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[ruby481]

I had gallbladder surgery almost 2 weeks ago. Immediately after surgery I could not breathe deep. I was in tremendous pain and was told over and over that everyones  pain level was different which angered me more because I gave birth to 4 children naturally so I have a high pain tolenarance. At some points I was screaming in pain. Surgery was on Tuesday and I was sent home in pain on Thursday and back in the emegency room on Sat. and spent another day in the hospital. Pain is better but I still can't take a deep breath. I read something about Traumatic Pneumothorax and my symptoms are similar. Is this possible or is there something else I should look into? I have never had surgery before and am NEVER sick so this is really frustrating. Help!


This discussion is related to Complications following Gall Bladder Surgery.

[michell221]

hmmm seems strange unless they were really rough with you.  They can look for a clot with special scans.  I would possibly ask for this if its really concerning you and it does not get better.  I do know I had bad pain and hard to breathe in recovery.  I was on narcotics. It got better after they took me off narcotics.   I later found out ( 6 months after)  I had sphincter of oddi dysfunction.  This is actually what caused my gallbladder to go bad.  My bile ducts spasm and cause extreme pain and makes it hard to breathe.  It hurt under my breasts and on the right.  The narcotics actually set off the spasms in people with this disorder.  I was told never to have them again.  The hospital staff kept telling me it was gas when I was in tears doubled over in pain.  

[ruby481]

X rays and ultrasound, no bile leakage was found. Feels like it right under my rib cage. Can't yawn or breathe deep because its painful. I even have to sleep on the couch because it gives some. Doctor says he thinks it is the abdominal wall and will take time to heal. It has been 10 days since the surgery. Not sure how long it will take to heal. And bowel movement not a problem.

[moonie5353]

I had trouble Breathing deep also.I found out after 4 days of  this. that it was caused  from not having a bowel movement to release the backed up gas that was still in my system from the surgery.After I used 4 laxative suppositories [ according to the directions on the Box] I finally passed a hard round mucus covered stool ball and then the gas came out.After it was released I could breath again .It was very scary for a while ,I had to get what little sleep I could in a recliner.

[Dar584]

It is common to have a lot of pain with inspiration and surgery esp. gallbladder surgery because they fill your abdomen with air.  A lot of times this will cause pain in the shoulder area also.  However with that being said if you become short of breath or have chest pain and feel panicky then I would be concerned about a pulmonary embolism.  But either way your doctor is best to answer your questions.

[michell221]

Are you having pain or just cannot breathe?  Where is your pain?   What tests did the ER do?  Did they look for bile leak?