Extreme pain under left rib cage...anyone else?

sunny70 · March 26, 2011

Hi-

I was banded 3/11/11. I kept moving around following surgery to release the CO2. Two days post surgery i developed a gripping pain across my diaphragm that made breating difficult. Called surgeon who instructed me to go to ER. Once there, had chest x-ray, CAT scan and blood work--all negative. Went home and tried to keep moving to relieve pain. Ten days post surgery pain increased quickly while sitting on sofa. i got up and tried moving around. Called surgeon, went in for check. As he felt around my ribs he hit the "hot spot" He diagnosed costocondrtis saying everythng was fine with my band/port and that I must have strained myself sometime after surgery causing the swelling and inflammation of the cartilage between my ribs. He gave me a scrip for Flector pain patch. Came home put on a patch and called my chiropractor. Never any relief with patch. My chiro. used cold laser and muscle stimulator on my back. 1:30 this morning was about to doze off in recliner when I felt the wav of gripping pain. Went to ER, all tests still negative. On the chest x-ray it looks as if my band sits right under where my pain is. I still cannot take a deep breath and the gripping pain occurs randomly.

I had stayed on my liqud Protein diet until I saw my surgeon this week who told me to graduate to mushies. I am consuming less than 500 calories/day. I am emotionally/mentally/physcally fatigued.

Has anyone experienced anything like this?

I am taking percocet for pain

puglover · March 26, 2011

I havent had any issues like that but that sounds horrible! I hope everything gets better for you! Ill be think of you and good luck!

sunny70 · March 26, 2011

I havent had any issues like that but that sounds horrible! I hope everything gets better for you! Ill be think of you and good luck!

Thank you

VTAP3711 · March 26, 2011

I was banded 03/07/11. Right after surgery I had pain for several days in the area you are describing. Laying flat on my back seemed to help me. Sitting in a recliner or laying on my side made the pain worse. You mentioned that you are now eating soft foods. One thing my surgeon's office suggests is that I use a "baby fork and spoon" to eat with. That way I don't take too big of a bite. It is still soon after surgery and I think there's still a lot of swelling and it's easy to irritate the esophagus. I really hope you start feeling better soon.

CheckYes · March 26, 2011

Do you have fill in your band that was put in at the time of surgery? Find out and if so, have an unfill right away. Anyone that seems to have lasting pain like this after surgery, especially with breathing or being unable to keep food down, always seems to have fill put in at the time of surgery.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

sunny70 · March 27, 2011

I was banded 03/07/11. Right after surgery I had pain for several days in the area you are describing. Laying flat on my back seemed to help me. Sitting in a recliner or laying on my side made the pain worse. You mentioned that you are now eating soft foods. One thing my surgeon's office suggests is that I use a "baby fork and spoon" to eat with. That way I don't take too big of a bite. It is still soon after surgery and I think there's still a lot of swelling and it's easy to irritate the esophagus. I really hope you start feeling better soon.

Thank you for responding. Yes, I do eat with baby utensils. It hurts worse to lay on my back and I can't lay on either side. I have a little less pain today, so I guess it's just going to take time.

sunny70 · March 27, 2011

Do you have fill in your band that was put in at the time of surgery? Find out and if so, have an unfill right away. Anyone that seems to have lasting pain like this after surgery, especially with breathing or being unable to keep food down, always seems to have fill put in at the time of surgery.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

No fill at time of surgery as my surgeon understands that the swelling needs to go down. He did double check for any air and found none.

Thank you for responding and good wishes.

stratcat · March 27, 2011

I had a similar pain for the first two weeks post surgery I had back pain if I stood too long. It was under my shoulder blade and I could not stand comfortably. I kept fidgeting trying to get the feeling to stop.

Then i read somewhere about a nerve in the area of the chest near the band site that can get irritated after surgery. It was in a post about "things I wish I knew pre-surgery. " I have tried to find the post again, but I don't even remember the exact site I was visiting when I read this post.

Maybe someone else can fill in what i do not know. And, then again, maybe I have the details wrong.

But, I can tell you that my pain gradually lessened and went away. I hope yours does too.

stratcat · March 27, 2011

I found the post i mentioned. It is on the pre-surgery board, this site, posted by Alfiepoo on 26 Feb 2011, and last replied on 10 March 2011. She only mentions the nerve briefly - phrenic nerve pain.

So then I did a search on Phrenic nerve pain on this site, all forums. It is actually mentioned quite a few times with several very good medical explainations. So maybe, run a similar search, check out the info, see if it matches what you are feeling .

Good luck. Terri