My fill Dr. is out of town until May 1st. I emailed Dr. Kuris coordinator, these are my upper gi pictures from this morning, I have constant burning in my throat, and weird chest pain. Any advice??

thanks,pati

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How ya doin' pati-o. Any updates yet? I'm thinking about you!!!!

thank you everyone for replying. I feel better since you've all looked at my xrays and given me input. I can't believe how weird my band has been this weekend, I was able to eat- different stuff. Potatoes, pork and green beans for dinner with zero discomfort. I took it easy all weekend until tonight. I'm wondering if I was super swollen. But I still am afraid that this band has slipped. I'm calling for my appt. with the Dr. first thing in the morning.

thanks!

Here is my take on the XRay.. (I am a certified Gastroenterology nurse so I will be interested to know if i read the xray right!) The upper area of narrowing above the pouch may just be the gastroesphageal valve but it could also be an esophageal stricture or esophageal spasm which could certainly cause your symptoms. The little tail of barium coming thru below the pouch along with your history that it took 60 mins to go thru makes me think the band is indeed too tight. That in itself could cause esophageal spasms and or chronic reflux that could lead to a stricture.. It does NOT look to me like the band has slipped. That is only my opinion however.

I hope your feeling better and let us know how things turn out!!

Kathy

Hi,

Something very similar happened to me about two weeks ago. I have been banded for about a year and one half and had not had a fill since the summer of 2005. My band seemed to stay tight and even got tighter as time passed. Then two weeks ago I had really bad reflux, trouble swallowing etc. I also had a Upper GI done and thought I had a slip but it ended up that my docor let all of the fluid out of my band and something must have been stuck. I was instantly OK and have gained about 5lbs! So.. I am returning to my doctor tomorrow for a refill, but less.

Staci

Orlando FL

banded in TJ 12/04

I hesitated to post this because I don't want you to panic, but the pics of your barium swallow look very similair to mine on the 11th of April when I was diagnosed with a slip. The pouch looks the same. My stomach had slipped up through the band and had migrated into my chest cavity (hiatal hernia). My previous flouroscopy had revealed a pouch the size of a plum, round with no distended look. That was a year previous. My ability to eat varied widely day to day. I also was having reflux. Took me forever to finally get in to see my doctor because I didn't want to drive down to TJ.

Smart girl to call the doc. Get in there and find out for sure what's happening so you can relax. If it's a slip there is a very good probability that it can be repositioned or your pouch might go back to normal with a complete unfill. MIne was unfilled completely already so I had no leeway.

When is your appointment? Keep posting and let us know how you're doing and the results of the appointment.

I hesitated to post this because I don't want you to panic, but the pics of your barium swallow look very similair to mine on the 11th of April when I was diagnosed with a slip. The pouch looks the same. My stomach had slipped up through the band and had migrated into my chest cavity (hiatal hernia). My previous flouroscopy had revealed a pouch the size of a plum, round with no distended look. That was a year previous. My ability to eat varied widely day to day. I also was having reflux. Took me forever to finally get in to see my doctor because I didn't want to drive down to TJ.

Smart girl to call the doc. Get in there and find out for sure what's happening so you can relax. If it's a slip there is a very good probability that it can be repositioned or your pouch might go back to normal with a complete unfill. MIne was unfilled completely already so I had no leeway.

When is your appointment? Keep posting and let us know how you're doing and the results of the appointment.

[Hi I noticed you are re-banded also. Me too as of 3/17. I have gained and am having a hard time loosing. Have you had a hard time with this? I have only been exercising for almost two weeks. Have had a fill and have some restriction however, nothing like before. How much can you eat with being comfortable. I can eat 1 to 2 cups food no problem. My doc said I have to be really careful with fills since my past history of slippage. At the fill he said it looked like barium was slowly going down. Well I hope all is well with this fill because I feel like I am hungry and dieting non-stop. Please post your experience with rebanding if you are willing to share. Hope to hear from you soon.

Dody

220/125 (my all time low)152 and 5 feet 7 inches

would like to be 140/size 8:)

Kathy and Ann Marie,

I showed these films to my endo dr. Kathy, you are right, the narrow area is the gastro-esophageal valve/junction. He said the pouch looked perfect and so did the band. He said that he thought I wasted my money by having this test, but I'm glad I did it anyway, because now I know.

My nurse practitioner put me on another 30days of nexium along with zantac 150mg twice a day and I feel like a new woman. NO REFLUX at all anymore. I am able to eat again without any problems. Dr. Pleatman was out of town, but his office was so nice and called me to check on me to make sure I was ok. Everyone has been great, thank you all for your advice and for giving me input.

Pati,

I am so glad to hear the news! Now at least you won't be worried about something being wrong. I'm sure you are sooooooooooo relieved. That's great about the reflux being gone too. Nexium worked great for me. Zantac gave me terrible headaches.

I wish you continued good health!

A.M.