Steri-Strips gone

Yesterday was laundry day at my boyfriend’s brother’s house. He’s so great for letting us do laundry there. I did not drink nearly enough fluids. I have always struggled with fluid intake. I forget to drink. Pooped yesterday too. Good to know my bowels still work.

Today has been rough. Woke up a little earlier than I wanted to today. Stayed up. Drank 8 ounces of water and felt a little better. Made a shake with Lactaid. Every drink was the same stuck pain that I felt a couple of days after surgery. It made me nauseated. I stopped drinking it and made the shake with water instead, thinking maybe it was the Lactaid (I had been using Fat Free Fairlife milk). I decided to walk around since yesterday was a rather sedentary day. I cleaned the dining room, put clean laundry away, and purged clothing out of my closet (some I wore on the days I was bloated and needed something not tight – now those are falling off my butt, some that I haven’t worn in a while, and some that I know will be much too large for me soon). I walked between my dining room and bedroom while doing chores. Each time I went to the dining room I sipped water and I sipped the shake. This seemed to help. I still was not feeling all that well.

I decided to take a shower and soak the steri-strips that were covering my incisions. Since I had not been showering every day (perhaps that’s gross, but it wasn’t like I was doing physical labor lately), they were still on. They were to come off 7-10 days after surgery. Well today is day 9 and they were getting loose. I soaked them in the shower and then had my boyfriend help pull them off. Without my contacts or glasses in the shower, I was unable to see details to help get the off myself. I got very light-headed for a bit and had to sit. I ended up just lying in the tub and letting the hot water soak the strips. They were much easier to pull off. It felt a little strange at first, almost as if I needed to be very delicate with them. A couple of them are a little sensitive, but no pain.

I still have not been able to get my fluids on. I only got a little bit of protein as well. I’m not hungry or thirsty.

Tomorrow will be a new start. I am setting my alarm so that I can get up and immediately start drinking water. It was so easy the first week.

The other thing that is near torture for me is that my boyfriend loves to cook. Like really cook. Food Network recipes and his own recipes. The smells are wonderful. They are making me want to jump into his plates and eat my way out. I love really good food and feel like I’m missing out. I know this is for the best and that I just have to get through the recovery and take baby steps, but it is certainly tough.