[Dave1-4-2010]

LOL. Hello everyone. My Name is David. I'm 37 yrs old. For the first 25 yrs of my life i was a skinny little kid. I mean I was 150 pounds at Grad. At 25 I was 195. Then suddenly I just started packing on the weight. I gained nearly 50 pounds in 1 yr and it just went up from there. So when I decided to look at an alternative to the endless routine of dieting I made the decision, after much research for Gastric Bypass.

Now I don't carehow much prep, homework, research you do for making an informed dicision to have bypass surgery, some things you are sure to not anticipate.

Like that Gawd Awful crap they give you the next morning so they can check the 'seal' around your new stomach with an x-ray. And this after all night of horrible cotton-mouth because you can't drink anything. The stuff was bad, but I could handle it, until, when I was done the nurse wouldn't let me rinse it out of my mouth. I said " I'm gonna be sick if I can't rinse this out." She said " Sorry, can't." SO I promptly vomited on her shoes..."Sorry." She allowed me to rinse out my mouth. Now. Vomiting in general is an unpleasant experience. Vomiting less than 24 hrs after having your stomach cut in half, with enough holes in your abdomen to qualify as a Collander is a whole other ball game. Moving on.

I anticipated being sore. I didn't anticipate being bruised from front to back and looking like they had thrown me on the floor in the OR and kicked me a few times before continuing on, but That had more to do with the blood thinner the nurse was poking me with and where than the surgery, I think. And that's just the first day.

Now I know up to here I sound like I am pretty dissatisfied but I'm not. I just mention those couple items because it illustrates some points that are hard to anticipate in research. My Doctor, Michael Blanney of Augusta,GA, Was phenomenal. He is experienced, and considerate. His office took care of all my insurance hurdles and He has answered all my questions, before and after, honestly and without giving me the impression that I was hassling him. SO I am very satisfied with my Surgeon.

I tell ya though, post Op, my biggest problem is this compulsion to eat SOMETHING significant. I can't, of course. 3 bites of anything 'solid' and my pocket (since it's hardly big enuf to be called a stomach anymore) revolts. So it's slow, slow, slow eating. Which has ALWAYS been difficult for me. There's just something satisfying about a big mouthful of delicious food swallowed in big gulps. Not very healthy though. Which is most likely how I came to need the surgery. SO, YAY, surgery works, but, BOO, I never realized what an emotional dependency I had on food before. I LOVE food. SO it bugs me when everyone else is scarfing down Hot dogs and Piles of Mac-n-cheese, or pizza's or anything I can't have now. SO that's gonna be a huge adjustment for me. I don't regret the surgery, but I feel like I just got divorced sometimes just because of my DESIRE to eat foods I can't have. Even though I know I don't need it. Thank God for a wife that supports me and liked fat guys.

Course, The fact That I'm only a few weeks out has alot to do with my inability to eat most foods. That passes in time if I understand it properly. However, it's a good thing right now that I can't. I quit smoking years ago and the only thing that made it possible was making sure I was no where near a cigarette. Same principle, I 'spose. I physically can't, so I won't.

But Here is my BIGGEST problem. I am so damn thirsty. Like ALL the time. I sip my water dilligently (water is great btw, but water ALL the time SUCKS). Anyways, I tried the Crystal Light but it got old fast. I found, for me, the Kool-Aid sugar free packs work better. They have alot more flavor, which stimulates my salivary glands which helps keep my mouth moist. But Still I stay thirsty. I haven't nailed down through self analysis if it's a reflex from previous habits ( 'cause I drank ALOT. Not alchohol (very rare) But with all meals, I just DRINK alot). Or if It's an actual thirst I am just not quenching. I found I get the most relief from Sugar free Pop-Cicle (16 cal per). The ice cold and strong flavor seem to do a good job at relieving the thirst for a little while. But I can just not seem to get enuf fluids.

I was curious if this, or my other compulsions were a normal part of adjusting to this new life we have chosen for ourselves. I've lost 37 pounds in less than a month. I don't expect that particular trend to continue, but I am pretty satisfied as I finish healing up and prepare to return to work. Anyone else had similar issues? Anyone got any ideas on how to get rid of this neverending thirst?

Thanks for listening to my rant...End of Line.

[Perfesser]

Well, David, what you're feeling isn't at all unusual, but your clarity of expression is. You write well.

Some of what you're saying (if I'm reading it right) may be contained in a couple of old threads. Here are their links.

http://www.renewedreflections.com/fo...dear-food.html

http://www.renewedreflections.com/fo...o-my-body.html

Yeah, we used to love to eat, didn't we? Well, now you're going to love WHAT you eat!! That is a whole 'nother viewpoint, one that we should have adopted as kids and maybe we'd never have met here. We once lived to eat, now we eat to live. What an enormous difference!!

The dysfunctional relationship you had with food MUST go!! It never served you well. Comfort is one thing, cardiac is something else, but comfort food can take you there! The surgery gives you a tool, and only a tool. How well you use that tool will be determined by your state of mind. The mental game is where 90%+ of your success will come from. Orient your mind on a complete change from your old addiction, and build a determination NEVER, EVER to let it back into your life.

Congratulations on coming this far. I'm glad you've joined our family. I need more guys around here for reinforcements!!

CT

[MsVickie]

Hi Dave Im Vickie. Im glad you found the site. I see CT has welcomed ya and im sure hes happy your here as well as the rest of us. I loved your post. Shot straight from the Hip. Your correct on every thing. The best thing I can tell you about thirst quinching is exactly what you have done. I found the ice pops Koolaid brand is the only thing that helped me. You can get way back in your mouth with them that way. I used a bowl to lay it in for in between for the leakage part. And then I would drink that. Its gonna get better soon that I promise.

Yep on the swallowing food thing. I dont think I probally chewed it really well........ well I know I didnt. Im amazed at the food I used to eat compared to now even. Its a good thing. When I bite into somthing I savor the taste. Funny how you acutally chew it now to savor it to where before well it was swallowed. I hope...... you dont watch others eat. Thats the worst thing you can do. They dont like it either LOL.

Your doing what you should. You seem on track and please be sure to update and post to help when you can. Again welcome to the site.

[countrygirl]

Hi David, I'm Mandy. Welcome to the site, glad you found us. My surgery and recovery went very well, but one of the toughest things I remember from my hospital stay was the cocktail you were referring to the next morning for the leak test. Ugh! That was awful. Someone advised me not to brush my teeth that morning until after the test because the "morning film" in my mouth would protect me a little from the taste of that stuff. I think that was some of the best advice I got for my hospital stay, LOL.

I understand the thirst thing too, but it does get better. I always drank a lot with my meals, up until a few weeks before surgery. Now I don't even think about it. I am used to not drinking and eating. I am still struggling somewhat to get in 64 oz a day, but most days I come pretty close.

It's okay to love food. I always loved to cook and ofcourse eat. I still love to cook and eat, but I am learning to enjoy healthier foods. I remember the first week or so after surgery I would see the pizza or cheeseburger commercials on TV and think OMG what have I done! It's funny, but your tastes really do change.

Good Luck! Keep us posted on how things are going.

[DocSanae]

Welcome to the board, thank you for joining us.
Congratulations on joining the Losers' Bench.
(((((HUGS)))) May your journey go well.

[not quite Barbie]

Hi Dave!
Love your post, you really described those parts of the journey well. It brought all the memories back. But you forgot to mention the Gawd Awful lemon/lime stuff they made us drink before the surgery to clean us out - that was worse!

You didn't mention any caffinated drinks so I'm assuming you know better, but just to put it out there for those that don't, caffine is a diuretic (makes you pee) so it will cause you to lose more fluids than you take in and that's why they say no caffine after surgery.

It's very, very hard to drink enough when you're fresh after surgery. It will get better in the months to come, partly because you're learning to sip ALL the time, and partly because your pouch will get bigger. You'll learn to squirrel a spare sip or two in your cheeks and let it go down your throat as your pouch empties.

Food regrets and those blasted commercials! It's hard enough without seeing all this food on the TV or watching our friends continue to eat the way we used to. But believe me, once the weight comes off, those same friends are watching you eat small portions of healthy stuff and trying to eat like you!

Hang in there guy, and welcome to RR.

[Tigerfly]

Dave, Welcome! I am Gina aka Tigerfly. I have to agree with CT, I enjoyed reading your post, well written, funny and intriguing. You are right, nothing "really" prepares you for what happens right after surgery

I had the same water/crystal light issues you do, I found that if I use 2 packets of crystal light or wylers light lemonade it adds enough flavor to get my saliva going and relieve the dry mouth.

Best of luck on your journey, I hope you continue to be part of our community!

[Dusk]

Dave, do you have drymouth? I think there's a mouthwash that may help, I think it's called Biotine (sp?).

[Thor]

Hey David and welcome. We had our surgeries on the same day...first of all I agree with the Prof and look forward to you insights from a guy's point of view.

I miss pizza too but that is passing faster that I thought it would.

I did not have those nasty tests or drinks, my surgeon actually installed a neg pressure drain (another hole in my belly) to watch for leaks. they took it out after a week. It was annoying but not too bad.

I too would drink lots of water too, usually a 32 oz tumbler at a time three or four times a day. I found out today that my blood pressure meds were a diuretic and added to how much I drank. Am off meds since surgery and pressure is normal.......wow! Still drinking lots of water, just more often.

I guess I will find out how attached I am to food on Super Bowl Sunday......going to a party and we'll see how that goes.

Hope you get as much from this site as I have and I will be watching for your posts

[gailsiz]

Hi David. My name is Gail and I understand how you feel. Alot of what you are feeling will pass with time. When I got home after my surgery one of the things that bothered me most were smells - any smell like food cooking, perfume, soap... anything. They were making me sick. That was one of the first questions I asked here when I found this site. Alot of foods I used to like - made me sick as I tried them out after the surgery. I used to love eggs. Scrambled, omletes, egg salad.... I could not even smell them let alone eat them. I still can't hardly tolerate them. Weird huh? But this will pass. But while you are thirsty - drink. It is good for you. I like the crystal lite. I like ised tea period. The snapple diet tea is really good. Good luck.