hi all

i am only about 50 or 60 lbs overweight but with the new fda approval for people in my weight range, i decided to do the surgery. had it on 3/15/11 [edited date] and am just having a lot of chest pain (not worried it's heart problems). after hearing so many horror stories about lap bands (and an equal number of positive stories) i feel like it's just a crapshoot. you do the surgery and just hope and pray that you won't have any problems. the other thing is that my insurance wouldn't cover it so i had to pay $16k cash for this. losing the weight is worth that much to me. i wasn't able to lose it because i took antidepressants for a long time which caused the weight gain to begin with but i believe altered my metabolism.

i just have so much anxiety today about the chest pain. i called the dr's office and spoke to a nurse who said it's gas, because it comes and goes. but i'm not so sure. i'm just worried that it might be posisitoned wrong. i don't think i could go through another surgery. it was tough.

ugh, i just feel like a made a mistake by doing this. would love to hear from some people who maybe had some problems or concerns early and things passed. appreciate it.

pam

hi all

i am only about 50 or 60 lbs overweight but with the new fda approval for people in my weight range, i decided to do the surgery. had it on 1/15 and am just having a lot of chest pain (not worried it's heart problems). after hearing so many horror stories about lap bands (and an equal number of positive stories) i feel like it's just a crapshoot. you do the surgery and just hope and pray that you won't have any problems. the other thing is that my insurance wouldn't cover it so i had to pay $16k cash for this. losing the weight is worth that much to me. i wasn't able to lose it because i took antidepressants for a long time which caused the weight gain to begin with but i believe altered my metabolism.

i just have so much anxiety today about the chest pain. i called the dr's office and spoke to a nurse who said it's gas, because it comes and goes. but i'm not so sure. i'm just worried that it might be posisitoned wrong. i don't think i could go through another surgery. it was tough.

ugh, i just feel like a made a mistake by doing this. would love to hear from some people who maybe had some problems or concerns early and things passed. appreciate it.

pam

HI there! - You said you were banded in Jan. of this year and you are still having chest pains? That is def not normal. I was banded in Jan. also of this year and yes I too had horrible chest pains that scared me coz I didn't know if it was my heart or from the gas that they pump into your stomach for surgery. I also had neck and shoulder pain as well. But anyway, this pain all went away by the 2nd wk. post op. I did do alot of walking to try to expel the gas. Are you walking or exercising? Either way, I think you should go to the hospital and get it checked out. YOur surgeon that did your lapband should be taking this more seriously. PLease keep us posted on your progress. Take care.

Hi Pam, I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble. If I eat too fast or take too big bites (what used to be regular bites for me), I get a great pressure in my chest. I wonder if that's your problem? As much as I try to follow the lap band rules, I still do this once in a while.

HI there! - You said you were banded in Jan. of this year and you are still having chest pains? That is def not normal. I was banded in Jan. also of this year and yes I too had horrible chest pains that scared me coz I didn't know if it was my heart or from the gas that they pump into your stomach for surgery. I also had neck and shoulder pain as well. But anyway, this pain all went away by the 2nd wk. post op. I did do alot of walking to try to expel the gas. Are you walking or exercising? Either way, I think you should go to the hospital and get it checked out. YOur surgeon that did your lapband should be taking this more seriously. PLease keep us posted on your progress. Take care.

doh!! ha, i meant 3/15, which is just last week. so it's only been 4 days. i didn't have any shoulder pain from the gas. maybe this chest pain is just gas. it does come and go, which is good. would be more worried if it were constant.

i think i'm just anxious about all of this. i am single and did my surgery alone because i didn't want to make anyone take a day off from work and then i wished i had asked my sister to be there. was just tough taking care of myself at home over the past few days. i'm just so fiercely independent though! my dog and friends have been great though. i have been getting out and walking my dog around the block a couple times a day. just bummed because it's supposed to rain all weekend. maybe i'll have to dance in the living room haha.

Well that makes a big difference Pam! That is not unusual at all for 4 days post op. It is HARD to do it by yourself, though! And I'm sure you don't have a whole lot of energy yet. Did you have the hiatal hernia repair at the same time? I think I felt the most discomfort from that part of it. It can hang around for a few weeks, but you should notice some improvement soon.

Hey Pam......don't worry. It gets better! I had my surgery the same day as you. I still have the pains below my sternum when I drink something too fast. My Dr. said to only drink 1 oz of liquid every 5 minutes. If I do more than that, I can tell. But, I take a deep breath and it helps with the pain. I also use a pillow every time I get up. I squeeze it and it helps me get up or move around. Kinda like a security blanket. lol. I'm feeling much better now. The thing that has helped me has waking up and getting on the scales. I'm down 17 pounds since surgery. Thats my motivation each day.

As far as the walking, don't try walking to far. Try to stay around the house and walk. It will help with the gas. Don't try and do it alone. Have a support system with you!!! But, hang in there, you're gonna do great!!!

thanks so much for the comments, everyone. really helps a lot to know that there are other people going through the same thing and who understand. appreciate it. glad i found this forum. :-)

Hey Pam......don't worry. It gets better! I had my surgery the same day as you. I still have the pains below my sternum when I drink something too fast. My Dr. said to only drink 1 oz of liquid every 5 minutes. If I do more than that, I can tell. But, I take a deep breath and it helps with the pain. I also use a pillow every time I get up. I squeeze it and it helps me get up or move around. Kinda like a security blanket. lol. I'm feeling much better now. The thing that has helped me has waking up and getting on the scales. I'm down 17 pounds since surgery. Thats my motivation each day.

As far as the walking, don't try walking to far. Try to stay around the house and walk. It will help with the gas. Don't try and do it alone. Have a support system with you!!! But, hang in there, you're gonna do great!!!

and thanks for that advice re 1 oz of liquid every 5 minutes. i realized that i've been downing a Protein shake in a few minutes and it's too fast. i bet that's what's causing the pain! i thought i was going slow but i think it's not slow enough.

thanks!

Hang in there, Pam, and you'll be fine. I am just ahead of you by four days. It took all week to feel pretty good, and I had the same types of pains. I don't think that you'll be sorry you had the surgery.

Hang in there, Pam, and you'll be fine. I am just ahead of you by four days. It took all week to feel pretty good, and I had the same types of pains. I don't think that you'll be sorry you had the surgery.

thanks! i just kept worrying all day that i made a really bad decision to do this. i just felt off track and anxious, but spent some time meditating and focusing on positive thoughts and i got grounded and feel a ton better. everyone's comments here really helped too. thanks!

also, based on a post here, i realized that i was taking in WAY too much liquid at once and that's what was causing the chest pain! i cut it down to like 4 oz at a time and sipped it very slowly and took breaks and no more chest pain today! yay!

I am a week and a day post op. I know that my day four was the worst for gas pain. I dont know why but I felt gas pain in my chest and bowel area. I am telling you I felt like a macys day float. It has gotten progressively better. I did have some mild gas pain today but I just started eating mushie type foods and I think that might be causing a little of mine. But on a pain scale I would say it is a 2. Now it is almost just irritating. My doctor said that for the first few weeks to expect some gas but that it does get better. So my advice is use a heating pad, walk, and take Gas X strips.

Pam, you're doing fine, just take it slow. You've got the same pains we've all had. I know it's painful and scary, but it's normal. Now if it's still happening two weeks from now, you might have a problem. Best advice I can give you is, if in doubt, call the doc. That's what you paid him for.

Oh, and most of us also had a "what have I done" day the first week. I cried my eyes out and hated myself for a good 12 hours. Then I went to bed, woke up the next morning, got on the scale and said "oh yeah!"

Denise

That sounds like gas pains. I had a lot of gas pains post op. Gas x strips, peppermint tea and a heating pad helped. So did walking. But the heating pad was definitely the biggest help to relieve some of the trapped gas.