Bruce120

This Friday I will be 3 weeks post op, and my port site is still sore. Yesterday I bumped it while cleaning my kitchen counters and I literally stood there holding my breath with tears running down my face. I still can't lay on tummy and it still hurts if I bend over. Sometimes I get so frustrated with the pain, it makes me double guess even putting myself thru this. I have absolutely no restriction. I honestly even wonder if he put the lapband in sometimes lol. I know this banister hell ect, I know I need to wait for fills, but this is truly a very irritating time.

I have to have port reposition surgery in 13 days .. Iv been researching a lot it seams 50% say pain was fine &50% say pain was worse than original operation .. Hope you don't suffer much longer ????

Mine bulges but not that much. Yes I hope they can fix it for you because we deserve to feel GREAT about our weight loss and no longer feel anything but pride in ourselves. That said, it's not "gross" at all. Thanks for sharing it.

You mean the bulge? Not really. My doc said it happens sometimes, could be one of the stitches got loose or something, but it's definitely something that's fixable, he says. I was wondering, if I can post a picture of the bulge on here, or would that be too gross? I really wonder what people would say to it.

I vote for the gross picture.

I WOULDN'T WORRY ABOUT THE CT SCAN I would worry about my health more , because I did & made a choice for my health , I have had so many xrays that I should be glowing from the radiation Lol & a few ct scans also but I know if it were me I would want them to find out what is causing the pain .

I have considered it, but in my area the wait at the emergency room can extend for hours upon hours. I'm hoping that till Monday morning the pain won't get any worse. The gastroenterologist prescribed me two very strong antibiotics, which I've already started to take, so if there is indeed a massive infection, hopefully it won't spread in those few days.
But if the pain will get any worse, I'll definitely consider going to the ER. It just becomes unbearable at times!

Thanks for the reply man.
It doesn't really dim the success, 40 lbs is still 40 lbs. But it sure does put a damper on the euphoria I would be feeling otherwise based on my success.
Just to update, I've seen my doctor today, and he took the matter very seriously. He sent me to get an endoscopy and a sonogram to make sure there's nothing going on internally. I'm so hoping to clear this mess up very soon, so that I can focus and enjoy my weight loss.

Thanks for the reply man.
It doesn't really dim the success, 40 lbs is still 40 lbs. But it sure does put a damper on the euphoria I would be feeling otherwise based on my success.
Just to update, I've seen my doctor today, and he took the matter very seriously. He sent me to get an endoscopy and a sonogram to make sure there's nothing going on internally. I'm so hoping to clear this mess up very soon, so that I can focus and enjoy my weight loss.

Thanks for the reply man.
It doesn't really dim the success, 40 lbs is still 40 lbs. But it sure does put a damper on the euphoria I would be feeling otherwise based on my success.
Just to update, I've seen my doctor today, and he took the matter very seriously. He sent me to get an endoscopy and a sonogram to make sure there's nothing going on internally. I'm so hoping to clear this mess up very soon, so that I can focus and enjoy my weight loss.

Sounds like the pain problem needs to be addressed by an MD. My port is also visible. Has to be in most male cases. They stitch it into the abdominal wall so when they inject saline the port itself has something behind it to give leverage so they can push the needle in. I was made aware of this from the beginning and it's far better than the alternative of carrying around 75 lbs of fat.
Hope you figure out the port pain. I'm sure it dims any success you've experienced so far?

Sorry to hear about the pain. I don't have that problem but I do have a big bump where my port is and I'm six months post op. The bump has gotten more prominent the more weight I have lost. I asked my nurse about it this week and she said they used to stitch the port deeper in the body but it was too hard to find for fills on some patients. So now they stitch it right under the fat near the surface. When you lose weight you see it faster. Sounds kind of weird to me, but oh well. I can also move it around with my fingers which frankly creeps me out a little.

all doctor offices leave room on their schedules for emergencies. this is one of them. if you aren't having pus, or if it isn't red etc indicating infection they likely will leave it alone. or put steri strips back on. but this does need to be looked at. you don't want to deal with an infection too.

I had my surgery on the 14th so only 6 days in but I had this exact thing too. Really tight in the centre of my chest. And worse when I was eating or had eaten and occasionally when I took a deep breath?
Mines completely easing and my doctor isn't worried about it as he just assured me there's a reason they say it takes two weeks to heel! And that you have to remember you've had your insides played about with and tubes down your throat everything's a bit sore and agitated. But this pain gets better and mines getting less regular and painful each day I hope this helps and good luck!!!

Thanks for your interest and concern.
I'm OK for the most part, I went home this morning. Just going through the usual 2-3 days of incision pain, gas pain etc.
I found that laying on a recliner instead of laying in bed helps tremendously with the pain. As well as a heating pad helps a lot, like many have mentioned here, plus the pain killers my doc prescribed me.
All in all I guess I'm going relatively well being only one day removed from surgery.

The surgery is done thank god.
The surgeon and the anesthesiologist brushed aside the breathing issues as anxiety or something like that.
But the pain now is extreme. I didn't know laproscopic surgery is accompanied by such sharp pains. The pain especially flares up when I take a deep breath, cough, or move around.

From my perspective it seems that many doctors have their usual "schtick" that gives the basic description of the band and how it works to the patients. I realize we are not doctors, but I really do think it's essential for a patient who is banded to understand how their bands work.
There are subtle differences in manufacturer and the guidelines for installation by a doctor, and there have been some new understandings in the way the band functions since the days of early banding.
There is a bit of a pouch that is created since the band cinches in around part of your stomach though this pouch is not a container in and of itself, it is still part of the whole stomach. Think of the way an hour glass is pinched at the center. If that pinch or narrowing was not there the sand would flow straight from one side to the other as you flip it.
Once you add that cinch into the middle it slows the rate or amount of time that it takes for the sand to move from one side of the hour glass to the other.

Your band functions in pretty much a similar way. You put food in and it slowly filters from the smaller end of your stomach through the band stoma into the larger stomach at the other side of the band.
This slowing down and exerting of pressure on the food particles being pushed through the stoma by the muscles in the esophagus are what stimulate the vagus nerve to signal the brain that you are no longer hungry and have had enough to eat.
Now should you start "stacking" bites of food one after another without giving the previous bite of food time to filter through the stoma you are going to get extremely full and perhaps feel sick and want to purge some of that food back up and out.
In this case think of a funnel placed into a larger container, you are filling that funnel quickly and to the max, at the other end it can only empty into the larger container at a certain pace and the more you push in from the top the more pressure you exert on the narrow opening at the bottom.

If the funnel is flexible and pliable like our organs are, you are going to stretch that bit out to where it no longer fits correctly into the lower container and if you bend it out of shape it's just not going to work the way it was meant to. Continued pressure is going to cause a reverse to the flow and push back out the larger end rather then slowly through the smaller end as intended.
For someone who is banded eating mechanics is very important. You want and need to take your time, at least 20 minutes to finish your meals. You want to take a bite, and then chew chew chew, wait for that bite to pass through your stoma and then begin to take the next bite. Put your fork and knife down between bites and pace yourself.
Many doctors will tell a new patient not eat and drink together. A good explanation for this is that as you are learning to use and live in tandem with your band and working on your eating mechanics adding the pressure of Fluid on top of food particles that have not yet cleared the band can exert pressure on the stoma which when newly banded or newly filled is often swollen and tender though we do not feel the swelling since it's happening internally unless we are unfortunate enough to get something stuck in the stoma opening.
I know much of this was long winded and I hope it makes sense to you. The reason that I chose to be banded was for the fact that it is adjustable to my life style and because of the fact that there was no mal-absorption component and none of my internal organs needed to be removed or re-routed.

I was banded the same time as you, and I'm feeling much better already. I'm easily gulping down the Protein Shakes, warm tea, plus I'm taking the (chewable) Vitamins as directed by my nutritionist. I still have a little bit of pain, especially when I move around in bed, or try to get up from the recliner etc. but overall the pain is much better and I'm feeling good, plus the weight keeps on coming off! So I just wanna tell you to hang in there, and keep strong! There are much better days ahead, and I'm sure one day we'll all be very glad that we did this!

I was banded the same time as you, and I'm feeling much better already. I'm easily gulping down the Protein Shakes, warm tea, plus I'm taking the (chewable) Vitamins as directed by my nutritionist. I still have a little bit of pain, especially when I move around in bed, or try to get up from the recliner etc. but overall the pain is much better and I'm feeling good, plus the weight keeps on coming off! So I just wanna tell you to hang in there, and keep strong! There are much better days ahead, and I'm sure one day we'll all be very glad that we did this!

The surgery is done thank god.
The surgeon and the anesthesiologist brushed aside the breathing issues as anxiety or something like that.
But the pain now is extreme. I didn't know laproscopic surgery is accompanied by such sharp pains. The pain especially flares up when I take a deep breath, cough, or move around.

Hi there, I'm glad you're feeling better and enjoying that recliner. Very happy you were able to spend the night in the hospital -- we really do have to advocate for ourselves sometimes. The walking can't be emphasized enough. I think it really helped kick my body into healing mode. I found I needed to get up to pee a lot and since I was up anyway that's when I did laps around the driving circle or even just up and down the hall. This will help everything go back into place and with the releasing of any trapped gas. I really enjoyed my Popsicles during this time, and I'm a tea drinker so I had a lot of warm tea. As others have said, each day is better. If you are taking narcotic pain medication be sure that any Constipation issues are addressed. And know that a few months out you won't even really be able to recall this discomfort. Sending best wishes your way!

Thanks for your interest and concern.
I'm OK for the most part, I went home this morning. Just going through the usual 2-3 days of incision pain, gas pain etc.
I found that laying on a recliner instead of laying in bed helps tremendously with the pain. As well as a heating pad helps a lot, like many have mentioned here, plus the pain killers my doc prescribed me.
All in all I guess I'm going relatively well being only one day removed from surgery.

Thanks for the kind words guys! I'm literally teary eyed that there are so many people out there that don't know me at all, yet are so concerned and caring about me! What a great world we live in!
Anyway, the pain isn't as bad as it was before, but it's still pretty bad, and I'm having great difficulty walking around or even turning in bed.
The hospital I'm in wanted to send me home merely three hours after surgery, but I insisted that I won't go home in such a condition, so I'm spending the night in the hospital, and we'll see what happens tomorrow.
Thanks again people, I feel like part of the family now!

Thanks for your interest and concern.
I'm OK for the most part, I went home this morning. Just going through the usual 2-3 days of incision pain, gas pain etc.
I found that laying on a recliner instead of laying in bed helps tremendously with the pain. As well as a heating pad helps a lot, like many have mentioned here, plus the pain killers my doc prescribed me.
All in all I guess I'm going relatively well being only one day removed from surgery.

Hope you are OK??????