Day 6: Wow, I'm impressed.

I went to bed at 10pm last night and slept straight through till 3am. 5 solid hours of sleep was blissful. Of course, then I couldn't get back to sleep. Tried for an hour and then decided to just get up. One nice thing: NO PAIN! NONE! And I didn't use my happy pills at all yesterday! I'm thrilled with my recovery so far. I'm able to get in all the water and protein I need. I've been able to eat everything I've tried, step by step, according to my schedule and everything is staying down and my new stomach is tolerating everything nicely.

I also tried on a pair of sweats that I haven't really fit into properly in at least two years and they not only fit, they're a touch loose around the waist now.

I've also started incorporating electrolyte drinks like powerade zero and G2 to help with any possible electrolyte loss. When I finish one bottle of protein water, I mix a new batch and put it in the fridge and break out a bottle of the electrolyte juice. Again, my body is tolerating it with no problem.

If I can get through until Monday without my pain meds, I'm going to assume that I'm healed enough to not need them further and I'll put them away for a later time.

I was honestly a little worried about all of this based on the issues that cropped up when a friend had this surgery done and he had all sorts of complications and it took him 5 weeks to get back to work and his mood was ...well, scary. Scary enough to make my best friend worried about him. I went into this expecting a lot of the same thing, but I've been recovering very rapidly. Surprisingly rapidly, honestly. The pumping of protein in the first couple of days must have helped with healing.

On a different note, Dad and I returned the defective TV to Walmart this morning and they took it back without question and were very pleasant to deal with. Sony....well, check my other blog (Pernicious Critters) for my opinions on their customer service. Walmart said it would take a couple of days before the refund hit my account, and Dad suggested that I wait until the refund hits to buy the new TV. I've noticed that my Dad gets a lot smarter the older I get.

On the subject of Mom and Dad...I can't express my gratitude and the love I feel for them being here for me through this. They didn't have to do it at all, but they dedicated the two weeks I would need for recovery to making sure I was taken care of, and that time is the greatest gift anyone can give to another person, because that's time out of your life that you can't get back. I'm going to remind myself of that every day and anytime I feel like I might want to cheat on my diet.

I can't ever repay them for what they've done, but I can damn sure pay it forward when my best friend goes in for her surgery. I'll be there for the day of surgery and as much as I can be after that until she's back to full strength.