1/28/2018 Four Weeks Post Total Gastrectomy

Week 4:
Wow – 4 weeks feels good.

I started walking more again. As I approach 6-weeks post op and plan to run somehow. I started Monday with walking 1 mile at a 20min/mile pace. My belly felt a bit strange after one mile so I stopped.

Tuesday, it was beautiful outside so I walked 4 miles at a 20min/mile pace. Honesty, it felt good and time got away from me. I was actually sore at the end (in my legs and hips). After a stretch and a protein shake, I feel fine. After an hour, I needed a major nap.

I feel good enough to invest a lot of time reading. That has been sweet.

Here is what is new:

1. Mornings are still rough. Sore and just don’t feel like eating or drinking because of the soreness. I drink 8 oz of water (takes about an hour), then eat breakfast around 9:30am. I had two small gluten-free pancakes (they are very small) and a poached egg. It was great!
2. Eating is getting better but there are still no rules. The trick is to go extremely slow and chew more than you ever thought. I had gluten free quesadilla (a small triangle) and gluten-free hibachi with quinoa. It was great. Also – my taste buds are getting sore. Not sure why, but with keeping food in your mouth for a lot longer than I’m used to, my taste buds get sore and it hurts to eat.
3. I can sip up to an ounce of espresso. I like it and the caffeine boost is something I have only dreamt of! (Insert excited emoji)
4. Gatorade endurance has low sugar and doesn’t upset my belly. I can drink plain water but I can still see that Gatorade goes down better. The water feels like it gets stuck. Crazy.
5. Protein shakes are going down much better now. At first, they made me crampy within minutes. I tried to sip slowly and push through but now I know that I was trying too much.
6. I have to remind myself. Go slow, Chew more than I think I should, and stay patient. Food that didn’t work yesterday, might work today. There are really no rules as I adjust to the new life. But, my fellow CDH1 friends from around the US have encouraged me that the days get better and the beginning is hard.
7. Energy levels are getting better, slowly. But I still get hit with fatigue out of the blue. And it’s severe. Like – it feels like my eyelids weigh too much to keep my eyes open.

Pretty much eating any type of food now. Since I have Celiac disease, it has to be Gluten-free and I have not tried meat like steak and pork.

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