gettin'skinny

Hi all! I have been suffering for the past month with terrible pain when swallowing (in my throat and even into my right ear). I have awful nausea all day and lots of painful burping with reflux. My band doctor sent me for a barium esophagram and they found something called a "Schatzky's Ring." This is a ring-like tissue that formed at the upper part of my esophagus and almost creates another band above the lap-band. No one saw this prior to my surgery, but according to the gastroenterologist it is congenital. I have had my band for about 6 months and have lost 40 lbs. I had a really hard time right after surgery with swelling and got dehydrated. I needed to go back into the hospital for a few days to get IV fluids. I am always so tight that I never have needed to have a fill in all of this time. Now severe GERD and this Schatzky's Ring are causing me a really hard time. I had a good 4 months out of the 6 so far, but I am really discouraged. Hopefully, next week I will have a procedure through endoscopy to stretch the ring. Has anyone else experienced this? I could really use to hear from someone, as I feel awful and would love to have further information. Happy Memorial Day weekend bandsters! gettin'skinny:help:

I have had my band since Dec. 06 and have lost 40 lbs. Unfortunately, in the last month, I have had a lot of nausea and upper esophagus discomfort. My band doctor sent me for a barium esophagram and we discovered I have a "Schatzy's Ring". It is a tight band that forms in you upper esophagus making it hard to swallow. I also have severe GERD which seems to be making everything worse. I will be having a procedure to stretch the ring performed when I have an endoscopy later this week. This has been really tough. Has anyone else had this issue and do you know if it can be band-related?

Hello all! This is my very first time on this site as a user. Up until now I have always just read everyone elses comments. It is such a helpful place to come when you have concerns or just need to feel less isolated in your own little "lap band world."