Swollen like sausage casing 48 hours post op

While I am grateful to be home, I can't believe how much fluid they packed into me!  Has anyone else had this experience and have a suggestion what to do?  I have been sipping water per my doctor's instructions and walking, but if anyone has other ideas short of Lasix, I would love to hear!

It is not just the fluid. They also fill your stomach cavity with gas in order to have room to work. The only thing  that will relieve the gas is walking. Keep sipping and keep walking as much as you come. This is only temporary.

Welcome to the Loser's Bench.

Are you swollen all over, or mainly lower extremities? If it's mainly lower extremities, you can elevate your feet with a pillow while sitting or lying. Mine took a week plus to resolve.

My abdomen was really swollen ( I looked pregnant).  At the end of day 3, it all went down. It seems to be pretty normal

I was so swollen after surgery that the baggy sweat pants I wore into the hospital were almost too tight. It takes 5 or 6 days for the swelling to go down and the air to be absorbed and released from your body. 

Seems normal. I was swollen for 4-5 days after surgery. They pump you up with tons of  gas so they have room to work while they are doing what they're doing. Keep sipping water and walking, walking and sipping. If your legs are swollen too put them up

Thanks for your replies!  I don't mind the abdomen as much as my arms, hands, feet and legs. Someone just told me it's called "3rd spacing". Now I'm trying to figure out what that means. 

Welcome to normal :)

I hadn't heard of third spacing, either, so I looked it up.  (Google is our friend.)

"The third space is space in the body where fluid does not normally collect in larger amounts,^[5][6] or where any significant fluid collection is physiologically nonfunctional.^[7] Major examples of third spaces include the peritoneal cavity and pleural cavity. Still, small amount of fluid does exist normally in such spaces, and function for example as lubricant in the case of pleural fluid. Also, the lumen of the gastrointestinal tract is often classified as belonging to the third space, although it has substantial fluid content physiologically. In this classification system, the first and second space generally refer to the intravascular space (within vessels) and the extravascular space (the interstitial and intracellular spaces), respectively."

Welcome home and welcome to the great adventure.

Marilyn (aka mmm)

I was 19 pounds heavier when I left the hospital than when I went in and it felt like it was all water. I just kept sipping and trying to move. After about the 4th day, it started to ease up.

Thanks everyone!  I can report that the swelling has started to go down in my hands and feet, so I guess it was just a matter of time!  I've never been very good at being patient (or at being a patient!) so I'm glad to be over another hurdle and on to more of the great adventure!