Port pain?

Hi,  I'm writing for a freind who had the Realize Band done in January.  A couple of weeks ago she started having pain in the port area.

She spoke with her surgeon who assured her that it was muscle inflammation and advised her to take ibuprophen.

Her questions are:

Has anyone else had this occur?
How long did it last?
Will she have to deal with this forever?

We work in a hospital and it requires a lot of bending and lifting, the pain seems to occur whenever she bends at the "wrong" angle.

Thanks for any info you can pass on.

She is NOT supposed to take ibuprofen. I was told I could take it every once in a while, like once every 4 or 5 months but it can cause erosion so she should not be taking it for aches and pains. I have some pain in my port area some times when I move too much and aggravate it but it will get better if she stops doing those movements. Tell her to get some rest. Rule: if it hurts, don't do it. I went to the hospital after my surgery because of intense pain and they did x-rays and told me I had probably done too much and strained a muscle or something. I remember picking up my daughter who is 5 and feeling like something was wrong... you just have to be careful.  

First and foremost let me say that everyone should follow the directions of their own doctor, but there really is no reason physiologically why a banded Patient should not be able to take ibuprofen. your digestion is the same. Unless you already have trouble with nsaids for some other reason such as ulcers or stomach upset.

As far as the young woman with the port pain she is not that far out from sugery and the port pain can last quite a while. I don't think it is uncommon to feel some discomfort for a while after surgery with certain positions. if the pain should become worse she should definately follow up with her surgeon.

The NSAIDs are related to band erosion, I was specifically told I could never take them again. It is more than a little scary that some doctors are telling their patients it's okay to take them.

I have RA and I take NSAIDS everyday. When I was considering WLS the lap band was my only option I was given even thought I should have had by pass because I have a significant amount of weight to lose, because if I ever developed an ulcer I would have enough stomach to repair the ulcer. I have no idea who told you that NSAIDs erode the band. How can that happen the band is on the outside of your stomach and the pill is on the inside unless it is brought there by blood the two would never meet.

I would assume by a chemical reaction in the body or by the effects the drugs have on the tissue.  Do you think drinking motor oil won't effect your brain because you aren't puring it directly on the brain tissue?

I have pain occasionally at my port site. If I get too full my port aches like crazy. It's sort of like a toothache. I also get a headache.

So, should your friend expect to have to give to her port side? No. I don't think so. She really isn't that far out of surgery and it takes a long time to get back to normal. If I bend a certain way I can tell my port is there. But, it isn't something that I think about on a regular basis and certainly not something that affects me daily.

As far as the Ibuprophen... I agree that she probably shouldn't take that. I stick strictly with Tyenol.

I am having very sharp pain at the port site and I am 7 months post surgery.  Pain occurs when I use upper abdominals ie, bending over to pick something up, turning over in bed or getting up.  Sharp pain like a knife going through the muscle.  Not something that pain meds would be used for as it is intermittant.  Affects my day to day life; in fact I have to think twice about whether or not I want to bend over to put lotion on my legs in the morning.  Have been to the doc and had x-rays, endoscopy, CT scan, and upper GI.  Fortunately, there has been no band slippage or erosion and no hernia.  Decision made last Thursday to remove the port (currently under my left breast) and place it in a new location.  Both docs said they had not had a patient with these symptoms before.  That didn't provide me with much reassurance as I am not looking to be unique in this situation.  Should have a date for the surgery to replace the port in the next couple of days.  This has been going on since March 21st.  Unfortunately, in my case it is not something that has gotten better with time.  I am sharing this information not to say that your pain is the same or that your symptoms won't go away.  Frankly, I am feeling a little relieved to know that someone else has experienced this also.  I just joined this website yesterday.  I hope you feel better soon. 

I've had "port pain" after a fill.  It was very bad and lasted at least a week.  In my case it happened after a fill where the nurse had a hard time pulling the fill needle out of the port.  This caused her to tug on the port which is attached to the muscle, not fun.

I had to take muscle relaxants to fix it.  Hope your friend starts feeling better.

Since The band is outside of the stomach how would nsaids erode the band?