Band Deja Vu All Over Again... Please, NO!

[dishdiva 5]

I beg for your patience as you kindly indulge my whining.

My band slipped twice and both times, I had that same horrendous acid reflux/pain that unfortunately way too many of us are familiar with.

The band was removed in 2006 and I had a sleeve revision last week. (only RNY was option for revision at the time and that's not for me)

My recovery has been hard. More so than when I first got the band in 2003. I know some of that is the surgeon having to remove scar tissue and adhesions, which he said wasn't too bad.

I couldn't keep liquids down the first day in the hospital and barfed. Doctor didn't seem worried that I'd compromised my staple line. Leak test was fine. I've had: (check any that apply)

the left side gas I had after band that went away

believe it or not, that feeling I sometimes I had that I could actually feel the band tightening on my stomach.

random restriction, even though I'm all liquids. sometimes things go down better than others (warm, cold, room temp, day, night...)

gas -- woot!

can't get comfortable sleeping

and, the biggest gift of all, the ocassional acid reflux attach (yes, doctor gave me something -- but i'm getting it anyway)

i'm walking -- following Clear Liquids -- but half the time I'm in bed with a heating pad (remnant from my lap band days) obsessing over whether or not I have a leak.

Please tell me this gets better. I thought by a week out, I'd be way better than I am.

My surgeon has been great about responding to my concerns, but the advice for more walking and little sips only goes so far one week in. Arrrrgh. I'm walking, I'm walking. I'm TIRED. Oh, and pain meds seem innefective -- which is fine because Dr. did send me off to get liquid Tylenol which works better. But part of me wants the kick-ass stuff the band surgeons gave me so I can just sleep through this phase.

YES, I want my stomach back. (Today. Ask me tomorrow. And yes, I know you'll remind me in a week, a month a year....!)

Thank you so much for any suggestions, feedback, input... Your are my lifesavers.

[Coookies 12]

Hi ... First of all the pain meds... When I came out of anesthesia i was in so much pain.. i asked for pain meds and got them and they didn't work... I was in tears and grinding my teeth and finally they realized... wow maybe she does have pain... So they added a 3rd painkiller and finally it worked... I mentioned it to my doctor before I left the hospital and he asked what about my gall bladder surgery last year, and I told him that whatever they gave me knocked me out for about 3 days... Then I recommended that they use better drugs if they want more patients.

Gas pain... I had it for about 2 weeks... even after week 1 i was commenting on here that it felt like the baby alien in Alien 1 was trying to rip out of my chest.... It hurts like heck, but it does go away...... Try sleeping on your side.... The wonderful ICU night nurse at the hospital wrapped a back brace like band around my stomach and then rolled me over... OMG it felt so good... for the first 2 weeks I slept with that thing on... it kept my stomach from jiggling when i turned over and reduced my pain sooooooo much!!! Buy one!!! My best advice EVER!!!

If the acid reflux meds are not working try asking for a new one... I take a sublingual pill right before sleeping... with Water.... and my acid is minimal, unless I drink a lot after taking the pill... So maybe try not to drink after taking your night-time pill.. and take it minutes before sleeping...

Tightness.... Im 25 days out and I'm just now able to drink a bit easier... I think my sleeve is very small or I have a lot of swelling still.... Im guessing its swelling (because of my long-term asthma steroid use, I heal much slower than the average person)... anyway... last week... week 3 i puked... a lot... this week, only once so far..... I can only get down about 2 ounces of any kind of food... and drinks... maybe 4 ounces...but I try to just sip constantly.....

So, you can see....it does get better....give it another 2 weeks and you will feel so much better!!! Good luck!!!

[SouthernSleever 228]

It passes so quickly! We are here for you to vent and YES it gets better!! <hugs>

[Rev Me Up! 75]

I thought the recovery was MUCH worse for the sleeve than for the band. I didn't have problems with throwing up, but the whole experience is uncomfortable. I was in the hospital on "the good stuff" for 3 days. I came home and only used pain meds for 2 more days (I think). So, after day 6, no more pain meds. However, the gas-x is your friend. Much of the pain after that was residual from the drain, which wasn't too bad and then the gas.

I has dissolvable nexium for the acid and i took it religiously. if it isn't enough, doc said I could take 2 doses a day, on AM, one PM.

If you had a leak, you would also have a fever. The pain this early out is not an indication of something bad, but the vomitting will irritate the sleeve. I was barely able to drink anything that first week and I ended up drinking full-sugar gatorade to get my electrolytes up. This first week is all about hydration.

I slept with a heating pad for at least 3 weeks even though I don't hink I needed it after 7 days. It was my security blanket. I had weird sleep patterns too - you may want to ask the doc if they can prescribe something for you. The "random" restriction is normal. Usually room-temp liquid is best but I found I would have something one day that went down fine, the next day it made me queasy.

Bottom line: the first 2 weeks SUCK!! It reminded me of pregnancy with terrible morning sickness - everything smells weird, you have cravings, but can't bear the thought of eating, you are emotional - it just sucks.

I felt more human once I moved to mushies and was able to eat cottage cheese.

I didn't shake off the exhaustion / fatigue until 5 weeks out.

You're not alone :-)

Lara