No one told me I'd turn into a Mogwai after surgery, but that is what happened. I cannot eat after midnight or I turn into a gremlin. Not the whole me, just my belly. And it's not even as late as midnight. It can be as early as 7:00 pm depending on what it is I want to eat.
Last night I had a meeting for my homeowner's association of which I'm the Vice President. The management company was taking us out for dinner to celebrate working together during a difficult year. In order to get all of the business out of the way, we had to meet before dinner. Uh-oh. Luckily the meeting went smooth.
Off we go to meet again at a local restaurant, Ruffini's, which specializes in Italian and take-out sandwiches. We all arrive at 8:15 pm. My mind is racing. It's too late to eat a dinner. I search the menu for anything light that will be tummy friendly. It's impossible. Who has heard of light Italian? As everyone orders lasagna, stuffed tilipia, chicken parm, I order a grilled cheese sandwich. What?! Boy the looks I got, but I thought, "Hey cheese slows me down, bread slows me down. Bingo!". I threw in a Key Lime Martini to help reduce motility. I'm supposed to be celebrating remember.
By 9:00 pm when the dinner arrives I'm famished. I eat it all without thinking. I soon have regrets realizing what I've done.
10:00 pm I arrive home. I'm beat, but it's time to clean up for bed. I've got to help slow my stomach down as well. I take some pepto and some GasX. I'm ready for bed by 11:00 pm, and I hop on in. By midnight I feel the first rumblings. It's time to get up. Off to the bathroom I go. A few minutes later it's back to bed. 1:00 am I'm up again. So that's how my night goes. I'm up every hour. Why is it that your stomach can be so active even when you're not eating? This I will never understand.
So try as I might to be a regular old Joe, I have my limitations. The surgeon transplanted a gremlin in my belly.
With my jpouch and just as much as with my ostomy, I try not to eat past six. I can now with little ramifications on non ostomy appliance change days so in that respect i guess its a little easier for me now to push the envelope.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the blog. I am three week post-op, learning how to live with my j-pouch. The "getting-up-every-hour-or-face-the-consequences" routine is exhausting to say the least. I can't seem to find a "rhythm" yet. Anytime, it seems I'm going 5-10 times once my body is ready to digest is unavoidable. Anyway, nice to read/hear from someone with the same symptoms. Thanks.
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