Chest and back pain after endoscopic banding

[Ianthekid]

I had a Endoscopy today to band the varices from having a bad liver. When I came out of the exam and woke up, I had terrible chest pain that radiated to the back. They did an ekg immediately and it came back normal. The GI doctor came by to see me and said some chest pain would be normal because of the banding. Has anyone else heard about chest pain being normal? I am now laying in bed trying to find a position that doesn't bring me to tears. The chest pain is incredible and I am having a hard time breathing. So much pain right now and don't know what to do. I've taken prilosec as well as a couple pepcid but the tightness around my chest just seems to be sticking around. Any suggestions would be appreciated as I am in tears right now.

[AyrshireK]

I don't think you should be in this much pain, my hubby hasn't ever had pain like that after banding (42 bands to date). We did have a chap who posted on here some years back who did have horrendous pain after an endoscopy and it was due to the air that is used to inflate your oesophagus, stomach etc. not being released in the hours after the procedure. Normally my hubby gets very lets say 'windy' both ends as this is released - if that hasn't happened to you then that might be the reason and if I were you I would be recontacting the endoscopy unit to get checked out.

Hope you get some ease quickly.

Katie

[freddie76]

Back to a and e asap

[Hidden]

Hi,

It would be a good idea to seek medical help immediately.

Best wishes

Rebecca

[Ianthekid]

Hi everyone, thank you for the replies. About 3am, the tightness started to lessen and now at 9am, I feel quite a bit better. Still going in to urgency care this morning to get checked out. Something wasn't right as the pain was excruciating and I was in tears most of the night.

[Hidden]

Yes my first banding was painful around the chest ,I also had a ekg ..it hurt for a good while but the paracetamol took it to a tolerable level.

Do you have viral hepatitis c?

[Ianthekid in reply to Hidden]

No hepatitis C. Just portal hypertension that has caused cirrhosis of the liver. Dr wants me to have a TIPS procedure now. Long road ahead but I feel lucky that it's not worse than it is.

[AyrshireK in reply to Ianthekid]

Portal Hypertension is a side effect of cirrhosis not a cause of your cirrhosis. Have they established what has caused your cirrhosis? If they can tackle that it might help look after your liver going forward.

Have you got ascites as well as varices? Read up on the Transjugular intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt (TIPSS) before having one. It has never been mentioned to my hubby as a treatment option and although he required 42 bands on varices his are now eradicated. He hasn't had/got ascites so TIPSS not needed.

However, there are A LOT of side effects from TIPSS including the fact it can lead to sudden onset and worsening Hepatic Encephalopathy and a fair few folks also seem to suffer strokes following TIPPS procedure. We've always said we'd hold off on it if it was ever suggested unless hubby was on the transplant waiting list because in many ways it makes symptoms a lot worse.

Katie

[Hidden]

Hi, my first banding was exactly like this. I was told that it was the air that is pumped into you, to help them see the varices better. I had to call a doctor out in the middle of the night, as like you, the pain was excruciating and I have a high tolerance to pain. I took codeine with paracetamol for the pain and it did subside. It did take a while to go, but I'm afraid since it was two years ago, I can't remember how long.

However, bear in mind that you may still have pain when you eat, due to tubes having been down your throat and it takes a while to recover from that. Soft food is the order of the day if this is the case. I have had several bandings since and this first one was the very worst. Since then, they have been a lot better and mostly pain free. I did make sure to tell my consultant what had happened and complained that I had not been offered any pain relief on discharge (when I was clearly in pain) and no advice as to what to expect. I was in such a lot of pain that I was wheeled out of the hospital in a wheelchair, could not stand, but still no-one thought to mention pain relief or what the problem might be.

All the very best and get checked out by a doctor, just to be sure and at the very least be prescribed some pain relief.

[Ianthekid in reply to Hidden]

Thank you for the reply. I go back in 4 weeks to have done again and pain relief will be my biggest concern