Find myself having lots of pain in the breast bone. Am I drinking to fast. Have had 2 quit major coughing spells. Could I have slipped my band with the coughing. I tried so hard to control it. Any suggestions. I'm trying to drink exactly like my doctor has instructed. I feel like something is stuck. I took my 1st Cymbalta today post surgery. I took half the capsule off the top so there wasn't much of the outer capsule left. Drank it with warm soy milk so it would dissolve fast. Anyone out there have any clues to this stuck feeling I'm having? Thanks for you help.

From what I understand it is very difficult to slip your band. Keep in mind too that your stomach is swollen from the surgery and the tightness in your chest may be related to that as well as the air still trapped in your cavity from surgery. The first few weeks I was very aware that something foreign was in me, and eventually the feeling you describe went away. If you are able to swallow 1/2 a pill your are probably doing just fine. Of it were stuck you would probably regurgitating the soy milk and pill.

What you're feeling is pretty normal for 3 days post op. You'll feel this way for at least a few more days. It's a mixture of trapped gas as well as being swollen. I felt it too in my chest area. Every time I drank something, it felt weird, almost like I was stuck. But you're not stuck. Just hang in there. Keep walking around, and it does help you to feel a lot better. I would just pace in my house for the first few days, and I felt a lot better.

As for the coughing, it could still be from the breathing tube you had. Just take as deep of breaths you can. Try drinking slower if you do notice the coughing comes after you drank something.

Hang in there, it'll get better soon.

I took a pill at 2 days post op and had that same feeling. It was after office hours, so I called my pharmacy and the pharmacist said to sip hot water as hot as I could stand to melt the capsule. He also said that during the first week or so, the swelling from surgery could cause this issue. My Gp prescribed a liquid for me to use during that time. Now, 11 days out I'm fine and have no trouble swallowing pills.

my surgeon's office reccommended Peppermint tea to help melt the stomach swelling and I would imagine that the heat from the tea would help the pill dissolve faster?

That feeling is completely normal. However Cymbalta should NOT be opened, it is a time release capsule you will not benefit correctly from the medication. I am on the same med and talked to the pharmacist and read the instrucions pharmacies dont give you. breastbone pain will dissapate after day 3 or 4 but a gas bubble brings it back so dont be alarmed.