Tomorrow, It Will Be 6 Months!

All is well. Still, the only thing I seem to choke on (unless I take a large swallow of something) is cooked pork. Do fine with beef and eat a lot of it. Do fine with bread (I make my own low carb loaves) and rice and other things that seem to cause choking in other folks with a wrap. Why pork? I still wonder about that...

Still haven't introduced raw broccoli or cauliflower even though I do fine with cole slaw, or the occasional carrot, salads of all kinds of greens, and raw onion (in moderation - too much will give me a SERIOUS bellyache!).

One change in the last month: I have started burping a little. I have always burped "shallow" burps, such as when I swallow an air bubble, it comes back up before it ever reaches my wrap. But just in the last week or so I have burped several times. They were small, and not the glorious belches of old - lol! - but nonetheless they brought relief from minor discomfort.

Which brings me to something else: I hope this isn't an indication that my wrap is losing integrity. I don't have heartburn or any reflux whatsoever, and I'm SO careful of my wrap...I probably worry too much :).

Still losing weight. Then again, still eating low carb and have increased my fats which has always caused weight loss for me. I'm about 50# down from my pre-surgery weight according to my own scale which never is the same as doctor's scales but should be close. Lost a pound last week, another 3# this week...and I hate what it is doing to my body but I told my surgeon I would lose weight so I'm sticking to it, being a woman of my word...

I'm drinking coffee again too! Did I mention that last month in my update? I know I've written that I LOVED coffee before the surgery, and it tasted awful to me for months afterward. Well it tastes great again :). This makes me happy. However, I have not gone back to my 6-7 big mugs of the stuff every day, and plan to have my cup in the morning and one after supper and that's it - decaf of course. And I still drink my decaf tea. And bottled water, and sugar-free drink mixes. I am drinking a lot more than I did before the surgery, I think - back then it was coffee or nothing. Now I am constantly drinking something or other. But only DECAF! And, of course, nothing carbonated.

And one last thing, which I have mentioned before but it is still the case that I have to take my 150 mg Ranitadine twice a day, or I get HORRIBLE belly pain. My stomach is undoubtedly still churning out way too much acid - just because it isn't shooting out like a volcano through my mouth and nose anymore doesn't mean it isn't there, I'm certain. If I miss a single dose, PAIN and lots of it! So I will continue with that as well. The only other cause of pain is heavy lifting, such as moving furniture. I thought that was just because I was post-op but just read on the Facebook NF group that this is common, sometimes even years after the surgery. That makes sense I suppose, if something causes pulling around the sutures or something.

All is well, most days I don't even think about my wrap anymore as everything comes second-nature to me now (chewing well, swallowing small amounts, not using the straw I'm given at restaurants or ordering pop, keeping a warm-almost-hot beverage nearby when eating cooked pork, etc.). Life is normal - a new normal, but normal nonetheless, and not so much changed from before as I had previously feared :).

That Darned Pork! (5-month post-op update)

Nothing really gets stuck that I eat anymore...except PORK! What is it about pork that it sticks?? I can eat any other kinds of meat, even beef brisket, but even the most tender pork roast gets stuck unless I give extra attention to chewing (very well) and swallowing (only the tiniest of amounts at a time)! I don't understand it. No problem with breads or rice, which other people have mentioned being problematic, although admittedly I eat very little of either since I'm a low carb eater. But pork...I just don't get it!

As far as belly pain or bloating, none of that unless I go crazy on raw greens and veggies. Which I occasionally do. But not often. If I take a simethecone first it helps.

Flatulence...nobody told me about that! I guess since I don't burp anymore, all that air has to go somewhere!

Acid...yeah, I'm guessing that my stomach is still churning it out. PPIs are so expensive, I can't afford to stay on them forever, but I take 150mg ranitidine morning and night and that seems to keep the acid levels down. Of course the acid isn't coming up anymore - the whole point of the surgery - but I can still feel it in my stomach, causing discomfort and burning, if I don't take something to keep it under control. Which the ranitidine does, and only costs about USD$4/month.

Altogether, it's all good :). Have adjusted to Life After a Wrap, and it isn't much different than life before a wrap. Except it's a lot better. A lot less painful. A lot more normal. A lot less hassle. Except for that darned pork...