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Terrible shoulder pain



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Just banded on Feb 20th and surgery went great. Now I'm home and I can't seem to get rid of the gas pain in my shoulders (if thats what it is). I have walked every day. Has anyone else had shoulder pain this long? It feels life someone sitting on my chest. It hurts to take deep breaths.

Bingo-b

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That pain is something that most of us had post-surgery. People try different things for it, with varying results, with walking being the most recommended. Something that worked for me was getting down on my hands and knees then lowering my head and shoulders to the floor. This seemed to let the gas move from my shoulder area, at least for a while.

And yes, I had the pains even into the 2nd week after my surgery. So just hang in there - this too will pass! :smile:

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Yeah, I think the gas pain the shoulder is the worst part of the whole process.

Some people say Gas-X is the answer, but for me it didn't seem to help much. Walking, on the other hand made a world of difference. I was suprised how little I needed to walk to feel better. I could walk from my bedroom to my car and the gas pain would go away, and stay away for nearly an hour.

Another thing that really helped me is to sleep in a recliner.

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Just like you, I had terrible shoulder pain. It felt like a knife slicing me through my shoulders. I discovered that stress intensified the problem. Four days after surgery, my husband returned to work and it was up to me to get my kids to their sporting events. It was very stressful to get them all to different places, sometimes in different cities on time and the pain flared up. It was so bad at one point that I had to pull over on the freeway because I thought I was going to die. Nothing I did stopped the agony. I remember just bawling in the car with my kids looking on like I was a crazy woman.

The pain eventually subsided but for me it took nearly three weeks although it became more infrequent and shorter in duration. Still now, 6 weeks after surgery, I will sometimes get a pang of shoulder pain here and there.

Gas-X didn't help me...nor did walking (I was walking 3 miles a day by the 5th day post-op) The only thing that gave me relief was to lie on the shoulder that was in pain. That sometimes shifted the the gas bubble but not always. Good luck, my heart goes out to you...I feel your pain.

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Yep....sounds pretty normal. I had that too. My best approach and what worked for me was breathing exercises. Take a very deep breathe, then let it out slowly. Do this a few times. It should help.

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Just banded on Feb 20th and surgery went great. Now I'm home and I can't seem to get rid of the gas pain in my shoulders (if thats what it is). I have walked every day. Has anyone else had shoulder pain this long? It feels life someone sitting on my chest. It hurts to take deep breaths.

Bingo-b

Like everyone says walking is going to be the best thing to help it. I don't know why but it does help. Also my pharmacist showed me chewable Gas-X tablets and I chew the CRAP outta them. I take one every like 3-4 hours and they help a lot.

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
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      1. summerseeker

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        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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