Oh the pain......Is this normal??

Surgery was last Monday, so I am almost a week out. I feel like I have been hit by a truck. My back hurts, the area around my incision hurts, inside where I think my drains are hurt, the area where my drains come out hurt. Is this normal? I had hardly any pain the in hospital, but then again I had an epidural. The only additional pain I have is my ribs, which I have had since in recovery room but was told that was probably from the braces they put in during surgery. Most of the time the pain is bearable, but several times throughout the day it is so intense that it is difficult to walk. Also, I have two drains. They both were draining in the hospital and even though not full, were emptied a few times during the day. My one drain is hardly having anything come out anymore. The other is a continous water line! I have to empty it several times a day. Most of the time the color has been getting lighter, but should I be worried about how much it is draining? Tomorrow I get my staples and drain out. Will the pain subside after that? How long until I feel 'normal' again??? Michelle 311/291/140

Pain is a relative and personal thing. What some may find unbearable may not bother someone else. Lap vs open issues are always a factor too. Lap makes one of the port site smart for a while. I was open and although I was uncomfortable I was not in much pain. My TT was another story. Talk to them about your pain tomorrow. But take your meds now. Once the pain starts it's almost too late. You have to keep it in check by staying on schedule. Drains - Under ten ml and they will take it out. The other drain sounds like it is still doing it's thing. Now if the one drain is clogged then that may cause pain. Have you stripped the drains to keep them clear? kp

Question, you are fairly knowledgable about this surgery. Are you a doc or a nurse wondering...Or have you had the surgery??s

I had the surgery. I'm two years out and have had to plastics. I learned from these people on the board, my doc and by reading/watching everything about it. kp

What Kp said is very important. Strip your drains. Also you might still have gas roiling around from being open during surgery. It can take some time to work it out of your body. You need to walk to get the gas to release from your body. Don't get upset if the one drain does not come out. Sounds like it is doing what it is suppose to do! Take Care!!!

Michelle, I had surgery on 6-21 and I felt the same way you are describing. I did not come home with drains, but I did leak on my own... actually, I was a gusher. I lost a TON of fluid out of the lowest spot on my incision (I was open). It scared me at first... but was told my my surgeon's office this was GOOD... let it all come out. It is a pain in the rear, but once I stopped gushing and just "leaked" I felt 100% better. My pain was from the pressure of having this fluid inside of me. When I went in for my two week appointment, I was down 41.5 pounds! A lot of that was due to leaking. My doctor's office said that a lot of that fluid contains fat.... and you want that OUT and gone forever. Each day gets better. It took me a good week and a half at home before I started feeling human again. I have some discomfort - mostly from not being able to sleep in my normal position, but it will go away. And.... if you have not been passing gas, there still may be some inside of you from surgery. That will also cause discomfort. I had a lot of pain in my shoulders from gas and my drains. Once my drain was out (taken out the day I left the hospital) and started passing gas, the dicomfort in my shoulders went away as well. If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email. Brandee