I am currently 6 weeks PO and experience left shoulder pain almost every time I eat. Sometimes it is a minor nuisance, while sometimes it is agony that has me screaming in pain. I've noticed that the bad ones happen when I have meat. It normally lasts about 20 minutes and the pains feel like intervals of spasms and nerve pain. I am aware this could have something to do with gas, nerves, and the diaphragm. Can anyone elaborate on this issue? Also how long is too long? Is there treatment?

I didn’t experience this but if it happens more with meat I’m thinking it may not be moist enough or chewed well enough. Some people it takes a while to tolerate meat. Have you tried adding sauce or gravy to see if that goes down easier??

I agree with @ShoppGirl. Meat is hard, and I find I do better with ground meat, fish, or shrimp. If I want to eat chicken breast, I make sure it has lots of sauce or cheese on it, and I chew it really well and take smaller bites. I think that's probably what's going on.

6 minutes ago, lizonaplane said:

If I want to eat chicken breast, I make sure it has lots of sauce or cheese on it, and I chew it really well and take smaller bites. I think that's probably what's going on.

What do you use for sauces? My dietician wants me to use low fat gravy, but I cannot find any. Any suggestions?

1 minute ago, suzannethemom said:

What do you use for sauces? My dietician wants me to use low fat gravy, but I cannot find any. Any suggestions?

I gave up on low fat. With low fat, I'm miserable. Low fat makes me more constipated too, and hungrier. I eat cheese and butter sauces, but also fat free Greek yogurt, or you could use tomato sauce, wine/vinegar based sauces, salad dressing, mayo (or low fat if you must). I use refried beans as a sauce, too

5 minutes ago, suzannethemom said:

What do you use for sauces? My dietician wants me to use low fat gravy, but I cannot find any. Any suggestions?

Out of curiosity I checked Amazon and they have a beef gravy that is fat free. It’s pretty expensive but you should only need to add a little bit of gravy for a short time until you are able to tolerate it without any. There is a Turkey one too but you have to buy a three pack. I hate that.

Edited April 28, 20224 yr by ShoppGirl

1 hour ago, kayla.jenkins said:

I am currently 6 weeks PO and experience left shoulder pain almost every time I eat. Sometimes it is a minor nuisance, while sometimes it is agony that has me screaming in pain. I've noticed that the bad ones happen when I have meat. It normally lasts about 20 minutes and the pains feel like intervals of spasms and nerve pain. I am aware this could have something to do with gas, nerves, and the diaphragm. Can anyone elaborate on this issue? Also how long is too long? Is there treatment?

I experienced this early post op after my Lap Band was placed. It was my "full cue"

It was basically my full pouch pressing the phrenic nerve, which extends from the left side of the diaphragm upwards to the neck/jaw area. Phrenic nerve irritation causes pain in the left shoulder. I didn't experience this much past the first year post op tho.

Edited April 28, 20224 yr by BypassingMyPhatAss

A restriction tends to run across our upper chest - a tightness, quite painful & very uncomfortable, makes me want to thump my chest to try to alleviate it. It passes for me after about 15-30mins. It’ll occur if I eat too fast or too much, swallow too large a mouthful or eat food that is too coarse or too dry. Though unpleasant, your restriction can be your best friend too - keeps you on track & doing the right thing so you don’t experience it.?

But because we all have slight differences in our physiology your shoulder pain could be related to your restriction too. Best to contact your surgeon to ensure it’s not a sign of another issue.

Remember: Cut your food into small bites. Use a teaspoon, a baby fork or buffet fork (spork) so you don’t overload your cutlery & take large mouthfuls. Eat slowly. Use gravies, stocks, sauces to keep your food moist. Choose tender cuts of meat like chicken thigh over breast. Don’t over cook meats which dries them out.