067 The Constipation Saga Continues

Last night was another long night. We are still dealing with Jimmy not feeling well. I guess last night it was just the last straw so we ended up in the emergency room.

Because of the pain Jimmy was having they first thought that he might have a fecal impaction so they did abdominal x-rays to check for blockage and one of the doctors stuck his finger up Jimmy's bum (T.M.I. I know!) to see if their was any hard blockage near the entrance of the rectum.

The Verdict
Jimmy does not have blockage.
Jimmy does not have a fecal impaction.
Jimmy did not have a septic bowel movement.
JIMMY IS CONSTIPATED.

Evidently constipation can cause diarrhea because the other poo is forced around the harder stuff in an effort to leave the rectum. In Jimmy's case, the frequent trips to the bathroom have aggravated his hemorrhoids and the wiping has made his bottom very raw and tender. This has resulted in all the pain and discomfort Jimmy is experiencing.

Because Jimmy went to the ER they also called Dr. Hornbostel. Dr. H says that Jimmy is supposed to call him today and he has to go back to the Liquid Diet until further notice. So I will keep you posted.

For now, I am going to try to focus on work through my haze of tiredness and this too shall pass (no pun intended). Hope your day is better than ours was yesterday.

032 Post-Op Diet Week 1 (Stage 1)

Hello. Hello!

If you have been reading along with our blog then you know that Jimmy's surgery is Friday! If you haven't then let me tell you that JIMMY'S SURGERY IS FRIDAY! It's hard to believe that the time is already upon us when it feels like we have been waiting forever for it to get here. Fear not! You will have a post tomorrow. I have set it up so that you will have Jimmy's Week 2 Pre-Op Vlog to watch while we are at the hospital tomorrow having the surgery done. I will be posting how the surgery went on Facebook tomorrow so that people won't freak out from worrying but there most likely won't be any surgery updates here until Monday. Sorry.

All that being said, I know that you won't want to hear about what Jimmy's diet is like at that point because you will want to know that Jimmy is alive and kicking so I am going to tell you what Jimmy's first week post-op diet is going to be like now so that we can talk surgery on Monday.

Heartland Bariatric Center has designed specialized diets for men and women for each type of surgery they offer. The first week post-op is very similar to his two week pre-op liquid diet with two exceptions. #1 He can't have any full liquids (so no Carnation Instant Breakfast or powdered protein shakes) and he has to have 60-90g protein daily through liquid protein shots.

DAILY

• 60-90g Liquid Protein Shots
• One Cup (8oz.) of 100% fruit juice (Grape must be diluted with water)
• At least 48-64oz. of other liquids (from the allowed liquids list) daily

ALLOWED LIQUIDS

• Water
• Diet V-8 Splash, V-8 juice or Tomato Juice (Not a chance Jimmy will try these)
• Sugar-Free Jell-O
• Sugar-Free Popsicles (Less than 15 calories per serving)
• Fruit 2-O
• Crystal Light (Jimmy was really excited about this one!)
• Diet Snapple (Not a Chance)
• Up to 2 Cups of broth (unlikely)
• Decaf coffee, tea (Not a Chance--I know he's weird, right?)
• Powerade Zero/Gatorade Zero

This is 1-42g Protein Shot. Jimmy has to have two of these daily.
And from what I hear, they don't taste the best,

Did I mention that he can only take 1 ounce of these liquids in every 15 minutes? It's true! One of the earliest post-op struggles is trying to consume all of your daily liquids so that you don't get dehydrated. During the first week post-op it will be hard to consume a total of 6 cups of liquid a day. To make it easier to measure and keep track, I bought enough 1 ounce disposable medicine cups that he can measure out a whole days worth of liquid and throw them away as he drinks them.

A 1 ounce medicine cup for Jimmy to use
to measure his liquids

1 ounce compared to the 32 ounces he could
easily be taking in per meal before surgery

Please continue to keep Jimmy in your prayers. The nice thing about the post-op diet is that Jimmy shouldn't be hungry all the time. However, he will still crave the foods that he used to eat which will make things difficult because he is not supposed to have them--especially while he is healing.

Thank you for all your prayers,