Swelling: retaining fluid and gas

[SecretAgentDD 48]

I’m 48 hours post op. I’m shocked at the amount that my belly has grown. My incisions look fine, no infection. But my belly is so full of gas or Fluid. When can I expect it to vacate? My organs just feel like they are sloshing around in there, which just feels so weird. I weighed myself, up 14 pounds of fluid/swelling. I’m not paranoid about the number,just did it out of curiosity. I know it will come back down, it’s just annoying feeling like I’m carrying around an inter tube on my belly.

[FifiLux 419]

You will likely be carrying around gas for a few days post op as they have inflate your insides to get at the stomach and it should eventually ease. I took a wind-ease tablet for the couple of days after my op last year and it helped.

I had known what to expect as I went through similar after having my gall bladder removed a number of years ago and didn't understand at the time why I was in agony in the shoulder area - the gas had made its way up there and settled.

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,574]

Your weight is up likely from all the fluids from the IV. The gas can take a good week to leave your body. But the more you walk, the faster it dissipates. The pain will go away and the bloating will, too. The only thing that really helps is the walking and a heating pad.

[Arabesque 7,185]

Yep surgical gas & IV fluids. It will take about a week for you to breathe out the gas (it’s not in your tummy but in your abdomen & it rises up behind your lungs before being absorbed into your lungs) and a couple of days to pee out the extra fluids.

You can help the gas move up & then into your lungs to be breathed out by walking, doing arm lifts, marching on the spot. (Do as much as you can without straining your post surgical body. Little and often is best.) Deep, slow breathing can help too. Heat pads can help with the shoulder pain that occurs when it rises behind your lungs.

[Weightlosscenter 1]

You should have been warned about this and given recommendations on how to deal with it more quickly. There are useful tips in the comments above, but it's best to follow the advice given by your doctor.

[SecretAgentDD 48]

2 hours ago, Weightlosscenter said:

You should have been warned about this and given recommendations on how to deal with it more quickly. There are useful tips in the comments above, but it's best to follow the advice given by your doctor.

[SecretAgentDD 48]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses. No, I was not warned or given advice that my insides would feel quite like this. I’m not sure that anyone can really prepare you for how weird it feels when your inflamed organs are bumping around inside of you. I was given no protocol other than walking and using a spirometer, both of which I’ve been doing religiously. So thank you again to those who responded kindly and let me know how long to expect it to continue. I certainly hope that no one was making assumptions that I didn’t follow protocol or read what instructions I was given by my physician.

[ShoppGirl 4,728]

How are you sound now? Any better?

[SecretAgentDD 48]

20 minutes ago, ShoppGirl said:

How are you sound now? Any better?

It’s getting better slowly. I still feel pretty bloated, but everything seems to be getting better each day. When I take deep breaths, I can still tell there’s gas in there because it still feels like things are moving around in there a lot when I expand my lungs. Here’s to hoping tomorrow shows more progress on that issue!

Edited July 29 by SecretAgentDD

[ShoppGirl 4,728]

11 minutes ago, SecretAgentDD said:

It’s getting better slowly. I still feel pretty bloated, but everything seems to be getting better each day. When I take deep breaths, I can still tell there’s gas in there because it still feels like things are moving around in there a lot when I expand my lungs. Here’s to hoping tomorrow shows more progress on that issue!

Glad to hear it’s easing up a bit at least. Hopefully overnight it gets a lot better. 🤞

[Arabesque 7,185]

9 hours ago, SecretAgentDD said:

Thanks for the thoughtful responses. No, I was not warned or given advice that my insides would feel quite like this. I’m not sure that anyone can really prepare you for how weird it feels when your inflamed organs are bumping around inside of you. I was given no protocol other than walking and using a spirometer, both of which I’ve been doing religiously. So thank you again to those who responded kindly and let me know how long to expect it to continue. I certainly hope that no one was making assumptions that I didn’t follow protocol or read what instructions I was given by my physician.

This surgery is something none of us have had before & so we have no understanding or experience of how it feels post surgery. Add to that our bodies often respond differently to the surgery, it can be hard to predict exactly how you will feel & respond & how long you will be affected. Like I had no gas pain at all with my sleeve (don’t hate me) but when my surgeon removed my gall bladder two years later boy oh boy did I have gas pain. Also even if we are told things or it’s in the material we’re given, the information overload & usual emotional stress of the surgery means it can be easily missed or forgotten. So 100% no judgement. We’re always happy to share our experiences, advice & any tips we found helpful here.

PS: I do have some judgment for any surgeon or team if they don’t ensure you’re well prepared for the very common post surgical experiences like Hair loss, Constipation, nausea from Vitamins, etc. though.

[SecretAgentDD 48]

Thanks everyone. I’m actually feeling great today. I feel human again.