5 days post TT, muscle plication-sternal pain

I am 5 days out from ventral hernia repair/abdominoplasty with muscle repair and panniculectomy. My doctor warned me that he performed my plication very tightly. In am having some very sharp, spasming pains just beneath my sternum/xiphoid that take my breath away, usually after I've been up and about. I have been careful about not standing up straight, as he advised. Does anyone else experience this? I hesitate to call without inquiring here first, because I am not really comfortable enough to make the 1.75 hour trip to his office unless necessary.

Congrats on your tummy tuck! I am 3-mos out and love mine! I did not have muscle spasms but some people do. Usually the surgeon can prescribe a muscle relaxer. What I did experience was a lot of pain in the plications, and still have pain there. I just saw my surgeon and my PCP (she had a TT, too) and both said it is normal and will take time to fully heal.

Sounds like muscle spasms to me, too.  I was given valium to deal with them.  If your doc didn't give you an anti-spasmatic, give him a call and ask him to call something in.

I had a lower body lift 6 months ago.  Love the results.  Hated the recovery.  The muscles are not happy campers for a long time.

I wish that I could have afforded the complete LBL! The tummy, and even the back of my waist turned out so nicely, that I can only imagine would imagine what an full LBL would have looked like.

Your butt would have been where you never remembered it being!  I waffled about doing the whole circumferential, mostly because of the length of the incision.  But I'm glad I did.  The incision healed without an issue.  The muscle repair nearly put me on the floor with the pain.

That and the spot where my incision meets my outer thigh! Ouch! And my drain sites!

My surgeon wanted to send me home with Valium, but he was concerned because my blood pressure was only in the 70-80's /50-60's. They had to take me off Dilaudid way too early as a result. I will call and ask for a script for something now that I've recovered from the effects of the anesthesia.

Congrats Julie!

It is such a wonderful thing getting rid of the extra skin and getting your hernia repaired.  Muscles and nerves can both cause some pain from spasms and reconnection/regeneration of the nerves.  They can be like a zinger.  Most folks get them around the nipples, not so much in the panni area, but possilbe.  You can try a heating pad to see if it helps the muscles to relax a bit.  Are you wearing a binder or compression garment.  I think that helped me the most.  That and the little old lady walk all hunched over.  It does get better.

Hi Chris!  Yup-I wear a binder.  My pain is just beneath my sternum..between my breasts.  I noticed that the spasming was much better today, after being more conscious about taking it easy.

Julie,

I am so happy for you that you got hernia repair and TT.

Congratulations!

I had those muscles spasms, they were bad. My PS told me to take it easy ( yeh, right!) He gave me Valium to relax them, it took time and they were gone.

I wish you speedy recovery.

Alla