Hi, I'm new to this forum. I am one week out from gastric sleeve surgery. During the first 4 days, I had terrible shoulder pain. My surgeon said it happens to some patients and is due to air left in the stomach after surgery. Currently, the pain comes back periodically.

I have a fear of intaking too many ounces per hour. At my post-op discharge, I was told to try to get 4 ounces in per hour. On day 5 I was able to finish 4 oz in 30-45 minutes. My fear is that I will jeopardize the integrity of the stomach sutures.

Has anybody else experienced these issues?

Yes the shoulder pain is from the surgical gas which is pumped into your abdominal cavity. It rises & settles behind your lungs putting pressure on nerves & causing shoulder pain. It takes about a week +/- to be fully absorbed into your lungs & breathed out.

Best advice is always follow your plan. It is in place to protect your healing tummy & support your recovery. I always say: all because you can doesn’t mean you should. It’s not a race. There isn’t a prize for doing more or doing it sooner. You’ll be okay but don’t push your luck by continuing to do more than what is recommended - even though you may get frustrated.

Water stays in your stomach 10-20 min. I was told to sip slowly and it may take 10 min to drink an ounce at first, and to try to work up until I get 64oz per day, no chugging, and no drinking 30 min before or after a "meal". Fairly loose guideline. I am blessed that I don't have a hard time eating or drinking (yet) and I have a hard time drinking that slow. I am not trying to challenge myself to see how much I can drink before it hurts, so I usually limit myself to 4oz per 30 minutes because that turns out to be evenly spacing my 64 oz out between meals. When I fall behind it's because I'm absorbed in a work project and will sometimes sip 4oz and pause 10 minutes, then sip another 4 oz. Seems to work for me.