numbness and very tight feeling after vats surgery
Posted , 31 users are following.
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
Adele37 fluffykitty
Posted
every day my ribs dig into me. that feeling like I'm wearing a corset under my skin is so tight
I feel like a freak
its 7 mos
judy44740 fluffykitty
Posted
My Vats surgery update: After 5 years I still have tightness in the surgical area. Steroids and antibiotics help some but not for long. sometimes my breathing gets very difficult and its hard to talk for very long. My doctors do not seem to have any answers for me. I am fine right now but if I get a cold everything is back to having that tight belt feeling around my chest again. I thought after having the surgery that I would be ok. The side effects from this surgery is rough and as I have seen on some of these replys the doctors do know about this tight feeling because more than one of us have told them. Goodluck to all those that have had this surgery and have had unusual problems with recovery
mark69964 judy44740
Posted
have you had to stop working after your vats becouse of the pin ??
bgoorland mark69964
Posted
I am 15 months past vats. I gave tried the meds. They didnt help me. I had 3 Nerve Block procedures, the last was a Cryo Ablasion. They helped only a little. What helped me the most was a acupuncture. I got relief after the first visit. I only go once a week because I pay out of pocket. I still have pain, but was an 8/10 before accupuncture, and went down to 3/10 after.
Brett
mark69964 judy44740
Posted
Do you still work or did you have to stop??
sharon36230 fluffykitty
Posted
I had vats surgery with lower lobe removal of my right lung last year on 2/13/18 and am still having numbness in my right side and much discomfort while sitting at my desk all day at work, I still cannot wear a bra I did find a sports bra I can tolerate for part of the day but mostly wear loose sport shirts under my outer shirt instead of a bra. I cannot tolerate any clingy or tight clothing on my right side either. I just started physical therapy on Friday to try to build up my core to see if that will help eliminate the discomfort I have also started taking CBD oil only on it 4 wks and haven't noticed much difference.
Adele37 sharon36230
Posted
my doc put me on lyrica
sharon36230 Adele37
Posted
THANK
jackie69677 fluffykitty
Posted
It has no been eight months since my surgery. I am in much pain than I was. I stopped taking Gabapentin as it was not doing much for the nerve pain and I did not want to increase the dosage. I decided to just go on with my life before surgery. That has really helped. Yes, I still get the lain on and off but keeping busy really helps the most. I'm happy to be alive!
jack93715 jackie69677
Posted
you can try taking Alpha Lipoic acid (ala) it is used my a lot of people for diabetic nerve damage/pain ... and it does NOT cloud your mind at all like the gabapentin did ... i've been using it for some time now and i think it works MUCH better than the gabapentin did by itself (it seemd to me that gabapentin mostly helped other pain killers to work better - like hydrocodone ... but by itself mostly just clouded my mind up) ... in usa you dont need a prescriptin for ALA like you do in germany ... but im not sure about the uk ...
Adele37 jack93715
Posted
ask your doctor about lyrica no side effects and helped me immediately
Adele37 fluffykitty
Posted
it has been 9 mos since lung vats. my ribs dug into me with extreme pain . numbness across my whole abdomen and swollen stomach. they finally put me on lyrica which seems to be helping. I've gained 20lbs my vsince surgery
mark69964 fluffykitty
Posted
i am 15 monthes post op and still have the same pain from nerve damage in my side .
jackie69677 fluffykitty
Posted
This month it is a year marks a year since my surgery. I am happy to
say that most of my nerve pain is gone. Just every once in a while.