Becky Lambert

I have suffered with nightime reflux a year out ,like you I could eat fine but the esophagus muscles were not pushing the food down with much force and this was causing bad reflux at nite. I had to have complete unfill for about 4 months to get muscles to work again correctly with a smaller fill.I think you need to consider a unfill to let esophagus rest. This can help you keep the band . Good Luck Becky

My doctor told me that insurance would probably pay even tho I am now a low bmi for another type of surgery if done at the same time. Check with your drs office it seems that they can make it work with the way they submit it. Good Luck .Becky

:scared: I think we finally figured out my weird symptoms ,I have weak esophagus mucles and was confused on why my symptoms were so different than everyone elses when the band is making me sick, I can still eat and drink with no pbing or problem but yet I get so sick , well it seems when I eat something that causes heartburn and reflux I panic and stop eating and drinking all together (did not realize I was doing this)then i get dehydrated which causes the flu like symptoms ,weakness,chills, fatique, lethargic,and meanwhile I am having heartburn so i thought it was the band causing all this. My doctor just assumed that I was not eating or drinking because it was too tight, not that I just quit ,so he does a unfill and then I think okay I can drink now and I do and all the symptoms go away. So even tho I will never be able to have a fill due to esophagus problem I can keep the band which has helped me to maintain at 157 for over 8 months.I can live with that now that I know what was causing the weird symptoms, i just drink water now and take malox for the reflux and it goes away. this seem so simple now but had me so worried and confused .I never knew I could get dehydrated wo quickly, i thought it took a couple of days. Well I hope this made sense to yall and may help someone else. Becky

Well after getting some hope from Dr. C.I called my doctor and told him I wanted to be checked for a hernia,even tho earlier endo said none was present.I explained to him what Dr. c had been finding in some of his patients and his reply was I have never heard of such a thing that is ridiculous. You just eat too much and we need to take the band out and do the DS? My test have shown very little esophageal muscles are working , I could eat one cup with a fill and it would be too much if it just stays in my esophagus and does not move down.I know he is the kind of doctor who once the surgery is done he is pretty much through with you except for fills. He has very little aftercare he just says take it out and get the gastric bypass. I weigh 165 I cannot have that surgery , my highest weight ever was only 203. I just cannot put my family through that for such a small weight loss. I have been dieting since age 16 and I have been able to keep my weight down somewhat but i am only 5'3 so this is still heavy for me, but with no fill I am really struggling, I play like i can not eat bread or noodles and I stick to that just as if I had a fill and I only eat lean cusines and diet snacks, I run on treadmill 20 minutes each nite .I dont know what else to do without a doctors help . I sometimes think just give up it is not worth thinking about dieting 24 hours a day. When i was younger I was made to feel that fat people are lazy and slobs, I always feel like this when I get heavy. I wish I could just feel normal . I need to just be able live without self hate. I sure found the wrong doctor for that. Babs from Texas can you tell me who the doctor was who finally helped you?I would love to try him. Thanks Becky:help:

Well after starting this thread and getting some hope from Dr. C.I called my doctor and told him I wanted to be checked for a hernia,even tho earlier endo said none was present.I explained to him what Dr. c had been finding in some of his patients and his reply was I have never heard of such a thing that is ridiculous. You just eat too much and we need to take the band out and do the DS? My test have shown very little esophageal muscles are working , I could eat one cup with a fill and it would be too much if it just stays in my esophagus and does not move down.I know he is the kind of doctor who does not care about his patients once the surgery is done he is pretty much through with you except for fills. He has never helped any patients in the past with problems he just says take it out and get the gastric bypass. I weigh 165 I cannot have that surgery , my highest weight ever was only 203. I just cannot put my family through that for such a small weight loss. I have been dieting since age 16 and I have always been able to keep my weight down to 160 range, i am only 5'3 so this is still heavy for me, but with no fill I am really struggling, I play like i can not eat bread or noodles and I stick to that just as if I had a fill and I only eat lean cusines and diet snacks, I run on treadmill 20 minutes each nite .I dont know what else to do without a doctor . I sometimes think just give up it is not worth thinking about dieting and being fat 24 hours a day. When i was younger I was made to feel that fat people are lazy and slobs, I always feel like this when I get heavy. I wish I could just feel normal . I need to just be able live without self hate. I sure found the wrong doctor for that. Thanks for listening to me ramble on. Becky:help:

You need to get a unfill quick before you do damage to your esophagus.I would go back to the dayton dr to get unfill and then try to find someone more willing to help you. Do not stay to tight to long the muscles in the esophagus are to weak to push the barrium down,Good luck ,keep us informed. Becky

Nykee, what test showed your hernia?I dont know much about hernias but I do know the Gerd and hernias are strongly related.I have called my doctor to ask if I can be checked for a hernia, but I think he is going to say the test already ruled that out.

Dr. C could the hernia make the esophageal muscles weak?I ask this because I actually had the manometry test done and it did indicate weak muscles. I was extremely tight before all this started and actually had alot of pain one morning when I think this could have happened.I just want to make sure before I approach my doctor with this?I am afraid if he goes in to look and does not find one he will want to remove the band, I have no trouble at all with it empty but he seems to think it is useless with not fill, I disagree , I still have some restriction.

Dr. C thanks for the information,can you tell me what test would identify a hernia? I was scoped to see if I had a narrowing, would it have showed up in that test?Thanks Becky

Trish I am from Texas and I use A Dallas doctor, he told me when they first started trials for the lapband their were major concerns about it having some major problems concerning the motility of the esophagus but went on with the band as it affected only a few not everyone, well after a year I became one of the small percentage, my only option is empty band or switch over to gastric bypass.I am below 200 pounds about 165 and i am not going to do that drastic of a surgery.Their is no getting around a esophagus motility problem, it is not band friendly.Good luck with your test and I hope you just need to be stretched again.They can fix that.

Kesba, I did have the test to see if the dysmotility was caused by a immune disease and all the test came back fine. So it was determined that it was just the band , I have no problems if I leave it empty, I too feel that I have some restriction with just the band and no fill ,but I am struggling with not gaining any weight back. I can eat pretty much all foods but of course I am trying to continue the rules, I still do not eat bread or pasta ,no cheeseburgers ect,I am hungry more often but it does not take much to fill me up.I am glad to hear you also have restriction with a band and no fill, I thought maybe that was all in my head. Good luck to you with your MS, I know that must have been a scary diagnosis,but it sounds like you are learning to handle it well. Thanks Becky

I have been banded since Jan 2005 and after some success lost 56 pounds it was determined that the band shuts down my esophagus muscles and i can not tolerate any fill at all,even .1 was too much, after 1 month it became unbearable,I was not pbing or unable to eat solids, i began to have weakness and back pain ,it is hard to describe I was litterally miserable, me and my husband thought maybe I was having a reaction to a flu shot I had gotten the day before, but I just knew it was the band, I was getting so weak and ill that I called the band dr who met me at the emergency room and took out the .1 fill,we could not believe how immediately I was back to normal?I went from squirming in misery all the way to the doctor to being able to go shopping in litterally 5 minutes.I dont get it ,I could eat and drink but I did have reflux during the nite,why if it was so tight did it not keep me from eating?What do I do now ?empty the band does not cause me any problems but very little restriction?I read all these forumns and I never see anyone who has these weird symptoms they know they are too tight when they can not drink?Any answers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

My daughter had the same thing at 19 she was diagnosed with mono.She also was really nauseated , she was in the hospital for about 3 days but sick for about 8 days. Sounds like the same symptoms.

Hi Meagan, I am in the same boat as you , i am now completely unfilled but I am beginning to realize I can eat most everything and more of it. I had to get unfilled due to reflux at nite, I have almost no esophagus muscle action since being banded. It make the food back up an stretch the esophagus, this will just for no reason start causing reflux until i get completely unfilled. I go back for a fill and it will only hold about .1cc and barely goes thru then. I leave and the whole thing starts over again. The doctor also suggested the ds surgery to me , but I only weigh in the 150s and I think that is drastic measures however I will gain it all back eventually, I dont know what to do either. I guess I will keep going back and forth filling and unfilling until I can no longer take it I have had every test know and it is just motility disorder cause by the band. I am stuck not loosing and trying to creep back up to 203.If you get any answers be sure and let me know. Becky

Shelly and Babs, I got banded in Jan 2005 at age 46 I did fine until like Shelley I was given a too tight fill, since then i have had every test known to man to determine why my esophagus muscles do not work they do not push the food or liquod down into the stomach. I have just recently been dismissed from a rhemotologist with the report that i do not have a disease causing this lack of muscle motility.So we are back to the band. I was completely unfilled for about 3 months to be tested and then allowed to go back for a 1 fill. it worked fine all reflux dissappered for about 6 weeks an then wham !I was sitting up allnite long with reflux coming up even thought I have been on prevacid for 3 months. (this was after drinking one can of slimfast all day.)I had to go back for unfill and reflux stopped again, I dont think I ate or drank anything to cause this sudden tightness?Why would it get tighter for no reason?Now I am again empty but feelling fine. Do I go back for a small fill again in a few weeks or just try to stay banded with no fill? I think i can maintain that way but not loose. I am so confused ! My doctor said maybe another type surgery. I only weigh 150 and I can not imagine getting my insides rearranged at that weight. I dont PB or throw up I just get chest tightenss when things wont go down the esophagus as they should. I can live with that I think but the reflux at nite is not going to work . I will not live like that.I have lost 55 pounds and I think if I can maintain I will be happy enough. Do you think this band will tighten up on me again with no fill in it?I know I was never able to have more than a 2.2 fill, so it must be tight fitting. Help me figure this out .