muscle cramps

I had my surgery,open RNY on 4-27 everything went great. I have had no problems other than the muscle over my ribs under my chest are real sore and when I try to stand upstraight the muscle cramps really bad. It also hurts to take to deep of a breath makes the muscle cramp. Just wondering if anyone else has this and what you did.

Shelby, I had surgery on 4/15 and had several pains that felt like pulled muscles. I used one of those old fashioned red ho****er bottles on it when I was sitting and when I laid down in bed. The water bottle works a lot better than the heating pad - I think its b/c it's moist heat. My surgeon told me that the muscles pains would continue until my body was used to activity again. They've pretty much stopped - I'm almost 4 weeks out. Hope it helps.

Hey there Shelby!!! I also had my RNY-lap on 4-27 and have exactly the same problem with my left side. Sometimes it pulles to the middle of my belly, just a 1/2 inch over my navel, a kinda burning sensation. Sometimes I think it is gas, and after taking one Gas-X or Tums with Calcium, I sit back in my Reclyner with my feet up, it gets better. Other times carefull stretching may help. I also still have problems turning on my left side in the night. My doctor told me that the left side was the most active site during the RNY-lap, because the "main instrument arm" which is the thickest and most complex of all does most of the work and is moved arround and pulled and pusched the most. On top of all that, if one has had a tummytuck in the past, like me, the stomach wall is much tuffer to push through, and many times it becomes a stabbing match. So there is still a lot of damage in that specific area. My doctor says staying active is the key. Hope this helps! I had an old "beginners workout" arobics tape and am starting to get back in to the "swing of things" . I've lost 28lbs so far. Keep up the good work, God Bless, Katy

Being sore at different parts of the body is normal after Lap type surgery. Most people don't know that your abdominal cavity is inflated during surgery so that there is room to work inside. The pain should pass quickly. Good Luck, Marvin Lap-RNY 4/22/2004 308/271