Question about Gas

I've read many posts about this horrible gas you get after surgery. Maybe I'm just stupid, but it seems to me that if the majority of patients either have had an enema or a bowel prep in addition to not eating or drinking before surgery, then where does all this gas come from? It seems to me there wouldn't be anything left in the digestive system to cause any gas.

Hi. I had my surgery on a Fri afternoon and was on liquids for about 36 hours. Then on Sun morning I had semi-liquid diet, but then went back to all liquid. Then on Mon morning (since I passed gas Sun night) I could have anything I wanted to eat.

Once I went home it took awhile for my appetite to return, but what I was eating did get my digestive system going and the gas. The gas pains for about a week were pretty strong. I didn't know they could get that strong. But once my system settled down, and I watched what kinds of foods I ate for a while, it all returned to normal.

Just be careful what you eat once you resume eating solid foods. Stay away from "binding" foods. I ate a salad one night and that was a mistake.

Take care.

Gas comes from swallowed air, gas made by the digestive juices and flora in your intestines (even when there's nothing there) and sometimes by the absorption of the gasses pumped into the abdomen during surgery.

It seems silly that something so simple could be such a big deal, but after your intestines are manhandled during abdominal surgery, it really hurts to have gas moving through your bowels, though it's always a good sign to have bowel sounds quickly right after surgery.

Definitely be aware of it as it comes upon you after surgery and take gas tablets if they offer them. I've never had much trouble with gas but found it much more painful than anything else to do with the recovery process.

Drinking lots of water and getting back to a high fiber diet as quickly as possible really seems to help alleviate the gas pains and painful bowel movements.

Take care.

Anytime you open the abdominal cavity or have something done laparoscopically (which fills the abdomen with O2), you're going to have gas. Your best resolve for gas is to get up and move around. Also, no straws, carbonated beverages or chewing gum.

It's one thing, as an RN, to tell your patients these things. It's another thing to actually experience it. I just hope, hope, hope that I am able to urinate and pass gas quickly so that I can go home quickly. My children hate the idea of my spending more than one night in the hospital. I'm not to keen on the thought, either. I think I have concerns about that more than I have about pain. (

Michelle M.

Yes, apparently we do swallow a lot of air during surgery. For the first couple of days, I couldn't seem to open my mouth without burping! Also, I was told that drinking cold drinks could cause gas pains. The nurses would bring me juice and suggested I let it get to room temperature before drinking.

HI!
I'll be 5 weeks post-op tomorrow and gas pains have definitely been a part of the recovery process. I didn't have to do any bowel prep but was very careful with what I ate the day prior to surgery - kept it very light!
As others have mentioned, being open for surgery & having your "insides" moved around contributes to the discomfort as well as narcotic pain meds which can cause constipation. Two days post-op was most difficult for me and I willingly took the prescribed Senekot and suppository to get things moving.
Drink lots of water - move around as much as possible - walk, walk, walk!
Blessings to you!
AMF