To ask if it's normal to be sore after surgery?

[shlips]

I had my appendix out yesterday afternoon.

Today I've woken up mentally feeling very positive but OUCH! The surgical wounds from keyhole feel like I've been shot. It feels like shot wounds

However, I had my gallbladder out two years ago almost and didn't feel like this... okay it got infected eventually but the initial feeling was great, the wounds hurt a tiny but but this time round, I feel like I've been shot in the stomach

Excited to get home to my babies age almost 6 and 2... but the eldest has special needs and is very full on. I'm worried I'll be hurt to be honest.

How long did it take you to recover from your appendix being removed?

When I had my gallbladder removed, it didn't hurt inside the stomach like it does with this

I remember trying to sit up or get out of bed after my appendix was removed was incredibly painful for the first few days. My advice would be to don’t expect too much from your body. It takes time to heal and there’s layers of skin and muscle they’ve had to cut through to get to the appendix that needs to heal.

Have you previously been shot?
Of course it will be sore. Even keyhole surgery causes an assault to ones body. As with any tissue trauma, tissues swell and become painful. It will resolve. As for some painkillers and something to deal with post-surgery wind/bloating. That's worse than the surgery site!

We have a tendency to think that because an operation is performed with keyhole surgery it is minor. Having your appendix out is more complicated than having your gall bladder out. They have to cut thru more muscle so it will be tender and need time to heal. When I had mine removed when I was a child I was in hospital for 10 days and off school for 4 weeks. A bit excessive but an indication of the nature of the operation.

Thank you, did you have keyhole as a child too?

Take it easy they've had a good old rummage what with cameras and inflating the area to allow access. They will have cut through muscle to get to your appendix.I had keyhole appendectomy last year, I was in hospital for two nights after. Don't use your stomach muscles if you can avoid it, push up from sitting. Do not lift anything heavy for at least a couple of weeks. You could do damage internally without realising. Your body is sore but I found it took me a few weeks to feel fully back to normal. My energy levels were a bit hit and miss for about 3 weeks as my body got over being invaded! Please take it easy.

Thank you

I'm getting these horrific contracting pains, like a stab pain that radiates over my lower stomach

It's brutal!

Straight forward gallbladder surgery was much easier, it was only bad when it got infected and needed draining

I was not prepared for this

I was in a lot of pain after having my appendix out. Hope you feel better soon.

Of course it will be sore.

Thank you. I had 0 pain after gallbladder removal other than the surgical site. That was just stingy

This feels like contracting muscle pain and if really is awful. I've had two babies without any medication or G&A, so know what pain is and this is making me feel faint

DS had keyhole recently for his appendix. He recovered much quicker than I did after normal surgery years ago.
He had surgery on the Saturday and was back in school on the Wednesday. I'd say he was most of the way to fully recovered after a week - and he's a proper drama llama about pain.

Amongst a plethora of other context, your lap chole may have been performed when there was no active infection/inflammation. Appendicectomies (most often not always) during acute illness (with appendicitis).

My DP said he was in agony until he let out an ulmighty fart and it released all the pain 😆

Bear in mind your appendix was removed because it was infected and inflamed, it’s not just the surgery that’s causing pain. There may be plenty of swelling in the tissues around where the appendix was too.

Ask the nurse looking after you? Or the doctor when they come for ward round. Pain will vary but of course some people have complications too - hopefully not you but it could be the case.

Get well soon x

I had really bad pain and days of strong painkillers after my gallbladder removal OP. Pain after surgery is normal.

Get someone to get you some peppermint tea, the trapped wind is often worse than the surgical pain.

I had a keyhole appendectomy recently, and the afterpains were worse than the appendicitis! They inflate you with CO2 to get a good view of what they are doing, and not all the gas escapes at the end of the surgery. Some bubbles remain until they are absorbed by your body - but in the meantime they can irritate your diaphragm, and this causes awful stabbing pain - including up to your shoulder, weirdly. It eased after about 5 days, but I'd say it took me about 3 weeks in all to feel recovered.

People think 'keyhole surgery' is minor, but it's still pretty tough on the body!

Ds had non-keyhole surgery to remove his appendix, due to covid controls not allowing keyhole.
He couldn't even sit up for around 36 hours, and even then we only got him upright by moving the hospital bed so he could gradually sit up a tiny bit at a time. He's pretty good with pain-they nearly didn't operate because he said pain levels were 2-4/10, but it was a good thing they did as it was close to bursting.
It was over a week before he could get up without thinking about it and working up to moving.

However his appendix was in the wrong place and twisted round, with the operation taking around 4.5 hours, so I suspect he'd been poked and prodded more than most people.

This was me after keyhole surgery too. I was in absolute agony and don't know what I would have done if my partner hadn't have took time off work to come stay with me and DS. I was crying in pain, couldn't walk straight or get off sofa or bed. It lasted around 5 days at that level. Totally not what I expected.

I also had key-hole surgery when my appendix was taken out and remember saying that I felt like I'd done 1000 sit-ups and then been stabbed three times. It was really bloody painful. Hope you feel better soon, OP!