Constant pain from surgery

pmoro

 I'm 6 weeks out from an upper left lobe lobectomy. My cancer was a stage one. I had vats surgery. There was one complication where I started bleeding. They had to go back in to restitch. The problem I am having is on the left side. I have a raised area in between my ribs about 1" thick by 3" long. It gets red at times. It's a sharp pain when I cough or try to take a deep breath. I can't sleep on either side. The surgeon doesn't seem concerned, but it really hurts. I've tried lidocaine patch, 600 mg ibruprophen, Tylenol, and tramadol. How do I deal with this? Is it common? Also, when does the numbness go away in the stomach area? It hurts to have clothes against it. It's numb but not numb and I bloat as the day wears on which makes it worse. This is all very depressing.

pmoro

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1706956#Comment_1706956

Thanks for sharing. Went to surgeon today and looks like a possible soft tissue infection. Started on keflex. It helped a lot, back in er feeling dizzy and sick.

chgesnlatitude

Thank you for sharing your experiences. I am new to this, 12 days post lung resection, removal of cancerous nodule. She took the entire nodule plus border and several lymph nodes. I got good news that they got it all and I'll scan every 6 months for a while.

I wasn't prepared for the ongoing numb pain. Can't sleep. Constant pain in ribs, breast and chest. Just starting to be able to get up without severe pain.

I just took my last dose of Oxycodone. I am also taking Tylenol 1000 mg, ibuprofen 600 mg, CBD oil, ice and warm packs, and started gabapentin. I hope this works!

Did the lidocaine patch help?

Thanks gor listening! Best wishes!

pmoro

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1708440#Comment_1708440

Yes the lidocaine patch helped some. Tramadol helped the best.

mollyfhenry

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/326734/constant-pain-from-surgery

Wondering how u are doing now? I'm 4 weeks post-lobectomy (upper right) and I still deal with pain every day.

pmoro

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1709070#Comment_1709070

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1709070#Comment_1709070

https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1708440#Comment_1708440

Hi

Doing much better finally. It took almost 3 months to heal the soft tissue infection. I'm now just able to start laying on my side. When I sleep. I still get jabs of pain every now and then, and my stamina is not up to speed. However, I have noticed a marked improvement and how I felt post surgery. It takes a long time to heal from this.

[Deleted User]

That is great news! That is a long time to suffer, glad you are seeing improvements!

I seem to have a rash now. Itchy. On my side around my VATS incisions. My surgeon has referred me to pain management. She is super skiddish about prescribing Tramadyl, which has been the most effective treatment for my pain. I am 5 weeks post op as of today.

Great to be able to chat with you all! Thanks for sharing your experiences.