I gave you a sense of what my day at the hospital was like…so far I think that was the easy part. The last 6 and bit days were full of its share of ‘ups and downs’. Food wise the hospital nutritionist said to keep it light for many reasons. Primarily the morphine drip and the shock of the operation tend to shut down or slow your digestive organs for about 24 hours so I had a generous bowl (what can I say I was hungry…it was the first meal I had in 24 hours) of garlic/parsley soup (see ‘Who needs chicken soup redux blog) with some small pieces of Sole fish. If you’re getting ideas I made this myself…think again.

My supplements for recovery consisted of Tylenol III, Bromelain and Horsetail. I tried my hardest not to take the Tylenol but at times the discomfort was too much to bear and besides it helped me to sleep. Word of advice re: Tylenol…it causes constipation so I would recommend you double your water intake and increase your fiber intake from beneficial fruits and vegetables. You do not want to be constipated especially if you had a hernia operation. Bromelain (good for all blood types) is best known as a digestive aid but it makes a great anti-inflammatory especially after surgery. I was taking 2 x 500 mg capsules every 4 hours and three capsules in the middle of the night if I woke up which has been every night so far. Horsetail to keep the O blood thick…also good for hardening your nails and strengthening your hair (I believe it is very blood type specific for O’s)

After the first 24 hours, I was instructed to get up every hour and walk for as long as I could. I was instructed to not do any heavy lifting after the surgery but that did not include myself. Suffice to say this was the hardest thing to do but I had a good reason to since I was drinking copious amounts of water and the need to ‘go’ was always there. Bandages came off after 48 hours, wound looked good. The surgeon had mentioned to me that he had wished I had a little more fat (BTD worked very well with me to reduce this since being on it) around my gut area…said I might feel like my skin is stretching for next few days… this caused me the most discomfort.

I’m not going to list all the foods I ate but I’ll just say that I was about 90% compliant and took Deflect when I was not. Someone visited me with a lemon meringue pie and needless to say I ate the whole thing over three days. ‘Love knows many lectins’

Today after 6 days post surgeryI woke up with a bit of skip and hop to my step and my staples did not pinch like they were for the first few days. I called the surgeon who said it was OK to go to work (he said most of his patients go back to work after two weeks), but no driving, so my boss is picking me up tomorrow morning. Solitary confinement and slow monotonous routine for O’s for 6 days is very depressing. If you’re caring for a mate or child who is an O, surprise him/her with new activities once in a while…especially if they are immobile.

Need less to say, I’m happy I’m leaving the confines of my condo tomorrow.