Sunday, November 24, 2013

Eight Weeks Post-Op

I can’t believe it’s been 8+ weeks since my de-bulking surgery. I am recovering slowly but surely.  I have been pretty conservative and eating mostly a low fiber diet but I have been adding a lot of new foods and eating out more with no problems.  Last week was the first time I felt my stomach growling or had feelings of hunger.  I am still having an issue eating enough to maintain my weight. I am still losing a pound per week.  Overall, I’ve lost about 18 pounds since my pre-surgical appointment in early September.  My bowel movements have mostly stabilized to one a day – basically back to normal there.  I still have not had a salad or any raw vegetables.  I guess I will consider myself fully recovered when:

1.    I am not eating/drinking any protein powders or shakes to bulk up my diet

2.    My weight stabilizes

When I went for my Sandostatin shot on Friday, I asked the nurse practitioner when I might get my appetite back and stop losing weight.  She said it could take up to 6 months!  Holy cow, at this rate, I’ll be emaciated by then!  I’m sure that won’t happen as I am continuing to improve. Most of my clothes at least fit or are loose now and I’m fine with that. 

Over the past few weeks I have also been less tired and am sleeping normal hours. I was having gastrointestinal problems with eating and drinking at the same time right after surgery. Now, those problems are gone. I still don’t have my stamina back and am working on getting and keeping my energy up.

I will be returning to work on December 17th.  That is exactly 12 weeks after surgery.  I wanted to stay out through the holidays but Dr. Clancy’s office said that they could not allow me to be out any longer.  Going back in mid-December will give me a chance to take it slow for a month or so before the year-end busy time gets going.  I’ve really enjoyed my time home recovering and I don’t really want to go back to work.  Unfortunately, I’m a bit young to retire and probably not sick enough to go out on long-term disability.  The break has given me some time to think about what I might want to do when and if I do retire. I might be able to swing working part-time and have the best of both worlds. 

My 8 weeks off has been quite stress free and my diet has been very controlled in that I eat most meals at home. When we go out, we choose the restaurant carefully to be sure I will be able to find something that will agree with me.  Working will be much more stressful because of the hours, travel and lack of control of my eating situation.  I have another 3+ weeks to enjoy the time and recover and I’m going to savor every moment.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Nutrition Assistance After Surgery


Friday was my first appointment for my Sandostatin shot after my post-op visit last month.  It has been 5+ weeks post-surgery and I am still quite fatigued with not much of an appetite.  I don’t have much pain and have lost 15 pounds.  I’ve been pretty conservative with eating, sticking to a low fiber diet.  I’m not that hungry and not craving anything in particular so it has not been too hard to be on this boring diet.  I probably do not need to lose too much more weight but another 5 pounds would give me some good leeway when I do get my appetite back!  This is the first time I’ve been below the top of my body mass index (BMI) range for several years!  Dr. Chan suggested I meet with a nutritionist when I was in Boston for this appointment. I did and the session was very helpful. 
I don’t consider myself a nutritional expert at all. I don’t know all the technical terms or even the difference between vitamins and minerals.  I understand the food pyramid and used to eat a diet that I thought was pretty nutritious.
My basic issues from a nutritional standpoint are that I am losing weight at about a pound a week and have little appetite. I have had gas “issues” for about a week during the past month.  I had this gas problem prior to surgery, but it was minor, not occurring every month and only for about a day or two when it happened.  I think of this gas as “Sandostatin gas” because:

1)     I never had it prior to taking Sandostatin LAR

2)    It does not seem to have any relation to anything I’ve eaten and does not respond to over the counter medications like Gas-X

The Sandostatin gas seems worse since my surgery.  It’s only been 5 weeks and I’m hoping it gets better over time.
The nutritionist I met with was very nice and competent.  She gave me a list of foods that may cause gas that consisted of the following items:

·         Beverages:  beer, carbonated drinks, red wine

·         Dairy:  milk, cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, ice cream

·         Dried legumes:  baked beans, beans like kidney, pinto, garbanzos, lima and navy, split peas, lentils and soybeans

·         Fruits:  apples (raw), prunes

·         Vegetables:  asparagus, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, corn, cucumber, kohrabi, leeks, onions, peppers, radishes, sauerkraut and turnips

·         High fat foods:  fried foods, fatty meats, gravies, cream sauces and pastries

·         Other:  garlic, chewing gum, artificial sweeteners such as mannitol, maltitol, sorbitol or any other sugar alcohol.

Her suggestions were to do the following 3 things, but only one at a time.  She wanted to make sure that if something works, we would know which approach helped. She said to try each suggestion for 5-7 days and see what happens.  The suggestions were:
1.    Reduce the gassy foods and lactose (dairy foods)
2.    Try a probiotic supplement
3.    Try a digestive enzyme
She said that a lot of carcinoid patients have gas issues but did not go so far as to say it was from the Sandostatin, although she did not rule it out.
I know next to nothing about probiotics or digestive enzymes so I asked for advice on choices.  She said to try a probiotic product called Ultimate Flora in a dose of 30 billion.  She said it was available at the Vitamin Shoppe.  Good thing I asked because when I went in to the Vitamin Shoppe, there was a whole wall of probiotics – I would never have known which one to select.  I figured I’d start with the probiotic pill and see what transpires.
The nutritionist did not give me a recommendation on a digestive enzyme but other carcinoid patients have suggested papaya extract or a product called Digest Gold.  The Vitamin Shoppe stocks these products as well.  
I think I’ll save the low lactose diet for my last option because I like my yogurt and dairy so this will be bit harder for me.  Hopefully either the probiotic or digestive enzyme will work.
In addition to the above suggestions, she said I could branch out from peeled apples and pears to not peeling them and adding grapes or strawberries.  I can even eat the whole baked potato including the skin!  I should switch from Orgain as my protein shake to a no lactose product like Ensure or Boost when I do the low lactose week.  The nutritionist also recommended that I take an extra forkful of food, even if I feel full because my stomach has most likely shrunk since I have not been eating that much.  She also said I could drink white wine!  I’ll drink to that once I feel a bit better!