How was your pain after a lobectomy?

I had an upper left lobe Segmentectomy, not a full lobectomy, in March of 2023. I had the VATS surgery. (Robot assisted surgery, or video assisted). Surgeries have come a long way! It will depend on what type of surgery they are doing for you.
Anyway, no real pain in the hospital, of course they are there doing everything for you and giving you your meds on schedule. They send your prescriptions to your pharmacy, for when you go home. Make sure you have it set up for someone to pick them up for you. You should plan all this out now before your surgery. I ordered prepared meals for my entire family for at least a week so as not to stress anyone about making meals. I bought a bed table to eat at, and I already had my adjustable bed. THAT was the best investment I’ve ever made! After you get home, the hard part is figuring out how to sleep and move. The bed was great because I could sleep propped up, I could adjust it up to almost sitting so I could just turn a bit and get out of bed. No pressure on trying to push myself up that way. That causes some pain. You can always use lots of pillows to do the same thing. You do NOT want to put any pressure on your side. Take the meds even if you don't think you have pain, because it WILl come. If you stay on top of it, it will be good. I only had to take mine for a week or so. I was told not to lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk for about 4-6 weeks. You can really hurt everything if you don’t follow the doctors orders! The best thing to do is walk! Start just around inside your home. Then a little outside. Try to make sure someone is with you to help you back if needed. Breathing is scary at first because you don’t know what to expect, but I was so happy I could breath normally after the first week! Walk and walk and walk after you feel comfortable. Best medicine in the world for healing and breathing! I now am a personal shopper and I have to walk really fast to get the order shopped and then deliver it. A lot of orders have cases of waters (heavy!), etc. I’m telling you this because I want you to see you can get back to notmal. Just be Careful and Slow during your recovery! God Bless you and I pray that you have a full and speedy recovery!🙏🙏🙏

I had the VATS left upper lobectomy in February 2023. I went in on a Friday morning and went home Monday afternoon. I chose non-opioid pain management (because of fear of apneic breathing problems) and had an indwelling thoracic epidural catheter with patient controlled analgesic - where it delivers a steady amount by pump and you can push a button for a bolus. I felt the pain management was excellent. Through the entire post-operative stay I had to have two opioid doses for uncontrolled pain; dilaudid specifically -
The first dose was required because “hemodynamic stability” (pulse, BP etc) wasn’t achieved after 8 hours in the PACU. I was intermittently awake during that period but have no recall of any pain. The second dose was required because I had a pain crisis (10+ on 1-10 scale) on day two, due to a rhomboid/scapular muscle spasm. After pain boluses, muscle relaxer, gabapentin, NSAID and heat/cold failed - I accepted the dilaudid and it worked.
Otherwise, I felt the pain was more than manageable - far more manageable than when I had lumbar laminectomy or C-section. I removed the epidural myself from home a week later and mailed it back to the anesthesiologists. I used methocarbamol, gabapentin and ibuprofen as needed for the first week of home recovery but didn’t require them more than once daily and not at all after that first week. All of this is in reference to >pain< only. The most difficult post operative change for me was fatigue and SOB. I had experienced some SOB before surgery but fatigue has never been a problem for me.
SOB is greatly improved now with time and much intervention. *Be sure to do a full course of pulmonary rehab as soon as you’re fit for it!
Fatigue, however, remains a very difficult issue for me. Extremely frustrating!!
Even though we’re unique individuals, some factors can make a big difference in how things go so here’s some of my details FYI:
I am 59 y.o., diagnosed with NSCLC Stage 1a, was a heavy smoker for 40 years, tall, average weight, very physically active throughout my life, 2 autoimmune conditions; Grave’s disease (15+years) and bronchiectasis (18 months).
Best of health and luck to you!

I'm having a lobectomy 5/1 via the open thoracotomy. Your story is encouraging.

I had the VATS left upper lobectomy in February 2023. I went in on a Friday morning and went home Monday afternoon. I chose non-opioid pain management (because of fear of apneic breathing problems) and had an indwelling thoracic epidural catheter with patient controlled analgesic - where it delivers a steady amount by pump and you can push a button for a bolus. I felt the pain management was excellent. Through the entire post-operative stay I had to have two opioid doses for uncontrolled pain; dilaudid specifically -
The first dose was required because “hemodynamic stability” (pulse, BP etc) wasn’t achieved after 8 hours in the PACU. I was intermittently awake during that period but have no recall of any pain. The second dose was required because I had a pain crisis (10+ on 1-10 scale) on day two, due to a rhomboid/scapular muscle spasm. After pain boluses, muscle relaxer, gabapentin, NSAID and heat/cold failed - I accepted the dilaudid and it worked.
Otherwise, I felt the pain was more than manageable - far more manageable than when I had lumbar laminectomy or C-section. I removed the epidural myself from home a week later and mailed it back to the anesthesiologists. I used methocarbamol, gabapentin and ibuprofen as needed for the first week of home recovery but didn’t require them more than once daily and not at all after that first week. All of this is in reference to >pain< only. The most difficult post operative change for me was fatigue and SOB. I had experienced some SOB before surgery but fatigue has never been a problem for me.
SOB is greatly improved now with time and much intervention. *Be sure to do a full course of pulmonary rehab as soon as you’re fit for it!
Fatigue, however, remains a very difficult issue for me. Extremely frustrating!!
Even though we’re unique individuals, some factors can make a big difference in how things go so here’s some of my details FYI:
I am 59 y.o., diagnosed with NSCLC Stage 1a, was a heavy smoker for 40 years, tall, average weight, very physically active throughout my life, 2 autoimmune conditions; Grave’s disease (15+years) and bronchiectasis (18 months).
Best of health and luck to you!

Hello I had a left lower lung lobectomy in March of this year. I was very uncomfortable in the hospital with the chest tube but once it was taken out I had a lot less pain and mobility. Once I was home it was so much better. I agree try to set yourself up well in bed. I kept everything I was going to need on the right side of my bed to avoid moving around too much. Do take your pain medication on time. I am 7 weeks out from my surgery and while I’m not back to normal each week I see an improvement and walking has helped a lot. I hope everything goes well for you. Just one thing I would like to add be your own advocate if you are in pain or uncomfortable speak up. This was my second major surgery as I had colon cancer as well and a colon resection in January so I think my recovery may be taking a little longer. Try not to think about it or worry, doesn’t change anything and in the end it’s all ok and life goes on. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

@mcl2025, welcome. Thanks for sharing this great advice!
Two separate cancers, both with surgery? You've had a rough year. Hopefully you are back on the road to recovery. I've had both lung and breast cancer, but they were found years apart. Did you find one of the cancers while treating the other? Did you have symptoms from either?

Hi @marcibee, wishing you well this week. We tend to build these events up in our minds. Try to take a deep breath and know that you are in good hands. I hope you come through with flying colors! Have you had any treatments leading up to surgery, or are you just starting this process?