I am having extreme gas pain. How long does it last and is there anything I can do to minimize it other than walking.

Nothing other than walking. It can last a few days to a week or so. Mine lasted about 5 days. Pain killers do nothing. Just walk it out and it will get better. If the pain becomes unbearable then i suggest calling your surgeon and see what they say

Some people say that Gas ex helps but most of the doctors say walk walk walk

Walk, walk, walk. You can also march on the spot, lift & lower your arms, do some deep breathing & heat pads can help.

The gas, which is in your abdominal cavity, tends to rise & gets trapped under your diaphragm pressing on your phrenic nerve which causes the pain. It can take up to a week for the gas to be absorbed into your blood stream & then breathed out. (It doesn’t escape your body by farting or burping as many presume.)

Depending on where the gas pain is, if it's traveling upwards, sometimes a warm/hot shower (if you can blast it with the shower that can help, or a heating pad if it's in an an area that the shower can't reach) can offer short term relief. It just takes time.

I think I have gas or constipation. I don't think this is what you are talking about. I am 2.5weeks out and just started eating pureed food. It's starting to hurt in my lower abdomen and I haven't pooped in a few days but the nurse I talked to said that if I pass gas there is nothing to worry about. I am passing gas but not a lot. I was thinking of going to urgent care tomorrow.

Any thoughts?

Scared but excited.

7 hours ago, MyDogsLoveMe said:

I think I have gas or constipation. I don't think this is what you are talking about. I am 2.5weeks out and just started eating pureed food. It's starting to hurt in my lower abdomen and I haven't pooped in a few days but the nurse I talked to said that if I pass gas there is nothing to worry about. I am passing gas but not a lot. I was thinking of going to urgent care tomorrow.

Any thoughts?

Scared but excited.

I never heard the rule about gas passing or not. Are you taking any stool softeners and have you tried anything to help you go? Do you feel like your bowels are full? I was on stool softeners from day one post op but like many people I still got constipated. I took milk of magnesia (just one dose) and that did the trick. I can’t remember exactly how many days they said to go before I took the milk of magnesia (sorry). Check your paperwork it should like your teams preference for medications to take and how many days to go before taking something for this issue. In terms of going to urgent care or not is up to you. To me if I have something going on it’s worth a few bucks for the peace of mind cause I get pretty bad anxiety but that’s up to you. You may get a more helpful response by calling your team though.

Edited October 30, 20223 yr by ShoppGirl

I never heard the rule about gas passing or not. Are you taking any stool softeners and have you tried anything to help you go? Do you feel like your bowels are full? I was on stool softeners from day one post op but like many people I still got constipated. I took milk of magnesia (just one dose) and that did the trick. I can’t remember exactly how many days they said to go before I took the milk of magnesia (sorry). Check your paperwork it should like your teams preference for medications to take and how many days to go before taking something for this issue. In terms of going to urgent care or not is up to you. To me if I have something going on it’s worth a few bucks for the peace of mind cause I get pretty bad anxiety but that’s up to you. You may get a more helpful response by calling your team though.

Thank you. I took benefiber and pooped! I have never been so happy to poop in all my life.

This makes me sound a little crazy. Lol

What stool softeners have you taken? I dont think benefiber has a softener.



Scared but excited.

5 minutes ago, MyDogsLoveMe said:

Thank you. I took benefiber and pooped! I have never been so happy to poop in all my life.

This makes me sound a little crazy. Lol

What stool softeners have you taken? I dont think benefiber has a softener.



Scared but excited.

Trust me, i never had constipation before surgery so I never realized I would talk about my bowels so much or be so happy to have one. It’s a happy day when things get moving again. The stool softener was colace but I only needed it immediately post surgery. After I had a bowel movement I stopped taking it. But you may need it longer if still on pain meds. I took the benefiber daily for a while to keep ahead of the constipation. Walmart has a generic that is a powder and much cheaper. I just mixed in a spoonful to a glass of crystal light in the morning and I didn’t have any issues from there on. Some people still do and need something stronger daily but you could start with that and see how it works for you since you have it already and know you tolerate it okay. Once I got closer to a normal serving of things I weaned myself off of the benefiber and I don’t need anything now.

My gas pain lasted 5 days it was horrible. But hold on there it will pass. Just try walking and drinking as much fluids as you can!