severe gas bloating issues after robotic surgery 2 day ago

Hello,

Does anyone have any secret in getting all the built up gas out of my system after robotic surgery?  I have been walking but the gas pains have been severe which limits my waking.

Any ideas would be helpful. 

Thanks

 

Afraid this is normal. My experienced mirrored many others who had this same procedure. The first substantive passing of gas is incredibly therapeutic, as will be your first bowel movement.

Movement helps. Without straining yourself, stretch your arms upward and twist your body gently. Unless your doc has advised otherwise.

Eat some yogurt as well. Hang in there, as every day you will feel better. Good luck.

I googled a bit and found this text in a surgical practices "What to expect after surgery" page

It said...
The “gas pain” you may experience within the first 1-2 days after laparoscopic surgery is not typically caused by gas within the bowel itself, but instead by irritation caused by the pressurized gas around the abdominal organs. Therefore, traditional therapies such as Gas X, Mylicon, or other over-the-counter remedies may not be helpful. Walking, movement, and time will allow the gas to dissipate and the muscles to become less sore. As the bowels begin to “wake up,” you may experience gas bloating or cramping that comes and goes – this type of pain may respond to anti-gas medications.

You may also experience pain in one or both shoulders for several days after laparoscopic surgery. This is most likely referred pain from an irritated diaphragm (the muscle that separates the chest from the belly), which is again caused by the pressurized gas used during surgery. This should slowly improve over several days.

Not, actually, that helpful since the advice is to walk which you already know, but you might feel better knowing why you hurt. At two days your "gas" pain is probably still mostly irritation. But you could really be starting to bloat if you have received a lot of opiate pain meds (which tend to suppress the bowel motions that move the gas through.) Walking helps with that, too.

Golfnooch, see the part about referred pain. The gas didn't make it to your shoulder -- only the pain did.

I had my surgery on Wed, October 2nd, and I'll just uselessly repeat what you've already heard: keep walking. Activity stimulates body functions and gravity helps move things properly thru your groggy bowels. I took the stool softeners the Dr suggested for two days and by Friday night got GREAT relief. By Saturday I was at a college football game 150 miles away and by Monday I was back at work - catheter and all! I never took the heavy duty pain meds they gave me but I was religious about taking ibuprofen every 4-6 hours to stay ahead of the pain in my abdomen. I get the darn catheter removed tomorrow. Hang in there - your body is doing amazing things to recover and you will feel better every day.