3 weeks out and severe pain in large incision...Help!

[Angela Schmangela]

I had constant pain and soreness for at least a couple of weeks, and then I still had the occasional sharp and sometimes severe pains after. I was still taking pain meds to sleep at night for quite a while too because that incision hurt so badly at night time (probably due to my twisted sleeping positions and tossing and turning at night). Mine didn't stop for at least a month, and it might have been longer. Don't assume that anything's wrong just because some people didn't have that problem, because we all heal differently. But there are certainly enough people who have had similar experiences to yours to not assume the worst. But having said that, CALL your doctor!! That's what he and his staff are there for, and peace of mind for the price of a phone call is a pretty good bargain!!!

[ckmommy72]

While I would always say call if you think something might not be right, I think this is totally normal. I had the exact same thing, and asked my Dr about it on my first post-op visit, and he explained that there is one very large stitch inside that incision, sort of holding it together, and that when you move just right, or lift something, get up off the couch, etc, it can kill. He said that by about 4 weeks, the stitch has softened enough to stretch a bit, or maybe even snap, which will give you immediate relief. It didn't take that long for me. About 2.5 weeks out, I had almost no pain in that area. However, my BFF, who had VSG the same day as me with the same Dr, still had pain until right about the 4 week mark, but she's fine now.

Again, if you feel it's not right - a call never hurt. That's what you paid the big bucks for!

Good Luck!!

[Carisa Blanche Sanders]

this post helped me very much thank you all for your input.

[nycbiscuit]

While I had little/no pain, there was a bit of pulling, but again, nothing major. If you have extreme pain, you should call your surgeon's office, or even go to your local doctor/hospital/clinic. Do you have any fever? On a scale of 1-10, what is your pain number? You should not be lifting anything over 5-10 lbs for a few weeks after surgery, even if you don't have any pain. Better safe than sorry -- contact a medical professional asap.

[sally73]

I had pain in the large incision till 7 weeks and then suddenly went away, sneezing absolutely killed me and I was pretty down until the pain went. I am great now the pain is gone and I am back to normal. I had to sleep on the couch till about 5 weeks and did not sleep comfortablely on my side until the pain went. Good luck I went to my GP and he had a feel and said at thetime it felt nice and soft and normal, so maybe a trip to the GP.

[Tom]

Sending you love and huggs, Bless you is all that I can say. Having the surgery is difficult on it's on but to have to take care of everything, kids, bathing them, cooking, cleaning you need some help girl. Sometime we sabatoge ourselves because we think we can do it all. We are expected to be super mom's and it's a cycle hard to break. On another note my husband is three weeks post op and he had a lot of pain at his large incision and it's just now going away. I'm exactly a week post op and mine are sore when I stand up, bend over ect. Hang in there and God Bless!

[jane_vsg_ayla]

Just an option, not so much for the pain but if you are concerned about the incision - take a picture of it and email it to the surgeon. At the very least they can tell you without the drive there if it appears to be healing well. You can also point to where the pain is exactly in your picture and type that in the email so they have a much clearer Idea of what you are talking about (lower pain vs upper, left versus right, etc). I cant wait til doctors will do virtual exams via webcam! I hate going into the office... I know they need to feel it and all, but a lot of times just know more about the problem they can decide how urgent it is or tell you to push in a certain place and relay how it feels. Save a lot of gas money!

[Freedom36]

Thank you everyone for the encouraging words and advice. I did end up going to my Dr. today,my regular,not Surgeon. I also got a hold of my surgeon and spoke with him, and he spoke with my GP. They did end up doing a CT scan to rule out infection...among other things. So, my muscle is healing well,not too inflamed and I have no leaks. But, I had a bunch of gallstones and a cyst on one of my ovaries...which they said probably wasn't the cause of my pain. They think I'm still healing and need to take it easy. They did a full blood work up and my I'm super dehydrated and protein levels were low. Ooopsie, with all of the pain I fell behind with the things I need to do to heal. Nothing like a kick in the arse to get you back on track. Anyway, thank you again!!!

[nycbiscuit]

Well, it sucks that you have issues with gallstones and cysts, or are dehydrated and not getting protein, but I'm glad to hear you and your doctors are on top of things and that you're getting the medical attention you need. Best of luck and speedy recovery!

[aah51701]

I had the exact same symptons i was sure i had a hernia. I went to see my doctor and she said it was just some pulling with the scar tissue on the inner incision. Just take it easy for a few more days, keep walking and i swear it wil be gone in like 5 days. If not go see your doctor to make sure it isn't aa hernias either way u need to take it easy!!!

[Camscrib20]

your def not bein a baby ppl have lives i was foryunate that my husband got to stay home 3 weeks w me and im only 4 days out thank god for him here he wont let me do anything which def helps w the pain and recovery but if i was home alone w my son all day alone i wd not b so optimistic mayb find a friend who can spend some time helping it is hard to ask for help but this is for ur health hope things get better looks like ur almost thru it xoxo