:phanvan

Having squeezing/throbbing pain where my band is and into my esophagus. Saw my surgeon on Thursday and he said it sometimes happens when the body is getting used to the band.

I would like to know if any of you experienced this and how long before it went away?

I am 12 days post op and I sure hope it goes away. It's not a pain I could function well with on a daily basis.

Hi

I am truely sorry that you are battling like this.

What I found that helps for the pain is resting.When it gets to bad go and lie down for half an hour.For me it is worse in the afternoon,after exercise or when I get tired.

Dont let your stomach get to empty or dont eat to much...rather smaller portions more often...

Also ordinary painkillers like panadol might help... 2 tabs every now and then will do no harm....

My body never go used to the band but my head got a bit more used to the pain.....

But you are early days and this might just be post-op pain.

Hope you feel better soon.

The squeezing, throbbing pain in my stomach & up into my espohagus is similar to what I felt this past weekend when I had an obstruction. Now, that doesn't mean that's what your problem is, but I can understand your pain. Is it worse at night? I could hardly get any sleep from the pain.

When I saw my stomach under flouro, my stomach looked like it was being strangled & was trying to gasp for air. (Does that make sense?) The doctor said that THAT is what was causing the pain. As soon as he took out the Fluid, the strangling stomach calmed down & NO MORE PAIN!!

I am wondering if you have a band that is smaller then what you need!?!? You don't have a fill, right?! I don't know how you are dealing with that pain. It was able to still do stuff & live my life, but it was very uncomfortable. I could hardly be left alone with myself because all I could feel & think about was the pain at my band.

Good luck Leener!! Not sure if I helped or not, but at least I can sympathize with you!!! NO FUN!!! :straight

Thanks to both of you. I do hope my body get's use to it too. It feels like my stomach is a wild horse that does not like being lassoed. And yes, the pain is worse at night.

I had a 10 cc band put in, so I don't think it could get smaller, correct? No fill, I'm still on full liquids at this point.

I am actually afraid of when I am spposed to eat food.

Leener, I think I found you here, right? How are you? I have yet another suggestion. Aloe Vera juice. Have I suggested that before? Did you find my old threads? Let me know!

Hi Kathy,

I checked your posts and they only went to January.

I figured out what this is, it's esophageal spasms. I could feel my entire "pipe" throbbing and squeezing tonight. It's so painful though, and getting worse every day.

Will I have to have my band out I wonder???

Hi

You say you are still on liquids.When are you allowed to eat mushies?I have found that when my stomach is to empty or to full I have pain....so maybe you need a little mushie food.....

Another thing....I get esophageal spasms all the time but my pain is bad late afternoon but settles down when I lie down.....It is as if the tension on the esophagus gets to much and when I lie down it is better....

You are the only one to decide if you can live with the band.I gave it 2 months and by then I'd decided that it was worth it for me. I have lost more than 100 pounds (115) and stil need to lose 60 but well,I am doing it....I dont want another type of surgery so this is it,this is as good as it gets for me and WLS......

One's mind is actually a powerful thing.For the first few months I was really in agony and very angry about it but one can actually get use to more that we think......

Give it a little time....be nice to yourself......see if your dr dont want to prescribe meds to help with the spasms....

Im thinking of you and hope the pain just disappears...

Thanks desertmom.

You were in this kind of pain too??

I can start on soft foods tomorrow, and yes, I find when my stomach is empty it is worse, and it's also worse in the evenings. A heating pad put on my sternum, between my breasts seems to help a little too.

I defo hope the doc can give me meds and this can go away. I'd also like them to check out to make sure the band is not too tight.

I found in the early stages that I had the pain you are describing as well. I learned to stay away from cold even room temp liquids and only do warm, the cooler the liquid the worse the spasms were. I guess the warm relaxed the muscles that were irritated.

I hope to meet u soon, Maybe at the group this Wednesday???? if u feel up to it.

You did Alexra? I'm glad I'm not alone . I really started to feel I was a freak and something was seriously wrong with my banding or me.

I want to go to the meeting this wends. The pain is so distracting, but I'm going to try.

Hi

I have had pain,heartburn and reflux with pain directly behind the band in my back from day 3 and it has never left.Late afternoon its worse,when I get tired or when I do something physical.

Dr's not interested in my problem...a surgeon from Europe operated on me in Dubai,where I stay....

I have learned to trust the Lord about the band..:clap2: ..when it is time to come out I will know....(yeah,laugh if you want but I've lost 115 pounds this way...)

Some days,especially days when I decide to exercise I really battle...water gives me heartburn,the band gives me almost no restriction ect ect ect....but the band is working in that I am refusing to accept defeat and I will get thin....Atkins.......exercise and well the fact that I feel embarrased that this failed....and Bob's my uncle,I will get thin......

So,do different things to get comfortable and lose weight....it is worth all the suffering in the end....

I havent come accross anyone with the same symptoms as me so maybe your pain will go away and in a month you'll have forgotten about it...(I still sometimes think my issues will just disapear...I actually am the eternal optimist even though it doesnt always seem so..:biggrin1: .)

Good luck again......take it easy....

Well, I called the on-call doctor. She said there is no medication for the spasms in my throat.

She called in a stronger acid reducer. But she sai some people just can't tolerate the band and it has to come out.

Hi Kathy,

I checked your posts and they only went to January.

I figured out what this is, it's esophageal spasms. I could feel my entire "pipe" throbbing and squeezing tonight. It's so painful though, and getting worse every day.

Will I have to have my band out I wonder???

Hold on there, Leener, don't give up yet. I'll go looking for my threads from last year. But picture this, first.

Back then, when I went to the ER for IV fluids, they did an upper GI to see if the band was blocking passage of liquids. It wasn't, but the contrast Fluid went through with a thin trickle. Slow, but going through. This visual was helpful when I was drinking, er, sipping.

The other thing that happened that was helpful to know and understand was this...the upper part of the stomach above the band is still stomach, and when food/liquids gets in there, it does what stomachs do, and it starts churning. The pouch is not a holding pond for food and liquids. It lurches and churns and squeezes and pushes the food and liquids through the band. When the band is tight from swelling, the stomach tries to push it down and it has nowhere to go but up...into the esophogus. This is what causes the discomfort in the chest. I saw it "live" in action, and the discomfort was from the contrast fluid up in my esophogus. After that I never swallowed more than could fit into the pouch without being squeezed back up. Once the swelling subsided, thanks to the hydration of the IVs, the band wasn't restricting the liquids and my stomach was able to squeeze it DOWN and not UP. That's also why the Aloe Vera juice is good. Anything irritated gets soothed.

I'm going thread digging now. No more talk just yet about band removal. You aren't there yet. You won't know anything until the band swelling goes down and if you do it right, you will be successful. I'll hold your hand as best I can from here. Look for BUMPS.

Thank you! That makes so much sense.

I appreciate all your help.

*hugs*

Leener,

I am new to this board but had the LapBand procedure done on 2/28. My first two weeks were pretty rough. I lost 13 pounds in 14 days and had a lot of discomfort. I began getting relief when I start with mushies on day 15. Some simple mashed potatoes helped a lot. I start each day with a cup of warm decaf tea also. Warmth should help your spasms. Also, I use a baby spoon to eat. I know it sounds corny but it prevents me from taking too large of bites.

As for your spasms, there is medication which can help if you really need it. I would call my actual surgeon tomorrow.

My surgeon said my discomfort was from the swelling of the stomach secondary to the band placement. I hope that is all yours is too.

I truly hope this discomfort will pass for you real soon as I know exactly how you feel about whether you can stand it or not. I got relief on day 15.

Good luck

Nursecarlotta, thank you so much!

You people have no idea how encouraging your posts are to me. I've been pretty depressed and miserable with this, so to know there is hope and pain free band life possibley waiting round the corner, really helps.

It's also just nice to know I'm not alone in this. I implement all your suggestions too, so thanks for that as well.

You people are great.