MsMamaBaby1

I tried to be inspired by those of you who were having such success with the band but after weeks of suffering with the pain and the coughing, I had the band removed. I haven't regretted it for one second. It just wasn't for me. I still cough but it's not agonizing. I am still overweight but I am working on it 'naturally' and if I succeed or not, I am happy. Good luck to all of you and Thank You.:biggrin:

At last, I thought I was the only one who felt getting the LAP-BAND® was an absolute disaster. I debated over all of the weight loss options and thought this would be ideal for me...so many people are 'thrilled' at having it done and with so much success. I can't go 5 minutes watching TV without seeing someone bragging about how fantastic the LAP-BAND® is. Well, I was banded on February 5th, 2010 and I have unhappy since the second week. I have always had a cough for over 20 years, it's from allergies and no doctor has been able to stop it, it's treated with a very strong cough syrup...this I have lived with so I am used to it. What I am not used to is the agony I experience every time I cough now, the pain is unreal. scale of 1 - 10 [Can we say 15?] I feel terrible, maybe worse than I felt immediately after the surgery. I can not sleep comfortable (I have to sleep mostly upright) and I am in almost constant pain in the port area. I have spoken to my doctor who has told me 'give it time' but I have told him, I am all but bed-ridden most of the time. Exercise, forget it, bending over, a thing of the past, sleeping through the night, by gone days, weight loss, not when I am on pain meds confined to bed. I want this thing out of my body, I'll take the hard road and continue trying naturally to lose weight...at least then, I could have a life. I am waiting for approval from my insurance company to have it removed then I'll have cause to really Celebrate. To think, I was so excited and waited so long to do this to myself. Well, maybe it's great for so many other people but it is DEFINITELY not for me! :wink2:

I'm fairly sure that is may have not healed completely since I believe I keep re-injuring it when I cough. I haven't been checked for tearing to the port but I have spoke to my doctor a few times with regards to this. He has tried to encourage me to continue and for the past month I have but the pain is debilitating and sharp. It feels almost as bad as it did when I came out of surgery. I can estimate that I have probably only had maybe 5 days where I felt well enough to venture out isn't one of them. My doctor is an excellent doctor, very caring and concerned but I feel that I put myself in this situation because I did not fully inform him of the degree and persistence of my cough. In the past, I have coughed so violently that I thought I broke a rib. Once while I was driving on a San Antonio freeway, I coughed so badly I lost consciousness for a second and ended up driving underneath a truck. Fortunately, no one was injured. This has happened two other times in the past 8 years and I was totally unaware that it occurred until those around me told me. Luckily, I wasn't driving those other times. This is one violent cough I have. Not constant but often it comes and goes. I should have anticipated this or, better yet, had I informed the doctor fully he could have told me the possible difficulties I would encounter and I could have made a wiser decision. I woke up today very sore and had difficulty getting out of bed, then later, when I spoke to my husband later, he told me that I had had a coughing fit while I was sleeping. I can't keep feeling this way, I would rather be overweight and keep trying to lose it the 'old fashioned' way than to continue to ache like I do. I'm probably, most likely, going to have it removed. :frown:

I was banded on Feb. 5th and I'm already unsure if I made the right move. I did the counseling, I did the research but I think I overlooked a very important issue. I have had a chronic cough for over 20 years, it is usually brought on by allergies so it comes and goes often. I take a very strong cough medicine (Promethazine w/Codeine) and I use Tessalon pearls but still once the coughing begins, it takes the meds 3-5 days to begin to control the episode. I am six weeks out post-op and about 2 weeks out, I had a 4 day battle with coughing that left me so sore I had to remain in bed on pain meds. Finally, about a week ago I began to feel better, not as sore and started to feel that 'I can do this' - Then yesterday, the cough started again and now I am as sore as I was post-op and I'm thinking about having the band removed. The pain is only on the port side but it is intense. When I cough, it feels as though someone is stabbing me with an ice pick. All these years the coughing was bad enough, now I've added the pain of the LAP-BAND®®®®. The pain when I cough gets unbearable at times. The swelling makes me unable to bend or fasten my pants or have anything rubbing against the site. I am conflicted between wanting to have this removed and continuing on. I can't be down because I have elderly parents that rely on me but how can I help them if I am in pain or drunk on pain meds. I read all of the threads on this site and so many people are excited and happy and I am not, I am feeling regrets and disappointment. I have no idea as to what to do...:frown:

Banded February 5, 2010

I have had a chronic cough for over 20 years. It comes and goes and requires an antihistamine type cough syrup to control. I was initially worried about the recuperation time after the surgery and my coughing but the first 10-12 days were relatively smooth then, it started. The weather took a change and the cough started and I can hardly describe the sharp, tearing pain that I have been having in and around the port area. It is unbearable. Pain meds do help, but they leave me hung over and that isn't good to lose weight or exercise. Also, most of the time the cough will startle me out of my sleep so I have no chance to grab the pillow to minimize the pain. I have been getting pretty exhausted with it all now. It hurts so bad. Does anyone else have (or have had) this problem. Please tell me that there is light at the end of this rainbow because I am almost ready to tell the doctor to 'get this thing out of my body asap'. I can't live on cough syrups and pain meds and feel like I may have made a mistake with the surgery, at least, before I didn't hurt like this. My surgery was on Feb. 5. Any help?