Hi all,

I'm 2 yrs out, had my my 5th fill a couple mths ago. I've lost 100 lbs and still slowly losing. Since this last fill tho I wake up in the middle of the nite almost choking. Sometimes I actually vomit up acid while coughing. I've never taken so many tums before. My fiance seems to think I'm eating too late. I've always eaten late and never had this prooblem before. I read somewhere that a night cough is a sign you.re too tight. Why would it cause a cough? I never cough during the day.everytime I cough I can taste stomach acid. Is this my band or maybe something totally unrelated? My doc is 3 hrs away so I don't like to go unless its important. Help...

Marci

You probably are eating too late. If I eat past 8:00 pm, I am up all night with GERD and coughing. But, if I do not eat late, I am fine! It could be a sign of being too tight, if the problem has only been since your fill. I suggest calling for a slight unfill before you get a slip! Good luck, have had both! Karen

I don't have enough experience with the band to say for sure. But from what I've read, night coughing and acid reflux at night are signs that your band may be too tight.

Acid reflux can make you cough at night. Being too tight can lead to acid reflux. Have a chat to your dr. You don't need to suffer!

You're having acid reflux. IT SUCKS! I totally feel you, I battled the night time gagging and puking for months. I started getting it out of the blue too, but it's easy to control if you take the right steps. My mom is a GI nurse, so she deals with acid reflux patients every day. Here was her advice to me: First, get to your doctor (your family doc is fine if your lap band doc is too far away) and get on some acid reflux meds. It will make a HUGE difference! In the meantime, you can take some OTC Prevacid or Prilosec until you can get to the doc. Avoid anything spicy, fried/greasy, caffeine, chocolate, citrus fruits, and cut back on your dairy. Eat a lot of bland foods and stick to low-fat protein and lean veggies. Elevate the head of your bed 6 inches (you can get blocks at Walmart) or at the very least prop yourself up on pillows. I have a wedge pillow that I bought at Bed Bath & Beyond that helps me. A lot of people (myself included) won't have any reflux symptoms during the day, but as soon as you lay down flat at night all hell breaks loose. You might even have to sleep in a recliner for a few nights until meds and diet can get your reflux under control. The reflux COULD be a sign that you're too tight, but you have to get the reflux under control to really find out. I originally thought I was too tight, but after going on acid reflux meds it turned out that my reflux was irritating my stomach so much that it was swollen and made me feel tighter than I really was. Since going on the meds, my band is perfectly back to normal! Some bandsters have had reflux from the start, some develop it along the way (and the tighter you are, the higher risk of reflux I think), and some will never have reflux (lucky them!). Good luck!