I was banded on May 20th and my recovery was ok. The one thing that is still quite painful is the pain that gets trapped in the left shoulder. How long have others had to deal with this! It is very uncomfortable and can be quite painful. I have been walking and chewing gas x like no body's business. I did notice yesterday when i hardly ate it ws much worse! How long have you guys had to deal with this? I tried a heating pad and it wasnt much help either!

wow that's the first i heard to put the heating pad on the abdomen.....so far it seems to be getting better unless i sit for long periods of time like when i'm a church..thanks for the info!

Had to share this new news with you. I went to work today (not a desk job) from being off a week and having been banded May 20. Anyway, my shoulder was acting crazy today! I was near tears a few times. So I called the nurse, again, learned a new valuable piece of info. While it is our shoulder that hurts, the gas is trapped under the diaphragm and there is a nerve there that is connected to the shoulder. So! the nurse tells me to use the heating pad on my abdomen!!! I'm doing it now, (yes I am releasing gas...sorry tmi but true). If you try it, let me know if it helps you. I will be trying this until my shoulder stops hurting!!