shoulder pain after lap band related to diaphragm?

All the surgery types get pain from eating too fast and not chewing enough in the shoulder because of pressure on the Vagus  nerve.

Sorry to hear that. I wish you good luck and hope the pain is not too bad until April. I still get it on occasion, but only when I have overeaten or eaten too fast (slow learner!).
Take care.

 Hey all I had the band put in march 2011 had the shoulder pain for two weeks after surgery then it went away for a month or so and I've had it ever since. I seem to get the pain a lot and usually the  pain is between a 5-8 I've asked the doctor numerous times to remove it all he said was that there are a lot of different things that could cause my shoulder pain and so I told him I just want it removed and he said it was laughable that I wanted it out and refused to just take it out because I wanted it out. So as weeks passd by I couldn't deal with the pain anymore I went to my doctor and she sent me for X-rays and confirmed it is the band causing the pain so I called the office back and they say they don't have anything till April and aren't sure what dates are available yet so now ive got to suffer with this pain till then sadly . :(

I have had my band since 2006 and have had this pain the whole time. I have an amazing Dr who I trust completely! He replaced my band with a newer one hoping that this would fix the problem. It didnt. :( My should/neck hurts if I over eat or if I let my stomach get empty and also right before my time of the month it will hurt non stop for about 5 days. Its horrible. My mom and two cousins have all had lapband and they do not have this problem. I love the surgery and I feel like its a blessing to most people. I just think I am one of the unlucky ones who has a sensitive stomach and cant handle it. I am thinking about asking him ro remove it because I now have to take pain meds every day. Maybe I will look into the sleeve. I lost 114 pounds from the band but now I cant keep any fill in because that makes the pain worse and because I cant let my stomach get empty I munch all the time. It seems like its whenever air gets trapped in my stomach is when it gets so bad.I have gained back 70 pounds now!  Its so depressing because I know what an awesome tool the band is and that it is such a very very small amount of people who deal with this. I hope your pain goes away but make sure and do something before you trade your food addiction for pain meds. :( Good luck to you! 

Hi - I just had the band removed 3-1/2 weeks ago and now have the sleeve. Check into it andl let me know what you think. Good luck to you too!

I hope you'll have a good experience with the sleeve, Kellogal. I'm glad you had the band removed if you were having chronic referred left shoulder pain.

Hi Nic, I still had occasional shoulder pain, but was not able to successfully lose weight with the band. The food always felt stuck to me and I rarely felt full! I spoke with my doctor and he agreed that the band is not for everyone. I had lots of scar tissue but am glad it's been removed. Going from the band to the sleeve has not been easy, but it hasn't been horrible either. So far, so good!

I wish you the best in whatever you decide to do.

Sincerely, kelley (kellogal)

I have been thinking about the sleeve myself. Keep us posted and let us know how it goes. Good luck to you! :)

 
Honestly the band is NOT a blessing for most people.  Most people have to have it removed within the first 5-6 years of surgery.  The US govt just issued a subpeona to Allergan wanting their records on removals since more than 50% have to have it removed a few short years after it was placed.

As for the left shoulder pain, Kate is simply wrong.  It is never normal to irritate a nerve and I don't care how much you eat or how fast you eat it.  The more you irritate a nerve the more chance there is for permanent nerve damage such as what Nicci has.

Bands cause all kinds of damage, they are certainly not the safest surgery type long term.  They are loaded with life long complications and risks.

I have not heard about the 50% of removals. I know that I have kept in contact with people who have had the band as well and like I mentioned I have 3 family members who have it. One has had hers since 2005.  I have not noticed many people getting it removed. I think you can probably look up statistics going either way. As with ANY surgery there are risks and I still talk to people about the band and how I think it is great. Some people are more sensitive then others and their stomachs can not handle it. Like mine! :( But I feel that the majority of banders are happy that they had it and that they are able to function now. I think just like with anything people get mad and post the bad more then the good. Kind of the same thing with breast implants ya know. This is just my opinion though. Some of just arent as lucky. :(