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?

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.

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.

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.

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..