Had my surgery!

[Crohnadian]

Pvt

 

[Astra]

Hiya Crohnadian

This is fab news! so glad you're on the mend and I wish you a speedy recovery!

the shoulder pain? I had that after my hysterectomy, it's called shoulder tip pain, caused by the carbon gas they fill you with during surgery.
Either that, or they held you down!
take care and rest up
xxx

 

[Crohnadian]

Thanks so much
LOL good to know about the shoulder pain. I actually thought it was oxygen they were giving me when they said "OK now take some deep breaths"... I reached the count of 8 by the time I was out of it
It was muscle pain in my shoulders though, not the bones. Is that still the carbon gas? I had no idea it could cause such pain! Any idea why this is?

 

[archie]

hi what a journey and so glad your feeling much better, i'm due to go for surgery next monday for a small bowel resection so any tips would be great!!! the shoulder pain you experienced is very common usually due to CO2 gas, lung irritation and possibly the moving of your shoulders whilst under the GA and it can feel muscular rather than the joint but gentle stretching should see it subside... anyways did you lose any weight after the surgery and were you able to eat normally??

 

[Crohnadian]

I didn't seem to lose weight. Maybe a pound or so of bowel having been removed but the TPN and lipids kept me stable until I was able to eat a full diet (which was really only 3-4 days after surgery). It hurt a lot to eat at first but I was getting a lot of pain meds so I stuck through it. Subcu dilaudid seemed to work the best for me, then they switched me over the oral dilaudid so I could adjust my dose for discharge. The only thing I would really say is crucial is to get on those pain meds, don't be scared to take them, and get out of bed and walk as much as you possibly can without overdoing it. Walking was the best thing for me, even just around the ward, helped me feel a lot better got my bowels working (I was quite bloated and couldn't pass gas or BM unless I walked) and my appetite up a bit too. Staying in bed made me develop bed sores and didn't help at all. What I can't stress enough though is don't be affraid to take pain medication if you need it, and take it before your pain goes up. I find too many people don't want to become addicted or try to play hero by not taking them. Don't do it to yourself. Pain is one thing that'll do you in (it'll make you not want to eat, not want to live possibly, not want to anything) so take care of the pain.

 

[Astra]

All I know is that they fill you up with carbon gas to make a dome shape of your abdomen, so that the surgeon can navigate his way round. The gas moves other organs out of the way too. It's referred pain from the diaphragm. The pain in my shoulders was so intense, I fainted! It was relieved with Windeeze, and lots of farting!
xxx

 

[DustyKat]

Hi Crohnadian, :bigwave:

Good to see back and feeling fab! I'm so glad that everything has turned out well and I hope more than anything that you continue to do well for a veeeeeeeeery long time.

All the best and so happy for you,
Dusty