Another week of Protein shakes... and a taste of dumping syndrome

So now I'm into the third week; two weeks since the op.  I had thought to be going back to work this week but I realise now this is not sensible - it's still difficult to get through the endless regime of dispersible medication, and the very thought of the skimmed milk protein shake for breakfast (so important for some protein) is beginning to make my tummy churn...  Oh for some solid food!

Now this is the choice I REALLY want for breakfast... but I have a while to wait yet.

The nutritionist phoned near the end of the week and we made an appointment for a check-up at the end of June at the clinic.  I asked her about the exhausted hungry feeling in the morning and she quizzed me on how much protein I was getting.  Like how much protein is in the protein shake?  Well 19 grams - which is pretty good, but not good enough.

Apparently the target is 45 grams a day.  Interesting, as everything else (including the soups) has MINIMAL protein content; you just don't get it in fruit juice and sugar-free drinks...  She suggested a Slimfast drink would be a good supplement, so I tried one mid afternoon.  Disaster.  Well, not disaster, that would be putting it much too strongly, but a mild taste of dumpling syndrome - sweating, feeling faint, heart pounding - generally unwell.  What is dumping syndrome, you may ask?  It's specific to having a bypass operation and relates to the body going in to a sort of shock at having too much sugar or fat 'dumped' into the lower intestine.  Because the operation bypasses the ileum and duodenum, where fats and sugars are absorbed by the body, these enter the system lower down and the intestine is not able to process these 'nutrients'.  So I guess I have been rerouted, in case I was in any doubt!  I used to get a sugar-rush from drinking Slimfast shakes before the op (they have quite a bit of readily available sugar, and as it's liquid it just runs straight through) - more so that I would get from eating a chocolate or two - so my two packs of 6 bottles are now redundant...


Sat on the OCADO app looking at the protein content of soups.  Hopeless.  Even chicken soup which should be made from, er, chicken, has a woefully low amount of protein.  This is one of the problems with the diet Lilly warned me about - getting enough protein for healing and muscle retention.  However, I am working at the protein and hunger aspect from another direction, by adding more bulk to my soups (thicker too, my stomach seems happy with thicker) in the form of DIRECT PROTEIN.  I remembered a had frozen the last few little slices of chicken breast from my pre-op diet - defrosted them and added to mushroom soup - all blended with the whizzer, some seasoning and a little milk.  What a difference. It was heavenly - tasted like canned chicken in white sauce.  With a nice bowl of soup with added protein twice a day the starving feelings are waning.  Returned yesterday as an almost tender stomach after going for a long walk (for me) and obviously needed nutrition. A small glass of vegetable juice and the discomfort went away.  So there is a need to learn new signals from my body whilst everything is healing up.

On Saturday Jon took me to Sainsburys and we bought lots of fruits and vegetables to add to his diet and more cans of soup for me, along with steamed salmon, chicken breast, fresh ham (no water added) and corned beef - all to add to the soups.  So far I've had pea and salmon (hmm, bit windy there though) and parsnip and ham - today will be chicken and chicken for lunch and oxtail with corned beef for dinner.  Preparing the salmon yesterday there was a huge urge just to pop it in my mouth - so soft and tender; had to make do with licking my fingers instead. I reckon I've got a bit nearer my protein quota today.

So what has been taking my attention during the long days lounging around thinking about what I should be drinking, or sticking in myself (the clexane) or drinking?  The cats of course.  There is a whole world out there, largely outside of our awareness, the tumultuous and complex world of cat relationships.  When we first started letting our girlies outside a few weeks ago we thought the worst we would have to deal with was Lara's intermittent antics prompted by irrepressible curiosity and naivety.  Then came Mr Socks.  We have a local stray that we've been feeding (a tuxedo male we guess) coined Mr Socks because of his long white socks on his back legs.  The outdoor excursions of our three are now daily peppered with altercations with this boy, who is putting on weight slowly due to our feeding and now wants to come inside - camping out on our exterior mat when he's not off bullying other local cats.  Our two little girls he actively attacks - and would do Sophie as well if he wasn't scared of her.  Every time the back door is open to allow them out I'm up and down after one noise or another, making sure the marauder isn't at the gates.  Just hoping he's an intact male as we aim to trap him and take him to the vet for investigation.  If he's not been done he's at the mercy of his hormones - and will be an altogether better boy if fixed.  If he has been done we have an anti-social bully on our hands who we can't allow to starve.  Sigh.

Okay, nearly finished a bowl of chicken soup with added chicken.  Lara has licked out the tin for me (so helpful). Amazing gurgling of digestion going on so I think I'll take a leaf out of the feline book and have a little snooze - me and Jessie on the sofa, Lara and Sophie on the window ledge and Mr Socks on his mat outside the patio doors.  Peace.