Full or gas?

[LindsayT 596]

Hey all. I'm 3 days post-op and can't feel the difference between trapped gas and being full. What should I be looking for? The trapped gas has improved a lot, but I still have an uncomfortable feeling under my left rib cage. I'm shooting for an ounce of liquid every 10-15 minutes. I also have to use a spoon full of applesauce to get some of my medication down.

[catwoman7 11,216]

I'm guessing gas - although I suppose it could be either. But most of us don't feel restriction until we start eating solid food. Fluids and purees go right through you - plus you would have had nerves cut during the surgery, and it takes them awhile to start to regenerate. So yes - most likely it's gas.

[LindsayT 596]

I'm guessing gas - although I suppose it could be either. But most of us don't feel restriction until we start eating solid food. Fluids and purees go right through you - plus you would have had nerves cut during the surgery, and it takes them awhile to start to regenerate. So yes - most likely it's gas.

Thanks!

[Arabesque 7,335]

Pain under your rib means it’s more likely surgical gas. This gas isn’t in your tummy & digestive system (like gas you burp or eventually fart out) but in the abdominal cavity - the space around your organs. It rises up behind your lungs, putting pressure on nerve endings hence the shoulder & likely your pain behind your ribs. It’s then absorbed into the lungs & you breath it out (that’s why walking, marching on the spot, deep breathing, lifting your arms up & down all help you breath more out). It usually takes about a week +/- to fully go.