what's with the shoulder pain?

[kurby 0]

I've been reading a lot of posts where people are talking about gas pain which i totally understand but why do so many have shoulder pain?

what happens during surgery that your shoulder is sore?

[sslouha 3]

I've been reading a lot of posts where people are talking about gas pain which i totally understand but why do so many have shoulder pain?

what happens during surgery that your shoulder is sore?

Hi Kurby:

The gas pain is from the air they put in your belly to be able to get to your stomach to place the lapband. If you have a lot of pain try a heating pad that should work.

[kurby 0]

no i don't have any pain - i'm not getting banded until August 12th

i just can't figure out why so many people post banding have shoulder pain.

[Bandmom 0]

They pump the air in your belly and for some reason it hurts yoru shoulders as it works its way out. Your shoulder is fine, nothing has happened to it, just that is where you feel the pressure and pain as the air works out of your system!

Breath deep, it helped me.....

[kurby 0]

oh that's interesting.

i thought the dr would have removed as much of the gas as he could so ppl aren't in discomfort

guess you can't remove it all

[JMinDallas 1]

The shoulder pain is more than likely from the anesthesia. I haven't had this surgery before, but did have a D&C. I had horrible shoulder and neck pain, like I'd been in a car accident.

A few months later I had to have a different surgery, and mentioned the pain to the anesthesiologist and he said it was the anesthesia. Because the procedure is so short, they have to give you a certain kind that causes some people to have shoulder and neck pain from it.

[icequeen813 3]

The shoulder pain is from the co2 that is introduced into the abdomen,so that your organs can be visualized. The way this gas is expelled is through belching,passing gas,& escaping under the diapragm which causes left shoulder pain or discomfort. This usually goes away in 3-5 days.

[Bandmom 0]

I have had several surgeries, and the only time I have had this issue is with stomach surgeries (Hysterectomy, lap band) when I had my other surgeries on different areas of my body (hand, leg) I never had this problem. The doctor warned me that this would be a problem from the gas, and all the pamphlets you get to read talk about it.

I really do not think it is the anesthesia.

[icequeen813 3]

It is not the anesthesia,it is from gas introduced into abdomen with laparacopic surgeries esp. lapband,lap cholecystectomies,lap appys. I am a nurse working surgical unit& banded on 4/22. I experienced the shoulder pain post-op for approx. 5 days. It is very common with the laparascopic approach to abdomen surgery

[kurby 0]

wow - good to know

thanks all for the info.

is there anything that helps easy the pain? heating pads, walking streatching?

do these work or are you pretty much stuck with it for a week

[icequeen813 3]

Kirby, Walk,walk.walk! Make yourself get up & walk.You'll also have little or no Constipation issues.

[peacock774 0]

I had the surgery 2 days ago and woke up in recovery with the worst shoulder pain ever. I have had other surgeries including hysterectomy, but none were as painful as this. I asked to be seated in a chair and almost immediately the pain lessened. I have been moving around as much as I can and it seems to help. Good Luck.

[Nean4488 1]

My shoulder pain wasnt from the gas, it was from getting my hital herina fixed. This last more then just one week *im almost 3 weeks post op* and I come home from work in major pain! Its just something that I havent gotten use it.

[rarndt 0]

I've been reading a lot of posts where people are talking about gas pain which i totally understand but why do so many have shoulder pain?

what happens during surgery that your shoulder is sore?

Shoulder pain is considered referred pain, it is due to the gas pain. The pain is manageable - the first week is bad but it gets better.

[hondahina 0]

Hello everyone,

I am a CRNA (certified registered nurse anesthetist). I can explain the shoulder pain to you.

First off the pain is not from anesthesia, its also not "gas pain" in the sense of intestinal pain.

The pain is referred from insufflation of the carbon dioxide used to inflate the abdomen for laproscopy. The nerve that becomes painful is the phrenic nerves. They originate in the 3rd, 4th and 5th cervicle vertabrae, make their way through the shoulder area and innervate the diaphragm. These are the main nerves that control the diahpragm, the major muscle of respiration. The phrenic nerves are exposed to the carbon dioxide during surgery.

The pain is not from pressure on the nerves from the insufflation but rather a chemical irratation of the nerves by the carbon dioxide. To put it simply the nerves send pain signals back up the nerves and the pain is referred to the shoulder.

The best thing for this is an intravenous/intramuscular NSAID called Toradol. Unfortunately unless they give this to you before you leave the hospital you are out of luck. The next best thing is Motrin in a prescription strength, which is 800mg. However, this may not work for everyone. The best thing to do is just rest, these nerves are located deep within your abdomen so heat/cold compresses are likely not to work. You basically have to wait until the nerve endings recover from the chemical irration of the carbon dioxide.

Feel free to ask your anesthesia provider about the Toradol before you go home. Aside from any contraindications I give Toradol to all my patients that under laparoscopic surgery.