Is this pain normal - one week out?

[marbelvsg 132]

I was sleeved 8 days ago. I have always had a high pain tolerance, but not this time. The pain wasn't gas either. I am doing everything I am supposed to be. I was feeling a lot better two days ago and went for a half hour walk (my surgeon had told me to start with 5-10 minutes.). Since then I have had excruciating pain on my left side, right around one of the incision sites. When I move certain ways it feels as though something is tearing inside and/or as if I have major bruising inside. I had a follow up with my PCP yesterday and also spoke with my bariatric coordinator today. They both said that I probably just overdid it on my walk. My question is this. I read about so many people saying that they had no pain at all. Is there anyone out there who has experienced something similar to me? If so, how long did it last?

[bruni 38]

i never had anything that felt like tearing, but i was still on my oxycodone 1 week out - so i think what you are experiencing is normal...i would try really taking it easy for a bit

[Big_Mama 511]

Seems like you might have overdid it. I did the same thing a few days post op, and again about a week later. Dr's say you shouldn't engage your core at all for the first 8 weeks. I have a tendency of tensing my tummy, and I would bend and turn this way, which caused me to pull some stomach muscles, which hurt like a b!+€#!!! I took the pain meds, used an ice pack and felt a bit better the next day. You just had major surgery, so you really do need to take it easy... easier said than done, I know, but just try to slow down a bit. Hope you feel better soon.

[JCP 619]

I had this. Yes, it felt like I was tearing inside. It lasted two weeks then went away. They said I probably had an internal stitch that was pulling on my abdominal wall. It was pretty bad. So I had to limit my movement, took pain meds, and rested a lot. At the two week mark, I woke up with just soreness. No problems afterward. Please try to rest and sleep as much as possible.

Edited February 25, 2015 by JCP

[A2artgrl 15]

Happened to me as well...too much walking too soon. My pain was on the other side and lasted for a solid month...then one day, it was just gone. Take it easy, walk in little spurts, check in with the dr...keep it slow and steady, it'll benefit you in the long run.

[Chubbyklink 18]

This also happened to me. I bought some compression garments, I found some postpartum baby belts that helped hold and support my tummy around that incision site. I even went back into the doc and she said that everything was normal. That was the incision where they do most of the pulling and stretching to take to stomach out. She said what I was feeling was the stitches that are pulling on those muscles and that they don't really start to hurt until you are up and moving more. She said by 5-6 weeks post op they would dissolve, or some movement I would make would "pop" the stitch. Sure enough, I was at the beach trying to clam and I felt the stitch pop. and immediately there was no more pain.

I totally get where you are coming from though, get some compression garments ( Spanx can work, they weren't tight enough where I needed them to be) and unfortunately all you can do is wait.

[brandy31 32]

This exact thing happened to me. I just over did it. If you're like me, you may wanna take it really easy for the first 3 weeks. After that you'll be much better off!

[Jovie62 135]

I have the same feeling. I know we all want to feel better but we have to remember we just had surgery and there were several people pushing and pulling on our stomachs and even though the rest of our body feels fine we are still healing

[Blue Sky 89]

2 weeks out and much better today! I had to slow down.