Ariley

I had shoulder pain post op. I was so depressed about it. It was NOT gas pain. My gas pain went away after about 5 days right when the shoulder pain started. It is irritation of the vagus nerve and/or phrenic nerve. Some people have more swelling than others and take longer to heal. I had the pain in my shoulder for about 3 weeks Post Op. I am now ALMOST 6 weeks post op. Since 3 weeks, I have had this pain maybe about two days and only for a couple of hours. Other than that, I have been ok (knock on wood). I have not received a fill yet. I am flying on a plane this week and they said that can cause swelling from the high altitudes and I didn't want to have swelling from my fill and the plane and have the shoulder pain again b/c it sucks. A heating pad helped me some. Also, a muscle relaxer helps. I am a band over bypass (so I cannot take advil or very sparingly). Also, try to eliminate gassy foods and sitting for too long (it pushes on the diaphram by the nerve). I know other bandsters experience this shoulder pain sometimes if they eat too fast or too much or if they hiccup. This was almost a constant pain for me for three weeks. My PCP told me he would put me through physical therapy and a nerve pain medication if I needed it. I do feel better now. The bariatric nurse knew what I was talking about and I'm sorry your nurse made you feel like you didn't know what you were talking about. I think you are much further out than me from the surgery. Did you get anything stuck recently that irritated your pouch? Hope it gets better for you.

I also have band over bypass. I felt very depressed and down for about 10-12 days but was physically able to move a lot more. I had a lot of pain through day 4 or so then started to get better. I had a lot of shoulder pain---not from gas, irritation of the nerve. After about 3 weeks I started to feel more like myself and after I month, I felt great! Hang in there.

I started solids on week 4. 1st week liquids. Week 2 and 3 pur?ed and soft. Every one is slightly different. Most important thing besides following your rules is to listen to your body!

Glad we are twins . I am not too nervous for the fill b/c I had an UNFILL about 10 days ago and I kind of feel like I know what to expect. When they primed my 14 CC band, they meant to remove all of the Fluid in it but accidentally left a little bit in, which happens from time to time. Some surgeons even leave fluid in the band during surgery. I feel lucky in that I was never hungry the first three weeks. Once they removed the 0.8 cc's I DID feel a difference and my appetite returned---although not as strong. This week I've hit 1,000 cals. every day. If I'm not hungry, I add a scoop of Protein to my Water for the extra protein and the extra 100 calories to get me there. My nurse told me to just do what was comfortable and listen to my body as I am healing. When I had my unfill, I had to lay on a table and lift my legs up. The nurse felt around for the port. She cleansed the site, took a syringe with a fairly long needle and put it in. It felt like a little sting but it was not bad. It actually hurt worse when she pulled it out. I'm not sure why it was that way unless she pulled it out at a different angle or moved it around. She then put a little gauze over the port. I had one or two drops of blood. The whole thing lasted 15-30 seconds for me. I was fine after that. Also, if you are not hungry, you do not have to get a fill. At least I know that is usually the case. As long as you are staying satisfied for 4-5 hours and losing weight, my surgeon says you don't need a fill. Every surgeon is different, but I've read that about other bandsters as well. Don't let anyone FORCE it on you. I receive two years of aftercare included in the cost of my surgery. Congratulations on your weight loss!

I have tried pre made and powder shakes. I ordered Isopure Low Carb Dutch chocolate. (I believe its 3 grams of carbs per serving). The serving size is two scoops at 50 grams per Protein. I usually did a scoop and a half per shake. The flavor is not very strong but it does not taste bad. If I were to have a pre made shake like I did some days, I preferred Muscle Milk LIGHT or Atkins Dark Chocolate Royale. You especially want to get shakes low in sugar so your glucose levels are not peaking and dropping. That will just make you feel more hungry.

I am a BOB (Band over bypass---Had gastric bypass in March of 2008). Doing pretty good. I had a few hiccups in the beginning. I had left shoulder pain from NERVE irritation not gas. It was painful. I had it until almost three weeks out, I thought it would never end and then it just went away one day. Hoping it stays that way. I also had Acid Reflux (which I rarely ever had prior t the band). Turns out, there was a little fluid they forgot to remove from my band during surgery. Only 0.8 cc but enough to cause the acid reflux while I was still in the swelling stage. I have been doing WELL since then . This is my first week of solids. This is ALSO my first week of no weight loss. I'm wondering if its b/c its the actual weight of the food since liquids and pureed foods are readily absorbed and eliminated. Who knows. Staying within calorie range of 1,000-1,200. For five weeks (two weeks before surgery and three weeks after) I was only eating b/w 300-800 calories. So that may also be why I stayed the same b/c my calories were low. My appetite returned toward the the end of week 3. My first fill is October 14th!

I was banded September 13th!

Hi, I'm Abby. Wasn't exactly sure where to post this as didn't think it would be appropriate in newly banded for new bandsters that are learning like me. If anyone has any advice, please help! I know there are several topics on heartburn AFTER a patient has been too tight or has had fills but I haven't had anything in my band. My lapband surgery date was 9/13/13. I had the AP-L band with no Fluid placed in band. I did have hiatial hernia repair 3 x 4 CM. Today is my 14 day post op and I am having heartburn. I did not have heartburn at all the first week post op. I do not lay down after meals, so I know it is not related to that. I also have ONLY had Water to drink for fluids since day 8 and forward from surgery. I had my post op appointment this last Wednesday (9/25) with the nurse. I had only had one bad heartburn experience the past weekend and thought it was an isolated incident but still mentioned it. She suggested that I trial prilosec for about a month or so until the swelling subsides from the surgery. I just wanted to give you some background information and what I’ve been doing so you have all the info. Prior to surgery, I probably have had heartburn 5-10 times in my life that I can recall. The only thing that triggered it was if I drank more than two glasses of alcohol which was a rare occasion. I was never sensitive to any other types of food. It was also relieved by taking two tums within 10-30 minutes. My first week post-op I was unable to burp for 6-7 days. Every time I had the pressure to burp, I was unable to for some reason. Starting day 6-7 and forward I burp multiple times throughout the day. I don’t know if that’s a factor since it opens up the Lower esophageal sphincter. I do try to not gulp air and try to SIP my water. My first heartburn experience was on day 8, first day of pureed/soft type foods per surgeon guidelines. I had three bites of lowfat cottage cheese at 12:00 p.m. I tolerated that fine. I had no other food and only sipped on water starting at 1:00 p.m. At 3:30 p.m., I developed heartburn that lasted until 7:00 pm. I took two tums and a chewable prevacid around 5:00, the heartburn finally relieved itself two hours after that. I had no episode of heartburn on Sunday. On Monday I had very mild heartburn that lasted about 1-2 hours and then went away. No episode on Tuesday or Wednesday. Yesterday Thursday (9/26) I had heartburn from 4:00 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. I did have ¼ of tomato Soup at noon but had no symptoms of heartburn and had tomato soup previous days without problems (I understand this is acidic) At 3:30, I ate two ounces of tuna fish and 1 low fat laughing cow cheese wedge. At 4:00 p.m., I had heartburn. I took two tums and prevacid at 4:30 without relief. I continued to sip my water but no other food. At 8:30 I took two more tums and then Pepto-Bismol. Had no relief. Finally at 9:30 I started to drink my Protein shake (only water and whey protein) and I had relief. I was afraid to try any more food even though I was hungry in fear of having heartburn all night. This morning I woke up around 8:30 a.m. with heartburn. It is my third day of omeprazole. I’m really upset as it is uncomfortable, I had no problems of reflux prior to surgery AND I had a hernia repair. My throat and esophagus feel irritated now and then to have another episode makes it more irritated than the initial episodes. I don’t know if there is something wrong but this is NOT normal for me. If this is related to swelling from the surgery, wouldn't of I experienced it the first week? Or no? I have NO night cough, no nausea, no vomiting. I also don't feel gastric juices in my throat. Just a "burn" from my sternum to my throat area. I've had minimal hunger since surgery. Maybe feel hungry once a day. I am eating roughly 500-700 calories this week. I have tolerated swallowing everything I've tried. No PB or slime. I've tried Protein shakes (only water and whey stirred), broths, blended Soups, lowfat cottage cheese, refried Beans, greek yogurt, pudding, tuna fish, laughing cow cheese wedge, and Peanut Butter. Is there a reason post op with no fluid in the band why I would be experiencing this? . I left a voicemail to make an appointment with the surgeon but seeing if in the meantime someone else had a solution. Thanks. -Abby

I am only 14 days post op. I started at 216.4. I was placed on an 800 calorie diet (mainly liquid for two weeks). Was about 208 day of surgery. I am 200 lbs. exactly two weeks out. So an average of four pounds a week for me. I have been at 200 lbs. since Tuesday though and I think its b/c my calories are so low. I ate 300-400 first week and am now at 500-650 or so. Hoping can get to 800-1,000 next week. I think if you follow the rules to the surgery you should be successful. I decided to have the band b/c I always felt hungry. It takes the edge off. I have had a few issues since surgery though that have depressed me some but hoping it will improve. Left shoulder pain from nerve irritation which has gotten a bit better and reflux which was RARE for me prior to surgery. And I have no fluid in my band.