How To Get Rid of Gas after Lap Band Surgery

Lap band surgery is gaining popularity as an effective and comparatively safe surgical option to help people lose weight. In this technique, wrapping a band around the stomach will help you eat substantially less and thus reduce your weight considerably within few weeks following surgery. Lap band surgery has wide margin of safety as it poses less risk and because the band can be removed at any time if required. However, like any other surgical intervention, there are always side effects.

Gas Pain

The most common side-effect people complain about is nausea and terrible gas pain. A person may wake up frequently at night due to throbbing pain in stomach area, chest, and shoulder. If you have recently been operated for banding your stomach, you might also be having the gas and associated pain. The healthcare professionals often recommend a regular walk to improve the movements of the gas up or down the gastrointestinal tract. If you’re not used to walk, be positive and take the gas problem as a motivation to walk. A number of patients have reported marked improvement in their gas and abdominal pain symptoms with the regular walk. The important thing is not to quit prematurely and following your daily walk schedule. Walk is not going to hurt you but help you. For most people, the intensity of gas pain reduces within few days after starting a regular walk.

Gas-X Strips

Gas-X strips can help get rid of the gas after the lap band surgery. The Gas-X strips relieve the feeling of fullness, bloating, and pressure commonly referred to as a gas. Simethicone is the active ingredient of Gas-X, which breaks down the surface tension of trapped gas accumulated within your stomach. Gas-X reduces and prevents the formation of the gas bubbles usually get trapped within the stomach. By reducing the surface tension, Gas-X facilitates elimination of gas bubbles. You can have Gas-X that easily dissolves in your mouth and some patients experienced enhanced activity of Gas-X strips if taken with warm liquids. In others, simple changing the posture may help reducing the gas symptoms like standing straight up and then bending straight forward a few times. Moreover, you may try few yoga poses that can also help in reducing the intensity of the symptoms.

The other important factor you need to consider here is your diet. Watch the food that makes you have more gas and pain. Try to avoid soda, coffee, tea, chocolate, alcohol, and baked food as these are commonly reported to aggravate the symptoms. Smoking may also hurt and can cause nausea and gas pain in patients after the lap band surgery. After your surgery, liquids are recommended for certain period of time. While you start taking any solid food, take a small amount of it and observe its effects on your gas and associated pain. Taking small bites and chewing food well before swallowing it may also help. Similarly, take small sips of while drinking some liquid.

Keeping the positive mindset will help you go through this momentary phase quickly. If your symptoms start aggravating, talk to your healthcare professional to seek medical advice.

coco 1 on 1

Have any of u lap band patient have constipation and gas build up so bad youf stomach feels like its on fire on the right side almost like labor pains had sweats really bad because of the gas or had a really bad hormone problem as far as night sweats and mood swings?


I've had my band for 2 years the only thing I hate about it is the gas. I AM DESPERATE.. is there a solution? I'd rather have the band removed than have the gas, bloating and pressure. I've tries gas-x, phazyme and charco-caps... I need relief now.

gas pain

I've had my band a yr and a half and these past few weeks I have had such bad gas and pain from it that I keep thinking there must be something else wrong. I will be going to see a lb surgeon, but not the one that installed it because I moved. Very nervous about the whole thing, Almost thinking about having it removed. Hope you are feeling better.

odorous gas

I have very smelly farts. What can I do about this? I never had it before the band. It is embarrassing.

I have had a band for years with no other complaints.

I do not mean gas pain, which has been addressed on this site. I am talking about daily letting of gas that just smells awful.

Fank, I never had the

Fank, I never had the lapband, but the Roux-En-Y procedure. The best thing for your wife to be able to help her is peppermint tea. The times of Gas-X doesn't work for me anymore, and I get a pain that I want to commit suicide. The menthol in peppermint tea soothes the intestinal area and relieves of pain, within 10 minutes. Next time, ask her to try it! Good luck!

About lap band

My wife had the lap band surgery 4 years ago, and sometimes she feels like going to die, due to the excessive gas accumulation on her digestive system. It's there something else that can help her to brake the surface tension on her stomach to allow the gas to be relieved?
What about anti-acids?

severe gas pain 1st day postop

I had my band yesterday and was doing very well. Was able to sleep comfortably last night between the usual hospital noisiness. But today my stomach has gotten tighter and tighter. I'm soooo tired, but can't lay down due to the pain. I'm so miserable. I have heard that gas-x strips help,
but I stupidly left mine at home. I'm hoping after I get those it will help. I've been up walking frequently with no
results. Odd thing is that normally I can pass gas very easily. But not today. I hope this goes away soon. Pain meds are not helping at all. Nurse says having a bm will help...don't think I have enough of anything in there to have a bm. I wonder if an enema would help? Anyone try that?

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