severe muscle pain at surgical site!

[mrsbailey921 117]

hi everyone. i was sleeved on nov. 17th and everything is going stellar--i'm 20 pounds down! but yesterday i woke up with SERIOUS pain on the surgical site where my stomach tissue was removed. the muscles are killing me (ok not literally but the pain is something fierce)--they feel strained and very tender to the touch. i can't move or walk easily and i am really forced to lay down if i don't want to experience pain.

there is no bleeding, weeping, redness. the area LOOKS pretty great, but there is slight swelling. this pain is really bad. i am thinking i may have overexerted myself this weekend. i am not picking up anything heavy but i can tell i am healing slowly because as a mom, i cannot sit down all day long.

has anyone else had this pain in the surgical sites before? i am hoping i didn't really damage the muscles, which were of course cut into during surgery. help!

[tracywag 27]

I was sleeved 11/14 and am going through about the same thing. 9-10 days out I started have serious muscle pain, like post c-section pain. Laying on my side with a heating pad helps, and I started taking the pain killers again at my doctor's suggestion. We just need to rest and heal.

[Thenewnic 139]

Exact same pain here!! Talked to surgeons office this morning and they said part of the healing process and normal. Mine hurts especially in the morning. ????

[robga999 129]

they do have to cut thru muscle to get to your stomach so the pain will be there fo a coupe weeks.everyday it feels better.

[Miss Mac 6,261]

Mine hurt there off and on for about a month.

[JCP 619]

Mine was due to a pulled internal stitch that the surgeon used to close the abdominal wall. It was pretty bad. But then one day it was much subsided out of the blue. Not all surgeons use these stitches. Please let your surgeon know this is going on. I had to get my pain meds refilled because of it.

[BitterSweet* 835]

I hope you start feeling better soon. Please let us know how you feel tomorrow.

Heat is helpful when there is muscle soreness or pain unrelated to surgery (like menstrual cramps or a back ache). Applying heat to surgical sites is never a good idea as it causes vasodilation (increased blood flow) to stitched incisions and can cause bleeding. The heat may feel good, but it's not something we advise patients to do. Ice will help with pain, swelling, and inflamation.

[tnl1031 52]

I had a similar problem. It was due to an internal stitch. The pain lasted, off and on, for about 4 or 5 days.

[mrsbailey921 117]

Hi everyone, thanks for the input. I had no idea about the heat and bleeding being as bad idea and I applied a heating pad to my entire left side, just along the muscles but not on the exact site and I feel so much better today, like the muscles gave a bit and are allowing me to move. It's just where the stomach was removed from my body that hurts, every other place is fine. Still a lot of pain but nowhere near unbearable like before. At this stage should I not use heat, is bleeding still a risk so far out? I don't see anything abnormal looking about the site and yes, the heat feels amazing on it. I don't believe I had stitches and my incisions, which are very small, are now scabbed over and peeling.

Edited December 3, 2014 by mrsbailey921

[mrsbailey921 117]

I also am so happy I'm not alone. The pain I experienced a day ago was worse than after surgery!

[BitterSweet* 835]

Hey, I'm sure you are fine. The heat does feel good and I've noticed that many people on this forum do the same thing and nothing untoward has happened to them, so I'm sure you are and will be fine too.

From a medical perspective, the only two surgeries I'm aware of that heat is needed and encouraged are: tram flaps (abdominal muscle transfer to recreate breasts following a mastectomy); and fasciotomies. For everything else, ice is encouraged to minimize pain, swelling, and inflammation at surgical sites.

I'm really happy that you feel so much better today. Keep pushing! Better days await you!