Burps, and Farts, and Diarrhea Oh My!

      As you can tell by the title, in this post I'll be talking about the not so glamorous truths to recovery. Just as a reminder, this blog is not intended for entertainment purposes. I'm doing this so others going through this, or considering it can hear a real perspective on it.  Sorry if it grosses anyone out.. well actually, no I'm not.
      So here I am, Post Op day 2. Last night and this morning were NOT fun. I went to bed in tears last night because the gas pains were so bad. Both shoulders, and my abdomen were just full of gas and I had a really hard time dealing with the pain. I ended up taking an Ativan and passing out eventually with heating pads all over my body. This morning I woke up to a lot of pressure in my chest. Every swallow hurt. The gas pains were still there. I spent the morning curled up, sitting up on the couch, leaning over two large pillows, while Bryan tried to rub the gas out of me for HOURS. My neck, all the way down to my lower back... and when it worked, and it came out, he lovingly looked at me and would say "Oh good!" because he knew how much pain I was in. That's love folks. The entire time I was reminded that in two weeks I will be doing the same for him. I'm worried about him and his surgery. If I hurt this much from just having the band placed around my stomach, how is he going to feel after having 85% of his removed entirely? I'm REALLY worried about him. I know he's a tough guy and all, but still.
      I'm still not hungry. Sipping on warm liquids help. What I've had today:
 
1/4 cup of chicken broth- who knew chicken broth would taste so good!
1/4 cup of decaff coffee.
4oz cup of italian ice
1 cup of gatorade
1 cup of water

..and that's about it. I know I need to have more fluids going in me (64oz/day), but only being able to sip 1oz every 15 min is tough. It's just hard to get used to. I LOVE me some sugar free jello but it hurts like hell going down, so I've had to stay away from that. I'll start protein shakes in a few days I guess. Right now I have to focus on staying hydrated.

The gas has now turned into diarrhea. I went from dying for relieve to having to really use my better judgment and run to the bathroom! Sounds fun right? They said this would happen.. for a while. I took a shower and changed my bandages tonight. The incisions really don't hurt at all which is impressive. I can push on them and poke at them and they don't hurt. Everything is still internal and up near my stomach as far as pain. I'm surprised my port doesn't hurt more. I wonder what it will be like to get my first fill.

Because I've had so much discomfort today I was searching the net for forums and you tube videos of others who experienced this. It was really hard to find people talking about this stuff. Search engines would pull up medical sites.. which I don't want. I want to hear from actual people and find out if they are trying to fart and not shit themselves too. I came across some video's on you tube of women who obviously haven't experienced any surgery before. I couldn't even watch them.. they were whiny women talking about how they thought they were dying. So I guess I'll just figure this out on my own. I'll just take this one day at a time. I'll probably sleep sitting up tonight as I did for my naps. It's really the best way right now. I'm going to focus on drinking more liquids tomorrow, and I look forward to the rumbles in my stomach going away soon!