Post Op Shoulder Pain. Injury?

Hello, Ladies!!
First off, I just have to say how incredible this site is and how wonderful a companion it has been through this experience. All of your stories have been invaluable to me.

I had a LAVH on March 16th, twelve days ago. I noticed shoulder pain just as soon as I came off the dilaudid pump, but with the oral percocet and ibuprofen, it felt manageable (and I was way more focused on my abdomen).

Well, the last few days I finally feel GREAT and weaned myself off the meds. Unfortunately, the pain in my right shoulder is now untenable. I can't sleep on that side. I can't get comfortable. At times it radiates up into my neck and at other times it radiates down into my upper arm and makes my hand numb.

I called my physician (I amazed she still takes my calls!) and her nurse called back to say this sounds like a classic injury that takes place during surgery due to the arms being restricted at an odd angle for a prolonged period (my surgery was three and half hours). She said it is neuro-muscular and with heat, ibuprofen, and rest it should resolve itself. She refered me to physical therapy.

Has anyone else come out of surgery with a shoulder injury? How did you best manage the pain? How long did this pain last for you? Did you do physical therapy, massage, or acupuncture? I would love to hear your stories. I am astounded that THIS, an unexpected and completely irrelevent pain, is what I am dealing with post op. On the bright side. My belly feels GREAT and I feel relatively back to normal!

I too suffered with some shoulder pain, I am sorry I really cant help you with how long it lasted, I never called the doctor about it, just figured it was all part of the gas or having to be down so much. I did however use the heating pad on it alot and moved it around in circles as mcuh as I could to work out the spasms and cramping. It did finally go away though. good luck to you,,, hope you continue to improve

I had pain in my shoulder due to gas, mine did not feel like an injury, it felt like very sharp, breath-taking pain in my right shoulder. I also had pain in the ribcage.

I had the same shoulder pain with my two laps. The abdominal gas was much worse with my hyst though.

I hope you feel better soon!
Betts

My pain in my shoulder/ribs was due to gas pains. When I rolled from one side to my back, or side to side, I could feel a 'bubble' under my rib cage. the Dr. told me that gas can settle under your ribs and in your shoulder at times.. I hope you find out what is causing yours, as I know first hand how painful it can be. Mine lasted for about 2 weeks. It was stuck in there for awhile, and I probably looked stupid rolling around side to side, but I was trying to get the bubble to pop out of there ha ha... I don't what I ever did to just rid myself of it... one day it was there, and the other day it wasn't. But I have to believe, that having regular bathroom breaks seemed to help me with it.

Good Luck,
Twizz

Hi there. You're talking shoulder, not shoulder blade area right? If it's sharp & more in the back/rib area, call your doctor & tell her that okay? Or if it hurts when you breathe. I figured when you said shoulder, you meant shoulder, but we sisters gotta look out for eachother and if it could be something more serious if it's really not your shoulder that the pain is coming from after all.
Fro-yo

I felt sharp pains in my shoulder and contributed it to gas. I took Gas-Ex for 3 days after coming home from the hospital. It seemed to help.

Oh, I adore this website! To be more specific, this pain is closer to my scapula, behind the shoulder, and is not sharp in nature or with a deep breath. I, too, had referred gas pain (and migrating CO2 under my diaphragm) the first couple of days, but that resolved fairly quickly (as for the gas, nothing can stop my intestines, thankfully). This is definitely neuro-muscular, as it is similar to when I dislocated my shoulder then I was fifteen. Ugh!

It sounds like I had the same pain.I knew it was muscle related between how they have your arm in surgery and pulling my weight up in bed with my arms ( which I am not be used to doing)I over worked the muscle. The first thing i did on the way home from the castle was to go to my chiropractor(sp).He adjusted just my shoulder. The next day I had my DD rub my upper arm about in the middle. I could tell which spot because it realy hurt when she put pressure on it.After that when i woke up the next morning it was much better.I went back again 4 days later and it is fine.

Well, ladies, I have just returned from my doctor's office with an diagnosis of my post-op shoulder pain: long thoracic nerve paralysis with resulting serratus anterior palsy. In other words, at some point in my surgery, someone accidentally damaged a critical nerve that runs up along the ribs and under the arm pit. What does this mean? It means I have 9-19 months of rehabilitation and pain management ahead of me. I am floored, as my surgery and recouping has been so easy and unexpectedly vacation-like.

All of this is to say, if you have shoulder pain that continues beyond explained "referred gas pains", please do not hesitate to contact your physician. After doing some on-line research, it apprears that 12 percent of all cases are resported after surgical or obstetrical procedures.

Well, ladies, I have just returned from my doctor's office with an diagnosis of my post-op shoulder pain: long thoracic nerve paralysis with resulting serratus anterior palsy. In other words, at some point in my surgery, someone accidentally damaged a critical nerve that runs up along the ribs and under the arm pit. What does this mean? It means I have 9-19 months of rehabilitation and pain management ahead of me. I am floored and frustrated, as my surgery and recouping has been so easy and unexpectedly vacation-like.

All of this is to say, if you have shoulder pain that continues beyond explained "referred gas pains", please do not hesitate to contact your physician. After doing some on-line research, it appears that 12 percent of all cases are reported after surgical or obstetrical procedures.