It rubs the lotion on it's skin...

Ok so 28 days post op and I'm going to assume that all the following are completely normal, please correct me if I'm wrong:

1. My skin is so dry I look like a halibut left too long in the sun.  Currently my partner is rubbing vitamin e lotion into me twice a day.  If that doesn't work I may well shed my skin like some giant amazonian python and spend the summer curled up under the dining room table.

2. Protein drinks are the without a doubt the foulest substance known to human kind, no matter what flavour you choose.  I'm so struggling with them, have started having my non protein drink snacks more regularly (ham slices, chicken bits, yoghurt, nuts etc).  I will keep persevering with them but I can guarantee there's going to be an exorcist moment in the near future after drinking one.

3. It is physically impossible to drink 3 litres of water a day and also have protein snacks and minimum vitamin intake.  I couldn't fit 3 litres of fluid in pre operation!  Darned if I know how to do it now.  I have been advised by my doctor to take rehydration liquids for a while to keep my electrolyte balance up, anyone else have to do this?

4. There is an increase in mood swings and appetite from day to day.  One day I have the disconnected personality of hannibal lecter and the appetite to go with it, where I think I'm going to chew off someone's arm for a ham and tomato sandwich and the next day I'm like the flippin' tooth faerie on acid, all smiles and no desire to eat or drink anything.  I had a day this week where I honestly couldn't remember why I had the operation, if my life was now reduced to one mouthful of food every 3 hours and having given up all my old bad habits that gave me such destructive joy... sure one day in the future I was going to be thin but how miserable am I going to be?  Today is a drugged out faerie day, hence the post.

So here I sit, listening to my internal organs knit one pearl two, and watching my port wounds heal and pucker and wondering if this is the rest of my life, or just one of the post op stages of being a DS'er.   Pleaes god give me the strength to be Kirmy.

And the ability to spell, please forgive my massacre of the english language in the above post.

I have never had a protein shake - feh!  (OK, I tried to use them before my plastic surgery, and couldn't stand it - nearly puked!)  I eat protein instead.

The liquids - gotta do it.  Sip frequently, don't gulp.

Mood swings and appetite roller coaster is entirely normal.  Power through them.

It gets better.

(And you can click on the edit button at the end of your post after you are horrified by your typos, and fix them.)

Thanks Diana, especially for the edit button tip.  I'm so glad I'm not the only one with the major blurk for protein drinks, here I was thinking everyone loved them and there was something very wrong with me.  Does decaffeinated tea count towards the fluid? 

My surgeon's office says caffeinated coffee counts, so yeah, I think so.

 Yes, tea counts!

And no, you are not alone.  I am struggling with protein shakes too.  I have been doing ok with eating protein thus far though.  

My surgeon's office counts decaf  (and caf after it's allowable).  Just as an aside, that's how I take my protein shakes, in coffee.  You just have to be careful to keep it from getting clumpy. I've found that if I put the dry powder in my mug, add some half & half and mix it a bit before adding the hot coffee it mixes in much more easily.  I end up with caffeinated hot chocolate, basically.  I use the Isopure dutch chocolate powder, usually just 1/2 a scoop a day to get an extra 12g bump of protein. 

Sounds normal to me. I didn't moisturize my skin for the first 4 weeks after surgery because I was tired, sore, and didn't care enough. I'm 9 weeks now and I've been lotioning since week 5. It's just now getting back to what it used to be.

I still have a hard time with all of the liquids, supplements, and protein. I also hate protein shakes. Still trying to find one palatable.

Hang in there.

Thanks   If I come across a shake that doesn't make me want to curl up into a ball and implode I'll let you know.

Try the unflavored protein...in drinks, soup or whatever...that will help a lot.  They are tasteless and I actually go through times when I can't stomach flavored protein...it just makes me gag, too.