Hello guys, I'm new to this site. I had lap band surgery on 6/25/07. I am having a rough time. Keep in mind I am allways a possitive person..Day of surgery scared to death, surgery went great , stayed overnight. In the hospital every time I got up I threw up or felt like it. So I received meds to help.arived home and felt O.K from there it's been rough.Tired most of the time, in the middle of my chest feels like a brick is there, can't eat much at all and trying really hard to get in all my protein. Having muscle cramp right where the port is, heavy feeling is in my chest as well. Please tell me someone that it will get better. :help:

woo-hoo today is much better, the uncomfortable heavy brick feeling is much better. Hope everyone is well and improving!!!!

Thanks goodness for you all, I had surgery on the 27th and I would like the brick removed from inside my stomach. I can't figure out pain, hunger, full, burps, ( I loved that cheese with my whine thing, I'm still laughing) My surgeon told me the port has these claws that they activate once it's on the muscle (instead of sewing it on) SO NO BLOODY WONDER IT HURTS!!!

It does get better. I too had a horrible time. I had alot of gas trapped in my chest from them blowing me up with air. It took me about 2 weeks before I started feeling better. You will be so happy in the long run.

Everyone is different, I too had a pain in my chest followed by really painful hiccup/burps. They went away after 4 days though. I have not had any port pain etc at all and have been able to sleep on my belly since I was released from the hospital. Bodies react differently to surgery but the best advise i can give is take deep lung clearing breaths, walk a lot and continuously sip Water. On a healing note I followed the aforementiond and I am doing great. I am a week out and I was cleared to go golfing yesterday. I am feeling like i never had surgery.

The hiccups/burps are a result of your band touching the diaphragm (sp) causing a reflex action. it forces the hiccup/burp out. It will pass.

Good luck and keep moving

I, too, was banded on the 28th. It was really rough at first with the pain, but each day has gotten better and today, I did 1.5 miles on the treadmill. The first 3 days, I used gas-x strips, which I think really helped. I feel pretty much back to normal now, with just a tiny bit of discomfort at the port site. My dr put me on soft foods starting 7/1, and I have tolerated them very well. I typicall eat hb egg with turkey sausage and then chicken or fish for my other meals. (all meals are protein only, with soft cheese, cottage cheese and yogurt also being options) A good tip I learned from the nutritionist should your food feel stuck is to swallow a bite of yogurt. She says some even eat a couple of bites at the beginning of their meal to coat the esophagus. I believe that my stomach is no longer swollen inside so there really is no restriction, and basically I'm "dieting" using my own willpower for the next month till I get my fill. I'm down 10.5 pounds in a week and another 7 post op for a 17.5 total. I'm liking that, but I must admit the first few days were so hard I was wondering if I'd made a mistake. I don't think that way anymore. The way our psychologist explained it yesterday is that there are 3 stages, in stage one (prefill) you are a dieter, stage two (losing weight) you are a weight manager and stage 3 (goal) you are a health manager. Makes sense to me and makes it easier to navigate through these testy waters right now!

I was banded on the 27th am feeling great not much appetite am able to eat whati want pretty much went back to work at one week. Having a little problem with low BP but otherwise doing great hang in there my loss from initial visit about 22 pounds.

Sheri Tennessee

To all of you new bandsters,

I am almost 5 weeks out and as I read your posts, I double-checked to make sure it was not me who had written them. YES< YES< YES< I was sooooo bloated and swollen, in pain, and had a lump in my chest as well. So swollen to the tune of an 11 pound gain in Fluid in a matter of 3 days, don't you know I was freaking out!! I also began to question myself and my choice and slumped into a real big pity party for myself. Please try not to do this, because IT WILL GET BETTER! My advice....keep well hydrated (even if this means buying a timer and sipping every 3 minutes), walk (in the beginning I could not walk for longer than 5 minutes, so I walked six times a day for 5 minutes each), take your pain medicine if needed...YOU WILL NOT GET ADDICTED!..., alternate your prescription pain meds with children's liquid ibuprofen every 3 hours...take one and wait 3hours, and then take the other, back and forth..IT WORKS!!!, change positions often to help with the gas, and lastly, DON'T DO HOUSEWORK (trust me on this, I did a few loads of laundry and paid dearly with severe pain around the port the next day)

The liquid ibuprofen alternating with the prescription works better because your prescription does NOT deal with all of your swelling and the swelling is what is causing the majority of your pain. The ibuprofen will reduce the inflammation, thus causing less pressure on the nerves, thus a reduction in pain. Within 20 minutes of my first dose, I was in HOG HEAVEN...I could not believe how much better it made me feel...please ladies, try it, you will be glad!

HANG IN THERE...YOU CAN DO IT!!!

hmmm this all sounds so familiar. I was banded 5 weeks ago I went through almost all the gas, chest pain and everything else described also the bloating. I said more than once what the hell did I do to myself. The good news. I would do it again. It gets better and when your swelling goes done and you can eat you will feel like a new person hang in there all you losers!

HI I was banded 6/20 and while reading your posts I can see what I thought was odd was perfectly normal too. I had a stabbing pain around my left side that eased as time went on but it did catch me off guard. I also was bloated and sore. Hard to sleep on the side etc. It most definitly gets better. I am eating regular food. I was bad, and started eating early but I pulverize it before I swallow and eat very small amounts. I have done fine. I advise you to follow your drs orders and dont be bad! I had lost 12 lbs the first 2 weeks and I feel great. No more soreness at all. Have felt that heaviness so I know what that feels like, I try to eat soooo slow and chew so well to avoid that. Food just has a different appeal now. Not really interested. Found out I was trying to find things to do since I wasnt eating cause I didnt realize how much time I spent eating until I wasnt. Anyone else do that? My name is Andrea I go by Andy and I live in Arkansas. Love to read your comments thought I cannot find my way around on message boards, so nice to meet ya'll and happy losing to everyone!!! Hang in there it is the best thing that you could have done for yourself I do believe!!! :clap2:

Sure helps to read about other people's experiences! I was banded 2 days ago -- I'm feeling pretty good. My stomach is sore and bloated but I can get myself up and around. Is it the swelling that has my scale telling me I've gained 5 pounds since the surgery?!

[Ange123: I was banded on the 29th june so I am six days out now. I was feeling great and now i also have hit a brick wall. brick in my chest and feel terrible bloated stomach. I hope I am normal. I have a post op appointment in 3.30 friday so I hope all is ok.]

How did it go Friday? Did the heavy sensation in your chest ever subside?

I hope so.

Wow...i guess i am normal. I seen my doctor on friday and he advanced me to soft foods. I told him about all the gas and burping non-stop...and he didn't seem worried. He said it would pass...and slowly but surely...it is getting better. (Do you think i can use the no housework restriction for about a year??haha)..anyways, i still feel bloated but am having diarrhea now. Yuck!! not sure why that is happening. wish it would stop. I am going to try the ibuprofen suggestion tomorrow. It makes good sense to me. Oh, and thanks to whoever wrote about why i am burping. It helps to know that there is a reasonable cause. You guys are soo smart!! thanks

Hi all -

I was banded 6/27 and the first few days were awful. Had the same doubts of what in the heck did I do to myself?! I didn't have a sore throat or back/shoulder pain as I was told to expect. Did have an allergic reaction to the liquid hydrocodone the first night, a thrombosis at the IV site that lasted a week, a killer pulled calf muscle that lasted slightly over a week and all the other mess you guys mentioned, too - burping like crazy (thank you, Gas X chewables!!), some chest pain near the port and belly soreness. :sick This week I feel much better, but I am so sick of eating soup!!!

The silver lining on my trials is that I'm 20 lbs. down :whoo: since starting the liquid diet 10 days pre-op. Once you get past the hump of the first week it does get better and you feel more optimistic! But, I have to tell ya, I have been hungry - even through part of the first week. So those of you who wrote that you're kind of dieting on your own until your first fill sounds so true! It's weird, but each night I'm having different dreams about food - one night Chinese, one night something else...so I know I'm hungry and sick of liquid food!! A few more days until mushy, thank God! Our first local support group is in 2 weeks, so I'm looking forward to that, too. We have to remember there's such a huge part of this that is psychological and emotional...

Good luck everyone on your losses!

Banded 6/27 - Dr. Jose Erbella and Dr. Gary Bunch, Manatee Memorial Hospital, Bradenton, FL - VG band

I'm very excited today. Today is my birthday (turned 43), and I'm on my third day of pre-op diet. I'm doing great and REALLY looking forward to my lap-band surgery on July 19. I had my gallbladder out on June 29, so this next (and BEST) surgery is coming quickly on the heels of my cholecystectomy.

Thank all of you for all of the good information. I'm keeping a journal with weight, measurements, clothing sizes, etc. I need to get some pre-op pics taken today.

My sister had lap-band surgery 5 years ago, and she's doing well--running marathons! She did stretch her pouch, and she cautioned me not to do the same. She said the post-op burps are the worst, but they get better and better, but burping when eating or drinking anything is pretty normal for her now and doesn't hurt at all. That's great news.

I found some clear Protein drinks called Isopure. They come in yummy flavors and I'll have them around for post-op drinks and can make popsicles out of them too. They have no carbs and are made with splenda. I can't have aspartame, because of my Crohn's disease.

I'm very excited about the new journey and my life is just going to keep getting better.

I'll be in touch. All you post-op beauties, hang in there!

IMFine:p

Hey Holly, happy birthday! You sound great and very ready to take on the challenge. I had my surgery 3 days ago. I'm hanging in there. I'm going to look for the Isopure drinks you mention -- I'm getting pretty bored with Slimfast. How did your sister stretch out her pouch?

Running marathons! Wow! It's hard to imagine not arriving home winded from climbing the stairs. The possibilities are very exciting!

Where will you be having your surgery?