Can't imagine a lifetime of this

[ZACHYSMOM 0]

I was banded Tuesday, December 29, 2009. Now five days post, I am nervous that I've made a big mistake. I truly am starving to death. I am only able to sip one ounce at a time...still. I had no problem with the clear broth so on Thursday I started the Isopure Protein Shake. After taking only an ounce, again sipping it in, I had terrible pain in my chest and shoulders THIRTY MINUTES after ingesting it. It's taken me 4 days to finish 12 ounces and I suffer with every ounce. My paperwork suggests that I should be able to start thinned out solids...cream of wheat....watery potatos but I am too scared to attempt it. I can't imagine what life will be like when it's time for my first fill. I'm not an ignorant woman, I fully understood what the procedure was going to do...but I think something must be wrong if one ounce of liquid is causing such distress. Did anyone of you have this problem?

[tarajim 20]

Sounds like you need medical help. You should go to the emergency room. What you describe is not normal.

By day 4 you should have no problem drinking liquids.

I would go to the hospital now if I were you.

TJ

[2911plans 16]

Hello Mom. I know how you feel. I was banded in May and had the same problems that you are experiencing now. My pain was from the gas that was still trappped in my body. I sought advice on the forum and felt better knowing that it was the norm. You are still swollen as well. In time the swelling and the pain diminishes and you will feel better in a matter of weeks. It took nearly a month before I felt better. Some people felt better sooner.

I went back to my surgeon less than a week after surgery because I was in so much pain. He assured me that all was well, and it was. I learned that he had given me a fill during surgery. That explained why I was not able to drink a lot of liquid at once. You may want to seek the advice of your surgeon to be on the safe side.

I truly hope you will feel better soon.

Edited January 3, 2010 by 2911plans

[odamay 4]

Is It gas pain? I had gas horrible gas pain for about 1 week. It was so bad. I even double guessed myself. But then it was gone. I did alot of walking it helped.I hope this helps you. good luck.

[Humming Bird 275]

you may just still have some swelling going on and they may have put a little Fluid in the band at surgery.

Did they tell you cold liquids only for the first week?

It took me awhile too and I did have discomfort like you.

Is your lapband surgeon available for a phone call. If you call the office number they usually have a service who can contact the doc. and he/she can call you back.

Emergency rooms usually are not that much help in this case and the bill is sometimes not worth it. If you have insurance that will pay for the ER, I guess it's ok, but I think they know very little about band issues.

[btrieger 21]

How much exercise are you getting?

You have to at least walk a little to get the blood flowing and healing process started.

Also, no matter how hard it is, make sure you drink at least 64 ounces of Water a day. A lot of the pain people feel in their muscles is dehydration.

[Melinco 1]

I was banded Tuesday, December 29, 2009. Now five days post, I am nervous that I've made a big mistake. I truly am starving to death. I am only able to sip one ounce at a time...still. I had no problem with the clear broth so on Thursday I started the Isopure Protein shake. After taking only an ounce, again sipping it in, I had terrible pain in my chest and shoulders THIRTY MINUTES after ingesting it. It's taken me 4 days to finish 12 ounces and I suffer with every ounce. My paperwork suggests that I should be able to start thinned out solids...cream of wheat....watery potatos but I am too scared to attempt it. I can't imagine what life will be like when it's time for my first fill. I'm not an ignorant woman, I fully understood what the procedure was going to do...but I think something must be wrong if one ounce of liquid is causing such distress. Did anyone of you have this problem?

Call your surgeon! Even though today is Sunday, call his office and tell his answering service to page him. My surgeon told me I can do this regardless of the day or time if I thought something was wrong. It may be gas as others suggested, or swelling, but if you're not able to get liquids down after five days, something seems to be wrong. Let us know what happens.

[fourme 0]

Hi Have you tried the gas ex strips and the walking?

[SoccerMomma73 1,867]

You shouldn't be having that much trouble with Clear Liquids, if you're not getting at least 64 oz. of Fluid a day you're likely getting dehydrated and that is going to complicate everything. I would call your surgeon for advice, if he's comfortable with how you are then I would stick with broth and gatorade, hit the gas-x like crazy, and walk walk walk....but absolutely I'd call and let him know how much pain you're in and how little you are able to get down! Good luck, it will get better, really it will!!!

[adagray 1]

I would contact your surgeon's office ASAP. It should not take 4 days to finish 12 oz and should not be so painful to get down. I had plenty of gas pain, but no problem drinking fluids at all. You should already be up to drinking 64 oz per day. Please don't mess around w/this. You could become dehydrated. Most bariatric offices have someone on call who you can talk to in an emergency such as this. They may send you over to the hospital to get an IV started and then meet you there to figure out the problem. I wish you all the best and hope it is something easily corrected. You may just need more medication to reduce the swelling.

[AlienBandit 10]

I hope you are ok and that things go better for you. The first little while after surgery can be hard. I had a tough time but survived.

As for a lifetime of this, it won't always be hard. I just finished a backpacking trip with friends (2 months afters surgery) through Asia and no one knew about my surgery and I survived the whole trip traveling to different counties with different foods ( sometimes not sure what things were) and I have had 2 fills already (8cc in an 1 cc band).

Best of luck

[AngelWhisper 0]

I had the same problem. It turned out it was excessive swelling. I ended up back in the hospital for one night to get fluids because I was dehydrated.

[Stevie1 0]

Wow, I love this forum and the info we all share. Zachy's mom, Please allow me to share with you. We all tend to forget that this is surgery - major surgery. Just because the insurance company or doctor doing the procedure says its in and out doesn't mean our bodies listen. I too had issues with what I was told I was supposed to be eating, doing, etc. I was kept in the hospital for a total of five days. The day I went home I was sipping clear broth and taking tylenol and blood thinner injections. The thought of eating anything was impossible. I walked at a snail's pace and as much as I could - this helps so much. The swelling that you have from the surgery will take time to go down. I had spasms in my esophagus when I swallowed any liquid. I would brace myself and then support my upper body as if stretching my neck to help alleviate the spasms. The gas was insane and the discomfort from that lasted about a week and a half. I couldn't go to the bathroom without my port site pulling so I would put light pressure on it. It took me hours to eat half a can of mushroom Soup that I strained out the mushrooms. sugar free popsicles were and are great for over riding the, "I have to eat" button. In the beginning warm broth felt better than the cold as the frozen stuff would make it spasm more. But that was only the first week or so. Slow down, take a deep breath and allow your body to heal at it's own rate. I was banded on July 7, 2009 and would do it again if I needed to. Remember - we got this done because we needed it.

[BetsyB 9]

Continuous sipping throughout the day will provide enough Fluid, in most cases, to prevent dehydration. If your urine is dark in color, or your urine output scant, call your doctor and ask where to head for IV fluids. If you're able to sip, sip, you probably can put worries about dehydration aside.

As for feeling miserable, have you been walking? Using Gas-X?

What kind of band do you have? Did you start with any fill? If so, it, combined with swelling, might be a bit much for you. Call your surgeon to see if s/he thinks a slight unfill will improve the way you feel.

I hope you are feeling LIGHT YEARS better FAST! Never feel bad about calling the doctor; that's what they're there for! If at all in doubt, pick up the phone.

[steelergirl 0]

It sounds as if we had similar issues. I was unable to get much liquid down muself for the first week. i finally went into the surgeons office 7 days after surgery and there was an air bubble in my band. It was causing nothing or very little to get through. I was told that as soon as I couldn't get down at least a liter a day, I should have called. I ended up being dehydrated and after he removed the air bubble, I got immediate relief. Please don't wait....call the office. You do not have to suffer through this. Good luck and let us know how you are.:blushing: