I was banded on Monday August 18th. I am so excited but I have major pressure on the top of my stomache. It is hard to take a deep breath especially after drinking water or protein shake. I am guessing it's the band but is this normal? I also get the hiccups all the time. I am having a very hard time getting my protein down because of the pressure. I also have the shoulder pain and feel I need to burp alot. Dr Patterson who did my surgery said I had a tear in my diaphram which she fixed could this be the cause of the pressure or am I just feeling the restriction?

Thank you for the help.

actually that's exactly how the band feels, i had my surgery 1 1/2 year ago and still to this day i feel the need to burp constanly. the sloulder pain is gas but that will go away in about a week. good luck with the band and welcome to the band family!!!

remember too that some of that pressure is still the abdominal gas that they pump into you.. try hot liquids such as tea or broth.. it made me feel better:cool2:

The breathing does get easier.... it's quite scary if you're not sure what's happening.

I was banded 8/21 and I am having the same with the feeling of needing to burp and pain in the left shoulder. My incisions are feeling great...it is just that uncomfortable feeling and pain that is causing me concern. But I am glad to read that that is normal this early after surgery....I was hoping that it would go away and didn't have to live like this the rest of my life! Thanks for the information!!