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Hi. I was banded on 5/28/2013 and the healing process has been much more difficult than I thought it would be. Yesterday was 4 wks post op and I should be on solid food by now but I'm still on liquids. Last week on 6/20/2013 I had all my Fluid removed because of constant pain. I was told the pain would resolve within a day or 2 but here it is a week later and I still can't eat. My problem isn't things getting stuck but esophageal spasms. I can feel them all through my chest and into my back. I can take liquids fine but after 2 bites of soft or solid food I start to spasm and it won't stop for a minimum of 12 hrs. I take very small bites and chew until the food is liquified but nothing completely helps. Hot tea will give a little relief but not much. I can't even lay flat to sleep without having spasms so I sleep propped up. At this point all I consume in one day is 1/2 cup of coffee, one regular size bottle of propel zero, one Protein Drink and about 1/2 a cup of egg drop Soup. I started at 247 lbs and am now 210 lbs so I'm happy with the weight loss but I don't know how much longer I can take the pain. Does anyone have suggestions?

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Wow. That is far different from what I experienced. I do remember having one really bad hiccup incident that was more embarrassingly loud than painful. Has your doctor had you do a barium swallow? At two weeks out I couldn't even tell I had been banded because there was zero pain. If I were you I'd make them do a barium swallow to make sure your band is positioned okay. What you are describing does not sound typical.

After I eat I do sometimes get little spasms I guess you'd call them and it generally helps what I have just eaten clear my band. I don't know if the word spasm is accurate or more like an internal hiccup. They've never lasted more than a few seconds though and they are definitely not painful.

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I was admitted to the hosp 1 wks after surgery for uncontrolled pain and dehydration. At that time they did an xray. My surgeon told me that my placement was "teaching material" perfect.

It does feel like you describe though. I feel like if I could just burp or hiccup that I would feel better but I can't seem to. It feels like I have a lump in my throat ALL the time and the spasms only start if I try to eat. I'm starting to wonder if my body just doesn't want to accept a foreign object in it or something. I'm taking into consideration that I could still have some internal post-op swelling so I'm going to try to stick it out. I really don't want this to fail.

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This is not normal. Get an appointment with your dr. right away and tell him/her about your discomfort and inability to eat. I repeat...this is not normal.

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not being able to drink/eat and being in pain, is as go stated perfectly, not normal

need to go to doctor and advise them something is amiss and not take no for an answer...

its your life, you paid them to take care of it, so make them..

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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.
      · 0 replies
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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. 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.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        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
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    • KimBaxleyWilson

      Three months and four days ago... I was in Costa Rica having a life changing surgery! Yesterday we had a followup visit with Dr. Esmeral via video chat and this morning my middle number changed.  I'm down 47lbs and two pants sizes. I can wear a Large tshirt for the first time in like... 14 years! Woot!! Everything is going great. I have zero regrets. I went down to the riverwalk with a friend and walked 2 miles on Monday without even getting fatigued. And no more snoring or chugging pickle juice for crazy leg cramps! I need to go to the gym more... I'm making new shirts next week so that will motivate me. LOL But I'm also just not as TIRED all the time! I have a LONG way to go...but seeing the progress on the scales and in the mirror is a huge motivator!! Thank you all for cheering me on and supporting me!!
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    • bellaamey

      https://alluniqueguide.com/java-burn-coffee-reviews/
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