Shoulder Pain

[hope2Bfitand40 37]

Hi All,

I am on day 7 post op, and I still have some pain in my left shoulder. I have read here that someone had a leak and the only symptom was shoulder pain.

My pain is not a constant pain; it happens most often when I burp, then it is a sharp pain in the middle of the front of my shoulder. Most of my other gas symptoms are gone, I don't have the rolling inside that I did yesterday and before.

I have taken my temperature daily, and there has been no fever. Should I be alarmed that this pain may be the only symptom of a leak?

Today I am starting to feel much more alive, I just don't want to miss a symptom.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

[Deb of Maryland 17]

Gas you get shoulder pain from gas. I had it for at leat 5 days after Pre op until I started taking gas x

[Dooter 1,457]

That shoulder pain is from the internal gas they pump in you during the surgery so they can operate easier. They try to get it all out, but they don't get every bit. It's not directly IN the stomach so, the only thing you can do is walk and walk and that helps it reabsorb into your body. It just takes a few days to go away sometimes. I think what you're having is the 'normal' shoulder pain. (There IS a shoulder pain indicative of a leak, but I seriously don't think this is it. I thought the same thing the first week. )

[hope2Bfitand40 37]

Thanks so much, Ladies. That is kind of what I figure...I don't want to go crazy over every ache and pain, but...

[Wheetsin 714]

Yes - your abdomen is filled with carbon dioxide to create a "cavity" to work in. The CO2 irritates the end of the phrenic nerve in your abdomen (near the diaphragm IIRC) and most likely causes a referred pain toward the other end near the shoulder (actually terminating on the sides of the neck, which is why you might also feel something similar to a "pinched nerve" along with the shoulder pain).

Gas-X is ingested and is not going to have any effect on surgical gas at all. It is completely ineffective outside of your intestinal tract. If it does seem to act on the surgical gas/pain, it is 100% a placebo effect.

Taking Gas-X for surgical gas pain is like putting a band-aid on your knee because your spleen is bleeding.