laparoscope breathing difficulties

Exactly one week ago, 4/4/14, I had my gallbladder removed by laparoscopy. I spent the night in the hospital, where as most people would be going home, due to extreme pain after getting up in recovery and being forced to walk around and sit upright. After trying to lay down, the pain was so intense, I panicked. This whole thing has me full of regret.

Anyway, I was given percocet and slept a lot. I ran out of them friday and called my surgeon for a refill. Instead, he gave me a prescription for vicodin. I received it late afternoon, early evening and I think I was alright.. However, the next day I had a terrible time getting a satisfying breath, if that makes sense. I am an asthmatic and used my inhaler -- but I wasn't wheezing, so it didn't help. Later that night 8ish hours after taking it last, I was able to breath better.

I stopped taking it Saturday, it is now Monday morning and I am still feeling incapable of taking that satisfactory breath. I was alright on Sunday.

Also, I think it's noteworthy to mention that I feel better laying down with the breathing than I do upright.

So, my question is this. Am I having an adverse effect from taking the vicodin? I read that asthmatics have a greater risk of experiencing breathing difficulties when taking vicodin. Should he have prescribed this to me to begin with? Would the negative symptom I am experiencing be caused by it after not taking it for 48 hours, how long will it last? Is the laying down tied in somehow? is this a new problem and if so, what is it?

I know people have difficulty breathing because the breathing moves the diaphragm which causes pain due to the surgery. I breathe with little discomfort to my wounds. It's not pain keeping me from taking a deep breath, it's just... the inability to. I CAN take a deep breath here and there, but it's a great struggle and I go through many failed attempts. I've tried benadryl and drinking coffee along with my inhaler. None of these seem to assist and I continue to struggle to breath well.

Any help would be so profoundly useful to me. I am to call my surgeon momentarily, actually and complain, but I was also hoping to hear from other who perhaps have experienced this same thing to know I am not alone and maybe get some insight into how long I can expect this to last.

Best regards,

Axiom.