Just keep swimming

I am not sure what I expected after surgery but I've had a rough time but I've been okay.  I've surrounded myself with the people I care about the most and the people that care about me the most and have tried to make the best out of everything.  I don't regret the surgery and I'm not sorry I had it, but I wish there were some things that were different.


Vitamins - What is recommended for RNY patients is two multivitamins a day plus three calcium citrates.  The chewable "bariatric"multivitamins are icky.  They are gritty, chalky, stink, and get stuck between my teeth and the taste of them lingers in your mouth and its just all kinds of nasty.  The opening of my pouch is the size of an M & M and so taking regular multivitamins are out as all of the ones I am aware of are huge.  So I went today and bought liquid multivitamins - which taste similar to the chewables but aren't AS bad.  I had to ask the pharmacist to help me find the calcium citrate - most of your calcium is calcium carbonate and not calcium citrate.  So anyway - the pharmacist found me some but they were huge.  He found me some "Petites" and they are just slightly bigger than an M & M.  I took two this afternoon and they seemed to go down okay.  So far, its after 1 am and they're still down. 


Pain - I had to come off of my NSAIDs (antiinflammatory meds).  If I have any pain in the future, the only over the counter anything I can take is Tylenol. 


Medication in general:  Everything bigger than an M & M has to be either in liquid form or crushed. 


Complications - The feet, the pain, the back, my left arm, the needle.  I never realized it would hurt so bad.

Infections - I got an infection in the biggest incision. 


Numbness/Nerve Compression - My back is still hurting deep and numb on the surface.  Its frustrating and the doc says it may be months before it gets any better.


Watching other people eat - It never bothered me before surgery but now, postop, it drives me insane. I hate to feel like I'm not included in family dinners but to be included and to be served jello while everyone else is eating meat and potatoes sucks.

I know everything is little and I really don't have anything to complain about and I know this was my choice, but making a change this big and trying to balance everything else in life is hard and the battle with my weight will be a constant struggle.  I just have to remember - just keep swimming.