Terrible left side pain.help!!

[Brenny 0]

:help:Hi I am new to this board. I am up late because the pain is so bad I can't sleep. I had my band placed Nov1 07. I woke up with this pain and it has only gotten somewhat better. I couldn't turn on either side for almost 3 weeks. Now I SOMETIMES can. I have this burning pain from my portsite, feels like under my ribs around my back. It is a hot sharp pain.

It is worse when I am sitting. I am not having heartburn, and am able to eat ok. The md told me the port is sutured to the fashia, and there are alot of nerve endings there. I can hardly stand this pain... PLEASE ANYONE!!!!!! help!!!!

[briean97146 0]

Hello there,

I don't know if this helps, but I also have gotten the sharp pain, worsening when I sit. My port ended up having some scar tissue growth around it, I still get some sharp jabs sometimes and can not lay on my side, but it is not as bad as before. The scar tissue was nothing big they just had to push harder to get the needle in on my fill and it made the port access kinda turn to the side a bit, but it is fine now. Now that I am so much thinner you can actually see it from the side, thats kinda gross,but comes with the territory....lol.

Best of luck to you.

[cathys 0]

Hi there,

I completely understand what you're going through. I've had my lap band for over 7 years and still get that left side pain. It's almost as though a nerve is being pinched. Some nights I can't sleep on that side, and still (very occasionally) need pain relief. Once the pain was so bad, I was hospitalised and all the saline in the band was removed through the shunt. Instantly, I was better.

My advice - don't overfill your band and if you're feeling pain, have a little saline removed for a short period, then slowly start increasing again.

Also, wear a loser bra (around your girth) - works wonders relieving the pressure if your band is a little higher than most due to your anatomy and location of your stomach.

Last, but not least, I've found anti-ulcer medications help as well - I think that sometimes we get a little stomach acid in the upper pouch and don't know it. Here (Australia) we have many good options available from our pharmacies, so that could be worth looking into.

It's a long road, and no one said it would be easy...although I kind of thought it would be

Best of luck - and remember...if in doubt get a second and third opinion.

Cheers

Cath