop, I should say.

My little pouch gives me no pain at all but I do get a weird feeling sometimes, especially if I am on the move soon after eating.  I can only explain it as a GLUG.  Sort of like if you take a bottle full of liquid and turn it upside down, the way the liquid goes out while air bubbles upward… sometimes it feels like my stomach is doing that as the food is moving down.  It’s a REALLY strange feeling!  It doesn’t hurt, it’s not even uncomfortable, it’s just weird.  It doesn’t do it every time I eat, the only times I notice it are sometimes when I take my first drink a half hour after eating, or if I go out to walk or exercise shortly after I eat.  I really must remember to ask around because I’m curious if anyone else experiences this glugging sensation.

The only bad point really in regards to how I have felt physically, happened around the 6th week.  It wasn’t horrible but I felt my first experience with a shortage of B12.  I started noticing I was quite tired and had no energy and it went on for a few days. We contacted my doctor as I was going to have some bloodwork done anyway.  They agreed that it was my B12 and gave me five weeks worth of B12 injections to do here at home.  Thankfully I am able to do them myself as I have plenty of experience with jabbing myself.

Once I started taking the injections, my energy levels picked up drastically and I came to live again, it was wonderful!!  When I was feeling so tired and dragged out I really started to worry if it was all in my head, or if perhaps the honeymoon period was over and I was just going back to my lazy old self again, but that was not the case at all.  The injections help a LOT!!  In fact, I’d even say B12 is a little like crack haha you feel like crap, take a shot and WHEEE!!! Off to the races!

OH! There is one thing I forgot.  I fainted!  Sounds scary but it was actually quite funny.  One thing that continues is a weird wooziness when I stand up too quickly.  I get kind of light headed and have to steady myself.  The morning after I took my first B12 injection I stood up to take my breakfast dishes to the kitchen just as my husband was walking into the living room.  I felt dizzy so I grabbed his arm and he gave me a hug.  The dizziness didn’t go away the way it usually does so I told him I thought I was going to faint.  The next thing I remember was hearing my dishes hit the floor, then wondering why my whole body wouldn’t stop wobbling, and WHY was Xander laughing?!  WHAT was going on?!

Here’s what happened from his point of view.  He walked into the living room and I got up, he hugged me and I said I thought I was going to faint.  He replies that he has that affect on all the ladies, after which I went limp and dropped my dishes on the floor.  HE thought I was just playing along with him being a super casanova and play-fainted in his arms.  A few seconds later my entire body started convulsing (this was weird but apparently it’s normal after fainting, weird!) but he thought I was continuing the joke and was humping him!  That’s why he was laughing.  Once it was all over and we both realized what happened, we were sort of freaked out but also couldn’t stop laughing about it.  I was so lucky that he was there and the whole misunderstanding about the humping and stuff really took the weirdness and scariness out of the whole thing.

I spoke to my doctor and they didn’t seem overly concerned about the fainting, and it hasn’t happened again so I’m not going to worry about it too much.

TMI Time!

Well, the poo thing continued to be an issue for a while.  I had one stretch of constipation at around the three week mark and I had one or two good days and then it happened again.  This time I didn’t go for a WEEK!  Constipation is a horrible feeling.  It wasn’t the type where I constantly felt like I had to go but couldn’t, but rather… there wasn’t even an urge.  I felt bloated and blah and it was just … UGH!  I finally ended up contacting the doctor and they gave me a prescription for something called Microlax, which I have had before and knew exactly what to expect.  Basically, it’s like dynamite for your arse.   You get a little tube of stuff you squirt up the back door, wait about 15 minutes and then leg it for the toilet for the sweetest relief you’ve ever experienced.

NOT something I wanted to do regularly, mind you… so I was at a bit of a loss as to how I should fight back with the bitchy bowels of mine.

That is, until my hospital room mate told me about a tea she had found!  She ran it by the clinic and they said it was perfectly ok to drink regularly, so I ran out and got it right away.

I also double checked with my own doctor just to be 100% sure.

I call it my poopy tea, and I love it.

It’s called Zonnatura Natuurlijke Stoelgang and it can be found in most drug stores and supermarkets in the Netherlands.  I don’t think it’s available in North America but I’ve heard that there’s a tea called Smooth Move there that is similar.

The Zonnatura tea is 100% natural and is a pretty nice tasting herbal tea.  I drink one cup of it every evening and go every morning like clockwork!  It’s like a miracle!

In fact, I am drinking a cup right now!

I wish I’d learned about this tea years ago because if truth be told I could have always used something like this.  Regularity is NOT my middle name!  If you live in the Netherlands, or nearby, and you are having trouble getting things, try the poopy tea, you won’t be disappointed!

The Exercise

This is one area that has been getting better and better!!

I think I picked the perfect time to have this surgery.  I had it in the dead of winter, my recovery was during the coldest time of the year and as I have been feeling physically more able and energetic, the weather has been getting warmer and brighter.  All of this together has lead to me getting out so much more and it has made me so happy.

The bulk of the exercise that I do at the moment is walking, although I do also use my exercise bike from time to time.  I started out, like I said in previous posts, doing 10 minutes here, 20 minutes there.  As my recovery went on and I felt better I started walking 1.5 kms, 2.5 kms, 4 kms, 5 kms etc.   Now I try to get out at least a few times a week and depending on my mood and the weather I will walk anywhere between 2.5 – 8.5 kms, although usually it ends up being about 5 kms.

I have been very lucky that my husband loves going for walks with me. I thank my lucky stars every day that I have a man who is so supportive and who loves to be active and healthy, because he motivates me.  We take the dogs and can sometimes spend the whole morning out walking with them.  I absolutely love it.  I never thought there would be a time where I’d enjoy being out and getting exercise like this but I do, I really really do.

I’ve started tracking some of my walks with Endomondo, which is great as it keeps track of you with GPS so it can tell you how far you’ve walked, your average speed, etc.

Above: One of the areas where we walk in the morning… and sweet, blessed sunshine!!

We have found some really nice areas to walk that are nearby that I really love. I don’t like walking city streets and mostly all of our walks are now in parks and wooded areas, it’s lovely!

The Mental Bits

Again, it’s been getting better and better!  With the exception of the dip when I was having issues with the B12 I’ve been doing great mentally!  My quick recovery, lack of issues with food and newfound love of walking and being outdoors have all done wonders for my mood!  Not to mention clothes getting too big, fitting into things I’ve not worn in ages, seeing the weight go down on the scale… all of these things just make me feel so great.

I don’t have a lot more to say about how I’ve been doing mentally and emotionally, it really has been wonderful… I am happier now than I have been in a very long time.  I have hope, I have lots of things I’m looking forward to, I’m just … HAPPY!

Out and About

At about the 6th week I started getting out and about on my own.  I took my first train ride to Den Haag to meet up with friends to see a movie and do a bit of shopping, Since then I’ve been getting together with friends, doing things and trying to get back to normal as much in this way as well.  I don’t feel like there is anything I can’t do now that I couldn’t do before the surgery, except maybe go out to a restaurant, obviously.  I’m pretty much back to my normal self.

The Weight Loss

Over the past few weeks my weight loss seems to ebb and flow.  It really depends on how much I’ve been exercising, what I eat (wheat is still the devil for me) and where I’m at in my cycle.  I try not to sweat the times where my weight loss stops because I know I’m following the plan and it will have to start coming down again.

At two months out I weigh 103.6 kilos (228 lbs) which is 15.4 kilos (34 lbs) down since my surgery.  I’m now down 36 kilos (79.5 lbs) overall.

I am only TWO KILOS (4.5 lbs) away from my lowest went from last year.  I can’t wait to get past that and into lower weights I’ve not seen in years!

The Long and Short of it All

Life is good!!  I’ve had a few very minor bumps in the road but they were short lived and no big issues.  I am feeling great both mentally and physically and think this whole experience, so far, is so much better than I ever could have imagined.  NO REGRETS!!