Just started yesterday- whenever I try to take a deep breath it feels like I can't, there's pressure at the top of my stomach, I think this is gas but will call the Dr's Office when they open, has anyone had this problem? Sometimes when I am lying flat there is no pain but when sitting it can be pretty bad.

Hi Seppi,

One of the muscles that gets affected by this surgery is the diaphragm. I'm not 100% sure what the mechanism is, but lots of people report difficulty taking a deep breath during the healing phase. I know I felt it too, but it passes with time and is very likely normal post-surgery discomfort.

Seppi - they asked me to do deep breathing a lot after my surgery. When it feels tight like that keep doing deep breaths to help get it loose (and keep it loose). Try doing ten breaths as deep as you can go. You'll find that each breath you can get a bit more air in.

This feeling does go away.

I remember it hurting a bit to take a big breath. I would lie down and breathe just as deeply as I could stand it just to "exercise" that out and be sure I was using my lungs to the very bottom. I did this at least nightly for the first few weeks.

Thanks, I will try the deep breathing exercises.