2.5 years post op, having horrible pains!!!

[MariaMaria 0]

Hi! I've had a wonderful lap band experience, up until the past 6 weeks. I was banded sept 2008, have lost 80 pounds and I'm within 15 pounds of goal. I went in about 6 weeks ago for a fill, and by that evening, I knew I was overfilled. It was nuts. I'd never experienced over fill, or any problem at ALL. I happened to tell her I was on antibiotics for a root canal I was having, and she said that is probably what made me so tight, I was fighting my tooth infection. So I take out the fill. I go back about a month later and get the fill back. I do fine for about a week, and then......

After eating my back would hurt. Pressure in my chest. Tear inducing back pain. Nothing helped. This would last all day, even after eating a couple bites at lunch. I would pay for it all day. Back pain, chest pain...lots of burping. Pain so bad, I wanted to throw up, but nothing to throw up. Went back again, convinced I'd already reached my sweet spot and she took 1/2 out, again. This was last Friday. I immediately felt better and ate fine till today.

Ate about 1/3 of a taco bell taco that was left over in the fridge. Ate slow, did everything I've always done....and the pains are back again. The back pain, the chest pain. The burping. Burping relives it somewhat, but it builds back up until I burp again. I ate the 1/3 taco at noon..it's now after five...and I'm pacing and sweating.

WTH is it? Is this gas? Is the solution to just get that entire fill back out? I've never had a single problem until this..and it's really worrying me. I'm scared to even drink....it's not that it doesn't go down...but I know I'll pay for it in pain. I just don't get why I went 2.5 years without a single problem, and now this...the only thing I can find by browsing the boards is gas. (Not tooting gas either....this is all burping...and pain...if that is what it is???)

Thanks for any replies and help.

[mousek 4]

I have definitely experienced that tear inducing back pain and yes it always ends up being gas. It really does sound like you need a slight unfill. Hope you'll be feeling better soon and can resolve the problem, have you spoken to the dr's office? I'd be in in a second to get a slight unfill if it was me.

[cheryl2586 3,053]

You may have gastritis which can do that but I would still call the dr. I wouldnt eat anything spicy or hard to digest. You might need a scope to see if it is gastritis. Thats what it sounds like to me but dont suffer call your doctor.

[Sue Magoo 71]

You really should call your doctor. Something is going on that shouldn't be. Maybe you need a slight unfill? Maybe you're having a gallbladder issue? Maybe it's something else. My lapband surgeon is wonderful. He says "if it's a pain between your knees and your neck he wants us to call". Your band shouldn't be causing pain.

Please take care and let us know what happens.

Sue

[Melissannde 41]

Since you are so close to goal you may be at the point of needing very tiny fills. You don't say how much Fluid was added, but I'm guessing 1cc as you said .5cc was removed and wanted to know if you should have the other half removed.

I'd go back and have .2 or .3 removed and see how that works.

I'm 2 years out now and my fills are usually .2cc and they work wonders.

[MariaMaria 0]

ack! Well, I made it through the night, and feel fine this morning, drinking my coffee...but Lord knows, I don't want to eat. I thought about going ahead and eating Breakfast and seeing if it happens again, but I'm scared to eat!

I forgot to mention, that it is period time...but even so..I can't go through this every month. It's such a long, sustained painful experience, I'm honestly too scared to eat. I've had my three little bites of taco since yesterday morning, and that is it. And i know that is not good!

I'm stuck between calling her and going in for an slight unfill...or trying to eat, see how it works, and then calling. Oh the humanity! She is about an hour away, so I gotta decide quick or I'll be wanting to shoot myself if I have to live with this again today. Cause I'll have to eventually test the Water and see if I can eat.

After reading around on the boards and seeing people will go for a year or whatever with an overfill..I just don't see how they can live like this...(if an overfill is actually causing my gas/pain issues.) It's making me crazy!!!

Added: okay, I decided to sit down with a bowl of oatmeal. Okay, who am I kidding...a bowl??? I couple tablespoons of that bowl! Then I will wait it out and see if the pain starts again.

[a dairyfarmers chubbywife 1]

My first thought is gallbladder. Last Friday I went to the ER think I was having a heart attack. It was the worst chest pains I have ever felt. It felt like I had an elephant sitting on my chest and if I took a deep breath it was a stabbing pain. It radiated to the right and then into my shoulder blades. The ER doc diagnosed me with having a GB attack. So don't neccissarily chaulk it up to being your band.

~Annette~

[MariaMaria 0]

Okay...I had probably 3 tablespoons or so of plain oatmeal with Water and a touch of brown sugar. And my coffee. Feel fine. food went down fine, feel fine....totally normal.

So, that really makes me think I'm not too tight. Is that flawed logic? Can the pain/gas just happen even if I"m not too tight? Maybe it's my period? What the heck I don't know. I'm going to take it very easy today, watching when I eat and what I eat...if pain comes back.

I also should add that I had a Gas X and a nexus yesterday....wonder if that helped?

Rambling.....I just hate not knowing what caused that. My mom thought maybe the spiciness of the taco meat may not have agreed with me, but I've never had issues with spicy foods before.

[Sue Magoo 71]

Okay...I had probably 3 tablespoons or so of plain oatmeal with Water and a touch of brown sugar. And my coffee. Feel fine. food went down fine, feel fine....totally normal.

So, that really makes me think I'm not too tight. Is that flawed logic? Can the pain/gas just happen even if I"m not too tight? Maybe it's my period? What the heck I don't know. I'm going to take it very easy today, watching when I eat and what I eat...if pain comes back.

I also should add that I had a Gas X and a nexus yesterday....wonder if that helped?

Rambling.....I just hate not knowing what caused that. My mom thought maybe the spiciness of the taco meat may not have agreed with me, but I've never had issues with spicy foods before.

Hi:

I had issues with spicy foods just prior to my gallbladder attack. Hope that's not what you're headed for. I would have pain after spicy foods, or after something with a little bit of fat/grease in it.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

Sue

[Melissannde 41]

http://www.gallbladderattack.com/

[MariaMaria 0]

I don't know what to think....yesterday everything was fine. I had oatmeal for Breakfast. I had a strawberry smoothie at lunch...probably about 1/2-3/4 cup of smoothie. Then I had about 1/4 of a italian roast beef sandwich with provolone cheese. All went down fine, no problems.

really makes me wonder if it's not band related. My theories are...

1. gas issues caused by band, but only happen occasionally?

2. something else completely, like the gallbladder. anyone know if these gallbladder issues can come and go?

Kinda freaks me out to just wait for it to happen again. I'm also VERY scared to go to my regular doctor and tell them...for fear that they will suggest the band is the issue and have it taken out. I had a friend have issues and had something like a ??? blockage (intestinal?) I can't remember. Anyway, she is a nurse...she told her doctor to NOT touch the band, and they performed surgery and took it out anyway.

[Leifysmom 0]

Biliary colic ( gallbladder attacks) can be intermittent. When I still had my gallbladder, it is exactly how you are describing. Call your doc and ask for an ultrasound or hida scan. Gallbladder issues can be induced by drastic weight loss.

good luck

crystal

[alwaysmekp 0]

I know sometimes when I get a fill I have new foods that go onto my "no no" list even though I've eaten them with no problem prior. (microwaved meat is something I can no longer eat). Even with a fill as small as 0.5 fill I notice a difference in the foods I tolerate. After a fill it would take me a while to learn to eat for the new band (what foods, portions, etc).

I have also had problems in the spring with allergies that makes my band tighter then any other season - It's almost equivelent to having 2cc's more in my band.

(I was also banded in 2008)