drehn88

I just read a post about pain between the shoulder blades that might be esophageal spasms. Has anyone had that and could tell me what it feels like? I'm almost 9 months post op and for the last couple of months if I don't follow the rules (especially the little bite rule) my lower esophagus near my stoma will feel swollen and I get pain in my back between my shoulder blades. I can always still get food down, but it it's a very uncomfortable and annoying feeling that lasts for days until I "baby my band" and do liquids. Thanks in advance.

My dr's office always gives me what to do after a fill/unfill. I've only been unfilled once and I was not given any food restriction. I can't image you would need to do liquids or mushy after an unfill.

Yep! It takes about a week for me to feel the fill.

I remember the shoulder pain was terrible. Someone on this sight said to walk around and flap your arms like a chicken. I think that actually helped. A heating pad helped too after the pain wasn't quite as intense. Once you are healed, if you eat too much the shoulder pain comes back. The worst is that it happens about 10 mins. after you overeat. Hope you feel better soon!

I've read a lot about people feeling "tight" in the morning and sometimes through the afternoon. What does this feel like? For the last month or so I feel "swollen" in the middle of my chest (where my band is located). I'm able to eat through this feeling, but it doesn't go away until late afternoon. Is this what tight feels to you?

The microwave is my best friend! LOL

Thank you for your comments! Mrsto...that is EXACTLY how I feel! We've been banded almost the same amount of time and I only started feeling this after my last fill. I was really busy at work today so I only had coffee until 11:30 when I ate lunch. I felt SO much better today and only had the "thick" feeling during the morning. YEA! B52...I often think about what you say about learning the hard way. I think this is a perfect example. Eat until I'm physically hungry (ie, when my band is ready) and take tiny bites. I truly believe this will prevent that thick feeling in my throat. I hope all of you veterans know how much help you give us newbies! I don't know how people do it without support.

Liquid tylenol is very hard to find! I found the adult generic version at CVS. I couldn't find anything at Walgreens. I wanted to take ibuprofen in liquid form and the pharmacist said to take the children's version (yuk!). Someone on this sight said the liquid will go right down instead of sitting in your stomach so it's less likely to cause stomach issues. I find tylenol is better for headaches, but ibuprofen is best for achy muscles. I hope it works for you. Sometimes my headaches are so bad I feel nauseous. Then I get petrified that I'm going to throw up and slip my band.

I'm too scared to take a tylenol or ibuprofen pill so I take liquid tylenol. It's tastes disgusting (like it did when I was a kid), but I think it works faster in liquid form too.

Excellent post!

Me too!

I used to hardly ever burp before being banded, and now I burp all the time! It feels great when I do so I don't try to hide it. LOL

About 7 days post op my incisions became very itchy and puffy. Apparently I'm allergic to steri strips. At 10 days I was told to take off the strips even though they weren't coming off on their own. The dr said to use cortizone cream, but it never really helped. That lasted at least 2 weeks then the allergy finally left my system. Call your doctor, but it's probably just an allergic reaction. Good luck!

I'm ok with most carbs. Once in a blue moon, when I go to Olive Garden, I pull the "guts" (doughy part) of a breadstick out and eat the outsides. It's almost like having the whole thing. It seems like a lot of people can't tolerate those kind of carbs. Your band may settle down. Maybe you won't be like that forever.

Could it be a hernia? Maybe you just pulled a muscle? Sorry you've had a bad experience with your doctor. That's just not right.

I have it too. Right between my shoulder blades and sometimes underneath my right shoulder blade. I wonder if it's from either eating too big of bites or eating too much. I have an appt next week and will ask too. Let us know what your doc says.

When I don't follow the rules and take too big of bites, my stoma feels "swollen". This will also cause my back to hurt between my shoulder blades. I have no idea how the two are related, but it happens every time in tandem. I was thinking you might still be swollen from surgery, but what your nurse said about the spasms makes sense too. It makes me wonder if that "swollen" feeling is actually spasms. Hmm...

"What if some food goes down before I am done making it "mush?" I wondered the same thing! It's happened once to me (in the last 9 months post op). Luckily it had already been chewed a bit so it just got a little stuck for a minute. I spit out the food that was still in my mouth and waited until that sneaky piece went through the band. Your worries are justifiable. Take it slow and follow the rules. Your band will let you know when you get lazy with the rules. Good luck!

After you've had your band for awhile and a few fills you will just look at certain foods and know you shouldn't even attempt them. For me, those are foods like thick breads, tortillas, and donuts. You may also realize that every bite you put in your mouth needs to be the biggest bang for your buck (so to speak). For example, if you're eating a sandwich take away half the bread. The meat and a little bit of bread will satisfy you. Good luck to you. The band is a wonderful tool.

That's awesome weight loss! I started at 250 and I'm down to 193ish. It's slow for me, but I haven't "dieted" so I'm happy with my progress so far. My band had 3.5 after surgery. I've been conservative with my fills. I'm at 6.4 (I think) in a 10 cc band about 9 months post op. I definitely feel it. Pretty sure I'm in the green zone, but my choices of food I think make me not lose like I should. I can def go 4 hours before feeling hungry, but I find myself snacking when I'm not hungry. I made a friend through this website and we sometimes get our fills together and then hang out at a local pub afterwards. Would you like to join us sometime? Our next appt is Wed Feb 5 in the afternoon. Let me know if you'd like to join us afterward and I'll let you know where we will be.

I'm from Rockwall. I went through True Results Dr. Marsden. I'm 8 months post op and very pleased with True Results. The aftercare is what YOU make it, but the NPs are very knowledgeable. Are you pre or post op?

My go to for mushy was the lasagna bowl. Not sure if this is the correct recipe, but it will work (and it's yummy too). 1/4 cup cottage cheese 1/4 cup spaghetti sauce 1/4 mozzarella cheese Microwave first 2 ingredients for about 30 secs. Then top with cheese and microwave 30 secs. I also mashed up egg salad when eating mushies. You really have to get creative. Enjoy!

Happy New Year May banders! We have 4 months until our 1 year bandiversary. How much further do you have until you reach your one year goal? I wanted to lose 100 lbs in a year which would put me at goal weight. I've lost 50 so far. I'm thinking I need to adjust my one year goal at this point because I doubt I will lose the same in only 4 months. Am I depressed about that? Heck no! This is a process and I know I'm well on my way to a healthier me. How is everyone else doing?

I love what you said about heating your food 4 times during the course of a meal. I do that at every meal. I like my hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Thank goodness for microwaves!

I'm thinking about starting Atkins again, too. I know I can lose weight using the band correctly, but since the holidays I've succumbed to my sweet tooth. Atkins helps stop the cravings for sweets and jump starts weight loss after a stall. I'll only do it for a couple of weeks then start adding in carbs. My plan is to have 1 scrambled egg sprinkled with shredded cheese for Breakfast, a chicken caesar salad (3 oz chicken, 1 cup lettuce) for lunch, and then some sort of meat (3-4 oz) and veggies for dinner.