I have been banded since Jan 2005 and after some success lost 56 pounds it was determined that the band shuts down my esophagus muscles and i can not tolerate any fill at all,even .1 was too much, after 1 month it became unbearable,I was not pbing or unable to eat solids, i began to have weakness and back pain ,it is hard to describe I was litterally miserable, me and my husband thought maybe I was having a reaction to a flu shot I had gotten the day before, but I just knew it was the band, I was getting so weak and ill that I called the band dr who met me at the emergency room and took out the .1 fill,we could not believe how immediately I was back to normal?I went from squirming in misery all the way to the doctor to being able to go shopping in litterally 5 minutes.I dont get it ,I could eat and drink but I did have reflux during the nite,why if it was so tight did it not keep me from eating?What do I do now ?empty the band does not cause me any problems but very little restriction?I read all these forumns and I never see anyone who has these weird symptoms they know they are too tight when they can not drink?Any answers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Nykee- Hey there, your problems sound familiar to me. I have the same situation. I went to the doc yesterday and he did a barrium swallow to make sure my band was ok, and it was. He thinks I need to go back on protonics for my GERD and go see my GI doc. I had GERD with horrible symtoms and had to take 20mg Aciphex every day, but after I got the band, I didn't experience any problems and have been off the medicine for 4 months. I started again last night with Aciphex, so I will let you know what happens in the next few weeks.

Good Luck

Nykee, give Dr. Ortiz a call, he has a lot of experience and was your band Dr. It would be good information for all of us to learn more about hiatal hernia. Dr. C information about not seeing a hiatal hernia without going in is the type of first hand knowlage we need.

Information on how to avoid a hiatal hernia after banding would also be helpfull.

Yesterday I saw the dietician and she always has me fill out a form to answer various questions. At the bottom of the form there is a question that asks if you ever cough up a white substance and if so, when does it happen?

I checked the "no" box. But last night after I drank a Protein shake, I did cough up some white stuff and I realized that it isn't the first time I've done that. In fact, sometimes I do it quite often. This morning I am still coughing up a little.

Does anyone know the significance of this? I'm getting worried that it may indicate something serious and couldn't sleep overnight worrying about it. My doctor's office isn't open yet and I just wondered if anyone out there has a clue about this. Dr. C, are you around this morning?

Okay tell me if this makes sense? This is a great thread btw.

I've had the mid back pain and burning, which radiates to my right shoulder off and on for at least 7-8 mths. Part of me thinks i have had it since I was banded but just ignored it thinking...well of course i'll feel something i have a foreign object wrapped around my stomach!

Nov pain increased but so had my portions. Had complete unfill 1st week of Dec. as of this Jan still had pain. I have had an UGI, Esophagram, Endoscopy and notta...has turned up according to my surgeon.

Been on a couple courses of Prilosec with no real improvement. Did a week of muscle relaxers and felt better. Was off a week and pain returned. This week on Tues. I went to a Chiropractor (after reading this board) and stangely enough i have felt very little pain over the last couple days.

SO..here I am. I decided to fast today becuase my eating has been really OOC and this eveing I felt so weak I decided to have a piece of turkey for some Protein....violia PAIN?

What is going on? Hiatel Hernia? Reflux? Band affecting gastric nerve? Truly I do not know? and my surgeon seems pretty unsure himself!

DO i have to have surgery again to figure this out?

Just looking for feedback....have read a lot on here...and realize probably no one answer?

Frustrated, Overeating...

Renee

Renee: So when you cut back on food the pain stops, but the more you eat the more you have the pain?

My dietician says that it is very, very important for us to make a meal or snack last between 20 to 40 minutes. If we eat as quickly as we used to, we will experience the kind of pain you describe. 20 minutes for a snack, 40 minutes for an actual meal.

I have often had the kind of pain you mention except for the radiation to my left arm (which I did have right after surgery). Now that I have slowed down, take really tiny bites and chew for about 20 to 30 times (depending on the food) it has gone away. By tiny bite, she demonstrates by showing us a carrot coin and saying that about a third of a carrot coin is what she means by tiny bite. I don't think I've ever managed to make my bites that small though!

I don't know if this will help your particular case at all, but it sure has made a difference for me.

If I fail to chew to a paste it can become painfull. I have found that if I eat soft food I will sometimes not chew it enough and cause a problem. I almost never have trouble with tough food, I remember to chew, chew.

Renee...have you had your gall bladder out? Your symptoms sound like mine did when I had gallstones.

Renee,

It sounds like the pain I had while waiting for someone to diagnosis my gall bladder problems. I had Surgery in May to remove it and the pain has gone away. Dawn

I agree with the above two posts Renee, sounds like the symptoms my hubby had with his gall bladder. Once it was removed pain went away.

Angel

Renee: Please keep us posted. We're concerned and would like to know what you've found out and if you're okay.

I was just gonna say gallbladder too. Mine was from the center of my chest straight to the middle of my back. Felt like a hot poker stuck thru me. I had a friend that her gallbladder pain was lower right side. I have learned with a gallbladder the symptons are numerous different places. Insist they check it. It took my doctor a year to figure it out!

Wow!!! This is amazing. I thought I was the only one having these things happening to me. I was banded 12/8/05. I have lost 137lbs since. I am at the weight I want to be with only a half fill. I still can't eat very much. I have good days and bad. Some foods stay down and others don't. I sometimes get worried that there is something wrong. But I seem to be pretty healthy. My surgeon doesn't seem worried. One thing that bothers me is I am having alot of acid reflux recently. Something that never bothered me. I don't know if I should count the Tums for food!!! LOL!!! As you must have guessed I am new, so if anyone else is having the same thing I would like to know.

I hadn't been visiting the sight for many months but lately I've come on to see if anyone has had the same problems I've been having recently.I've been having bad reflux for the past 6-8 months on and off and extremely bad for the past 5 weeks. I have tried nexium, zegerid, you name it. othing helped. Funny thing was, I didn't have any heartburn during the day, just reflux at night. I had an endoscopy last week and the gastro told me that my band looked fine. Gastro's can't tell what is going on outside the stomach, only inside. They were pretty quick to prescribe the meds though. So, after suffering thru this, I realized I better go see a doctor To make matters worse, my original surgeon stopped taking my insurance. I found a Dr. that would treat me and went today. What I saw was eye opening. Before I say what that was.........a few points I want to make.

For us bandsters who have gotten comfortable with our weight loss - I lost 70 lbs and am 30 away from my goal, we don't realize how easy it is to resort back to our old eating habits. We almost don't realize that we subconsciously find ways to "trick" the band like eating slowly but more and more and we push and push. Or things happen in our lives that prevent us from going to the gym or walking and we close our eyes to the fact that our eating habits have gone back to the old ones that we tried so hard to break. Anyway, after the reflux got so bad, i was vomiting every night from the reflux even after not eating for 5 hours. I couldn't imagine why the food hadn't digested yet. After every meal, i would have terrible pain in my left shoulder. DOn't know what caused it but it was always there. Today I went for an upper GI. It was very cool cause I never had one before aside from the day after surgery. I drank a small amount of liquid and i could see it going down, into the pouch, no problem, but then it just stopped. It was dripping out slower than an IV drip. I couldn't believe the size of my pouch. Yes, pouch dilation. It happens when we consume more food that we should and with that, i kinda folds down over the band, like a mushroom if you will. That causes the hole to get even tighter and all the food stays in the upper pouch. After the Dr. unfilled my 2cc's, i drank again and it went down much better. What does all of this mean? Well, I am now on liquids for the next week atleast. Another upper GI next week to see if the pouch shrunk at all. The good news is that the position of the band is exactly where it should be. It hasn't turned in the other direction which is a good sign nor has it slipped. Exact words from my Doctor. The reflux and shoulder pain are the beginning signs of pouch dilation. If that is ignored, the band will eventually slip, errode or the pouch will fall so far over the band that it will have to be removed. I got a rude awakening today. I would do this surgery all over again. If you are good to the band, the band will be good to you. Bandsters need to eat small portions at all times and not think it is great when you can stuff yourself and you don't PB. We need not eat the junk food which goes down so easially. If you can't tolerate protein or fruit or veggies for what ever reason, drink a protein shake. I am hoping I will not lose my band from the recent abuse I put on it. I can only hope that my pouch returns to a smaller state and I can eventually get a fill again. Lessons learned, obviously not to overeat. Also, if you get a fill and you know deep down that it is too tight, get it unfilled like yesterday. Being overly tight will not help you lose more weight. It is only the beginning of bigger problems. Hope this helps and I am sorry for rambling on but I am still amazed at what I saw. It was a slap in the face and I learned my lesson. I am going to treat my band and body with kid gloves from now on. Thanks for listening.:omg: :faint:

Well after starting this thread and getting some hope from Dr. C.I called my doctor and told him I wanted to be checked for a hernia,even tho earlier endo said none was present.I explained to him what Dr. c had been finding in some of his patients and his reply was I have never heard of such a thing that is ridiculous. You just eat too much and we need to take the band out and do the DS? My test have shown very little esophageal muscles are working , I could eat one cup with a fill and it would be too much if it just stays in my esophagus and does not move down.I know he is the kind of doctor who does not care about his patients once the surgery is done he is pretty much through with you except for fills. He has never helped any patients in the past with problems he just says take it out and get the gastric bypass. I weigh 165 I cannot have that surgery , my highest weight ever was only 203. I just cannot put my family through that for such a small weight loss. I have been dieting since age 16 and I have always been able to keep my weight down to 160 range, i am only 5'3 so this is still heavy for me, but with no fill I am really struggling, I play like i can not eat bread or noodles and I stick to that just as if I had a fill and I only eat lean cusines and diet snacks, I run on treadmill 20 minutes each nite .I dont know what else to do without a doctor . I sometimes think just give up it is not worth thinking about dieting and being fat 24 hours a day. When i was younger I was made to feel that fat people are lazy and slobs, I always feel like this when I get heavy. I wish I could just feel normal . I need to just be able live without self hate. I sure found the wrong doctor for that. Thanks for listening to me ramble on. Becky:help:

I have also had similar issues. I was banded 3/14/06 by Dr.Vernon in Boston and have lost almost 80 lbs to date. I have had lots of problems feeling too tight. Currently I have only a .1cc fill in a 4cm band and occasionally still get stuck and pb (approx 1/week). For the most part I just have to avoid certain foods: chicken, other dry meats, breads (these are some of my worst offenders). My surgeon couldn't really explain it; she thought maybe the fat pad where the band was located was larger than normal and was causing the band to be tighter than average, and with weight loss the tightness would improve- but I've lost 80 lbs and it's still tight?? In fact told me she only had one other patient like me, and she had to have her band removed. I am so happy to see that there are others in the same situation and are still having success. It's so frustrating sometimes because I can tolerate "garbage food" very easily, but want to eat well. I just hate feeling stuck!! And I am afraid of potential damage to my GI track :mad: One of my new favorites that I tolerate well is meatloaf made with ground turkey or lean beef. I had an upper GI before surgery and it did not show any hernias, and my esophagus motility was fine. Maybe it's something that the band does to it? Glad to see that there are others. Let's stick together!! Best of Luck to all!