Something really weird about not having a stomach is the acid reflex that you have because you no longer have a way for food to break down. A lot of the times when I finish eating I get hiccups, and if I eat too much food at once I end up throwing it up because it quite literally has nowhere to go. But this post is specifically about a problem I ran into two nights ago. I was woken up really suddenly in the middle of the night because I was choking on my vomit. (This post will be blunt and talks about throw up so if that bothers you then you probably won't want to continue reading).
I was woken up and it felt like stomach acid was stuck in my throat because it burned really bad, it took me a minute to realize that isn't possible because I don't have a stomach. I was coughing in the bathroom trying to be quiet because my husband was in the bed sleeping, and at the time I didn't wake him up because I honestly didn't realize what was happening. I was being really practical, I thought I had caught a cold or strep in the few hours I had been asleep. But I also don't have tonsils... So I was really confused about what was happening with my body. When I told my mom what happened she instantly responded with "you threw up in your sleep". My mom also doesn't have a stomach, she got hers removed four years ago, and she sounded pretty certain about what happened based on the symptoms I described to her. I also remember in the hospital multiple doctors had warned me that this could happen, but up until two nights ago I never had a problem so I kind of forgot about their warnings.
I eventually laid back down, my throat still burning, and went back to sleep. When I woke up in the morning I felt completely fine. Now let's jump to last night, I made sure to sleep on my side because I was terrified that I was going to wake up again choking on my vomit. I actually had issues falling asleep last night because I was so freaked out about what happened the night before. Like I said, it has been three months since I had the surgery, and I never have had any issues with getting sick in my sleep. So I'm sleeping, and even when I was laying on my side I was having terrible acid reflex and I ended up waking up multiple times because I have a strange burning sensation in my throat. The only correlation between the past two nights is that I have drank sleepytime tea before bed, I can assure you that tonight I will not be drinking that sleepytime tea. If you don't have a stomach be mindful on what you are putting in your body before you go to bed, it can literally cause you to throw up in your sleep.
Refer to the picture and say hello to my new best friend, my wedge. I will have to sleep with a wedge pillow every night for THE REST OF MY LIFE. This is not an exaggeration, this is a fact. I have to sleep at an elevation so gravity doesn't allow anything to come back up while I'm passed out. Two nights ago my husband said I shimmied my way down the wedge and was sleeping solely on my pillow. But last night I made sure I was laying on the wedge, I think subconsciously I woke myself up just to make sure I was still on that wedge. But even with the wedge I still had the acid reflex last night, it wasn't nearly as bad as the night before, but it was enough to cause discomfort.
If anyone knows me they know how much I LOVE to sleep. I wake up and look forward to bedtime. Not because I'm depressed but because I have a deep love for sleeping, I always have. I go to bed early because I enjoy doing so. It really sucks that last night I was so scared to fall asleep that I was up until almost 11pm (which is super late for me). It really sucks that I have to sleep at an awkward elevation because my body will uncontrollably vomit in my sleep and cause me to wake up frantic and in pain. It sucks that I have to be mindful of what I consume before I go to bed. It sucks that I probably can't drink nightime tea, because I really love chamomile tea. It sucks that I can't sleep like a normal person. I am someone that really appreciates sleep, but I think I should have appreciated it just a little more because from now on sleep won't be normal. It can actually be dangerous. When you go to sleep tonight be thankful that you can eat or drink whatever you want right before bed. Also, be thankful that you don't have to sleep on a huge triangle pillow that really is as uncomfortable as it looks.
Sleeping on a wedge sucks, my face in the picture says it all.
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