Gastroparesis?

[Corridor72 518]

Anyone have gastroparesis and have the lapband? I had my EGD this morning and the doc says I have gastroparesis but says I should still be ok for surgery. Anyone else ever have this?

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

This is strictly my opinion. I'm no doctor and I'm no expert.

With that said, if it were me, there is no way I'd get the Lap Band if I already had gastroparesis. Gastroparesis causes the muscles in the stomach to not function properly and because of it there are issues emptying. It's rare but gastroparesis can be a complication of the Lap Band anyway as a result of the pressure on the Vagus nerve. This then can lead to other serious complications, including band erosion because of food sitting and digesting above the band.

Again, just my opinion, but if it were me there's no way I'd get the Lap Band if I knew I already had gastroparesis.

[GoingforGoal 1,734]

Sayyyyy Whaaaaaaat?

So there's been bandsters who have acquired gastroperesis and they suspect it's because of the band and it's constant pressure on the vagus nerve. I would only surmise that the band could worsen your condition, and than what?

I'd have a 2nd consult before proceeding. Get a very clear understanding of the rationale as to how this is safe and how the doctor's do not anticipate any complications w/ the band.

SOmething sounds off here...

[LadyMaggie 145]

I have it and thought I would not be eligible for a lap band (or any weight loss surgeon); my GI doctor, family doctor and lap band surgeon said it was not a problem.

Other than taking FOREVER to find the Green Zone, I have not had an issues. I am about 19 months post-op.

[terrydumont46 1,954]

i just went to mayo clinic to read about your condition. where the lap band may not be your best option the sleeve might be the answer. in fact one of the treatments for your condition is stapling part of the stomach to encourage emptying of the stomach. you really need to talk with your surgeon or primary care doctor about this. good luck and best

[Corridor72 518]

Thanks to everyone who has responded. I will be seeing the surgeon on Oct. 30th so I will be able to ask more questions and have a better understanding then. I am a nurse so I know what gastroparesis is and though I don't deal with lapband patients in my area of practice, I am familiar enough to know that gastroparesis can be a complication of being banded, which is why I was curious if anyone ever had it prior to being banded and what the outcome was. I do know that there are certain things that can cause exacerbations of gastroparesis, one of those being elevated blood glucose levels. Gastroparesis can and often does improve with better blood glucose control. So I don't know if he suspects that the cause may be related to my weight or something caused by my weight and maybe that's why he thinks it's ok to proceed with surgery ? I do want to know what his reasoning is and whether he's had other patients like me. I want to know, given that gastric sleeve seems to be a treatment used to help facilitate gastric emptying, why would he not recommend that instead? Another possibility is that perhaps he's thinking its medication induced? There are certain medications that can cause gastroparesis and 1 of the heart/blood pressure medications I'm on is on that list. I don't know if he intends to do more testing prior to making a final decision either so that may be another possibility. I was just waking up from the anesthesia when he came in to speak with my husband so I don't remember too much from the conversation anyway and hubby isn't a medical person so he doesn't ask the same questions I would ask if I were a bit more awake. All he cared about at the time was that I was ok and nothing horrible happened during the procedure. He figures I can worry about the rest later!lol...anyway, thanks again to everyone who has responded and if anyone else has any experience with this, I would love to hear about it.

[Corridor72 518]

I have it and thought I would not be eligible for a lap band (or any weight loss surgeon); my GI doctor' date=' family doctor and lap band surgeon said it was not a problem. Other than taking FOREVER to find the Green Zone, I have not had an issues. I am about 19 months post-op.[/quote']

Thank you. I'm assuming from your screen name that you're in KY? Do you mind if I ask who your surgeon is/was? I haven't seen a GI doc but I intend to just to get a different opinion.

[Corridor72 518]

i just went to mayo clinic to read about your condition. where the lap band may not be your best option the sleeve might be the answer. in fact one of the treatments for your condition is stapling part of the stomach to encourage emptying of the stomach. you really need to talk with your surgeon or primary care doctor about this. good luck and best

I have read that as well so I am definitely going to ask him if that would be a better option for me.

[Corridor72 518]

i just went to mayo clinic to read about your condition. where the lap band may not be your best option the sleeve might be the answer. in fact one of the treatments for your condition is stapling part of the stomach to encourage emptying of the stomach. you really need to talk with your surgeon or primary care doctor about this. good luck and best

Thank you. I have read that as well so I'm going to ask him if that might be a better option for me. I originally had looked into having the sleeve but he felt the lap band would be a better option and since it is the least invasive and most reversible, I decided to do more research and finally settled on the band. I don't like the idea of switching to the sleeve because I really don't want to cut out part of my stomach, but I also don't want to make things worse by having a surgery that could cause more damage. Right now, I don't suffer from any symptoms of gastroparesis so I don't want to do something that will cause me to be symptomatic, if that makes sense. I guess the surgeon and I have lots to talk about.

[Corridor72 518]

Sorry for the duplicate post. My internet is acting up today.

[LadyMaggie 145]

Thank you. I'm assuming from your screen name that you're in KY? Do you mind if I ask who your surgeon is/was? I haven't seen a GI doc but I intend to just to get a different opinion.

My lap band surgeon is Dr. Jeff Allen at Norton's (in Louisville) LOVE, LOVE him~!

My gastroenterologist is Dr. Ron Richards at U of L (in Louisville). He came highly recommended and I have seen him for several years. The SMARTEST doctor I have ever met~!

My family physician is Dr. Mary Barry in Louisville. She is also affiliated with with Norton's network.

I am interested in what you find out from your physicians. I hope that I have not made a mistake having the lap band surgery since I have the underlying issues with gastroparesis. I am HAPPY with the band and my weight loss . . . . just hope in the future that the GI issues do not cause problems with my band.

[LadyMaggie 145]

and I just wanted to add that my family physician would not recommend any weight loss surgery for me, except lap band. She was highly against permanently changing the human anatomy. I guess her logical was the band can be removed, etc. I respect and trust her, so I went with the band. Again, no regrets Y-E-T.

[Corridor72 518]

I will let you know what he says. Another question-are you on any type of medication for gastroparesis?