PLEASE only vote if youve been banded 6 months or longer.

Ive noticed that there have been in increasing number of bandsters having Reflux/Gerd problems. This may be a more commen problem in post banding then what our surgeons are aware of.

Hi, exactly how it feels to have a REFLUX?

Hi, exactly how it feels to have a REFLUX?

Analoren,

Reflux (for me) is when I bend over or lay down and a feeling of liquid and/or food particles (some call it a hot lava feeling) comes up my esophagus into my throat/mouth.

here is a thread devoted to Reflux/Gerd issues. Lots of good readings in there...

http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=4154

ohhh ok, omg i have that!... is something bad? what could be the reason for that? im scare! :eek:

I got my band when I was 26, had already had my gall bladder out. I had heartburn bad prior to the gall bladder being out and again prior to my band surgery. I didn't have a lick of it until about 2 months ago which is a year and a half in. The heartburn feels different now though. Instead of actual burn it is just tightness and pain in my chest, which scared me the first time and it usually happens at night. I need to have my band checked and plan on going in soon but an hoping I haven't slipped in the mean time!

No reflux here and I'm almost a year out.

Age at surgery: 35

Gall bladder out: yes, 9 years ago

Avoiding reflux: My doc's office says it can be related to being too tight, so I'm wondering if it's not a matter of how tight you are more than how long you've been banded. (although those sometimes go together, don't they?).

I've also heard: don't eat within a certain amount of time before going to bed (2-3 hours?)

Oops -- I voted and I haven't been banded for 6 months yet. :rolleyes

The only other time in my life I've had reflux is while pregnant (last stages). Now I have it virtually daily, easily controlled by one or two tablets of OTC meds. No fun at all.

I've been banded almost a year and have been dealing with reflux since Jan. A 1cc unfill for 6 weeks took care of it. I got another fill a couple of weeks ago and it started again. Wanting to keep this fill and start losing again, I've made significant lifestyle changes which does control it.

I don't eat after 5pm or I get reflux. I don't drink after 7pm or I get reflux. I try and eat denser food earlier in the day and eat lightly for dinner. I take Prevacid and avoid alcohol.

I figure this is temporary until I get to goal and can get an unfill.

Susan

Banded 7/25/05

237/169/135

Been banded a year and a half and had ZERO reflux for about a year and four months. Been struggling with mild reflux the past few months.

I attribute it more to how I'm eating than anything. Been a real bad girl...esp over the holidays.

The past two days I've been eating better and eating Soups and it's all but gone.

I had reflux reallly bad up until 2 weeks post op. I took Pepcid AC for it and it went away.

2 years 5 months and currently unfilled because of this..tightness and reflux

No idea what brought it on either I had not been to Dr in 6 months doing fine then WHAM too tight!

Nana~

hi my name is bonnie i the banding done july 14-05 i did real good to start with the surgery lost about 70lbs i weighd 258 day of surgery i dropped to 217 then i gained and i am at 225 i am having lots of problems with acid reflex i have only filled one time.i have real trouble with things getting stuck on daily bases.they want to remove some of the fluid.but i am afraid i will gain all my weight back,my blood pressure is up very high 170 /108 i am bery stressed and scared my blood sugar drops down in the 60s' .

I need quick advice if anyone out there can help me. On my 3rd fill (2.5) I had terrible acid feflux, but was loosing lots of weight. My doctor took the fill down (2.0). I continued to loose a little weight but have stopped loosing for the last two months. I still have a little reflux. I'm debating on going tighter for a couple of months to loose more weight but I'm sure the reflux will get worse during that time. Any advice...?

I had really bad reflux early on . Are you taking anything for it? I took Pepcid AC and that did the trick. Try it. It took me about a week to feel better.

I haven't been banded yet, but I can tell you all about reflux. I have had GERD my whole life. One of the reasons chronic reflux is bad is because the acid can lead to damage in the cells the line the wall the esophagus and that can become precancerous. Its also unpleasant. My GERD is very bad for me because I have asthma. Now that might sound strange. But I went to plenty of doctors as a teen and no one could figure out what would trigger my asthma attacks especially since I didn't follow a normal asthmatic pattern- I was better at night and worse in the morning. Then I saw a great specialist and he asked if I ever had heart burn or relfux. All the time, I said. She eats tums like candy, my mother put in. I did mention that yes, I bought the big bottles and carried it with me. And my asthma attacks tended to be more of the choking kind rather than the wheezing kind. That sort of sudden choking is usually related to GERD. The acid was getting into my lungs. He put me on prevacid and sent me to a gastro. After the meds kicked in I was amazed! I had never know what it felt like to not always have reflux. And I could breath so much better. I went up to Mayo a couple of years ago when I was having stomach problems, including increased reflux, after a local gastroenterologist did a a couple of scopes and pronounced me not his problem. There I did a 24 hour Ph test. For some reason my stomach was now (even on my high dose of prevacid) producing 60% more acid than is normal) So I was put on the twice the dosage and switched to nexium. Another thing I learned there is that mint is bad for reflux. What it does is calms the tummy initially, but mint loosens the esophagial valve. So breath mints, mint gum, mint tea is now a no no for me unless it is really just on a rare occasion. Some things that are helpful for reflux are gingner (you can either eat ginger or drink ginger tea) and chamomile tea. Caffeine is also bad for the stomach- it can really upset my tummy and make my GERD worse. No spicy foods for me, avoiding food about three hours before bed (I am bad at that one), overeating (Ok I am bad about that one too), and the foot of the bed should be elevated by six inches (to help keep the acid down in the tummy while you sleep). As far as over the counter products go, if I am having a bad time of it I tend to take something like zantac and also gaviscon ultimate or something like that because the gaviscon does this foam thing that sort of acts as a barrier. Not sure how good it would be in a pouch though, so ask your docs about that one. I'll have to remember to ask mine if that is on the ok list of the list of no-nos.

Yes Kyethra, I have read about a strange but true correlation between reflux and asthma. Have you ever had eczema (sp?) or dry itchy Patches on your skin? There is also a correlation between that and asthma. Not sure why these relate, they just do.

I had bad GERD for the last 50 pounds before WLS. The surgeon told me it would go away as soon as I had the surgery and sure enough it did. The stricture of the band actually helps keep the bile from "backwashing" into my esophagus. No more $25 a month Prilosec for me!

I am certain (and the doctor told me) that if I ever have heartburn again something is wrong! Get to his office quick, he says heartburn is the first sign of band slippage.