I have had pain in my upper abdomen under and below my ribs on the left side. Sometimes it is sharp, most of the time it feels tight. My Doctor said it's an internal stitch pulling and will go away. It is bugging me and makes it hard to exercise because of the feeling. Anyone else have this?

@@DebiDoo - Are you doing any exercise specifically other than walking? I'm not sure what your actual surgery date in June was but most doctors have specific exercise restrictions so you may want to consult those. And yes it is "just" your stitches pulling. That sharp pain could be them pulling through your tissue. If you don't want that to happen then you need to scale BACK your exercise until it heals a bit more.

I have seen several guidelines (yes they all say different things but that's a different thread) - some say not to lift anything more than 20 lbs for 6 weeks. Some say no swimming for 3-4 weeks.

Rule of thumb - if you are having SHARP pain STOP what you are doing and let yourself heal. This does not mean not to exercise, it just means to do a different kind of exercise (think something like walking or bicycling if that doesn't hurt your abdomen).

You should continue to call and/or visit your Dr. and if you are not getting quality care with them and are still having distressing pain then proceed to your nearest Emergency Department and get the care that you need. They will take care of you there but you may have to wait.

I am experiencing tightness around the same incision. When the physician assistant visited me before check out, she said that incision would be sore and tight feeling for several weeks because that is where they wrestled the stomach to be discarded through the muscle. She said they really work through the muscle there (which really brings to mind visuals of the surgeon wrestling the stomach like a deep sea fisherman)!

I had this as well and then I lifted something that was too heavy and ended up having a really bad sharp pain. I went to the surgeon's office so they could check it out and for me, it was not serious however, I had to take another 3 1/2 days off work so it would heal. I am now at 4 1/2 weeks and the pain is gone.

Hang in there, it will heal as long as you are not stressing it or irritating it.

Mine became very lumpy and could be felt under my skin when I payed down, my surgeon told me exactly the same thing and it went away after 3 weeks, it was under the bigger incision and the muscle was manipulated..........

That pain is terrible! Im a July 6th'er & still have the pain, the firSt 2 wks were heck!

I’m 5 weeks po and I moved the wrong way and got severe burning pain in area where he removed stomach. It’s really bad every time I stand up now. Is this the same thing? It will go away?

Speak to the doctor to see what he or she says