Please Help Me!!!!! I'm Dying Over Here....

[LaDolceVita78 1]

I was banded 8/01/11 and it was a God send. Things were going slowly but steadily.In January I started having severe heartburn/reflux issues and no matter what pill, liquid med, ect I tried I got no relief. I was in so much pain I went to the er. I was admitted and my surgeon removed all the fill from my band. After a 5 day stint in the hospital, I had an egd done, protonix, dilauded, pepcid by IV I started to feel a lot better. I was told I had an esophageal erosion. I was given another med for that. I stayed with no fill for about 2 months the first 2 fills were fine just no restriction. So last week I went in and had another cc added. I am now up to 3. But again here comes the same pain I was dealing with in January. My GI doc said it had nothing to do with the band. Does ANYONE else have this issue???? Also I burp constantly....I heard thats a sign of a slippage with the band. I am terrified. I would love any advice you can provide! Thanks all and God bless.

[Patricia Proctor 0]

My doctor said if erosion occurs he will remove it asap and theres no arguibg he said it is very bad to leave an eroted band in... Sorry

[kll724 3,055]

I knjow nothing abot erosion, but I had slippage. I would never see only a GI dr and not my surgeon as he does both. If you haven't seen your surgeon for a floroscope to see if you have a slip, do so ASAP. Best wishes to you! Karen.

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

If I were in your shoes, I would see an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor. He will be able to tell you if your esophageal erosion has anything to do with the band or not. It's entirely possibly the two are completely separate from each other and the band didn't cause it, however there's a good chance that despite not causing the issue the band is now irritating it.

[hunnybee11 3]

Wow that sounds pretty serious...I'm not too familiar with what happens with esophogeal erosion. What happens exactly? It sounds like it is totally related to the band. PS what does the "pain" feel like?

[Sunshyne068 97]

Erosion is when the band basically enters (or melds) with the throat or stomach right???? I would think that it would need to be removed at that point so that you can fully heal .....

[sam3841 57]

I was warned about band errosion because I had another condition that increase it. I was told if it happened my band would be removed and I would have the option of getting the sleeve. You may have inflammation from the fill, I would try warm liquids. Like whenever I am stuck or too tight I drink hit tea. But you should contact your Dr immediately and do a GO scope. If they say its fine then maybe you should get an unfilled. But that will be up to your Dr. Remember they are the ones who have been professionally train in this and any advice you get off here will come from personal experience and research.

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

Esophageal erosion, what the OP was speaking about, is not the same as band erosion. Two totally different conditions, but she needs to be sure the band didn't cause it or aggravates it worse.

I see confusion starting on this thread lol

[bfurtch 0]

Hi , i'm preop and received a book from my Dr. office with great information.

Erosion is when the band works its way through the stomach wall until part of it lies within the stomach, when this happens the band isn't effective you will notice that you are able to eat a greater amount without feeling restriction, it usually doesn't lead to any pain or acute illness. If it is erosion the band should be removed and usually requires an overnight hospital stay.

It sounds like you may have a prolapse or slippage (it is caused by strecthing the portion above the band by eating to fast, and taken in larger portion sizes), symptoms include heartburn and reflux of food and liquids (most noticeable at night). This fixed by removing saline from band, if this doesn't fix it laproscopic operation as a day patient may be required.

All my information obtained from The Lap-Band Solution A Partnership for Weight Loss written by Paul O'Brien MD

I hope things get better and God Bless

[elcee 3,340]

So Mis73 can you please explain for us what oesophagal erosion is and what causes it?

[elcee 3,340]

Just found this which explains it pretty well and it seems the main cause is GERD.

http://www.ehow.com/about_5146728_esophageal-erosion-symptoms.html

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

Yes exactly. It's a wearing down of the esophagus, most often by acid reflux or GERD.

That's why it's so important see goes to see an ENT to find the cause as well as make sure the band isn't making it worse.

[LadyBlue 0]

I had the band about 5 years ago. Everything went fine until December. I had severe heartburn and problems with fluids coming up, etc.

Long story short, I realized (as my Dr. has at this point also) that the weather can affect the band. When it's cold out or the barometric pressure drops (basically when rains are coming) I get extreme restriction. During these times, I stay on liquids and basically "baby" the band until it passes.

I wish I had known this before I'd gotten the band. I would've know better how to handle it instead of the fill yo-yo we started on and ultimately having to have revision surgery.

When you start having issues with tightness and heartburn/reflux, pay attention to the weather......that could be part of the problem.

[kll724 3,055]

I had the band about 5 years ago. Everything went fine until December. I had severe heartburn and problems with fluids coming up, etc.

Long story short, I realized (as my Dr. has at this point also) that the weather can affect the band. When it's cold out or the barometric pressure drops (basically when rains are coming) I get extreme restriction. During these times, I stay on liquids and basically "baby" the band until it passes.

I wish I had known this before I'd gotten the band. I would've know better how to handle it instead of the fill yo-yo we started on and ultimately having to have revision surgery.

When you start having issues with tightness and heartburn/reflux, pay attention to the weather......that could be part of the problem.

Wow! Now, that is very interesting. I will make sure that I pay attention to the weather, for sure. Thanks. Karen