Left Shoulder Pain After Lap Band Surgery

[JJB 2]

I will deffinitly let you know. I am having my surgery tomorrow. I really hope it makes some kind of difference. I notice mine a lot more when I am hungry. Its almost like air gets in ther or something. I cant eat anything after midnight tonight and my surgery is not untill 1:00 tomorrow. So by then I am going to be ready to get knocked out because of the pain. I will let you know if it changes anything.

[wendy5391 0]

I talked to the doc who does my fills. He says it is the fill line that is touching my diaphram. I alsp talked to another doctor who is just a general practioner and he said it is the line that touches the nerve that runs along the shoulder and the neck.

I would definately talk to your surgeon and tell him the severity of your problem. I will most likely ease up but probably never go away.

Hope you feel better soon and good luck.

[JoanieP 2]

You are probably still experiencing the post lapband pain from them filling you up with air so they can perform the surgery easier. If I had not been told to expect the shoulder and chest pain after surgery, I would have thought I was having a heart attack. I honestly don't think I ever want laproscopic surgery again if that is what it will feal like afterwards. It will pass, although I do still get pain in my left shoulder, from the gas in my stomach I've been told, it is nothing compared to the first week or two after I had my lapband put in. I love it, and my biggest fear is having something go wrong and have to have it removed. I know I would gain back every pound. I wish you all the luck you deserve and hang in there!

Joanie :huh2:)

[Bmomma 0]

Good luck with her surgery

keep us posted.

[elle 1]

My surgeon also has a lap band and he not only is sympathetic about the pain, but he told me he had it as well. He said he feels it is related to gas and the pain is a referred pain. He also said that he knows it can be quite painful but he said it will ease up over time. So I am hopeful. I know that when I dont' eat for a long time and I then I may take a bigger bite or eat faster or eat something more doughy, the pain kicks in. So I am learning to be more careful. I have only had 2 adjustments and I don't really feel any restriction yet but I get the shoulder pain.

[hcomputerchic 0]

I've also had L shoulder pain on and off since surgery (1/07) It is usually a really good signal to me that I'm about to eat too much and I try to listen to it.

Just hang in there..it will lessen as time goes by.

[isinisil 0]

The only real problem I have had lately is the pain in my left shoulder that seems to get worse if I eat too much. It also hurts at times to raise my left arm over my head for too long. It feels like a pinched nerve. My doc offered to do an MRI but says that this is very common. I am just wondering if anyone else has this problem.

Yes I have those pains as well.

[isinisil 0]

I have the same kind of pain on my left shoulder. Is it due to food? I had no idea about this?

[glorybound 0]

I got my band in 12/07, and awoke from surgery in the recovery room with excruciating left shoulder pain. I have had pain in my left shoulder since then without an adequate explanation. It is not constant, but at times it is quite painful. My original surgeon, who first denied I had it (is that really his call to make??), sent me to the ER saying it was my heart, which it wasn't. He then said maybe I should see my GP, because he's never heard of this after the first three weeks post surgery. I had visited this site before and knew others had felt what I was experiencing. When I mentioned this, he asked me which doctor told me this or what surgeon's research I was reading? I guess only doctors know what happen to lap band patients - at least according to him.

I have had only two "fills", during which his PA removed bubbles and replaced the air with saline. They never did tell me how replacing air with saline actually tightens the band - anybody have any idea how that works?

Finally, thoroughly frustrated, I found a new doctor. This was not easy, but I think I am on the right path with the new guy. He was concerned enough with my shoulder pain to send me for an upper GI. I didn't think it would find anything, but I guess it did. He told me I will likely need a revision based on what he saw in the upper GI report. He also thinks what I have known on some level all along, my shoulder pain is being caused by something not right with th band. I am especially unhappy about this because I don't have health insurance coverage to pay for this revision.

Sorry for the pity party - if I think about it I really don't have real problems like some folks do. I guess I am just hoping to find another shoulder pain person who needed a revision. I want to know how that worked out. I would also like to hear it did work out. I need a little hope. I have only lost fifteen pounds in five months...and I am getting very discouraged.

I still have frequent shoulder pain, which is worse every time I get gas bubbles or something gets stuck. Sometimes things get stuck after just a few bites. Then I hurt for hours in my left shoulder, nerve pain in the same spot every time.

I thought the band was the right thing to do, but I am not so sure now. The band truly seemed like a gift from God. I am working on reminding myself I just don't get to see His perfect plan yet, but I am baffled by my lack of faith right now. I don't want another surgery, but I don't want to have this all go to waste.

I will check this site for thoughts and especially for another person's experience with this sort of thing. Thanks for your posts and for a venue to vent a bit and seek encouragement.

[Fort Bend Band 0]

Glorybound, I am so sorry that you are going through all of this and even worse that you had a doctor that knows nothing about the shoulder pain. My doctors office actually warns his patients about this but says it does usually go away in time. Mine was much better after 3-4 months. I have had the band for over a year but still to this day get shoulder pain if something does not go down right or I eat too much. I really feel like my daily walks helped. I have heard that some of the theories on this shoulder pain is that when they sew the band in place it is connected to a sheath of nerves that goes all the way up to your shoulder and that the extra weight of the band causes more problems for some than other. I also was a very slow loser and at times wondered if I made the wrong decision. I remained proactive and exercised and also got another fill when I felt I could eat more than I should. It took about 10 months for me to even feel like I had made progress. Remember that the band is slow and that you have to be patient. I hope in time you will feel at least some satisfaction with your decision.

[PennyLane 0]

I got my band in 12/07, and awoke from surgery in the recovery room with excruciating left shoulder pain. I have had pain in my left shoulder since then without an adequate explanation. It is not constant, but at times it is quite painful. My original surgeon, who first denied I had it (is that really his call to make??), sent me to the ER saying it was my heart, which it wasn't. He then said maybe I should see my GP, because he's never heard of this after the first three weeks post surgery. I had visited this site before and knew others had felt what I was experiencing. When I mentioned this, he asked me which doctor told me this or what surgeon's research I was reading? I guess only doctors know what happen to lap band patients - at least according to him.

I have had only two "fills", during which his PA removed bubbles and replaced the air with saline. They never did tell me how replacing air with saline actually tightens the band - anybody have any idea how that works?

Finally, thoroughly frustrated, I found a new doctor. This was not easy, but I think I am on the right path with the new guy. He was concerned enough with my shoulder pain to send me for an upper GI. I didn't think it would find anything, but I guess it did. He told me I will likely need a revision based on what he saw in the upper GI report. He also thinks what I have known on some level all along, my shoulder pain is being caused by something not right with th band. I am especially unhappy about this because I don't have health insurance coverage to pay for this revision.

Sorry for the pity party - if I think about it I really don't have real problems like some folks do. I guess I am just hoping to find another shoulder pain person who needed a revision. I want to know how that worked out. I would also like to hear it did work out. I need a little hope. I have only lost fifteen pounds in five months...and I am getting very discouraged.

I still have frequent shoulder pain, which is worse every time I get gas bubbles or something gets stuck. Sometimes things get stuck after just a few bites. Then I hurt for hours in my left shoulder, nerve pain in the same spot every time.

I thought the band was the right thing to do, but I am not so sure now. The band truly seemed like a gift from God. I am working on reminding myself I just don't get to see His perfect plan yet, but I am baffled by my lack of faith right now. I don't want another surgery, but I don't want to have this all go to waste.

I will check this site for thoughts and especially for another person's experience with this sort of thing. Thanks for your posts and for a venue to vent a bit and seek encouragement.

That sounds awful, and the way your surgeon is handling it doesn't sound very nice at all...would you mind sharing who you went to? I'm trying to figure out who to go to/who to avoid. I really hope that your experience with your new doctor goes better. It should, you know? If he was able to catch something wrong that the other guy didn't than he might know his stuff better. Sorry I can't offer anything else...I'm not banded yet.

Good luck to you!

[celestinehart 0]

I had left chronic left shoulder pain pre-op. I was just banded in April but I haven't had much of a problem yet. I mention this to say I found that my shoulder pain pre-op was related to artifical sweetners mainly Aspertane/Nutra-sweet. Maybe the pain could be caused by a switch to diet sweetners.

[Patti1 0]

I too have left shoulder pain. I was banded on July 9, 2008. The pain started after my first fill on August 22, 2008. The pain also seems to be brought on when I lay on my side or sit at my computer. It has been 3 weeks since the fill and I am still hurting. I don't want to have my band taken out, but I don't know how much more I can take. My PCP has ordered a CT, but does anyone know if they will be able to tell if my band is causing irritation of the Phrenic Nerve in my diaphram?

[Sue Magoo 71]

Patty1:

Did you get an unfill or partial unfill after this pain started right after your fill? If not, maybe that's what you need.

I hope that they can figure it out because it would be a shame if you had to lose your band.

Best wishes to feeling better.

Sue

[Patti1 0]

Sue Magoo

When the doc first filled me, it was too full and he had to take some out right away because I couldn't swallow the Water. I really don't think that I am too filled because I can eat anything without any problems. In fact, I get hungry an hour after I eat. I go in for another fill next week and I hope it won't get worse. Do you know if it is the band, the port or the tubing that irritates the diaphragm?