2nd post surgical follow up

[Pat99]

Well, here I am around 10 weeks post surgery and down 42 pounds. The problem is that the scale hasn't moved for 3 weeks. The surgeon is happy with my weight loss but agrees with the changes the nutritionist and I discussed yesterday. I started getting my appetite back just over 3 weeks ago so my meal plan changed accordingly. I still eat healthy food but my choices could have been better. I added an apple and some additional hard cheese, salad and popcorn to my daily meals / snacks. The changes we discussed were changing to a lower calorie salad dressing, cutting down on the hard cheese and substitute with cottage cheese, eat 1/2 apple, and cut the popcorn serving way down or eliminate it and increase the vegetables. My meal plan still needs to include enough protein but the total calories need to be kept at 800 daily for my activity level, which is close to dormant *LOL* For those of you not aware of my situation, I need a hip replacement, have nerve damage in my legs, severe arthritis (including my spine), spinal stenosis (2 surgeries) and a plethera of other physical ailments that keep me from being very mobile. I need a power wheelchair when I leave the house and use a walker inside of my house. Either way I have constant pain, often severe.

The surgeon recommended that I re-connect with the orthopedic surgeon that I saw a few years ago to see if he can do the surgery now instead of waiting for me to get my weight down to 280. This was the target weight he gave me when I had my initial consult with him. He even said if the orthopedic surgeon won't do the surgery now that I should look around for one that will. I thought I would wait until I lost a significant amount more so my recovery would be easier on me. The bariatric surgeon said the sooner I have the hip replacement surgery the better off I will be because it will help me lose weight faster due to an increased activity level. To be honest I am scared to have the hip surgery becaue I heard the recovery is very painful. The other reason is that I have no one at home that can help me out during the inital recovery time when it will be difficult for me to do a lot of things for myself. Has anyone else had hip surgery? Can you tell me how your recovery was? What did you need help with and how painful was the early part of your recovery? How long did you have to go to PT?

 

[NanaG67]

I was really surprised to hear that you are eating salad. I know many people who can't eat salads at all. Right now I am having issues eating salad, so I feel that when it comes time for real food again, I may not be able to eat it at all. I am also trying to stay away from most dairy. I hope that you can get the surgery you need for your hip. I get a lot of pain in that area, but I keep getting told that it's not my hip but my facet joints causing all the pain. So I take it one day at a time. Tomorrow will test me, as I am going fishing and the place we like to go has a very steep hill to get down to the water's edge, and then getting back up top takes all my breath away. But the time I get alone with my hubby makes it all worth while.

 

[TwoMas]

Hi Pat, 42 lbs is great, especially with limited mobility. I think it is a good idea to talk with your orthapidist to set up a schedule, these thing take time, he might want you closer to 280 for some of the reasons you mentioned which could be as litle as a month and a half to two months away. You had just gone through major surgery 10 weeks ago so a couple of months wait might not be a bad thing just so your body doesn't get mad at you, and it will give you time to make arangements to get help around the house all over again, but the payof will be more mobility. 800 calories a day isn't much so make them count with high protien so small portions of popcorn (popcorn is one of my favorite things too, I have loved it since I can remember ). Keep up the good work. Tom

 

[Pat99]

Tom-Yeah...I was pretty bummed out about the 800 calories but I have to do it this way or else I won't lose enough weight within a year after surgery. I did pretty good today but could do better. I seem to want to eat more in the late afternoon and evening. I think some of it is from boredom but I also get hungry and am starting to crave certain foods. I made a pot of soup today with a small amount of diced ham and lots of veggies (no potatoes or pasta). It turned out delicious. This is what I plan on eating for my snacks to see if that keeps me out of "trouble". Yesterday I took 2 of my meds at the same time and they got stuck in my stoma so I couldn't eat for quite a while. Maybe I should try that again *LOL*