Nissen Fundoplication: Four Weeks Post-Op

This week, eating continued to be easier, but the appetite was lacking.  I'm beginning to wonder if they did surgery on my taste buds.  Nothing appeals, nothing sounds good.  Partly it's because I know that eating is going to cause the diarrhea.  Partly, I am sure, is that my stomach has shrunken and I'm not as hungry.  My husband has been good enough to run after anything that appeals to me, just so I will eat something.  But, once I get the food that I want, it just doesn't taste as good as I thought.  I may as well be eating cardboard.  Very few things taste good.  Yogurt, cheese, cashews, energy ball--that's about all that holds any flavor for me.  I was able to eat some pizza this week and it was okay.

Saturday, I walked the neighborhood with the kids and ate pretty good, considering.  But, Sunday started my poor appetite.

Monday was somewhat a disaster.  Anyone who knows me knows that I love Coca-Cola.  I haven't had any since my surgery.  Besides not being able to have my favorite drink, the withdrawal sometimes wreaks havoc on my migraines.  So, we were out running errands and I was thirsty.  In the last few weeks, you hardly see me without my 28 ounce hospital mug full of water.  But, I'd left it at home and was really thirsty (common occurrence these days).  So, I got a Coke at Sam's.  It tasted a little different and felt a little funny going down, but was pretty good.  About 30 minutes later, I was in excrutiating pain.  We were at Big Lots and I had horrible gas pains.  I went to the car to try to relieve it, but I ended up needing to go home and hit the bathroom.  It felt awful, so I guess I won't be touching Coke again for a while.  And next time I do, I will make sure I am home close to the bathroom just in case.

I guess this is the part of recovery that I read about, forcing yourself to eat because you know you need to, not because you feel like it.

We've been running errands and I've been working all week getting us ready for our camping vacation and I have been totally worn out.  I hope I can relax some during our trip.  Between my fatigue and the forecast of rain, I almost wish for a hotel room rather than camping, but I will try to keep up with the family as best I can.