Well, I did it! I got banded yesterday.

Doc found a hernia and fixed it too incidentally.

I'm just wondering how many of you had a generally hard time with pain and difficulty breathing after the surgery.

I have to sleep sitting up because I can barely breathe lying down...it's pressure or something and the shoulder gas pains are ridiculous. I took gas x but it doesn't seem to work too well.

I take demerol which takes the edge off for awhile between doses, but the pain always mounts. I've spent a lot of time pacing since the surgery.

For those of you who had surprise hernia repair, difficulty breathing and insane shoulder pain...how long did it last?

As incoherent as this post is I think I'm just looking for someone to tell me this won't last too long.

All that aside 20lbs lost from pre-op.

That I can be happy about!

All that was me. I had he hernia repair when earlie I had been told I was clear. The pain was aweful. I survived on opiates.

The things that helped me were walking and my boyfriend patted my back like a burping baby a lot.

I cant recall exactly how long it took to feel completely pain free, but the gas pain in the shoulder lasted the longest.

Thats exactly what has helped me. Patting my chest, stomach and back to get the gas moving. It seems to work better for me than walking. Hot sipping is really helpful.

The gas pain is going away however.

Oh, and heat pack. I slept with the heatpack on my port site. That was a great relief.

hey there...I was banded on 12/3 (thurs) and have the same pain. I called the doc last night because the gasx wasn't working and he asked when the last time I had pain medicine was? It was way past time. He told me to take the vicodin and if the pressure/bloating didn't go away in an hour, to come to the ER for him to check me over. It went away, thankfully! Keep on top of you pain meds!

I had both the Hernia and band on 11/23 which was a monday. On Tuesday thru Thursday, I rested and took pain meds and felt bloated, gassy, and in pain. On Friday, I went and walked 2.5 miles and began to feel better. Saturday and Sunday, 4 miles. Monday back to work 100% and felt great. No symptoms. Give it a little time. It is MAJOR surgery after all. By Tuesday or Wednesday you should feel close to normal.

Good luck!!!

TJ

Thanks for all the replies. It's comforting to know that others had the same kind of pain I am and they lived through it! Lol.

I have a very high pain tolerance but hooo boy that shoulder thing is intense. Here's hoping it'll go away soon...until then I'll try the "burping" and keep on the demerol (although the demerol doesn't seem to do much.)

Only a few more days is what I'm going to think to myself!

Today is my 3rd day post-op. Pain-wise I'm doing okay just using Tylenol, but I am having a terrible time drinking. The smallest sips of water or Crystal Light feel like they get "stuck". It's a terrible feeling. I am worried that it will feel like this forever -- I'm definitely not getting enough fluids. Today I had about 6 oz. of protein drink and an ice pop. Has anyone else had this experience? Will it improve? I called my surgeon -- he said this is the restriction and my tummy is swollen from surgery. I'm not in a good spot today and would welcome advice, comments, etc. Thank you!

I also had a "suprise" hernia repair as did my hubby a couple years ago - the gas pain is worse then the actual pain from surgery! lol all I can say is keep walking it helps the gas disipate (spelling sorry haha) faster I would say couple days - but that was lots of walking

Hi everyone. I got banded on Thursday 12/3, like a few of us here did.

Day 1 - Thursday (surgery at 7:30am - left at noon).

I had trouble breathing at night when I tried to lay down. I walked a lot and sat up a lot the whole time. My shoulders were in pain when I laid down though.

I pretty much drank sips of Water and ate half a Jello the whole day.

Day 2 - Friday

I walked a lot more. I still had major pain when I try to lay down and get up but eventually the pain died down. I was able to lay down and sleep much easier.

Drinking Soup the whole day. On pain med rigorously.

Day 3 - Saturday

No more shoulder pains.

Showered for the first time.

Drank lots of soup.

The pain now is only on my left side where the band is. I don't really have a hard time getting up like I did the first two days but it still hurts a lot.

Walking slowly still.

Hope we all get through this together! :w00t:

Congratulations to all of you recently banded. My band day is Friday 12/11. Even though hearing your stories is extremely scary I am grateful to know what to expect. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.!

I was banded on 12/3 too. I haven't needed pain meds since 6 am. I am def doing better today than yesterday. I feel like I gave been sucker punched a million times. Today I have walked three different times and a good speed 15 mins each time and that helps with the gas and pain. At times today I wondered what the heck I got myself into bur know it will all work out. Drank water galore today and two sugar free pops.

I was banded in August and also had a hernia repair and he cleaned up some scar tissue from a past gall bladder operation as well.

The first couple of days was the hardest, it gets easier exponentially every day from there. I was lucky and didn't get the shoulder pain most people do.. I kept waiting for it, but it never happened. :w00t:

Definitely 10 days was a big turning point for me. Now it is all but a slight memory.. I am so happy that I had it done. Soon you all will be healed and on your way!! :tongue2:

Congratulations and enjoy the journey!!

Well, I did it! I got banded yesterday.

Doc found a hernia and fixed it too incidentally.

I'm just wondering how many of you had a generally hard time with pain and difficulty breathing after the surgery.

I have to sleep sitting up because I can barely breathe lying down...it's pressure or something and the shoulder gas pains are ridiculous. I took gas x but it doesn't seem to work too well.

I take demerol which takes the edge off for awhile between doses, but the pain always mounts. I've spent a lot of time pacing since the surgery.

For those of you who had surprise hernia repair, difficulty breathing and insane shoulder pain...how long did it last?

As incoherent as this post is I think I'm just looking for someone to tell me this won't last too long.

All that aside 20lbs lost from pre-op.

That I can be happy about!

Razor girl, I too was nanded 12/4 and have the same exact feelings. A friend of mine called me who was banded 2yrs ago said this is normal feeling. Walking it off is the best, and raising the arms to get the gas out. good luck and keep in touch.

Pain is gone...now just contending with the 3 week liquid diet. Everything going down makes me nervous lol.

I'm on full fluids now and I wonder if a tiny piece of onion or something is going to unfurl me.

Does anyone know...for the full fluid phase, if soup has "bits" in it, is that going to mess my band up?

this is day 4 for me but I felt the same way the first couple of days. Today was a very good day for me. Just keep walking and take your meds. Every thing will be better soon.:rolleyes2:

Pain is gone...now just contending with the 3 week liquid diet. Everything going down makes me nervous lol.

I'm on full fluids now and I wonder if a tiny piece of onion or something is going to unfurl me.

Does anyone know...for the full Fluid phase, if soup has "bits" in it, is that going to mess my band up?

I was told by my surgeon's office that they say two weeks of liquids because they know realistically if they say two weeks, people will give it two days! And if they say two days, people will give it two hours. So- you'll be just fine if there are little tiny bits of food in your soup. As long as the food is passing through quickly without any pain or sensations of getting stuck, you're just fine with that.

Congratulations!