Post OP Pain

[Sugarskullcats5 2]

Had VSG yesterday & I am in so much pain it's not even funny. I lost 500 ccs of blood and have horrible back and stomach pain. It's not gas pain. What can I do besides pop another hydrocodone?

[Arabesque 6,494]

You’ve had a pretty major surgery so pain is to be expected but don’t just accept it & try to endure it. If you were prescribed them take them. Pain will hinder your recovery. I took opioids for 4 days. (I only took one that day so I would sleep that night but I don’t think I really needed it.)

In a few days the pain will be gone except for some twinges & some discomfort with certain movements or if you do too much which is easily managed if need be with over the counter (not NSAIDS) pain meds.

Edited December 16, 2022 by Arabesque

[Jeanniebug 472]

I'm sorry to hear that you're in so much pain! Try to remember that it's temporary. Maybe you can alternate your narcotics and tylenol..? That's what I did, while I was taking the narcotics.

[SpartanMaker 676]

18 hours ago, Sugarskullcats5 said:

It's not gas pain.

Actually I think it is gas pain, just not the kind you may be thinking of. It's not gas in your intestines, it's from the gas (most likely carbon dioxide, a.k.a. CO2), that they pump into your abdominal space during surgery. This puts pressure on everything inside that space, and can irritate things like the peritoneum (the lining over the abdominal organs). That said, I think for most people, the worst pain is the pain they feel in the lower chest, or even up into the shoulder. This is again caused by the surgery gas putting pressure put on the diaphragm, which irritates the phrenic nerve.

Eventually this gas will be reabsorbed back into your tissues, then into your bloodstream, and will eventually be processed out by your lungs. In short, you'll actually breathe it out. For most people this can take up to a week or so, but it should be getting better every day.

In the interim, 2 things seem to help most people:

1. Walking. This helps move things around, especially the CO2 that may have settled under your diaphragm, but keep in mind that when you walk, you are also turning over more oxygen & CO2, which speeds up the process of removing the CO2 from your blood. Most recommendations are you walk at least 15-20 minutes every 2 hours, but more is better.
2. Hot pads. This can help as well, and it works for many of the same reasons walking does. You are dilating blood vessels which helps your body process the extra CO2 and pull in more oxygen.

You may also be feeling some incisional pain, but for most people this is more minor in nature.

I will close by mentioning that if it's NOT getting better every day, contact your team ASAP. There is a possibility something else is going on with you and they will be in the best position to advise you.

Best of luck.

[KymmieDS 3]

46 minutes ago, SpartanMaker said:

Actually I think it is gas pain, just not the kind you may be thinking of. It's not gas in your intestines, it's from the gas (most likely carbon dioxide, a.k.a. CO2), that they pump into your abdominal space during surgery. This puts pressure on everything inside that space, and can irritate things like the peritoneum (the lining over the abdominal organs). That said, I think for most people, the worst pain is the pain they feel in the lower chest, or even up into the shoulder. This is again caused by the surgery gas putting pressure put on the diaphragm, which irritates the phrenic nerve.

Eventually this gas will be reabsorbed back into your tissues, then into your bloodstream, and will eventually be processed out by your lungs. In short, you'll actually breathe it out. For most people this can take up to a week or so, but it should be getting better every day.

In the interim, 2 things seem to help most people:

1. Walking. This helps move things around, especially the CO2 that may have settled under your diaphragm, but keep in mind that when you walk, you are also turning over more oxygen & CO2, which speeds up the process of removing the CO2 from your blood. Most recommendations are you walk at least 15-20 minutes every 2 hours, but more is better.
2. Hot pads. This can help as well, and it works for many of the same reasons walking does. You are dilating blood vessels which helps your body process the extra CO2 and pull in more oxygen.

You may also be feeling some incisional pain, but for most people this is more minor in nature.

I will close by mentioning that if it's NOT getting better every day, contact your team ASAP. There is a possibility something else is going on with you and they will be in the best position to advise you.

Best of luck.

Thank you for explaining this so well. I’m going through a lot of pain as well. I had lap DS surgery yesterday.