Laparoscopy Gas Pain

My date is booked for Nov.6th and I'm now terrified about the excess gas that is trapped when they finish...I'm reading and watching things like on Youtube and it sounds just awful. Really how bad is it, please be honest, would like some good stories also(if there're out there) My friend just had her surgery Sept 17 and she says the gas pain was the worst part, the incision were way less painful that that dreaded gas...HELP...KIM

 Just use the GasX Strips; and walks around the hospital

It is NOT that bad....

Best of luck!

 Walk when they tell you to-get that stuff moving!

Also, what I found was that I felt worse due to the pain meds (caused gas in my actual intestines) so a stool softener was definitely a very very big importance with those pain meds.  I needed the pain meds but I also needed to poop-there ya go.  Don't be shy about asking for some Miralax to mix into your drinks.  

I did not experience a lot of pain.  You need to walk as much as possible and not be shy about tooting ANYWHERE.  Better out than in.

I noted that my roommate in the hospital used the hot blankets across her tummy and she said they helped too.

Judy

As the others have said, walk, walk, walk and use Gas X strips.

While I could feel the gas the first couple days, it wasn't painful.  It was just there.

 Hi there....have you ever had surgery before?  If you have, you should be pretty prepared for a laprascopic procedure.  With my band surgery, I found that a heating pad worked well to help dissipate the gas when I put it where I could feel the gas.  I also used an ice pack on the incisions.  GasX only works on GI gas, not trapped CO2 they use to "blow up" the abdomen.  Overall, the gas wasn't bad.  When I had my gallbladder out last year (much shorter procedure), I had no gas, no pain and my incisions didn't hurt at all..you should do fine.

I saw you also posted about post-op hair loss.  This isn't usually more than you would lose postpartum(if you've given birth).  I lost a considerable amount after the band (3-9 months) and had no apparent hair loss after the gall bladder surgery.  My surgeon thinks the duration of general anesthesia determines the extent of hair loss.  I was under 3.5 hours for the band (+difficult hiatal hernia repair) and 45 min for the gallbladder.

Good luck on your surgery....

I didn't have a lot of pain from the gas. Walking helped a lot with what little discomfort I had. I think you will find it is not something to stress yourself over. Best wishes on your surgery!

The gas pain was worse for me thn the surgery itself. It was more uncomfortable than anything.

It is different for everyone depending upon how much gas gets trapped inside of you, hopefully it will be nothing and you can be one to report no pain.  I had lap gallbladder surgery, I was not upset at all to go to a WLS doctor who only did RNY open, because of the gas pain from my prior surgery was so bad.  But it is a trade off for a bigger incision that is more painful then trapped gas.  Either way it is completely worth it and will be a distant memory once its gone.

Gas from the RNY wasn't bad. I never had the shoulder pain.  I did have bad stomach gas pains, which Gas-X helped.  I took them 2-3 at a time!

Now, I just had another LAP procedure (hysterectomy)  that had complications and ended up on the table almost 5 hours.  I know what they mean now about the gas pain in your shoulder... if it hadn't been on the right side/shoulder/arm and I didn't know to expect it, I would have thought I was having a heart attack. I literally couldn't even breathe. 

Walking definitely helps move the gas around and out.  Even if you start having pain, walking will alleviate it.

All worthwhile, though.  And temporary. Just keep reminding yourself it's all temporary!