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Shoulder pain after eating



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I just got banded dec 20th and I am getting pain in my left shoulder sometimes while eating and after eating. Sometimes I will get pain under my left rib cage. Is this a signal telling me to stop eating? Well I do! Am I always going to get this signal? Also I have no restriction so that's y I'm wondering y am I getting this pain?

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Your stitches are still healing into place where the band was placed on your stomach. You shouldn't expect any restriction at all at this point. You may experience some swelling, which translates to "false" restriction, until your system gets back to normal. What you eat, and how much of it you eat, is limited only by your personal motivation and awareness at this point.

As to the pain, I've been told the nerves that surround your core midsection all terminate in the area of your left shoulder. If those nerves were irritated by the banding process, you could feel pain related to those nerves when you eat. As your stomach moves to accommodate the food you've eaten, it irritates the nerves again, resulting in pain in your shoulder. Maybe. I am certainly not a doctor. ;)

Hang in there. Each day gets easier. Good luck!

Dave

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Thank you Dave_NW for that info. I have had the same experience as FayFayE and wondered if that was going to be how I felt for fullness from now on. It's good to know that I'm not the only one :)

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I was banded on the 20th as well, and have the same issues. I'm still on liquids, but I can tell a difference in the shoulder pain when I drink something a little thicker, like cream of chicken Soup versus gatorade for example. I think it has to do with the gas issue still....

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Thanks Dave!! It happened again tonight at dinner so I stopped eating and I didn't get to that hurtful shoulder pain as much. It was mild I knew to stop! Ugghh it's a learning procedure

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Look up referred pain. I was banded 12-14 and just went fr my 2 week post op appt. Surgeon said it is likely tubing from band touching diaphragm. Your body signals pain through left shoulder. It should ease over time.

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I just got banded dec 20th and I am getting pain in my left shoulder sometimes while eating and after eating. Sometimes I will get pain under my left rib cage. Is this a signal telling me to stop eating? Well I do! Am I always going to get this signal? Also I have no restriction so that's y I'm wondering y am I getting this pain?

I am soooo glad I found this post. I was banded on 12/21/10. I just finished my lunch (apple sauce, 1/4 cup and 3 oz. of yogurt) and I am having extreme sharp pains in my left shoulder. No matter what I do it is not going away. It subsides for 20-30 seconds and then comes back! This is terrible! My post-op appointment isn't until 1/17. I am hoping it goes away, I can be patient but at times I cannot even take a deep breath because the pain is so sharp.

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You all may be dealing with phrenic nerve pain. Basically some part of the band is rubbing on the diaphragh which causes pain to one of the vertebrae (can't remember which) but it refers the pain to the left shoulder. Fun fun...not. I'm a year post op and still have it.

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

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        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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