Hey everyone,

I had my surgery yesterday and it all went fine even tho I was soooo nervous! They fixed a small hernia while they were in there. I just wanted to ask if the stuff I'm feeling today is normal, because I feel a little crazy.

1. The chest pain is bad and hurts to take a deep breath. I constantly feel a burp coming up but it seems to hit the "hernia" spot (middle of my chest) and it dissipates and gurgles back down. It hurts really bad and I can't actually burp. I can't seem to make it stop

2. My steri-strips are actually reacting to my skin. I have had to cut the corners off four of them because the skin was red and stinging and it sort of blistered. Some skin came off with the steri-strip. I have put some antibiotic cream on the rare spots and some gauze. Anyone else have this?

3. I can't believe the mental feelings!! I am scared and overwhelmed. I thought I was sooo prepared for this, but now that it's in me I feel scared. I feel like this pain and discomfort will never go away and I can't beleive I did this to myself. I feel like I'll never be able to eat again or live a normal life. I feel like the Dr. must have made a mistake because I shouldn't feel this bad and I'm scared they'll have to go back in and fix it and I just can't imagine doing that again. I feel kind of crazy actually...and it's scaring me.

Have any of you felt some of these feelings? Will I be ok? I just feel crazy...and so sore and scared.

Please help..

Please don't panic you are going to be ok, i felt a lot of the same feelings you felt..I had that same thought in my head "how could I have done this to myself" I was not happy the first week..not happy at all, i had this horrible pain in my shoulder that lasted for 2 weeks I thought I was going to have to live with it for the rest of my life but it went away. I did not have the symptoms you wrote on number 1. but I bet it is normal because of the hernia they fixed. Give it time you will get better. just stay calm, take your pain medication..sleep as much as possible. you will be able to eat again I promise you!! You will be able to eat, it's still work to lose weight even with the band, but it is a tool and if you use your tool you will have success. i know i told you to sleep but walking might relieve some of the gas you are experiencing. What you are feeling is normal you're going to get better in no time at all that discomfort, pain, fear will all be a distant memory...write it down so you can looks back and maybe help others on this site later who may experience the same symptoms you have now.

Hey everyone,

I had my surgery yesterday and it all went fine even tho I was soooo nervous! They fixed a small hernia while they were in there. I just wanted to ask if the stuff I'm feeling today is normal, because I feel a little crazy.

1. The chest pain is bad and hurts to take a deep breath. I constantly feel a burp coming up but it seems to hit the "hernia" spot (middle of my chest) and it dissipates and gurgles back down. It hurts really bad and I can't actually burp. I can't seem to make it stop

2. My steri-strips are actually reacting to my skin. I have had to cut the corners off four of them because the skin was red and stinging and it sort of blistered. Some skin came off with the steri-strip. I have put some antibiotic cream on the rare spots and some gauze. Anyone else have this?

3. I can't believe the mental feelings!! I am scared and overwhelmed. I thought I was sooo prepared for this, but now that it's in me I feel scared. I feel like this pain and discomfort will never go away and I can't beleive I did this to myself. I feel like I'll never be able to eat again or live a normal life. I feel like the Dr. must have made a mistake because I shouldn't feel this bad and I'm scared they'll have to go back in and fix it and I just can't imagine doing that again. I feel kind of crazy actually...and it's scaring me.

Have any of you felt some of these feelings? Will I be ok? I just feel crazy...and so sore and scared.

Please help..

Hey everyone,

I had my surgery yesterday and it all went fine even tho I was soooo nervous! They fixed a small hernia while they were in there. I just wanted to ask if the stuff I'm feeling today is normal, because I feel a little crazy.

1. The chest pain is bad and hurts to take a deep breath. I constantly feel a burp coming up but it seems to hit the "hernia" spot (middle of my chest) and it dissipates and gurgles back down. It hurts really bad and I can't actually burp. I can't seem to make it stop

2. My steri-strips are actually reacting to my skin. I have had to cut the corners off four of them because the skin was red and stinging and it sort of blistered. Some skin came off with the steri-strip. I have put some antibiotic cream on the rare spots and some gauze. Anyone else have this?

3. I can't believe the mental feelings!! I am scared and overwhelmed. I thought I was sooo prepared for this, but now that it's in me I feel scared. I feel like this pain and discomfort will never go away and I can't beleive I did this to myself. I feel like I'll never be able to eat again or live a normal life. I feel like the Dr. must have made a mistake because I shouldn't feel this bad and I'm scared they'll have to go back in and fix it and I just can't imagine doing that again. I feel kind of crazy actually...and it's scaring me.

Have any of you felt some of these feelings? Will I be ok? I just feel crazy...and so sore and scared.

Please help..

The mental feelings are perfectly normal; I thought I had made a horrible mistake as well and was feeling quite bummed the first few days. It's not an easy decision to make, so we ought to applaud ourselves for having the courage to take that step and DO something instead of making another pointless resolution.

I wasn't able to burp for about 2 weeks, and it was hell (sorry). I know that feeling you're talking about; it was like having a bubble in your chest that was stuck under the band or something. The first time one finally came out...I was so happy and proud LOL! Don't be ashamed to um, let your gas out the 'other end'; it'll help with a LOT of that gas pressure.

While some of your pain is normal, you might want to check in with your doc if you're having an allergic reaction to your steri strips; last thing you want is one of your incisions to reopen or to suffer needlessly!

Hey everyone,

I had my surgery yesterday and it all went fine even tho I was soooo nervous! They fixed a small hernia while they were in there. I just wanted to ask if the stuff I'm feeling today is normal, because I feel a little crazy.

1. The chest pain is bad and hurts to take a deep breath. I constantly feel a burp coming up but it seems to hit the "hernia" spot (middle of my chest) and it dissipates and gurgles back down. It hurts really bad and I can't actually burp. I can't seem to make it stop

2. My steri-strips are actually reacting to my skin. I have had to cut the corners off four of them because the skin was red and stinging and it sort of blistered. Some skin came off with the steri-strip. I have put some antibiotic cream on the rare spots and some gauze. Anyone else have this?

3. I can't believe the mental feelings!! I am scared and overwhelmed. I thought I was sooo prepared for this, but now that it's in me I feel scared. I feel like this pain and discomfort will never go away and I can't beleive I did this to myself. I feel like I'll never be able to eat again or live a normal life. I feel like the Dr. must have made a mistake because I shouldn't feel this bad and I'm scared they'll have to go back in and fix it and I just can't imagine doing that again. I feel kind of crazy actually...and it's scaring me.

Have any of you felt some of these feelings? Will I be ok? I just feel crazy...and so sore and scared.

Please help..

Newbie. You have just had major surgery to place the band and to fix a hernia. That is really two surgeries in one. The doctor gave you pain killers for a reason. He/she knew you would be in pain. In order to place the band, gas is used to blow up the cavity and some organs will be disturbed. By steri strips, I assume you mean the bandages. If you are having a reaction, call your emergency medical hospital or hotline and ask them for instructions. You don't want the sutures to become inflamed because of a reaction to a bandage.

As for your mental feelings, because you are in pain, right now it probably doesn't appear like you made the right decision. Don't worry about anything but getting through the pain. Take Gas X or whatever your doctor gave you. Get up and walk then sleep, get up and walk again. Most people do have pain and the ones that don't are the lucky ones. Before you know it, you will be telling other newbies how to get through the first few days ordeal.

If you are really in distress with pain, go to the emergency and your doctor will be called. Better to be safe than sorry especially concerning the blisters.

Kerry I believe you were banded at SWLC so you should call the emergency number to discuss the redness from the steri strips. The rest of the stuff is completely normal but I'd not wait to find out about the redness on your skin. They gave you that number for a reason so give them a call and ask what to do. I'm assuming you have already removed that tape with the gauze on it and you mean the actual little strips that are directly over the incisions. That other tape with the gauze made my skin red in just 24 hours but as soon as I removed them as per the instructions, the redness went away. I didn't have any issues with the actual steri strips. You may not want to put any cream too near the incisions as they are still open. I'd call the number and have one of the surgeons call you back to ease your mind.

I think your feelings are normal...remember, you were under general anesthesia only a day ago and that's enough to mess anyone up. The first few days are a bit rough but they do get better (I had my surgery on the 5th).

What is under your steri strips? Do you have staples? I had staples and just regular bandages and while I didn't have any trouble initially, I started to react to the staples and by the time I got them out they were driving me nuts! Apparently in stainless steel there are a few other things like nickel mixed in and I was obviously having a reaction to that. If you are reacting this quickly to something, you should check with your doc.

Anyway, this is a great place to learn more about what to expect and find people who are going through or have gone through the same thing as you. Hope you feel better soon!

Hey everyone,

I had my surgery yesterday and it all went fine even tho I was soooo nervous! They fixed a small hernia while they were in there. I just wanted to ask if the stuff I'm feeling today is normal, because I feel a little crazy.

1. The chest pain is bad and hurts to take a deep breath. I constantly feel a burp coming up but it seems to hit the "hernia" spot (middle of my chest) and it dissipates and gurgles back down. It hurts really bad and I can't actually burp. I can't seem to make it stop

2. My steri-strips are actually reacting to my skin. I have had to cut the corners off four of them because the skin was red and stinging and it sort of blistered. Some skin came off with the steri-strip. I have put some antibiotic cream on the rare spots and some gauze. Anyone else have this?

3. I can't believe the mental feelings!! I am scared and overwhelmed. I thought I was sooo prepared for this, but now that it's in me I feel scared. I feel like this pain and discomfort will never go away and I can't beleive I did this to myself. I feel like I'll never be able to eat again or live a normal life. I feel like the Dr. must have made a mistake because I shouldn't feel this bad and I'm scared they'll have to go back in and fix it and I just can't imagine doing that again. I feel kind of crazy actually...and it's scaring me.

Have any of you felt some of these feelings? Will I be ok? I just feel crazy...and so sore and scared.

Please help..

Hello There

I hope that by now things are better.

I had my surgery in October and had the exact same reactions. My Doc reasured me that it was all normal.

It is too soon for you to see results .. but once you start dropping the dress sizes , you will be so glad yu did this surgery.

Hang in there... if you need help or just talk...

juju_azevedo@hotmail.com

Good luck!