It’s Friday, or at least I think it is. My surgery was on Tuesday at some hideous hour of the morning and to say that my routine is upended is to put it mildly.

As I suspected, everyone involved in the process with Vanderbilt Weight Loss was wonderful from my pre-admittance calls right through to the anesthesia taking hold. Professional, but friendly and encouraging, they shared stories of how this procedure has changed their own lives or the lives of people they love. They all assured me that, although it’s a big and frightening decision to make, it has paid massive dividends in health benefits. I was glad to have the reassurance.

Then I began to wake from anesthesia and vaguely remember asking, “Whose idea was this? This hurts!”

Of course it was my idea and mine alone. I have received both positive and negative feedback from family and friends on my plan. Ultimately, though, any decision like this has to be the patient’s and the protocol in the months leading up to surgery ensures that it is. This protocol includes psychiatric evaluations, physical evaluations, nutrition counseling, behavioral counseling and support groups. This is a team effort to support every patient’s quest for better health.

It is important to remember that while it IS a team effort, bariatric surgery is not a panacea. The surgery will not do all the work on its own. I still have to do it. I have to stick to the diet as I return to being able to eat solid food (which won’t be for many days yet). I still have to get up and move. And, although I’m not moving very quickly, I am still taking Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, and Lenny Kravitz around the block a couple of times a day. As I heal, I will walk further and faster; but, for now, I am just moving.

Prior to surgery, I emptied my refrigerator, freezer, and cabinets of all food. I am stocked with sugar-free everything: gelatin, electrolyte drinks, bone broth, and popsicles. Everything else was sent home with friends to remove any temptation. And it’s a good thing, too. I don’t feel hungry, but I do feel like I should eat something. I still find myself at the refrigerator door, thinking that I’m going to have a little something. The only little somethings there are the things I listed above; so, I grab one of those options and start working on it slowly……very slowly.

At this point in my recovery, my stomach pouch holds just the tiniest amount of anything. Since I tend to gulp my fluids, I am having to pay special attention to the rate at which I consume them. Little baby sips. That’s what they told me to take and that’s what I’m trying to do. When I take my prescriptions, I have to wait five minutes between pills to ensure that I don’t create a blockage. That is super annoying as I am one of those people who throws ten pills in at once and swallows them down with a flood of water. Thankfully, I take those pills once every eight hours; so, it’s an annoyance just 3 times a day.

My surgeon does not use opioids if he can avoid it, which was fine by me. Extra strength Tylenol are working just fine and don’t have near the dangerous side-effects. One of my meds does make me very sleepy, though; so, dosing has been followed by dozing for the past few days, which is fine. My body is busy repairing itself and getting used to the new way things move.

All in all, I am feeling stronger each day, even if I am still tired and sore. I’m on the right path and feeling encouraged, even if I feel like my abdomen hosted a game of foosball.