Referred back pain while eating!

[RKidder 0]

I was banded 3 days ago, and I find that while eating, I feel left-sided back discomfort. I was sipping on my 3 ounces of blended butternut squash Soup (Campbell's Selects - delicious), and started to have this pain. I stopped, then sipped on warm tea and the pain went away slowly. I suspect I might be a little tight.

Just beginning to pass the gas - thank goodness. But nothing else...

I find I do better without the narcotics, I am more clear-headed and not in a drug-induced "fog". I find getting in and out of bed so painful, so I have been using a small pillow to "splint" the left side of my abdomen where the port is, and I just take a breath and "bite the bullet" and just get out of bed. Thank goodness, my nurse's training has come in handy - I have been a med-surg nurse for nearly 27 yrs. Now I am on the other side... Having trouble taking in enough Water, so I have been sipping on mild herbal tea. Any tips would be appreciated. I am supposed to go back to work next Thursday-now I am not sure if I will be able to -- especially when I do a lot of patient transfers and lifts; my doctor will write me lifting restrictions. I just hope I will have the energy to put in an 8-hour shift. I am walking every day for short walks to get my endurance up. Wish me luck!

Rachel

[wenable 0]

Don't be afraid of pain meds, if you need them you need them. And when you don't you will know. You'll start feeling better soon. Good luck

[socalgal3 4]

Well, you were only banded 3 days ago, so tightness is expected as you are still swollen internally from the procedure. I was on Clear Liquids for the first week, so maybe it is too soon for thick Soup. I've had that soup-did you Water it down? Just take it slow. You may only be able to have a spoonful or two of soup right now. Pain means STOP. Take care of yourself and don't go back to work too soon.

[keiko 1]

Well, you were only banded 3 days ago, so tightness is expected as you are still swollen internally from the procedure. I was on CLEAR liquids for the first week, so maybe it is too soon for thick Soup. I've had that soup-did you Water it down? Just take it slow. You may only be able to have a spoonful or two of soup right now. Pain means STOP. Take care of yourself and don't go back to work too soon.

I agree 100% with everything socalgal3 said. You don't need to push it or prove anything. Take care of yourself so your band can do its intended purpose for you.

[virginiann 0]

Here is what I decided to do about getting the liquids in me and it is working. I made some Crystal Lite ice cubes and added them to more crystal lite and blended until it was slushy. I did the same thing for my Protein shakes.That one turns out to be more of an Ice Cream consistency.

Hope this gives you an couple of ideas. It sure prevents me from gulping.

[soulsis78 0]

I had my surgery 4.25.07 and I still get back pain on the left side. It seems to be associated with eating too much, too fast. Even if I drink too much of a thick liquid, I get the back discomfort. If I walk around and STOP eating/drinking, it generally goes away. Sometimes it can take awhile, so don't get nervous if it doesn't lessen immediately. It will eventually.

You aren't the only one. You'll just have to learn to recognize what your body can handle during a certain period of time. I'm still going through a major learning curve.

Best of luck.

[cyndilou29 0]

Well, you were only banded 3 days ago, so tightness is expected as you are still swollen internally from the procedure. I was on CLEAR liquids for the first week, so maybe it is too soon for thick Soup. I've had that soup-did you Water it down? Just take it slow. You may only be able to have a spoonful or two of soup right now. Pain means STOP. Take care of yourself and don't go back to work too soon.

SoCalGal,

I was banded 4 days ago and had a question about that. I'm on clear liquids too but how little is too little. I'm definitely swollen as when I woke up the surgeon told me the band was really loose and I probably would't have any restriction. Well, when I tried to drink liquids, I couldn't get anything down for over 24 hours. Now I am averaging about 8 oz of broth, 8 oz of Water and 5 oz of Protein shake over the course of a day. It seems like it's not enough. I mean I definitely can't get any more down, I have to force that in. I was wondering how much most folks are able to get down post op. How abnormal is this? I'm so freakin' paranoid because I'm self pay and I NEED this to work the first time!

[cyndilou29 0]

I was banded 3 days ago, and I find that while eating, I feel left-sided back discomfort. I was sipping on my 3 ounces of blended butternut squash Soup (Campbell's Selects - delicious), and started to have this pain. I stopped, then sipped on warm tea and the pain went away slowly. I suspect I might be a little tight.

Just beginning to pass the gas - thank goodness. But nothing else...

I find I do better without the narcotics, I am more clear-headed and not in a drug-induced "fog". I find getting in and out of bed so painful, so I have been using a small pillow to "splint" the left side of my abdomen where the port is, and I just take a breath and "bite the bullet" and just get out of bed. Thank goodness, my nurse's training has come in handy - I have been a med-surg nurse for nearly 27 yrs. Now I am on the other side... Having trouble taking in enough Water, so I have been sipping on mild herbal tea. Any tips would be appreciated. I am supposed to go back to work next Thursday-now I am not sure if I will be able to -- especially when I do a lot of patient transfers and lifts; my doctor will write me lifting restrictions. I just hope I will have the energy to put in an 8-hour shift. I am walking every day for short walks to get my endurance up. Wish me luck!

Rachel

I do get the pain too. I'm thinking it's my full signal. I've ignored it twice, thinking it was something else and twice I got a crazy tickle in my throat and had a huge coughing fit (not fun so close post-op!) after which I felt really nauseated and my left side got runny. What I mean by that is my left eye and my left nostril - same side as the tickle.

This band is freaky. LOL