This is How I Relax on Lazy Sundays

Gastroparesis will definitely create havoc in your life. I used to lay in bed and ….. just take it. I’d feel the excruciating pain. The nausea creep up my throat as a warning while my mouth with start overproducing saliva in a Niagra like fashion. With GP, throwing up feels like a way of life.

For several years I could only lay on my left side while sleeping. My hips would hurt. My shoulder gave up. What a mess! It truly does effect your whole darn body.

Between getting up and hopping in the tub in the middle of the night, to pacing the floors, we all do what we have to do to survive.

I learned early on, once the throw-up session was over. Once the dry heaving started to subside…going for a drive made a world of difference.

Now I can feel the eyes rolling as you read this, but hear me out.

Step 1: Go for a Drive and Roll down those windows

–>You’ve just been hurling your guts out, so no need to worry about your hair. Throw a bandana or a beanie on, and hit the road. When that blast of air hits you in the face, you will be physically forced to focus on something other than “the sickness” raging through your body.

Will this distraction last forever? Nope. It’s only a temporary lapse in symptoms – but a darn good one when your belly feels like it’s flipped upside down. I hop in my car and run down the road – a ways and back – trying to get my mind off my belly. *Disclaimer: DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU FEEL YOU’RE NOT HEALTHY ENOUGH TO DRIVE. WE GOTTA BE SMART FOLKS.

STEP 2: Did I mention music?

It’s a true thing…music can change your state. Sometimes I listen to oldies, other times classical. My main goto’s are country and 80’s. At this point, when I hop in my car on a lazy Sunday my #1 goal is to get my mind of my disease. I need a break from it. And although in the beginning breaks are few and far between, you gotta focus on the mini-micro breaks that happen. Those moments when it’s been a couple minutes – and you haven’t thought about how awful you feel. That is what lazy Sundays are all about when you live with gastroparesis.

STEP 3: HOP IN THE TUB

Take an extra couple steps while you’re getting the tub ready, light a candle. Find some good smelling bath salts and hop in the tub with a magazine or video on your phone you’ve been looking forward to….not because you have to – but because it’s delicious and luxurious. Often we use the tub as a salvation to take our minds off our sickness. Early on…I would get in a super hot tub, and put ice on my head, followed by a fan blowing on me from the bathroom counter. And oh yes…the puke bowl sitting next to the tub, a girl has to be prepared…I was doing anything and everything in my power to survive the moment. There was nothing luxurious about any of that. Now I try to treat myself when the moment feels right on a lazy Sunday.

Step 4: Is there a favorite beverage your belly can handle?

Treat yourself on a lazy Sunday. Many people with GP can’t drink liquids effectively. Others have no problem at all. I have found I need to drink small sips, slowly. Also, ice water is a “no no” for me. Room temperature or warm drinks are the ticket. Find something that you can look forward too, make it special just on Sundays, or whatever your special day of the week is. I like Thai Iced Tea with Coconut milk. I just leave mine rather room temperate and …holy cow…drinking Thai Iced Tea makes me feel rather normal.

What does a lazy Sunday look like for you?

Remember, it’s not what you do next week that matters. It’s what you do in the next hour that can change your life.

-WipGirl