Could Be a Bad Day

I mentioned a little stomach trouble last night after dinner. I ate too much too fast and it made me nauseous. I was pretty sick for about five minutes and then I was okay. Problem solved.

Or so I thought.

I woke up with a mild stomach ache this morning. That lead me to the usual question, is there something wrong or am I just hungry? I can’t tell the difference. I had a bottle of water while I was jogging (pronounced yogging) in place this morning. I felt a little better for a little while but the mild stomach ache came back. I ate breakfast and felt a little better for a little while but the mild stomach ache came back. I… ummm… spent some quality time in the bathroom (TMI!!) and felt a little better but the mild stomach ache came back.

So I think we’ve answered the question, is there something wrong or am I just hungry. The last time I had a persistent, mild stomach ache in the morning it turned into a super stomach ache and all night nausea shortly after lunch.

Uh oh.

Well, if I am going to have another round of chaos like the last time, it’s better that it happens now than during the drive to Florida over the weekend, or during our week in Disney World, or during our drive home. Still better would be for whatever this is to go away. Yeah, that’s what I am rooting for today. Go away, you stupid stomach ache.

For now though, here’s a picture of the freshly filled bird feeders in the back yard. Miss Robin Sparkles the cat is already sitting on the window sill stalking any birds that come over for a snack.

264/365
264/365

Yesterday was the Worst Day

Yesterday was weird from the get go, stomach wise. I felt a little off, but not too bad.

Then I had lunch. I was off enough that I should have avoided lunch, or at least the normal lunch that I ended up having. I took my last bite, according to my food tracking spreadsheet, at 1:54pm. 10 minutes later it started. The “off” stomach turned into real stomach pain. I tried to ride it out, but by a little before 4:00pm I had left work sick.

The drive home was a nightmare. The stomach pain kept getting worse. I had to pull over once for a surprise foamies, then again for a foamie false alarm, then again to actually puke into a cup. It was a little paper coffee cup and my aim was spot on. I was impressed with myself.

When I finally got home I ran to the bathroom, puked again, cleaned up the mess, and went to bed. I’d sleep for 20-30 minutes then have to move to a new position. Always on my side curled up in a ball. If I straightened out the stomach pain was too much.

Fast forward to this morning. So far I’ve had a few ounces of water, the first anything I’ve had since 1:54 yesterday. It is 9:21am now and I am feeling okay. A little like a wrung out dishrag, but okay. I have a ton of errands to run this morning and I’ve already given way too much information so I am going to wrap this post up now. I might have more thoughts on this mess later. We’ll see.

The moral of the story is this: When I see my doctor in two weeks for my two year check in she is going to ask me if I have had any Dumping Syndrome. This time I think I have to answer yes. Shit.

Oh yeah, and today is the actual two year surgery anniversary so I am glad I got that crap out of the way yesterday so I can celebrate today. Yippee, babie! Happy Surgery-aversary to me!

Better

Well yesterday sure sucked, didn’t it?

Bad stomach pain, nausea, was it dumping syndrome? Maybe. I’ve felt like that twice before but the other times cleared up after 4-5 hours where yesterday took the whole day. At one point I said to my beloved bride that I had a feeling a good puke would do me well. A few hours later, around 8:00pm, I think, I did throw up a little and eventually I started to feel better. By the time we went to bed I was coming out of it.

It’s almost 8:00am now and I’ve already had more food and water than the entire day yesterday. I’m hoping to take it slow for now. I’m waiting out the hour after eating before having a drink. It’s a little tough as I’m still seriously dehydrated from yesterday. I’ll have it straightened out soon enough though.

My wife was under the weather yesterday too. We both rolled a snake eyes on our Fridays. She seems better now too. Here’s hoping we both keep improving. Wish us luck.

Sick

My gastric bypassed stomach is in full revolt today. There is so much pain.

It’s not the worst pain I’ve experienced but it has hung around the longest, by far.

I’m afraid to eat anything but I have to try. How about a little lemonade to start with?

Here we go…. Wish me luck…

Ouch

I woke up at 2:30am with a bad stomach ache. Not one of those killers that leave me in a fetal position on the cellar floor, but a normal you-ate-too-much stomach aches.

It’s 3:10am now and it’s starting to lighten up a little now. Here’s hoping I’ll get another 2+ hours of sleep tonight.

In summary though… ouch.

Goals

Despite the fact that I’ve spent the last 10 hours feeling seriously sick with stomach pain and gas and all sorts of badness, I still managed to hit my daily water goal (64 ounces) and my daily protein goal (80 grams) as well as closing all three activity rings (calories, exercise, and standing) on my AppleWatch.

I just hit the water goal a minute ago. I’m going to wait 30 minutes and see how I feel. There is a little part of me that wants to try to eat a little something before I sleep. I probably won’t, but let’s see how I feel in half an hour, yeah?

So Far, So Bad

Whatever was going on with my stomach as lunch time approached, it was definitely not pain caused by emptiness. I had lunch and the pain never went away. It’s been about four hours and it’s just as bad now as it was at its worst.

I knew something was wrong when I first woke up this morning, but it went really wrong about 12:30pm and it’s just hanging on for dear stomach-achy life. It’s made this afternoon very difficult. I can’t concentrate, I can’t focus. All I can think about is how my stomach hurts. What did I do wrong? Am I going to end up laying on the floor in a fetal position? That’s happened twice over the last 18 months and both times it was the middle of the night. I don’t think this is as bad as those times, but it sucks quite a lot.

As always though… if this is related to the gastric bypass that allowed me to lose over 200 pounds then it is totally and completely worth it. I will take this every once in a while over how I felt before the surgery every single day. I am definitely having a bad go of it right now, but it is still better than how it used to be. Amen and Huzzah and all that.

Now that I have made that clear… my effin’ stomach can go ahead and stop hurting now, thank you. Amen and Huzzah and all that.

So Far, So Good

I have made it to lunch time and nothing disastrous has happened yet. My feeling that today is going to be a bad day has not yet come true, but I still have half the work day to go. Fingers crossed that everything stays quiet.

I have been having a couple of issues. My stomach is not having a good day. The frequency of gastric bypass side effects does seem to be getting smaller with time, but today has been noteworthy. I was feeling a little off this morning while drinking water and doing my exercise. By the time I had my protein bar breakfast in the car on the way to work I was okay. Three hours later though I started having that empty-stomach-ache feeling. I had a small snack and felt better, but it only alleviated things for about an hour. Now the stomach ache is back, but I just started eating lunch so hopefully that will put an end to it.

The other issue I am having today is one that I hinted at in a post last night. I am completely exhausted. I got about 6.5 hours of sleep last night, which is a little less than I was hoping for. I still wear my Apple Watch to sleep to keep track of various sleep related data. One data point that seems really important to how rested I feel is called Sleeping Heart Rate Dip. The SleepWatch app says that a dip between 10% and 20% is average. Over 20% is excellent. Under 10% is not good. The last two nights I have been under 10%. I don’t know why. The app recommends exercise as a way to encourage your heart rate to dip more while you sleep, and I have exercised a lot the last couple of days. I’m not sure what to do about this, but I am so tired today that hopefully my body won’t have a choice but to have a good night’s sleep tonight. I guess we’ll see how things look in the morning.

Until then… fingers crossed that my sense of impending doom is not warranted. Here’s hoping!

How’s Your Back Feeling

How’s everyone’s back feeling today? Everyone out there in internets land feeling okay?

I woke up feeling okay today, after two days of feeling significantly less than okay. I’m not 100% by any stretch, but I am okay. I tried doing my morning exercise but it triggered the back pain again so I stopped. I am going to have to get it in a little at a time. Also, my desk chair in my office space was a little painful but I put a pillow between my back and the chair back and I’m fine now.

My stomach issues are much better as well, but still not 100%. I have been a little queasy this morning, but it hasn’t stopped me. I had my usual breakfast and I am half way to my liquids goal for the day. I’ve been taking it easy and going slow and while it hasn’t been back to normal, it’s been doable. I am planning to go to the post office at lunch time to drop off the film that I ordered developing for the other day so that is going to put off my next meal for a bit. I think I will be okay though.

Keeping my fingers crossed for no back or stomach back sliding today. Continue to feel better, Robert. You can do it!

The Struggle Continues

The issues from yesterday are still around today. My back is still in serious pain. Tylenol helps, but I’m seeing evidence that each dose wears off faster than the last. That’s not good.

The stomach is still an issue too, but is it really? I barely ate anything yesterday, and it’s been a smidge over 12 hours since the last time I had even the smallest bite of anything, and that was just a single piece of bread. When I woke up and my stomach was off, was it just because it was as empty as my little rewired, redesigned, butchered stomach can be?

I’ve had a little water this morning along with my morning vitamins and another dose of Tylenol. The 15 minute break between drinking and eating just ended. I am about to try eating a protein bar. Will I feel better afterwards? Will I feel worse? I haven’t a clue, but I’ll let you know when I know. Wish me luck, universe!