Help: Pain in Throat, Chest and Back

[cisco29 0]

Hello, I just had my lap band surgery on 12/12/07. Everything has been going good until this past Sat. I started noticing some pain off and on in my chest and back. I didn't think much about it but decided I needed to start paying attention to the signs. Now for going on 3 days I have had intense pain in my chest and back and pain in my throat. I have not eaten in a couple of days. I have been doing some liquids. It hurts to take a deep breath and to burp. Can anyone give me any tips on what to do??

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Go to your doctor. Pain is not a diagnosis, it's a symptom.

[ForwardLeap 0]

I would go to the Dr.

Do you have your gallbladder still? I had similar symptoms like that. My ultrasound showed the gallbladder was fine, but when they did a test showing it working it actually was not working properly.

Also if you have a hiatal hernia this can cause pain in chest, back and reflux which causes pain in the throat. I used pepcid over the counter chewables and it helped slightly with acid.

Just sharing my experiences and once fixed I felt like a new person!

Hope you feel better soon

Christie

[cisco29 0]

I had my gallbladder removed 3mo prior to surgery and the doc fixed my hernia during my lap band surgery. I did have acid reflux prior to surgery to the point of taking Nexium daily. I haven't taken any medicine for it since surgery. Maybe it is reflux. I have been trying to contact my doc for the past two days but he has not returned my phone call yet. I have a pretty high pain tolerance. After my surgery I did not take any pain medication for fear of stomach upset. However, this pain is relentless and it is driving me crazy.

[POWERWING 0]

:frown:I too am having extremley bad chest pains. Right in the middle of my sternam. I have every test under the earth for my heart, even a rush endoscopy. They found bleeding ulcers as a result of HPyloria but that is not where they found them. The Gastro Guy suggested today i remove the band. I am hoping once the band is out that this nerve wracking painful chest pain goes away.

surgery to be removed - 1/28/2008 AND CANT WAIT. LIFE CANT GO ON PAINFUL LIKE THIS!!!!! I prey the pain ends thereafter.

[ForwardLeap 0]

Keep calling your Dr. I also took nexium believe it or not they increased my dosage to several times a day 3 weeks prior to surgery. I was so miserable. I know what you mean-it is awful.

Did your Dr. fix the hernia, 3 times I had endoscopies, and 3 times they did nothing for my hernia. I have no clue why. This caused me to endure pain for 5 years needlessly.

I to have a fairly good pain tolerance and it was awful. I actually aspirated in my sleep-hello you would think they really would have fixed the hernia! I was actually hospitalized (they thought I was having a heart attack) they actually did another rush endoscopy (I had one done 30 days before) and still did not fix the hernia! I absolutely insisted when I went to my surgeon for consultation for the lap band, that if I could only get 1 surgery done--it was to be the hernia repair.

I am sooo glad it is done now. No nexium, no reflux, no pains (it is still a little sore once in a while on my side where they stitched the hernia up.) I can not tell you the difference in the quality of my life now. I can sleep through the night. I can breathe, I used to wheeze so much especially if I laid down. What a world of difference! No more pressure in the chest.

Best thing I have ever did was get the hernia repaired by a skilled surgeon who's main activity is to be a surgeon. Lots of experience, in fact part of repairing my hernia (guess out of all the many the dr has done he had never seen one as large as mine.) One of the processes he had to use very few surgeons can do. I looked it up and he was the only one at the hospital who was qualified to do it! So very glad I had a skilled surgeon.......

Best of luck,

Christie

[cisco29 0]

My Doc finally called me back 27 hours after my initial call. His advice was for me to go to the emergency room. I sat in the ER for 7 hours. They did xrays and a barium swallow. They said the band did not appear to have slipped, however the barium swallow showed a 12 second delay for the Water to go down. The band is too tight. Keep in mind I have never had a fill and why would the band just all of a sudden be too tight. They did not find any obstruction. I mentioned Acid reflux. The ER Doc said that could be all or part of the probelm. He gave me meds through an IV for the acid reflux and told me to go see my Doc the next day. The next day the pain in my back was still there but had eased considerably. It is now 4 days later and I have been taking protonix (split in 1/2 of course) for the acid reflux. I am feeling better and better each day. I still have pain in my chest but it is not constant. My doc suggested that I go back to liquids for two weeks to allow the swelling to reduce. The upsetting part of all of this is that I had been lead to believe by my Doc's office that after surgery I would no longer need acid reflux meds.

[iheartcats 0]

Well, I'm glad you got some help. You may need the pills now, but it may be temporary. Do what you need to so you don't hurt and maybe later down the road you don't need them. What a bummer though. I'll be thinking of you

[cisco29 0]

Thanks! I hope to someday not have acid reflux. Tomorrow will be six weeks post op for me. Does anyone have any suggestions for food once I go back to real food. I have been living on choc milk, really creamy mashed potatoes and Soup. I just dying to have something really good to eat. Thanks again for all the support and advice.:tongue:

[Coco 0]

Thanks! I hope to someday not have acid reflux. Tomorrow will be six weeks post op for me. Does anyone have any suggestions for food once I go back to real food. I have been living on choc milk, really creamy mashed potatoes and Soup. I just dying to have something really good to eat. Thanks again for all the support and advice.:rolleyes2:

Hi Cisco,

Six weeks is a really short time. The swelling must go down and once that happens which can be up to eight weeks, you will notice your band will be a lot looser, and you will be begging for a fill.:tt1: My surgeon recommended getting back to normal food once I was able, staying on liquids or mushies too long can be detrimental to losing weight. The liquids and mushies go through the band too quickly, don't fill you up for long enough and as a result you have more. The idea of the band is to fill the pouch, (the upper stomach), that should take about 2hrs to empty and as a result you will be full for much longer with a lot less food. Start by putting your food on a smaller plate, at least half what you would eat pre band. Put your fork down between mouthfuls and chew, chew, chew and then chew some more. This is a lot more difficult than it sounds:lol: but its worth getting into the habit of if you want to prevent pb's and sliming. Don't spend any longer than 20-30mins at your main meal. If you've not finished it by then throw it out. Once you get to your sweet spot you should be losing 1-2lbs a week just by cutting down on the food. Add in a bit of exercise and the sky's your limit. Good luck and welcome to the losing side.:huh2:

[desertmom 297]

Hallo

I have had my band since May 2005 and if you could have read some threats from way back when..you would see that the pain and back pain (middle where bra strap is..front where bra sits right between boobs,pain when breathing)nearly drove me insane for about 15 months post-op.Nexium for reflux did make it a little better but the "hot esophagus"feeling persisted and nothing helped.Before the band I never had reflux and didnt even know what heartburn felt like.

I never could get a fill to restriction level before the reflux killed me..

I dieted for almost 2 years lost a lot of weight and then promptly regained 50 pounds when I couldnt keep up the kind of discipline I had before...I gave up for a while...feeling so sorry for my banding failure.

After a year I now had a fill (couldnt even swallow my saliva...wanted to cry..)then an unfill.I have hot esophgus again but I HAVE RESTRICTION... and I can handle the discomfort.

One thing I can recommend to you is to NEVER EAT TO MUCH.If your dr says half a cup of food then stick to it.Deal with your head issues and do not ever stretch your band.It is so easy to eat to much...WHEN WE HAVE RESTRICTION WE CAN EAT AS MUCH AS A BABY BOTTLE OF PURITY food or half a cup.If you have to do that every 2 or 3 hours do it,but dont eat to much at a time.

My theory is that some people swells up very easily.It takes very little to irritate my esophagus and even the tiniest Bp (meaning Water coming back into my mouth without effort on my side) still makes me swell up for days.

sleeping with anything in my esophagus (even water) irritates me and causes reflux.Stop drinking and eating at least 2 hours before bed...3 if you can...dont drink anything during the night..not even a sip of Water.< /p>

Stay on mushies as long as you can and give your band a few months to settle as you lose weight....it will become loser as you lose weight.

As for the weightloss,you have restriction.Use it just as it is for as long as possible before you have a fill.Make a huge effort to lose some weight,it will really help the band to settle.

I never did get answers for my band issues and I still have them all the time.I always feel the band.I never knew what proper restriction was until this week..almost 3 years after getting the band.

Be ultra nice to yourself.You now have the band and if nothing is wrong (according to the dr's that is,not what you feel) you will have a long time to work with it to lose weight.Just let it settle for as long as it needs to.

I really hope you are going to feel much better and that you will lose loads of weight.

This is not to say your band will keep giving you grief....this is just my experience and how to handle the symptoms.

Good luck

[renec 0]

Hello, I just had my lap band surgery on 12/12/07. Everything has been going good until this past Sat. I started noticing some pain off and on in my chest and back. I didn't think much about it but decided I needed to start paying attention to the signs. Now for going on 3 days I have had intense pain in my chest and back and pain in my throat. I have not eaten in a couple of days. I have been doing some liquids. It hurts to take a deep breath and to burp. Can anyone give me any tips on what to do??

Hi, I found this site while looking for answer to my throat pain since have lap band surgery in 4/07. The pain is severe at time and I am unable to swallow and very hard to breath= I have talked with my doctor and he says it is spasms in my esophagus (spelling??) anyway had unfill, put on Nexium. no history of this type of problem.stayed on liquids for 3 weeks and all went away- had another fill- loose- did OK for about 6 weeks,until just before the next planned fill- had pain, nausaea and vomiting. talk with dr. got a rx for nexium , but he felt the band was to loose and after fill I would not need the meds- he's wrong- I can not eat much of anything- on liquids, but throat is still painful along with chest tightness . I do have a lot of slime and air- burping etc. Just not sure what to do. sounds like from reading the forum I am not alone in this. My doc acts like it is something he has not seen before ?? I am hoping I can master this. I have lost 45lb and have about that much to go, but can't see my life like this for much longer.

[renec 0]

Hi,found this forum while searching pain in throat after lap band surgery. I had surgery 4/07 and have lost 40 lbs half way to goal. I have had some severe pain in my throat, with vomiting and difficulty breathing. Talk with dr. he said spasms in esaphogus ( spelling) did a band unfill and I stayed on liquid for three weeks and nexium. felt great went back for fill- weeks later problems again- got rx for nexium and a band fill he said the band was to loose. The problem has not gone away- getting worse- on liquids, can't eat any solids- pain, lots of air- burping and slime- need to throw up for relief , but worried about band slippage. anyone have any suggestions- Dr. acts like this is unusual- but after reading forum I am finding it might be common. need help

[cisco29 0]

renec : I am finally feeling better after being back on acid reflux medication. I am still having to be very careful. It doesn't seem to take much to irritate my band area and then I just go back to doing liquids for a couple of days. I still have never had a fill. I will be 8 weeks post op and I can still only eat a couple of bites of meat in one meal. I'm not sure with the acid reflux if I will ever be able to get a fill and not be in pain. I understand where you are coming from about how long you can keep dealing with this. My dr. kept acting like my pain was just from overeating. I don't see how that could be when I rarely take in more than 600 to 800 calories a day (200 of which is from chocolate milk). This is what I normally have for Breakfast. I hope you figure everything out and keep losing weight. Best of Luck!

[sbell85 0]

Hey sis,

Will talk to ya tomorrow if I can, you better get more liquids and Protein woman!! I had something happen tonight, went to lay down and had that horrible tearing, hot pain when my port is, then pain started going from there straight up that side of my breast bone into my collar bone...I finally gave up trying to lay down and got back up for a bit...took some pain meds...will see if that helps...down by 30 lbs exactly though now!! You do need to call the doc again though...he may need to have new xrays or something done again...anyway...will talk to you soon...

love ya!!