Expectations

Vol-au-Vents, my puff pastry chicken mushroom cream sauce meal is traditionally served as an appetizer. It took roughly 30 minutes and 40 ounces of water to consume. No pain is involved just the food stuck in your throat sensation we all get after that too large piece of bread or meat that is easily washed down. Except it takes several large gulps of water for every 3-4 bites followed by some sort of wriggling and contorting to get it to drop into my stomach. 25% of the time there is a trip to the bathroom involved to regurgitate some uncooperative bites. Every bit of food I've eaten every day for the last couple of years follows this same pattern, just ask Phoebe. Thus you get the weight loss due to all the water involved and the shrinking of your stomach over time.

I stay away from expectations in general to help preserve my emotional state. An example being I did not expect it to take me 10 kilometers to realize they don't drive on the left in France.

After surgery on Thursday I expect a little sore throat from tubing chafe, mild discomfort somewhere in my chest, hunger from fasting and being on a liquid diet for a few days. I expect the liquid diet to pass like shit through a goose into my stomach. After a few weeks of building up to an eat anything you want diet I expect I will begin to gain some weight (5lbs of fat and 5 - 10 lbs of muscle). I expect to retake the arm wrestling championship back from Ty. I expect some large bites to require a little swallow of water occasionally but not frequently. I expect my French nurses to be way hotter than American nurses. I do not expect but I am prepared for acid reflux. 30% of POEM patients get it however 50% of that 30% have such mild cases that they are not aware of it. Dr. Swanstrom does not want ANY acid messing around with his work so if tests detect reflux in 6 months I will join the rest of America and start popping pills. I do expect the Dropping Acid approach to reflux maintenance to eliminate the issue.
I have completely eliminated all of the daily and nightly heartburn symptoms I was experiencing by not eating low ph foods in the evening. That was virtually the only pain associated with my Achalasia and boy am I glad it's gone.

I am going to bed now and I expect 32 fifteen minute naps in between the
regular ringing of the church bell across the street. I expect Joelle's (Shoel) wonderful hospitality and yummy treats in the morning.

Bonne Nuit!