Sleep, Patience & Appetite!

Eric, please don't worry about losing your patience. Sleep deprivation is shocking for that, and children are one of the best ways to drive a tired person to meltdown. children take up a huge amount of a parent's resources. And at the moment Eric, you just don't have any to spare, and feeling guilty will just use up those resources more.

at around 6 /7 weeks quite a bit of healing will have taken place, so your energy will be higher. That's not long to wait to be able to give to your son again. I can't stress how important it is if you want to recover well and quickly to stick to your intention of  letting other people give to him for a short while.

re appetite. Mostly it is important for you to eat plenty of iron and protein. I've eaten LOADS of fish and LOADS of eggs and fresh veggies.Seems to be just what I fancy. You don't need to eat too much of these food groups to get the nutrition you need.

i remember not eating much for the first couple of weeks, then the hunger came with a vengeance as I used up more energy walking. Then it became a bit of a habit (sadly). Have gained a few pounds, but not stressing about it.

youre doing GREAT, really.

lindsey x

 

Hi Eric,

Great to know things are improving for you.  Isn't it wonderful to get a few hours quality sleep?

I'm hugely impressed at your 1 1/2 hour walk - I could never have done that at 20 days and I still couldn't do it now at 4 1/2 weeks.  I'm not sure how BHR recovery differs from THR but I wouldn't imagine that much.

I think lack of energy, lack of sleep and lack of patience are all interlinked.  Your patience will return when you are more recovered and rested.

I too lost my appetite but I'm making up for it now.  I've been wearing loose clothing and yesterday tried on my jeans   Big shock!  I must try to eat more sensibly because I went from losing my sweet tooth to craving all the things that are bad for me.  

You doing fine, and soon will be able to give your son all the attention he needs.  Look on this as a small blip that will soon be over and then the world is your lobster.

Cels xxx 

10 days post i was still having an afternoon nap !  dound that as i could not sleep weel at night a brief sleep really helped in the afternoon - even if you just close your eyes and relax ?  yes totally lost appetitie - but as said by others it is so important re iron - i am now on iron supplement as did not have enough ! and yes as per everyone have put on a few punds 12 weeks on  !  i think you are just not as active as you were and i still get tired !

Eric,

You sound to be doing very well to me.

Have I ever lost my patience ... Oh yes ... I remember at one point being so frustrated at picking up the cat's meat bowl and dropping it, and having to call for my wife to clear up the mess I had made, and yelling (at no-one in particular) "Oh how I hate being crippled like this", it was a real out-of-character outburst for me, I apologised to my lovely wife who just told me to sit down, she cleared up the mess, and came too me with some tea and cake.   She's wonderful.  This operation messes with you mentally as well as physically, it's not your fault, that's just how it is in this roller-coaster recovery.

I never ever lost my appetite, from day zero onwards, but then I have always been a 'good eater'.  In fact I had to lose some weight before the operation, and I am now making sure it does not creep back on again.

Best wishes

Graham - 🚀💃

Hi Eric, sounds to me like you are doing really well.  Walking so far sounds incredible.  I am waiting for a date for bilateral hip replacements so I will be following your progress closely.  Let us know how you get on.