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numbness and very tight feeling after vats surgery

Posted , 31 users are following.

fluffykitty
fluffykitty

After having 3 collapses within 2months of feb and march, had vats pleurodesis with talc and wedge resection. Its been about 4 months post op and still a portion of my left chest and upper portion of my abdomen  is completly numb. I think the nerves were severed during surgery because my abdominal muscle wont or cant grow back even if i try and workout this part of my muscle. 

Also the left side of my ribs feels like there is a vice or a seatbelt putting pressure and it feels really tight. 

Does anyone else have the same or similar symptoms after surgery?

0 likes, 114 replies

114 Replies

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  • Rendar
    Rendar fluffykitty

    Posted

    From what ive seen on the forums the seatbelt feeling is normal. But your nerves shouldnt have an effect on the muscle growing back im actually going to physical therapist this monday to have them examine my musclr becuase im much weaker then before and have pain when exerting force dealing with that muscle group. I suggest you do the same as my surgeon said the surgery shouldnt cuase muscle damage but then told me i didnt know my body enough to decide if there was muscle damage.
    • Arteaga4209
      Arteaga4209 Rendar

      Posted

      I had plenty of surgeries, chest tubes and my nerves sensation never came back from the chest tubes. It’s been 6 years and I had to get use to the numbness and painful pain every day and now I’m just useto the pain that I don’t know it’s there but I resently had another pneumothorax and now my right side feels the same . 
  • bgoorland
    bgoorland fluffykitty

    Posted

    Had VATS on November 3, 2017 at Sloan Kettering in NYC.   Felt pain immediately after waking form surgery, that did not go away with pain meds.  Pain is not near any incision or where the chest tube was inserted.  During the surgery a large blood vessel was cut, and a second VATS was made to find the bleed.  

    I still have the pain, right side, below rib cage.  The muscle seems herniated.  My surgeon said the CT looks great and my pain is nerve pain.  I feel like I aspirated a golf ball and its seven months after surgery.  Exercise always is very painful and I fear this pain will never go away.  

    Contemplating seeing another Thoracic Surgeon.  Did anybody else who had a VATS show muscle damage on the same side of the surgery?  Could this be a hernia?

    • mark69964
      mark69964 bgoorland

      Posted

      1 year after my vats and the nerve pain is still there so I don't think it will go away. Sorry

    • jack93715
      jack93715 mark69964

      Posted

      my doctor said if the pain is still there after 12 months it probably WILL NOT go away completely because what healing can be done is MOSTLY done by 12 months .... BUT... it CAN STILL Get some what better ... my nerve damage is 16 months old now and it has improved a LITTLE from where it was at 12 months ... my experience is that the body has an extraordinary ability to heal itself ... and if you add in a little faith that ability can DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE .. so good luck to all & God bless

    • lisa65326
      lisa65326 mark69964

      Posted

      Hello ,

      I had my vATS operation in June 2018 and this weekend I have Been in so much pain my chest is very sore I can feel burning sensation were there cut me feels like a razor blade its horrible but its my chest is the big one i cant wear a bra feel so bruised and my boobs are killing me cant touch them went to the doctors and they just said oh well you have had a big operation its going to take time to heal just go and buy primrose oils for the pain shocking ,I still cant understand the doctors discharged me but i still get letters every 3 months to see the consultant not sure why ,the last time i went i had a chest infection and they didn't tell me or give me anything .is there anything I can do for the pain on my boobs these are so so painful

    • jack93715
      jack93715 lisa65326

      Posted

      if your having much pain by now you need to go see a "Chronic Pain Control Specialist" .....the surgeon will NOT HELP YOU ... at the 6 month range i still had quite a bit of pain and i was taking 600 mg GABAPENTIN capsules one at 6am + one 2 pm + two at bedtime ... you can take more but it clouds your mind quite a bit and dont help much more either ... so if that does NOT releive the pain ... you can ALSO take half a hydrocodone 10/300 every six hours (in addition to the gabapentin) to really knock the pain out ... at least now and then to give you a break from the pain .... but keep in mind of you do that longer than 3-4 weeks you can get addicted ... which means when you stop you will suffer a few days of symptoms getting off them ... also after a month or two or three you can start getting MOH (medicine overuse headachs) ... anyhow ... good luck and God bless you

    • mark69964
      mark69964 jack93715

      Posted

      hi i take 3 GABAPENTIN 300ml 1 co-codamol 2 ibrufin 3 times a day and i still have pain but it helps i am 14 monthes post opp vats trippal wedg resection .

    • jack93715
      jack93715 mark69964

      Posted

      the gabapentin alone did not seem to help me much ... (it seemed to make the hydrocondone work better) and it clouded my mind a lot ... so i started using Alpha Lipoic Acid (ala) 600 mg per day (after a meal to avoid upset stomach) and after it kicks in (it takes maybe 3-4 weeks to start seeing effects and maybe 90 days to achieve full impacts) ... for me it worked a LOT better in actually relieving the pain ... maybe ask your doctor about ADDING it to your gabapentin and in 4-6 weeks if you see a LOT of improvement maybe you can quit the gabapentin ... a lot of folks use it for diabetic nerve damage/pain .. and many people are very happy with it ... more than gabapentin i think ...anyhow ... good luck

    • mark69964
      mark69964 jack93715

      Posted

      Thank you I will ask my doctor for that and see if it helps. My work finished me at Christmas because of the pain I am in at work. Have other people had to stop work because of their pain after this operation.

    • Adele37
      Adele37 bgoorland

      Posted

      yes 9 mos constant pain, numbness and like a harness squeezing me so tight I cant breathe at times.ribs digging into me. now new doc put me on lyrica which is helping me

    • sharon36230
      sharon36230 lisa65326

      Posted

      I am so sorry you are in so much pain i had vats surgery 2/13/18 and still cannot wear a bra had a lot of discomfort especially sitting at a desk all day at work i started taking Zilis CBD oil and take 1 ml at 1:00 pm and then 1 ml at bedtime and I have been able to sit at my desk pretty comfortably which I never thought would happen!

  • Arteaga4209
    Arteaga4209 fluffykitty

    Posted

    Hi I have had more than 15 surgeries all pneumothorax 

    Yes I have both side my left side and right side numb it’s really painful you can’t explain to people. It’s hard 

    My doctor told me if it didn’t go away 3- 6 months it was going to be like that forever 

    My sensation never came back 

    It’s really hard to put on my braw for a long time 

  • jackie69677
    jackie69677 fluffykitty

    Posted

    My advise to anyone who is suffering is to get to a good pain management Doctor.  They can be of great help.  The best to you.
  • Adele37
    Adele37 fluffykitty

    Posted

    I had vats also. its almost 7 mos. I still have numbness in my abdomen. the band around me feels like a corset that gets tight and tighter on some days. I thought I was getting better but no

    the feeling like my lungs are glued on are also annoy omg

    the worst part is everyone including new pulmonologist thinks I'm crazy and never heard of these feelings

    • jackie69677
      jackie69677 Adele37

      Posted

      Nerve pain is the strangest pain I have ever experienced. The only way I can

      explain mine as I did to my doctors.....it's like a lightning bolt shooting through

      me. I have found that if I get busy and do something like walking, cooking, getting

      out and going to the movies. Just keeping busy. Sometimes the pain will go away

      for a few days and than.....wham...it's back. I look at it this way, some pain is well

      worth it as long as my cancer is gone. I thank God all the time that I insisted that

      my doctor order a low dose CAT scan for me as I was a former smoker.

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