I am four days post op and I have tightness around my port incision and in my chest is this normal? I am also stopped up haven't had a b.m. since the night before surgery. If anyone can offer insight it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I am four days post op and I have tightness around my port incision and in my chest is this normal? I am also stopped up haven't had a b.m. since the night before surgery. If anyone can offer insight it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Being stopped up is quiet normal after surgery. If your surgeon doesn't have anything they specifically recommend, you can take a stool softener like colace. It is fairly gentle and should get things going in a couple of days. I also experienced the tightness you are talking about, but anytime you have tightness in your chest you should call the surgeon's office and let them know and see what they suggest.

hey, i am only 10 days post op and i still have port site soreness but until day 7 my chest ws getting tight my dr. told me it was air trying to release it self. he also made us get milk of magnesia pre op to have on hand for the constipation, which happens a) because the pain meds bind u and :redface: u havent eaten but he wanted us to take 3 days after surgery if we didnt have a b.m.. trust me it will get better just gont push urself. Oh, and try gasx strips 2 at time see if that helps ur chest i got them at the end and it seemed to help. Good luck, Tiffany

Hi. I can't comment on the port pain but I can about the constipation. Yes, take the advise from Crzytchr and get some Colace. DON'T WAIT - get some NOW!!! My surgery was on a Wed. and by Sat. afternoon I was so constipated I was in tears - literally! I really thought I was going to have to go to the hospital or something. I took some MIRALAX - what a mistake!!! According to my nurse, if you're not getting enough liquids in your system, the fiber products just tend to get hard as a rock in your bowels and that just makes everything worse. Once you get to the point that you can have pureed products you will probably still be a little constipated. Try a little bit of pureed prunes to keep things regular. Once I got to regular foods, I made sure that I either have a few prunes every day (they really are very delicious) or I eat an apple. They both do wonders!