Am i to expect gas pains?

[joleng5 9]

I just had my surgery this morning and was expecting to be in alot of pain (gas and shoulder). Well i am not, i feel very good for just having a surger this morning. i was nausous right after waking up for 2 hours after surgery and it hurt my shoulders to take deep breaths for a while, but all in all it wasn't very bad at all most of my discomfort is my stomach where my stitches are.

I was just wondering am i gonna get gas pains still yet? i don't know what to expect and was wondering if i should expect to get them.

[Rachel412 116]

Yes, you still might get them. Try not to stress about it and just enjoy felling good!

[honk 780]

I had no gas pains at all!

[stateofzen 46]

My gas pain took a couple of days to show up, and even though I KNEW to expect it it still took me two days to realize that the "pinched nerve" in my left shoulder/neck was actually referred gas pain that everyone had been talking about

Some people get away with none though-- maybe you'll be lucky!

[CheckYes 46]

I didn't have gas pains either. I know that I got lucky.

[Wheetsin 714]

Gas pains for me come a few days after, and last a few days. They aren't that bad. You know the feeling when you get a pinched nerve in your neck/shoulder area? For me, it's like a very mild version of that, and usually hits between my collar bones and the top of my shoulder. Annoying, but not something that disrupts my day.

FWIW - if people advise you to take gas-x type medications, don't bother. Intestinal gas, and surgical gas pains are two totally different things. (Yet I see that advice given a LOT, and it baffles me...)

[jancol56 0]

Yes, you still might get them. Try not to stress about it and just enjoy felling good!

[Clown 1]

My gas pains didn't show up till the second day.... and it just felt like I had to toot constantly. It was disappointing the lack of sound from the feeling! It felt like I had a foghorn ready to go off, and it was just small squeaky ones. Be glad you're not in much pain!

Good luck, and follow the rules!

[Marcib 1]

I'm 4 days post op. I felt ok right after surgeoy. But now I am suffering with the gas pains. I pray for ur sake u don't experience them. They r awful n nothing I do helps. Good luck on ur banded journey.

[roziecakes 20]

Mine didn't show up until after I left the hospital and started walking around; some people don't get them at all (lucky!), and who knows you might be one of the lucky ones. Mine are gone now after three days, and I consider myself fairly lucky.

[Jack 855]

joleng:

re: "I was just wondering am i gonna get gas pains still yet? i don't know what to expect and was wondering if i should expect to get them"

I didn't have any to talk about.

On the other hand, Constipation for nearly a week was of considerable concern!!!

cheers on your journey

[Rachel412 116]

FWIW - if people advise you to take gas-x type medications, don't bother. Intestinal gas, and surgical gas pains are two totally different things. (Yet I see that advice given a LOT, and it baffles me...)

True, they're different, but I know I had plenty of both after surgery so the Gas X did help- particularly in the very beginning when it hurt to try to burp!

[Wheetsin 714]

True, they're different, but I know I had plenty of both after surgery so the Gas X did help- particularly in the very beginning when it hurt to try to burp!

Burping is intestinal gas, which products like Gas-X are designed for. Gas-X will not help with "shoulder pain" gas. Sorry if I didn't make that distinction clear.

Gas remedies like Gas-X work by breaking the surface tension of the gas bubbles -- really simplified version: it pops the bubbles so the gas can escape and move out of the intestines. Some intestinal gas can be caused by anesthesia - indirectly. Medications like Gas-X stay in the intestines and are not effective systemically -- e.g. they are not able to help with the dissipation of CO2, or whatever gas the surgeon uses to inflate the abdomen -- which is one of the culprits of shoulder pain post-op. BTW, that too is an indirect cause of the pain. Until fairly recently, it was believed that the migration of the gas upward & then settling was what caused the pain. Who knows, it may still be, but most recently:

...the same cold, dry gas of laparoscopy kills the peritoneal cells - resulting in the shoulder pain.

There is also a shoulder pain that can be caused by damage or irritation to nerves (vagus & phrenic). A family member of mine endured this and it was not pretty.

In short, if you feel like you need to toot, try Gas-X or comparable. If your shoulder is hurting you, you can still take Gas-X, but don't expect to feel any better.

[mayburyb 0]

Hi I had my Op 4 weeks ago I have had no pain at all but get a bit of gas just burp and its gone,I feel that I am lucky.

[mayburyb 0]

Hi I had my Op 4 weeks ago I have had no pain at all but get a bit of gas just burp and its gone,I feel that I am lucky.