Abdominal pain

Hello everyone :)

I just wanted to get some thoughts about what has been going on with me. I had my surgery on August 15th (wed) and everything was fine. Obviously I was having pain associated with the surgery but was home by Friday early afternoon. I think it was a few days later when I started having this pretty intense pain right in the middle of my abdomen, right above my belly button. It would come and go and it finally went away after a few days. I did tell my doctor about this at my one week post op and she said it was ok as long as it was getting better, could have been a muscle, gas, etc. Well yesterday I had had a shake (8oz) and a few hours later started getting an intense kinda sharp pain there again never vomited, had diarrhea or anything else, just this pain. It started around 8 pm ( I took some leftover pain meds that's how bad it was) and I was trying to get rid of it for about 6 hours until finally it stopped and I was able to fall asleep. Today I really didn't want to eat anything but have and kept everything down, no diarrhea or vomiting but that location on my abdomen where it hurt is very sore and feels like it's "recovering" from whatever happened yesterday. So just to throw it out there I am not a wuss, I handle pain very well, I've had three kids so I know what pain is. I didn't want to take the pain meds and to be honest they didn't really help that much. I have an appt with my Dr again on Sept 24th. Should I call them or wait until then. Didn't know if anyone else has experienced this. I haven't eaten anything I shouldn't have and have been drinking water all day. Sorry so long!

Thanks !

Since it happened after the shake, I suspect gas. It can be extremely painful, but usually breaks up with a couple of Gas-X tablets and a teaspoon of baking soda in a small glass of water.

Pain medicine won't help.

I had some weird sharp "internal" feeling kind of pains around my incision sites for a while even after the cuts themselves were healed, but nothing that painful.

When I get constipated - and get gas - it really hurts. At times it made me cry. And pain pills don't really work for that.

There are times that I don't know I am consipated, and gas pain would alert me to that. I can be constipated even if I have daily BM. In addition- even now, if I eat - or drink too fast - I may end up in pain. Some shakes - blended - can trap air bubbles and once swallowed - that can cause severe pain.

I agree with the others that it is most likely gas pain and will be helped with a stool softener taken regularly and some Gas-X. That said, it wouldn't hurt to leave a message for your surgeon in case it is something more serious.

If it feels almost like menstrual cramps, and bloating it may actually be lactose intolerance. I didn't know I had it until I was doing only liquids post-op using Premier Protein pre-made shakes. It is not uncommon for people after surgery to develop lactose intolerance. Check with your surgeon.

Good luck to you! I hope you can find out what's causing it and get some relief.