How long does gas pain after surgery last?

It usually takes about 2 to 4 days for that annoying gas pain to finally leave your shoulders and chest! 😊 Just try to wiggle your toes and move around in bed as much as the nurses allow. You will feel much lighter very soon! 👍

My surgeon explained that during laparoscopic procedures, carbon dioxide is used to inflate the abdomen, which irritates the phrenic nerve and causes shoulder pain. He told me this discomfort typically peaks on day two and resolves naturally by day four as the body absorbs the gas.

That post-op gas pain is a special kind of torture that kept me awake for two whole nights post-surgery. You are already sore from the cuts, and then this gas decides to travel up to your neck. It finally left me alone on the fourth morning, allowing me to get some peaceful sleep.

Had an appendix surgery last year and the gas pain in my collarbone was actually worse than the incision pain for the first 2 days. It took about 3 days of pacing around my hospital room like a ghost before it finally cleared up. Just keep walking, it works.

The trapped gas usually takes 48 to 72 hours to dissipate completely. The absolute best way to speed it up is walking around slowly, as soon as your surgeon gives permission. Movement naturally stimulates the bowels to start working and releasing the trapped gas.

I just got discharged after my gallbladder surgery last Friday, and I had severe shoulder gas pain for exactly 3 days. Sitting completely upright in a chair and drinking warm water helped me pass the gas much faster than lying down. Hang in there, it gets much better by the fourth day.