*I posted this in another area, but it didn't get much response, so I moved it here.*

All,

I just need a bit of clarification. When speaking of gas pain, do you mean gastrointestinal pain--stomach cramps, bloated feeling, etc...

OR

pain from the gas used during the procedure?

OR

Both?

And does the gas used during the procedure cause the shoulder pain I've read so much about?

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For me it was both. Right after surgery, same day, I felt very bloated and there was lots of rumbling going on in my stomach. Shoulder pain arrived soon after. As I understood it, the gas from surgery hangs around in your body and is absorbed by the tissues. It needs to exit the body sooner or later and for some people it is a slow... painful process. The pain in the shoulder can come and go without warning. You just have to try and do whatever you can to pass it such as use a heating pad, walk, lay on your sides, and walk some more.

Once I started the full liquid stage, it seemed anything I put in my body built more gas. For instance, Protein drinks were the worst. I could feel the building and rumbling within minutes of drinking it. It does get better with time but I am 4 weeks out and still have a problem with gas in the stomach, sometimes I wonder if I will ever stop passing it. The shoulder pain still shows up once in awhile too although it is for much shorter periods of time. Hope this helps answer your question.

Hi Chim, I did have shoulder pain from the gas used during surgery, then sometimes later I would have an air bubble locked in my stomach like I had swallowed air, and in certain positions, it would bellow out, sometimes embarrassing me. Occasionally I would feel bloated from the foods I would eat but, that has pretty much subsided over time and now my digestion is regular and healthy, no bloating and I feel great. I think it just takes adjusting to the new eating and also, as I lost weight I could feel my insides kind of aligning themselves and not really ball up as much. Hope this helps!

Everything said also happened to me.I still have gas and unfortunately it comes out both ends unexpected at any time, just not at often. It's really embarrasing.