Captain’s log: Day 429 of the siege. Day 429 with no food.

Okay, it hasn’t even been a week, but it feels like 429 days. Although I must admit that this morning I finally didn’t awaken dreaming of marshmallows with half my pillow in my mouth. Woof, Cotton mouth for sure. I’m still hungry, but I felt less panicky today.

Just a few more days to go and I’ll be there. I will still be on a liquid diet for a week or two after surgery, then only soft foods for another couple of weeks, then I can carefully reintroduce some things. Luckily, I work from home; so, if I create a problem during those reintroductions I am here by myself rather than amongst people having to deal with me.

As for the surgery itself, I’m not super concerned about that. I’ve had five other surgeries (yikes! that’s a lot!) in addition to several colonoscopies and a couple of dental surgeries. I’ve never had an issue although I do always tell them that I am a natural redhead. Apparently, some studies have shown that many redheads have some kind of gene mutation that makes us resistant to anesthesia. I always let them know because I’m not trying to wake up and have a chat during any procedure. I’m fine just taking my nap, thank you.

I am a little bit concerned about recovery. My only abdominal surgery was the better part of 20 years ago now. It, too, was laparoscopic and didn’t bother me much after a couple of days. I am hopeful that this experience will be similar, in spite of my increased, um, maturity.

As I said, I still won’t get to eat for a while after surgery and when I do get to consume anything, it will have to be in tiny portions. The only thing that makes me nervous about that is having to endure this continued feeling of being really hungry. I have been told by several bariatric patients that they didn’t feel hunger for a while and had to remind themselves to eat. Like they literally had to set alarms to make sure they ate. I’ve only ever had one time in my life when I would forget to eat. That was when I was a teenager and in love for the first time in that complete way that only teenagers who have never been crushed can be. I lost a lot of weight during those months.

So, I’m approaching this with cautious optimism that I will heal quickly and that I will not go back to feeling the desperate hunger I have felt for the past few days, not when I have finally rounded the corner and gone from Hulk Hangry to just David Banner Hungry.