Oral Surgery Frustrations while in Maintenance

DanyellMcGinnis

I don't really know where this topic fits so I hope this area is OK. Just wanted to share some frustration and ask for input/encouragement. It's kind of long, so bear with me.

As background, I am in maintenance after losing 45 pounds last year. I set a range of 115-120 pounds and have pretty much stayed in it since mid-December. (Well, I'm at the high end right now because I'm less active during summer -- can't climb stairs to my 8th floor office in 90+ degree heat, it's like a sauna in the stairwell, my big, black dog doesn't want to walk much during the day, etc.) I was exercising for 100+ minutes a day (30 minutes yoga, 70 minutes cardio) and eating 2200-2300 calories per day. I would regularly get 14,000-15,000 steps per day (that number includes exercise steps).

I had oral surgery (gum grafts) on Thursday and things went south. I couldn't stop bleeding and ended up in the ER. I am now petrified of eating anything but liquids. I do have a decent selection of soft foods and most have gone OK (instant oatmeal, Halo Top ice cream, applesauce and pureed fruit pouches, cottage cheese that I swallow without chewing, smoothies, soup in cartons that I add water to and puree with my stick blender, milk, yogurt).

First off, I am frustrated about not being able to exercise. This was a big part of my day. But I have been told I don't want to do anything to get my heart rate up!

Secondly, OMG did it feel good to brush my teeth tonight. I had been afraid to for like three days but I finally worked up the nerve to do everything except the site where the tissue was grafted (my teeth felt SO gross, I was willing to take the risk). Still afraid to spit (this seemed to be the cause of much bleeding on Thursday) so I bought toothpaste for toddlers that is safe to swallow. Next up: sleeping in my own bed (with extra pillows) instead of upright in a recliner.

Finally, while I generally don't believe people who come here and say they have trouble getting to 1200 calories per day (unless they've had gastric bypass or something), it actually is difficult to get to that number when you are limited to liquids and soft foods, if you don't want to eat like 100% sugar. I had only 985 calories on ER day (I'll give myself a pass there; special circumstances -- probably got a few calories from swallowing my own blood, which gave me a stomach ache, hey, at least I recovered some of the lost iron that way...), 1234 yesterday, and 1205 today. (Maintenance calories for me are 1520. I'm trying not to go under 1200 for now. I am a small-framed woman. BMI is around 20 currently.)

I'm still eating only cold things or maybe slightly-less-than-lukewarm things, though I am slowly working my way up. (By the way, 10 ounces of almond milk, 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter, half a scoop of chocolate Vega, and a half cup of fresh pitted cherries makes a DELICIOUS shake. Will be doing that until I run out of cherries.)

(FYI, I do have an appointment with a primary care physician in about a week to discuss this and other aspects of my health. The periodontist who did the procedure knows; he actually met me at his office at 10:30 PM the night of the ER visit. Of course I will be following up with him. I do not appear to have a clotting disorder. I may have hypertension, which may have contributed. That is the first thing I will ask the primary care doctor about. I also now have massive anxiety at the thought of any dental procedures, which is a problem I did not formerly have, but I will deal with that another day...)

Also, shout out to my husband who has been wonderful through all of this (and who thankfully is much less squeamish than I am), including lifting heavy things that normally I would lift myself, driving me to the hospital and sitting there with me, etc. Though people in the ER waiting room were giving us dirty looks because I was holding ice to my face and bloody paper towels and I guess they thought he hit me or something. Oops.

Anyway, has anyone been in a similar situation? What did you do? How long did it last (i.e., how long did you have to keep eating soft stuff)? Do you have any ideas for liquefied or very soft foods that aren't ridiculously high in sugar and salt (I am vegetarian)? When were you able to start exercising again (I'm not going to exercise until I can consume more calories, of course)? Any other advice or suggestions to keep me from going crazy while I wait this out?