Dia

Hi everyone, I was banded Monday, April 14th and still have intense pain in my left shoulder. Has anyone had gas pains this long? I thought yesterday it was finally going away, but today it was back worse than before. I'm dying and wishing I'd never had this surgery. I'm fine with my band and incisions, it's this shoulder pain that is making my life miserable. It seems to have moved across my shoulder toward my neck. I'm thinking it's not gas, it's something altogether different. I never hurt before surgery, so maybe it's a result of having my arms outstretched during surgery. Pinched nerve or disc is what I'm thinking. Someone please tell me that this will go away quickly. I'm sobbing now from the pain.

Heather, that definitely happened to me today, about hurting after I ate. Today was my first day of real food - I didn't have breakfast, but for lunch I had some cut up chicken and mac 'n cheese. I was not hurting at all until I ate that. Same thing happened at supper. So while it's painful and very annoying, I guess I can look at it as something to help me not overeat, because it is soooo not worth that pain.

:smile:Thanks Vid, that does help. It gives me hope that it will go away and not that I'd wish this on anyone but it makes me feel better that I'm not alone in this.

Thank you for your encouraging words Jeen. I'm exactly 2 weeks post-op today, so I think (for me) I should be back to my old, pre-op, pain-free self. It's just so discouraging when it literally hurts to breathe.

Don't apologize for ranting Livn. I'm furious about this, more at myself for not knowing about this ahead of time. I consider myself to have researched the band thoroughly and I did know about residual gas pains in the left shoulder. But for some reason, I missed the possibility of the nerve/diaphragm thing. I knew that there would be a few "cons" to having this surgery but to me, the "pros" outweighed them. But living with sharp, stabbing pain in my shoulder and painful breathing were cons that would make me think even more about not having it. I'm really hoping this is temporary and will go away like Brenda's post suggests.

Brenda, I tried to google the info you gave me but I can't find it. I'm thinking I have what you described, I don't think it's gas anymore. I'm hurting under my ribcage (diaphragm?) and it radiates up into my left shoulder and neck. I'm really hating this band now. I have some liquid Lortab that I take at night that totally makes the pain subside but I don't think my doctor will refill it again. I am calling his office in the a.m. and hope to speak to a nurse who may be able to help or give me some advice. According to your research, are you saying that for most pts, it goes away after about 5 weeks? I'm so hoping that how it goes for me.

I haven't eaten anything today and I'm in pain in my left shoulder area. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks post-op and I really wish I hadn't had this surgery. I'm tired of hurting. Today it just hurts to breathe. I'm really scared it's this nerve/diaphragm thing and I'm guessing there's no cure? Other than taking the band out?

Angelface, I've been banded a little less than 2 weeks, and I assure you, "cold feet" is completely normal. I too had serious doubts 2 days before my surgery, for several reasons. One was being put to sleep, but mostly it's because I really, really love food. While I was beyond sick and tired of being overweight and battling my weight, I also grieved a little (and still do some) for having to give it up. I'm still finding my way with this band. I haven't had a fill yet, so I'm still hungry and craving all the foods I did before. By reading this board as much as I can, I just have to have faith that the band will work for me once I have a fill(s) and start eating some regular foods (am on full liquids now). Please know that your feelings are normal. Also know that the first few weeks of having the band possibly will be filled with emotional ups and downs as you get used to having to find your way with what you can and can't have. I have a newfound respect for the addicts I see on that t.v. show on A & E, "Intervention". Before, I didn't understand why some of them would balk or flat out refuse to go to rehab. Best of luck to you and Godspeed with your recuperation!

I have spoken to my dr about my pain, twice in fact. I called last Friday (4th day post-op) and had my one week follow up appt this past Tuesday. He said it could still be gas but if it continued that maybe a round of physical therapy would be in order. I know residual gas pain is common and I'm hoping that's all it is. I don't want it to be nerve or disc related. If it's gas, I'll gladly pay my dues like everyone else but last night, I was scared that it was something more. I was scared it WASN'T gas. This morning is a lot better. Hopefully last night was just a fluke and that I'm on my way to getting that gas out.

My dh is a pain clinic patient, and among other "goodies" he has, he has lidocaine Patches that are amazing. I took liq. Lortab about an hour ago and have 3 patches on so the pain has subsided for now. It may well still be gas, but I swear, it feels like something worse, like a pinched nerve or something torn. I'm up and very active. The only thing I don't do is pick up my 26 lb son, (or anything else over 10 lbs) per dr's orders. I take my gas-x and the heating pad brings only very little comfort. Thank you all for your replies and esp you Brenda. Big hug for your informative post.

For those of you who used Dr. Byars, what is his pre and post op diets? Dr. King's is 2 weeks pre-op clear liquids (w/ SlimFast Optima 3x day) and 2 weeks post-op clear liquids, minus the slimfasts. I'm no doctor, but to me, that is very extreme. A month of no nourishment? I know we can't be eating whatever we want but the body requires fuel. Dr. King is who I plan to use but I'd consider using Dr. Byars if his is not so extreme. That is, if that's allowable. ETA: I know for a few/several days after, most don't even have an appetite so this may not be an issue. But there is little to no nourishment in clear liquids (broth, water, sf jello, sf popsicles). I would think skim milk and maybe thin soups would be better than nothing. Maybe I'm worrying for nothing.

My surgery is re-scheduled for April 7th. I start the liquid diet AGAIN this coming Monday, 3/24, as long as I'm not still sick and have no fever. I still have to see the surgeon on 4/1. I don't know what all is going on with me, but my throat feels like it has a grapefruit in it and is very, very sore. Sinus drainage? I have a headache and feel like I've been beaten. So even though yesterday I was severly upset, I guess I should be glad that the dr. refused to operate. I can't imagine feeling this way on top of being sore from surgery. I just hope and pray that I don't get sick all over again. :thumbup: I need to eat to help get over this mess, but I need to watch it or I'll be going through carb withdrawal all over again.

My surgery is re-scheduled for April 7th. I start the liquid diet AGAIN this coming Monday, 3/24, as long as I'm not still sick and have no fever. I still have to see the surgeon on 4/1. I don't know what all is going on with me, but my throat feels like it has a grapefruit in it and is very, very sore. Sinus drainage? I have a headache and feel like I've been beaten. So even though yesterday I was severly upset, I guess I should be glad that the dr. refused to operate. I can't imagine feeling this way on top of being sore from surgery. I just hope and pray that I don't get sick all over again. :biggrin: I need to eat to help get over this mess, but I need to watch it or I'll be going through carb withdrawal all over again.

I got there at 6 am and went back pretty quickly. The nurse was doing routine stuff like asking my medical history, when was my last period, when did I eat/drink last, etc. Took my bp and temp. I had a temp of 100.4 and an elevated heart rate. She asked was I in any pain and I told her that my throat was very, very sore. I also have pink eye. I disclosed this last night when someone from the hospital called and went over some questions. She didn't say anything so I thought it must not be a big deal, even though pink eye is highly contagious. The surgeon was called and he said that he couldn't operate with all of that going on, I'm supposed to see him April 1 and he will reschedule my surgery then. That means I have to start this f***ing liquid diet and bowel prep all over again. I am so weak from the liquids and bowel prep and now I feel like my sore throat may mean I'm getting sinusistis, for about the 6th time since Thanksgiving. Right now, I feel so bad that I'm tempted to just say screw it, I have zero desire to live 2 weeks again in misery. I'd rather be fat at this point. I wish he would just tell me that as long as I don't gain back the 16 lbs I lost on the pre-op diet, then I won't have to go through that again. But I know that won't happen. Hopefully, this soured feeling I have will subside when I start feeling better. Not a good day at all. I'm very depressed.

I got there at 6 am and went back pretty quickly. The nurse was doing routine stuff like asking my medical history, when was my last period, when did I eat/drink last, etc. Took my bp and temp. I had a temp of 100.4 and an elevated heart rate. She asked was I in any pain and I told her that my throat was very, very sore. I also have pink eye. I disclosed this last night when someone from the hospital called and went over some questions. She didn't say anything so I thought it must not be a big deal, even though pink eye is highly contagious. The surgeon was called and he said that he couldn't operate with all of that going on, I'm supposed to see him April 1 and he will reschedule my surgery then. That means I have to start this f***ing liquid diet and bowel prep all over again. I am so weak from the liquids and bowel prep and now I feel like my sore throat may mean I'm getting sinusistis, for about the 6th time since Thanksgiving. Right now, I feel so bad that I'm tempted to just say screw it, I have zero desire to live 2 weeks again in misery. I'd rather be fat at this point. I wish he would just tell me that as long as I don't gain back the 16 lbs I lost on the pre-op diet, then I won't have to go through that again. But I know that won't happen. Hopefully, this soured feeling I have will subside when I start feeling better. Not a good day at all. I'm very depressed.

Tomorrow is my surgery!!! I weighed this a.m. and am down 14 lbs from this pre-op diet. My bowel prep is today and I already drank that nasty stuff. Getting a little nervous, but nothing like cold feet. Anxious for this to be over with.

Tomorrow is my surgery!!! I weighed this a.m. and am down 14 lbs from this pre-op diet. My bowel prep is today and I already drank that nasty stuff. Getting a little nervous, but nothing like cold feet. Anxious for this to be over with.

Ok, it's beyond ridiculous at how hungry I am. Would some lean protein really hurt anything? Lord knows I'm tempted, but I could really use some food. I'm not talking about a pizza or a po-boy or McDonald's. I can't function much, I'm getting really scatterbrained. Very forgetful and have hardly any energy. Thank goodness this is almost over. 5 days til my surgery. This time next week, I'll be 2 whole days post-op. I really, really hope I don't have the depression and "buyers remorse" that

For those of you who live in the south, I'm sure you are familiar with cornbread dressing. I was wondering if this would be a good choice for the soft/mushie stage of eating? My mom makes it with chicken and boiled egg, that would be a good source of Protein. Hers is usually very moist, but if it wasn't moist enough, I could add some broth and/or put it in the food processer. I would maybe have to do that anyway for the chicken. Did any of you eat this at this stage. It may be too carb-y, so if that's the case then I won't have her make me any. I'm just trying to get some ideas of things to have ahead of time, and have them in the house for when I'm ready.

You're 2 days after me then, I'll be thinking of you sueangel. I hope everything goes well for you. Please be sure to check in with me and let me know how you are doing. We can give each other encouragement if we have to, I'm thinking the first few days post-op will be no picnic!

I wish I had known about this blog feature before now, I'd love to have started blogging my journey at the beginning of my liquid diet. But I'm only 3 days into it, so this will have to do. Wednesday, March 5th 2008 was my consultation with my surgeon and my surgery was scheduled for Friday, March 21st. My weight on that day was 208 (down 2 lbs due to stomach virus the previous weekend). On Thursday, 3/6 I was informed that I couldn't have my surgery on 3/21 due to it being Good Friday and would I like to have it on Wed. 3/19. So I jumped on it, even though it would mean that I would have to start my liquid diet immediately, without getting my "last meal" in like I'd planned. I've lost 7 lbs in three days and I've even "cheated" a little. LOL @ "cheating"...that means I've had about 300 calories of food (eggs, soup, cheese) per day, in addition to the liquids. I've got to stop that, like now. But I think it's helped me and now I can probably do strictly liquids, that I've gotten over the constant cravings of any and every thing. IF, for some reason, I couldn't have my surgery in a week in a half, if it had to be post-poned until like June or something, and I could go eat whatever I wanted now, honestly I don't know what I'd want. So that's good, for me anyway. Also, late at night when I can't sleep is the worst time for me wanting to snack. Last night was so bad I came thisclose to saying "screw it" altogether, that I would just learn to be a happy fat person. Or just put off my surgery until I got my mind "right" about it (as if that would ever happen). Then it dawned on me that I'd NEVER want to do an all liquid diet and did I really want to have to start this over? NO WAY, so just tough it out. I've been cleaning my house from top to bottom. That has been a saving grace for me, because it has kept me busy and my mind off food. Also, when I'm recouperating, I won't have to worry about my house being clean, other than keeping it straightened up and picking up after myself. My mom will be here to help too, but I don't want her to have to clean up my house, just help me keep up with things and not let it get messy. I don't know what to do with myself from now until surgery. If the weather is pretty, I may take my son to the park. Or I'll just run a lot of errands. So, to recap on the weight. 3/5/08 = 208 lbs (two weeks pre-op) 3/9/08 = 201 lbs (3 days on liquid pre-op)

Ok, it's beyond ridiculous at how hungry I am. Would some lean protein really hurt anything? Lord knows I'm tempted, but I could really use some food. I'm not talking about a pizza or a po-boy or McDonald's. I can't function much, I'm getting really scatterbrained. Very forgetful and have hardly any energy. Thank goodness this is almost over. 5 days til my surgery. This time next week, I'll be 2 whole days post-op. I really, really hope I don't have the depression and "buyers remorse" that

Best of luck to you sueangel. The liquid diet is agony for a couple of days, but I promise it does get bearable. Try to get all of the tempting foods you possibly can out of the house, I cheated late at night the second night on some chips.

A week from now, at this moment, I should be several hours out of surgery, maybe out of recovery and in my room. Can't wrap my mind around that! Last night, I had major cold feet and had serious thoughts about cancelling/postponing my surgery. For some reason, the thought of being in pain (mild-severe, I don't know), gassy, sore, just feeling terrible and possibly going through "what have I done to myself" just was overwhelming. Also, the thought of how to handle food seemed as if it would be too much of a burden, like PB'ing and such. Can I still eat a petite filet and a salad at Ruth's Chris? What about shrimp? Maybe I won't be able to eat those things for a little while, but once I learn to really chew and TAKE MY TIME eating, from what I've read, I most likely will be able to still eat what I've always eaten, only in MUCH smaller amounts. I worked through those feelings by remembering how every diet I've done the past couple of years have yielded little to zero results. And my baby will be big enough to take to Disney World in a few years(even though I detest DW, I at least don't want to be physically miserable). Do I really want to spend another vacation, any vacation, wasting time and money to get there, only to be holed up in the hotel because I'm too tired to go out and do anything? I'm sick of just being uninterested in doing things in general. I'm very sick of wearing the same 4-5 outfits every season. Mostly track suits at that! The last thing that entered my mind is that if I back out now, I know myself well enough to know that in a couple of months, I'll think I'm ready to try again. By then, I'll have probably regained my 10lbs that I've lost on this pre-op diet (and probably more) and I'd just have to start pre-op diet all over again. I'm half-way finished. Of course, I'll have a few days/week after surgery of liquids post-op, but I'll be on the downhill stretch then. In my mind, I can survive it knowing it's a necessity (medically speaking) rather than it being a chore, as it has been pre-op. So, I'm glad I worked through all that and hopefully that will be the last time I have any doubts. I really hope I don't have any regrets during those first few days post-op. Knowing me, I will, so I will just have to remind myself how far I've come and that NO ONE has surgery without some pain and discomfort.

A week from now, at this moment, I should be several hours out of surgery, maybe out of recovery and in my room. Can't wrap my mind around that! Last night, I had major cold feet and had serious thoughts about cancelling/postponing my surgery. For some reason, the thought of being in pain (mild-severe, I don't know), gassy, sore, just feeling terrible and possibly going through "what have I done to myself" just was overwhelming. Also, the thought of how to handle food seemed as if it would be too much of a burden, like PB'ing and such. Can I still eat a petite filet and a salad at Ruth's Chris? What about shrimp? Maybe I won't be able to eat those things for a little while, but once I learn to really chew and TAKE MY TIME eating, from what I've read, I most likely will be able to still eat what I've always eaten, only in MUCH smaller amounts. I worked through those feelings by remembering how every diet I've done the past couple of years have yielded little to zero results. And my baby will be big enough to take to Disney World in a few years(even though I detest DW, I at least don't want to be physically miserable). Do I really want to spend another vacation, any vacation, wasting time and money to get there, only to be holed up in the hotel because I'm too tired to go out and do anything? I'm sick of just being uninterested in doing things in general. I'm very sick of wearing the same 4-5 outfits every season. Mostly track suits at that! The last thing that entered my mind is that if I back out now, I know myself well enough to know that in a couple of months, I'll think I'm ready to try again. By then, I'll have probably regained my 10lbs that I've lost on this pre-op diet (and probably more) and I'd just have to start pre-op diet all over again. I'm half-way finished. Of course, I'll have a few days/week after surgery of liquids post-op, but I'll be on the downhill stretch then. In my mind, I can survive it knowing it's a necessity (medically speaking) rather than it being a chore, as it has been pre-op. So, I'm glad I worked through all that and hopefully that will be the last time I have any doubts. I really hope I don't have any regrets during those first few days post-op. Knowing me, I will, so I will just have to remind myself how far I've come and that NO ONE has surgery without some pain and discomfort.