Hi. I was just banded on Jan 30/09 with Dr. Lopez Corvala in Tijuana at the Hospital Angeles. I had a wonderful experience. The doctor was great and the hospital staff took great care of me. I am still experiencing discomfort and my belly is very swollen. The clear broth diet is getting old but only a few days left to go! Sleeping is still a bit of a challenge. I find that when I try to turn over, my stomach feels like it is pulling. Is that normal? Any pointers and hints as to when the discomfort will go away?

Hi. I was just banded on Jan 30/09 with Dr. Lopez Corvala in Tijuana at the Hospital Angeles. I had a wonderful experience. The doctor was great and the hospital staff took great care of me. I am still experiencing discomfort and my belly is very swollen. The clear broth diet is getting old but only a few days left to go! Sleeping is still a bit of a challenge. I find that when I try to turn over, my stomach feels like it is pulling. Is that normal? Any pointers and hints as to when the discomfort will go away?

Hi, I hope your discomfort passes quickly. I had my surgery on 1-14-09 and felt terrible also .Sleeping was a pain in the !@# for me as well .I did speak to my LB doctor he told me that if I felt any kinds of pains don't sleep in that directions could tear away ,and move position . I have lots of pillows and have arranged them to make myself as comfortable as possible during my healing process . I have not tried to sleep on my stomach yet only for fear of flipping my port . I am a left sided sleeper ,and have been resting well lately (Thank God) ,cause I get very mean when I don't get my rest (LOL). The pains will go away in time ,but that doesn't help when you feel tired now .Try getting extra pillows I hope this helps and you feel better soon .

Congrats on your banding !!! I'm so glad to see that you're home and all went well !!!

I am a side sleeper and found that trying to sleep on my back just did not work for me. After the first night or 2 of tossing and turning I finally got an extra pillow and laid it beside me. When I then turned partially on my side my belly kindof rested on it and it didn't feel so much like it was 'pulling'. It took me about 10 days before I could actually lay on my side without the pillow and be comfortable.

If you have any shoulder/chest pain caused by the gas, try walking lots (you should be doing that anyhow) and I found a heating pad up high, kindof on my shoulder blade, helped a lot.

Keep posting and letting us know how you're feeling....it does get better soon !!!!

All the best !

Patricia

Thanks so much for the advise. I will try that tonight. I felt better yesterday than I do today. I don't know if it is the after affects of the surgery, but I feel lightheaded and nauseous today. Its nice to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Hi Newgirl,

There is definitely light at the end of the tunnel. Each person's recovery time and experience is going to be different, so expect that it might not be the same for you as it is for other people. But it does get better, and you will feel more or less normal again eventually. When I look back, I'm amazed to see how far I've come from where I was immediately following the surgery, as I've almost forgotten what that was like. So hang in there!

Oh, and I do recommend a heating pad for the aches and pains. One thing I wasn't prepared for was back pain and other pains in my body that came from a combination of the general trauma of the surgery, past injuries, and sleeping in different positions from what I was used to. It REALLY helped to have that heating pad. I also used a hot Water bottle for my shoulder for the gas pains and the magic beanbag for neck soreness.

Thanks for the hints. I will be trying them tonight. I am feeling a little better than I did yesterday.