how much pain is normal 11 days out?

hi

i had surgery 11 days ago and i have one incision that is still killing me.  it makes it hard to sit for a long time, if i lay down its easier.

it basially makes my entire right side of my stomach have a dull ache.  i have to say that it is better, but i am wondering if i should be better off overall.  i know some people mentioned going back to work after 2 weeks.  i can barely sit up for an hour.

i went to the doctor yesterday and mentioned it and he is kinda an a-hole and just dismissed it (he checked the incisions and seemed unphased.)

i was so frustrated after the appointment that i cried.  the problem is that i am a medical student and he is a professor at the medical school that i go to, so i don't want to complain to much because he may oversee me someday....

any advice?  thanks

It's probably the incision they pulled your stomach through.  So it was cut larger than the others and has some internal sutures and, yes, it aches more than the others.  It's not unusual to be achy and in pain (within reason) 11 days out.  I can assure you, I couldn't have gone back to work at 2 weeks.  3 weeks...maybe.  But I stayed out 4 weeks and went back to work feeling completely normal.

I'm almost 4 weeks out, and I still have trouble with my largest incision every now and then.  I was definitely still hurting at 11 days out.  If you're like me, you'll notice an improvement soon.  I would go a couple of days without pain at all...try and do too much and then it would hurt really bad for one day and then be better the next.  I had one of those days yesterday, and today I am great.  I was not expecting that little incision to hurt as bad for as long as it did.  I had a c-section and didn't have as much trouble with it as I did that one little incision.

ok great, this makes me feel better, i was worrying something was wrong...

thanks so much for responding

I had a lot of "discomfort" with that incision too. I was still taking Norco at night, and some during the day on and off. When I told my surgeon I thought he would be mad/concerned. He looked at me and said (and I quote!) "I gave you and all my patients a huge bottle of Norco with 4 refills for a reason. You had major surgery. I had a bunch of metal and plastic insturments in your belly, and I yanked a major organ out of you through that incision. Of course it hurts. Take the pain medication, and if you need more, ask me for it."

I was so relieved, I almost cried. I took that pain med at night easily for a month, otherwise I just couldn't sleep. When it stopped hurting, I stopped taking it.

BTW -- when it stopped hurting it was like someone hit the "off" switch. It just stopped - not gradual, it just all of a sudden stopped. Surgeon said it was probably an internal stitch that dissolved.

Give yourself some more time --- and as a medical student; use your experience as a patient to make yourself a better doc !!!

im very aware of how horrible this experience has been on the patient end and i will  never forget

thanks for the post, it makes me feel a lot better, my surgeon did not even address my concerns...

Pain should decrease significantly after about 2 wks when internal sutures dissolve in that area.  Drink lots of fluids and Walk lots. It helps with healing as welll as making sure you get adequate protein and vitamins.

this is my 3rd days post-op and i was discharged from the hospital yesterday. my incisions actually don't hurt at all my stomach just feels REALLYYY sore and I've had some chest pain which i've been told is gas pain. It's getting better though and I plan to go back to work after a week post-op.

btw i was very mad bc after a day in the hospital they refused to give me liquid pain meds. they would only give me tylenol tablets and I threw that up. it was so stupid. why would they stop painkillers a day after surgery?