A lot of the Facebook group discussions talk about energy level, food and weight post TG… Also an improved look at life and getting out there tackling items on your bucket list. So here’s 13 months out and what my current view is on everything..
Energy level.. I’ve always been pretty aggressive with my schedule and manage to have a ton of energy. Though I still find that every once in a while if something disagrees with me, it’ll make me feel energyless for a good 10-15 minutes. If I’m at home, I just lay down or take it easy until “the fog lifts”. If I’m at work I can sort of walk it off.
When I get busy and am enjoying life, not feeling hunger is kind of bad. It’s super easy to lose weight when you don’t get that traditional feeling of hunger. And it’s hard to stop to eat with as long as it takes me to eat.
So after some vacationing, it’s time to go back to work so I can get back into my schedule and food routine.
Popcorn!! I can still put away some major volume of popcorn! Might not have all the nutrition, but sometimes a calorie is a calorie when you just want to hold your weight!! I was holding my weight well until our vacation, but I dropped some weight. It’s ok to eat all the time at your desk, but it’s harder to keep that up when you’re on the go. It’s also tough to eat every meal out where you feel bad for how slow you are, instead of just snacking away at your desk. My desire to “fill myself to the brim” every meal has gone away since I can usually hold my weight without the discomfort of getting that full. I hope to put some lbs back on in the next month and hydration has a lot to do with a few pounds here and there lost.
Vacation!! Remembering to stop your “busy life” and do the things that matter…my shout out to bucket lists. So we road tripped the family about 3000 miles round trip from Texas to the Grand Canyon and back. It was awesome and I’ve included pics below.
Scars after 1 year.. My scar looks amazing and I rock the two-piece bathing suit. The actual incision has faded so much you can hardly see it. I just claim my feeding tube and laparoscope incisions were bullet wounds because that sounds cool!!
Weight loss! My weight loss has stayed well controlled minus the vacation. This was not a lazy poolside vacation. This was a lot of hiking, an 11 mile Grand Canyon rim bike trip pulling a kid trailer and some eating in between all the cool stuff we did. My kids were exhausted! The only complaint I have is a desire to put on some more pounds… My shoulders look scrawny and my ribs show through too much. All in weight loss was from 126 to 114.
Life is pretty much busy and normal. I just get a reminder here and there that I don’t have a stomach.
Here’s some vacation pics.
Good to see this. We’re new to this game. With runners in the family facing gastrectomy, nice to know that it doesn’t necessarily stop running.
Keep at it!
Thanks so much for the blog! I am going to have gastrectomy end of August and trying to find information about the life after. Thanks for sharing.
So glad it’s helpful!! I need to add some more recent blog posts too!
Good luck with your surgery. Keep in touch and feel free to ask questions. There’s a great support network online and through no stomach for cancer.
Marne, I want to let you know how much I appreciate your blog. I am having a prophylactic gastrectomy at Stanford on August 18th and I have gleaned so much information from you concerning life after a tg. There seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Thanks.
Hi Marne. Your blog has been a Godsend for me as I’m scheduled to have a prophylactic gastrectomy on August 18. I’ve been searching for information about recovery issues and your blog has helped me realize that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Your positive attitude is an inspiration to me. Thank you.
Just come on over when you want popcorn!!!
Those pictures from the Grand Canyon look awesome! I’m trying to convince Kate to go… but as she says, “why would I want to see a huge hole in the ground”… I always respond with, “but it’s a hole you can see from space!”
Surprisingly I’m able to eat almost as fast I did before… depending on the meal. Sometimes I get overly excited to eat food and it will want to come back up, but for the most part I no longer have the spit up feeling. The stuck feeling still hurts, but it goes away after awhile.
I can eat most foods now too! Every once in a while a food goes bad, but not very often. It’s as though I can feel my esophagus forcing it down now!
Hola, se te ve muy bien en las fotos. A mí también me practicaron una TG el 11 de julio 2013, lo mismo que a tí es por la mutación de un gen. Mi cicatriz es mucho mayor que la tuya,pero mis médicos en España también son muy buenos. Pero todo me va mucho mejor, las comidas las tolero mucho mejor lo único el agua, tomo muchos zumos naturales e infusiones, lo que mejor me sienta son las frutas y verduras. A tí también te pincharán la vitamina B12?. A mí lo que me preocupa, ya no es el peso, sino la asimilación de las vitaminas, tengo bajas la vitamina A y la D. Respecto al peso adelgacé 11 kilos y he recuperado 5, ahora peso 50.5 kilos. Que te vaya todo muy bien, un saludo.