My back has been hurting a lot lately and I suspect it has something to do with the band, because if I overeat just a little even, it will also start hurting...

Anyone ever have this happen? Is there a correlation?

Oh, and I almost forgot that I was REALLY dizzy this morning and last night. Like room spinning, almost fall down dizzy.

The back pain is smack in the middle of my upper back, between my shoulder blades.

THanks!1

Hi Sasha...

This post is not intended to be used as a diagnosis. Just an explanation of the conversation we just had.

I'm so agitated because I found and posted pics onto this response but it wont allow me to send it. So I will try to explain it instead.

It will help to look at a picture of your anatomy. You will see your esophagus which connects to your stomach. At this junction is where your diaphragm lies.

To keep this simple, when you eat your pouch is basically pressing on the diaphragm irritating the phrenic nerve that innervates the diaphragm. This nerve in turns radiates pain to your shoulder (called Kehr's sign). This is also what causes the hiccup response for anyone suffering from hiccups when they eat.

Now the vagus nerve is a different subject. Your vagus nerve is actually banded just like your esophagus/stomach to create your new upper pouch. Pressure on the vagus nerve is what sends the signal to the brain that you are full. However, too much compression leads signs of vagal irritation and that is the dizziness you are experiencing.

My only advice is this:

1) I know you are eating slowly. However, take a couple bites and just stop. Let the vagal response do its job and see if you get that satisfied/full feeling. If not, eat a few more bites and repeat. Basically you want to cut off food as soon as you are satiated as to not further irritate the nerves and become symptomatic

2) If you do this and it continues, than unfilling the band partially may be warranted. By no means should you have to deal w/ being dizzy and/or fainting. Also, both nerves have very real capacity for far more serious symptoms as they innervate both the heart and diaphragm FOR STARTS. This requires some patience and respect.

THe unfortunate truth is that as individuals some of us are just more sensitive to these pressures than others. Work with the band to avoid these symptoms which may include an unfill.

I hope this was easy to understand.

Well, you were right on the money!! Doc said venus nerve, just like George Bush when he passed out at that dinner... :-)

But the other part is that he did an endo and said my pouch is slightly dilated. Not a lot, only a few cm's beyond the width of the band, but enough to need a slight unfill. He said removed my last two fills (total of .2cc) and said to take it easy on my insides and really go back to basics.

From what I read on here, I'm going to go back on liquids and try to reverse the damage. Next appointment is in 3 weeks, so I figure a week of liquids at a minimum, maybe 2, and then mushies. No solids until after the next endo...

But I do feel sorta sad. Doc said this was NOT a big deal and that the unfill should reverse things and get me feeling better, but I still feel like a failure a bit...