abdominal discomfort “tightness” months after liver resection
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Hi Serena I had my surgery of January last year. It was pretty invasive. I have had pain/bloating etc, ever since. Though I just found out most of this is due to my scar tissue and it’s manipulating my intestines so that is what is causing my pain and even bloating they said. Though this pain feels different that the constant intermittent pain I was feeling this entire past year. From what I gather it appears for most of us pain is pretty common after such a big surgery and can remain common. You know I thought when I was done recovering and such that I was just be bam, back to normal up and at em. And though I am young, 35, I realize I will never have a new normal and will probably deal with some sort of discomfort for the rest of my life. And there is nothing I can change about this and just learning to accept that I have a new normal.
Blessings,
porterHey Kathy,
Thanks for your response. My mom had trouble with gas/bloating, mostly with ingestion of oily, fatty, heavy foods. Now my mom has changed her diet and consumes mostly veggies, nothing fried or with lots of fat and this adjustment has seemed to help her symptoms.
Serena
Judy….digestive enzymes (often called pancreatic enzymes) aid in the digestion of foods. Most come in pill form and can be purchased widely; Creon though has to be prescribed by a physician. My husband would take 3 enzymes prior to a heavy meal and 2 or less for lighter fares. Resected people (generally) have problems with the digestion of fats. Enzymes may help, but we found that cutting back on fats worked best.
Hugs,
MarionMarion, Can you describe some examples of digestive enzymes to take when feeing discomfort after resection surgery? Do you mean particular foods or medications? Thank you.
Kathy….a welcome from me as well. Physicians will watch the trend of the CA 19-9 however; as had been mentioned by you often times it takes a while for the body to settle down following such an invasive surgery. It looks as if they are on top of the situation and hopefully you can relax a bit.
From what we see on this board, digestive issues following resection are pretty much the norm. My husband would take digestive enzymes prior to each meal. That seemed to help. Others faired well with Creon, a prescription medicine.
So glad you found us.
Hugs
MarionHello, Kathy and welcome to the best place to be for CC support. Congratulations on your surgery and that is our favorite word…surgery. I can’t help with your question as my husband had a Whipple. I do know everything changes like your tastes and it does take a long time to heal. He was a chocoholic and after surgery never got the taste back for chocolate. I hope your CA-19 starts moving down and know that the CA-19 alone does not signify anything is wrong but should be watched. Again good luck on your healing process and please do keep us updated, you are not alone.
I had a resection April 30. They removed 80% of my liver and my gallbladder. All margins were clean so fortunately I did not need chemo or radiation. I also feel uncomfortable sensations at the incision site. It seems to happen more in the evening. I feel better in the morning. All my scans so far came back clean and blood work is good except for CA 19-9. After surgery it was 10. At 3 mo check-up
it was 136. My oncologist said he was concerned and wanted me to follow up with another blood test 30 days. I went last month Dec. 15 and it was 126. The oncologist said being it did not double or triple I should just have another blood test end of Jan. My GP said that this blood test alone is not a true marker for cancer and that this number might be my norm after my body adjusted to all the invasive surgery. I hope so. I was wondering if anyone who had similar surgery was having any problem with gas and bloating. It seems to be getting worse as time goes on. In the beginning i could eat anything without any problem which was surprising since I had gallbladder removed also. But now every time I eat I am very uncomfortable especially carbs, sugar etc. I am now really watching my diet. I would appreciate any advice. I am new to this site.
KathyI had a resection in 2010 and again in 2011. I still experience some pain and tightness. My doctor said it is probably scar tissue and nerve damage from surgery.
LisaMy husband started experiencing similar discomfort about 6 months after his exploratory surgery. A CT scan was clear. His doctor attributes it to nerve endings that were cut and remain sensitive.
Hope this is helpful.
Debbie
Hi Serena
I had my resection in November 2010, and I experienced some strange aches and pains for about 2 years afterwards, although they did lessen over time. For me, it felt like I had heavy stones around the area of the incision, and it was very uncomfortable at times. I’ discussed this with my GP and it was felt to be part of the healing process, and probably some adhesions .
I still have occasional twinges but it has become my new “normal” and I don’t worry about it anymore – but your Mum will have to find her own peace with this!
Helen
Serena,
My resection was at the end of Feb this year and I’ve had various twinges…ranging from sharp, sudden pains to more subtle “pain” from time to time. It’s generally transient….can’t remember it ever lasting for days…mostly just for a moment and then nothing else for a long time. One time, though, the pains came and went all of one afternoon that sort of freaked me out. I talked to my oncologist about it…and she said too, that it was from the nerve endings being cut. A resection is a very invasive surgery…and they do a lot of manipulation of “stuff” inside of us during the process. My GP said that after she read the surgical report, it was no wonder I hurt….they had done that much and that was just to remove only the left lobe.
Anyway….it sounds to me like both of our oncologists agree that it is likely nerve endings. I haven’t had any of the twinges for quite some time now….maybe 4 months…..and have had all clean CT scans, so my bets are on the nerve endings.
Hi everyone,
Sometimes when I’m worried or concerned about my mom, I google the symptoms or what she is experiencing and I then I remember I have this wonderful forum as a resource! Google sometimes scares the crap out of me to be honest haha. Well I’ve already used the “search” function and gone through most of the posts on this discussion board regarding abdominal discomfort after liver resections and it was really helpful, but I thought re-posting this question in case anyone else had this concern would be beneficial to some. So my mom had her liver resection in July. Its been 6 months and every now and then my mom would experience abdominal discomfort – “tightness” around her incision area or where her liver resection was. She describes it as a feeling of “pulling” and “tightness” and its not painful, mostly just uncomfortable and is relieved when she lays on her back. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this even months after the surgery. and how long would it continue for? I asked our surgeon and he didn’t seem to concerned, just said that it was because of all the nerve endings that were cut during surgery. That answer makes sense to me but I forgot to ask how long this would go on for. they didn’t prescribe any medication nor does my mom really want to take anything for it (other than lorazepam).
Thanks all! And I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May 2015 be better for us all!!Serena
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