I am sitting on my deck watching the sun go down on a beautiful fall evening. Enjoying a nice piping hot cup of coffee. DECAFF COFFEE!
I didn’t think I could do it. I am on Day 1 of being completely caffeine free. I haven’t been off caffeine since about 1990. After my cold turkey experiment/debacle that I wrote about a couple of weeks ago, I slowly titrated down until I am now only drinking decaffeinated coffee and tea. I actually felt pretty good today and didn’t really feel a difference in my energy or anything like that. This is a great accomplishment for me – one of many in the near future, I hope.
Not only have I been focusing on ridding myself of the caffeine withdrawal monster, I’m preparing for my two-week pre-op diet that will start next Thursday…one week from today. The reasons for the pre-op diet vary from doctor to doctor. Some doctors tell their patients it’s to get them prepared for post-op life. This will be similar to how you will live short term after the surgery. Some doctors will say it’s to shrink the liver to “keep it out of the way” during surgery. My doctor believes both are true. The requirements for pre-op diets also vary from doctor to doctor. Some doctors will put patients on a one-month all liquid diet and others will only require only a few days of liquids prior to surgery. I’m right in the middle. My two-week plan consists of two protein smoothies and one “lean and green” dinner.
I contacted the nutritionist at the surgeon’s office to get some clarification on the requirement. I’m a “parameters” type of a gal – I need to know what the rules are and I’ll follow them. I asked if I can add fruit to my smoothies and she said, “yes, you can add a couple of blueberries or strawberries or other low glycemic fruits.” OK – thinking a couple of blueberries couldn’t be what she’s talking about, I asked, “So when you say a couple of blueberries or strawberries, are you talking like a ¼ cup?” I loved her response, “Probably not a quarter cup. Less than that.” So I went to the kitchen and measured out a ¼ cup of strawberries and it was 4 – 4 small strawberries and the measuring cup was overflowing. So when she said a couple, she truly meant a couple. **sigh** And the lean and green meal is basically 4-6 oz of lean meat and some low glycemic vegetables (peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.).
I have to admit, I’m a little concerned about the pre-op diet. It’s going to be difficult to live like this for 2 weeks (14 days; 336 hours; 20,160 minutes). I’m trying to be positive and look at it as an opportunity – another hill to successfully climb; just one in many I hope to have. I’ve been replacing one meal with a shake every day to try to get in a groove before next week. I should consider myself lucky some patients are on full liquids for the duration of their pre-op diet and a longer timeframe. As with most things, remember: Someone out there will always have it worse than you, so quit feeling sorry for yourself.
I’m still saying goodbye to some foods – last night was popcorn. Weird. I haven’t had popcorn in many, many months (maybe even closer to a year). I just wanted it for some reason. So, before dinner last night I had a bowl. It tasted so good. I was just about to go back for more when I called down to my son and asked him if he wanted the rest. Luckily, he did. I probably would have finished the bag if given the opportunity.
I’ve had a fairly positive attitude the past few days. I am looking forward to getting things moving. I think the waiting is the hardest part. I wonder if having less time between the decision to have the surgery and actual surgery would have been easier. At any rate, I haven’t had any of those defeatist feelings I had last week – it’s all positive and all looking forward.
The McButterpants Project 