Severe pain when I wake up- VATS lobectomy

Hi everyone, firstly I'd like to say thank you for this forum, it's helped me massively with all the information on here and everyone is so helpful and supportive! I'm 32 year old female, I had a VATS lobectomy approx 9 weeks ago and got my lower right lobe removed. Everything went well, my recovery has been pretty smooth considering apart from the old niggle here and there but I've had regular check ups since and all my scans have come back good. The past 4 days I've been waking up in the night with horrific pains on my right side of my chest, radiates from under my collarbone all the way down my diaphragm. The pain was so bad in bed the other night I passed out. I went to hospital the next day and they did a a CT scan, all fine no issues- they think I may have post op nerve damage. They've given me amitryptaline for the night and some pain relief gel to put on. I slept well last night but as soon as I try to get out of bed the same thing happens and the only way I can describe it is as if my whole right side of my chest goes into spasm and it's so painful, I can't catch my breathe! Then after a few minutes it goes, I have no problems at all throughout the day and it's bizarre and I don't need any pain killers throughout the day. Has anyone experienced this and what does anybody recommend? Do I need to see a physio? 
many thanks  
 

  • Hello and thanks for your post

    After VAT's surgery, pain and discomfort usually eases within a few months. However sometimes it can take longer.

    Ongoing pain can be caused by nerve damage during the surgery.  Damaged nerves can take a while to repair themselves. Nerve pain tends not to respond to regular pain killers. Drugs such as amitriptyline tend to work better. But it can take time for them to do their job as the starting dose is usually small to begin with and then gradually increased. And there can be some trial and error to get the best choice of these medicines at the right dose to get on top of the pain. . So do talk about this with your doctors or lung care nurse and ask what can be done to sort this out so you are more comfortable. I hope they can help. They can also advise you on seeing s physiotherapist.

    Hopefully people will come along and share their experiences with you, as support like this can be invaluable. But it’s important to bear in mind that even if there are other people who have experienced similar things to you, I’m not sure that their experience will shed much light about what is going on with you.

    Give us a ring if you would like to talk things over. The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

    Kind regards,

    Celene