Bloated Abdomen!

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South Sound Sailor

It's now been 5 days since surgery date. My abdomen has been bloated all day long. Feels like I ate too many donuts. I've checked my weight but it's a cheap scale and I don't know how accurate the readings are. Scale shows I'm 145 and I'm usually around 140-143 so it's not really a weight gain issue. It is definitely an uncomfortable feeling and I'm having a hard time doing effective exercises on my lung capacity device. I am taking Lasix (20 mg 1 x daily ) and Potasium Chloride. I've checked a few older threads about fluid retention but none of them seemed to specifically address abdominal bloating. Any suggestions/thoughts/jokes? I will give a call to the Cardiac Care Unit I was just released from but thought I'd check here first as it does not seem to be a life-threatening problem.
 
It sounds like you are retaining water. Nancy's husband used to get this, a bloating specifically in the abdomen. The name of it escapes me for the moment. (Found it: ascites.) You should definitely contact the cardiac care unit. This may need help in getting it to go away.

Best wishes,
 
It could be fluid, I would definately call and ask, but Have you been able to have BM's since your surgery? I know Justin had a problem and had to take fiber at least when he was still taking pain meds. Your description reminds me of things he would say. I hope it is something simple and glad you are home, Lyn
 
I've been pretty irregular, meaning few BMs, for the past week. Actually, I had this bloated feeling at the hospital and the nurse gave me 2 cups of prune juice to drink. I can't say it completely eliminated the bloated feeling but she seemed more concerned about not being able to take a poop in contrast to my bloated abdomen. And the prune juice did kick my digestive system into gear temporarily. So... yes, maybe it's just a good old case of constipation but it just seems a bit different... I don't feel like I have a gut-full of food. Oh what a pleasant subject I've brought to vr.com.
 
South Sound Sailor said:
I've been pretty irregular, meaning few BMs, for the past week. Actually, I had this bloated feeling at the hospital and the nurse gave me 2 cups of prune juice to drink. I can't say it completely eliminated the bloated feeling but she seemed more concerned about not being able to take a poop in contrast to my bloated abdomen. And the prune juice did kick my digestive system into gear temporarily. So... yes, maybe it's just a good old case of constipation but it just seems a bit different... I don't feel like I have a gut-full of food. Oh what a pleasant subject I've brought to vr.com.
Click to expand...
Yeah well it's part of the recovery too, so it's not the first time it's been discussed. ;)
 
I've had diarrhea every day except today. Today, I have a gassy feeling. I just released some and feel a lot better.
 
Justin had 2 surgeries this summer 10 days apart. He was just getting regular after the first one, when he had the second surgery. They ended up giving him something glycol like metamucal because pain meds can also cause consipation.
 
You feel Bloated! I suggest consulting a doctor asap. That's how I felt when I went into CHF due to pericardial tamponade. I thought I was feeling "plugged up" due to the meds.....wrong! Turned out it was pericardial fluid. Don't leave it too long like I did.

My response to another thread....

I wasn't nauseous, but feeling flu-like. Kind of felt in a daze. Very lethargic with no energy. I just felt generally unwell. I also felt kind of bloated. I thought I was "plugged up" from the meds if you get my drift. I was still eating like a bird so bowel movements were few and far between.

Once I went to my GP it was determined I had almost no blood pressure. Also weight gain, but to tell you the truth I didn't notice that myself as I kept forgetting to weigh myself (an absolute no-no). That's when I was sent to the ER at the local hospital for further diagnosis.

There I had an echo and x-ray and they confirmed the fluid and CHF. They first attempted to drain with a HUGE needle. It looked like a turkey baster. I was wide wake (mild sedative only) and the experience was HORRIBLE....plus it didn't work. Not sure what to do next, they attempted steroid treatment while they tried to contact my Cardiologist. Naturally it was the weekend and he was out of town. They never thought to call my Surgeon in Toronto. I got much worse and now I was throwing up fluid and coughing like crazy (not quite as bad as the dreaded sneeze....but a close second). They finally called Dr. David in Toronto and I was immediately transported by ambulance to Toronto General and into the OR. I was put under and Dr. David performed the surgery himself. When I woke up, I was feeling much better, except for the two new incisions and being on the drain tube for another 3 days. That's when Dr. David gave me heck for not calling sooner as this could have easily been avoided with early treatment if caught in time. He also advised me that in some cases this could reoccur and if it did, DON'T let anyone treat me with steroids again. Apparently that made it worse not better. There was still some fluid at discharge so I had weekly x-rays for 4 weeks until it was gone.

Best wishes and good luck.
 
When my abdominal area was bloated. Three weeks post op. Put it on the back burner (our minds have a funny way of protecting us) ended up being a serious case of cardiac tamponade. I would get it checked out ASAP.

PS....and I read Wayne's post above. Yes, similar experience. Nothing to mess around with for sure!
 
From Wikipedia

From Wikipedia

Cardiac tamponade, also known as pericardial tamponade, is an emergency condition in which fluid accumulates in the pericardium (the sac in which the heart is enclosed). The blood significantly elevates the pressure on the heart, preventing the heart's ventricles from filling properly. This in turn leads to a low stroke volume. The end result is ineffective pumping of blood.

When in doubt, get it checked out.
 
Thanks

Thanks

I just called my surgeon and spoke with an off-hours nurse who is going to call the surgeon's PA. I appreciate the rapid response to my question. I'm not under in any kind of pain. I have what I'd call a very small "tire roll" around my abdomen so it's not like there's a huge distention of my belly. Also, I feel it less when I'm sitting, more aware of the bloat when I'm standing. But it's definitely bloated and I'm not getting a sense that it's constipation (though it would be lovely if that's all this problem amounts to). Will keep you posted on what happens next.
 
After my OHS the nurses were very specific about me having a daily BM and i was sent home with stool softeners. I still found that my stomach looked kind of swollen most of the time. Doc checked it and found nothing, then several months later it went away on its own.
 
You should go to the doctor and have them look at your stomach area and palpate it. They can tell by thumping on it if you are retaining fluid.

Ascites (fluid in the abdominal area) is not a good thing. It can back up into several organs there, liver, spleen and cause problems with your stomach and absorption of medications through the GI tract including Coumadin, if you take it.

It can also cause your diuretics to not work as well as they should for all of the above reasons.

Perhaps things are not too far afield and you can get some extra diruesis and that will take care of it.

Weight is one measure of fluid retention, and another way to check this out is with a girth measurement. You should do this each day if you are prone to ascites.

It is nothing to be ashamed of, most likely it is not the heavy meal you ate or the extra chocolate cake (unless they had lots of salt).

Try to limit your salt and sodium intake to help with this issue, if it is fluid.

And please see the doc. A good Internist can check this out too.
 
Thanks again guys

Thanks again guys

I just got off the phone with my surgeon's PA and I have an appointment to see him tomorrow morning. He was very confident that what I described to him was NOT cardiac tamponade (and I found out it's pronounced "tamp-oh-naud.")

He does want to take a look and I'm glad we were able to set something up tomorrow morning. One other thing I did not mention... I have an On-Q pain pump hooked up to me and have had it for 6 days now. The medicine is all gone and he's going to remove it. I asked if that could be causing a bloating problem and he said no but I know it's going to be a big relief to get that thing off my body. Thanks again for all the comments and I welcome any more thoughts about my distended abdomen.
 
It's amazing how a member here can have a post-op struggle with something and within minutes (sometimes hours) get advice/responses/personal experiences from around the globe!

No advice but hoping you'll be fine.

Thought of some advice: Get your rest and if you were given a spirometer and/or other exercises, don't neglect them. The first few post-op weeks, I found I had to make a little schedule or clock thing to get all of my meds in also.

Did I mention, get your rest?
 
Happy to hear it's most likely not the big "T". Will not elaborte any further. Keep us posted on your progress.

In light of the matter, to this day, I can't look at 'tampenade', which is a topping my daugter loves on crusty bread. Hey Mom....would you like some "tampenade", no thanks dear!:eek:
 
Steve,

Sorry to hear you are having issues so soon but glad to hear that you are on top of things and following up with your doctor right away~good for you! I am also extremely bloated and it is specifically in my abdomen region. I finally took a hydrochlorothiazide pill (diuretic) and lost 4 pounds in one night so that felt good! I am suffering with what is likey called postpercardotomy syndrome....lucky me! I am headed to the ER in the morning myself just to have some tests as I feel really bad the past few days. Hope you feel better soon Steve!
 
Steve

I had a similar experience at about 7 days post op. I was shocked when I weighed more when I got home than when I left for the hospital. Lost 8-10 lbs of water weight before my next checkup without any special meds, unless you count prunes :)

Best wishes...
 
Glad to hear your seeing the doc. Also glad he doesn't think it's pericardial tamponade. Whatever it is, I hope it's resolved soon. Best wishes and good luck .
 
final comment on this thread (hopefully)

final comment on this thread (hopefully)

Bloat seems to have resolved itself. I saw the surgeon's PA Sunday morning and he observed and thumped but I was already aware that the distension I descrbed on Saturday was gone. And I remembered that earlier on Saturday I had 2 small boxes of apple juice... that was dumb. That juice can really cause digestive problems for me (including pre-surgery).

Now I'm moving on to getting my INR/coumadin dose worked out... different story for a different thread. Thanks again guys for helping me work through the nervousness on Saturday night.

Steve
 
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