Hi, I know it 's been awhile.. but since July life has been abit off for me.. I had a terrible bout with supposedly bronchitis.. I went to 3 different doctors along with my own and not one ever took an x-ray and they just put me on antibiotics for weeks at a time.

I was running a fever of 102.. couldn't believe it.. the month goes by and i am feeling like CRAP.. then i start throwing up dried blood.. Scared the crap out of me.. I started thinking i blew my band out from all the throwing up. I called my band dr. and he said get to emergency right away. i called my regular dr. and she said the same thing.. I go into the hospital and I have pneumonia. Thank you very much, but i also have a terrible case of ACID REFLUX.. I hadn't had this at all since my surgery in dec.03

NOW, I still have the reflux and i had blood work done and i have helicobactor pylori infection in my stomach.. It's the mucous lining in the stomach.. I need to call the lapband dr. and see if it has anything to do with the band.. I am now on a PREV PAC that is to kill the infection. It's nasty. But my regular dr. said all the acid reflux pills in the world wouldn't work since i have this infection.. They tested my blood and found it postitive.. sorry for the rambling. But i have been so sick since July and I don't want the band to be the culprit.. So hopefully these pills will do the trick. When i went into the hospital i had to see my lapband dr.and they removed all the saline. I now have it filled again. I have lost over 75#. I thought it should have been more since i was so sick. guess i was eating comfort food.. lol.. I just wondered if anyone else has had this problem.. Hope all is well with everyone out there..

Beck...I'm so sorry for all of the problems you have been having... sending you big ((((hugs)))). I haven't had these problems but I amd sure there will be somebody on the site that can give you helpful information. Sending you wishes for a smoother road ahead...

Darcy

Becky - Boy, you have had a rough time of it. I sure hope you get to feeling better soon.

Betty

You say you've not had the reflux this whole time, but I would venture to say that your pneumonia may have come from aspiration.

I've heard it said that sometimes we aren't even aware, but if we're a wee bit too tight, we could be aspirating in the night and not even realize it.

I'm really sorry to hear you've had so much trouble and they say this aspiration pneumonia is tough to get rid of. I sure hope they get you back on track real soon! Let us know how you're doing.

Leatha

Becky -

So glad everything is being taken care of. I hope this is resolved quickly, and that you're finally feeling better soon.

Congrats on the 75lbs!!! Whoo hooo!

Oh, Becky, what a rough go! I hope you get some relief soon, and that your band is safe and sound through all of this.

Does anyone have any idea how one picks up an h. pylori infection? I know we're tested for the bacterium before surgery (and now we know WHY, I guess!), but I've never heard anything about how to avoid it post-surgery. Where does this come from, does anyone know?

Hugs and good thoughts for a quick recovery, Becky!! (And holy cow, 75# in 9 months is FANTASTIC!!!)

Becky,

I am so sorry to hear you have been so sick. I hope it gets fixed as soon as possible, and I hope your band is in place. With the reflux, I found a few things work better for me:

dont eat 4-5 hrs before bed ( or drink in my case)

eat small meals, in my case, Soups help

avoid citrus, acid foods like tomatos. onions are bad too, fatty stuff, dairy unless fat free, Hot drinks and chocolate are quite bad too.

potato based soups ( heavier soups) are better since they go down a bit easier/faster.

I hope things start improving for you very soon. Congrats on your weight loss! keep us posted.

tellie

Does anyone have any idea how one picks up an h. pylori infection?

http://www.cdc.gov/ulcer/md.htm

How do people get infected with H. pylori?

It is not known how H. pylori is transmitted or why some patients become symptomatic while others do not. The bacteria are most likely spread from person to person through fecal-oral or oral-oral routes. Possible environmental reservoirs include contaminated water sources. Iatrogenic spread through contaminated endoscopes has been documented but can be prevented by proper cleaning of equipment.

What can people do to prevent H. pylori infection?

Since the source of H. pylori is not yet known, recommendations for avoiding infection have not been made. In general, it is always wise for persons to wash hands thoroughly, to eat food that has been properly prepared, and to drink water from a safe, clean source.

h pylori infections were found to be the real cause of most ulcers. Some cute little Aussie doctor figured it out and then was shunned by the entire world community of gastric specialists because he was not a specialist in their field. So he intentionally infected himself with the bacteria and then got "ulcers" and then cured himself. It doesn't usually take long for the antibiotics to work.

I told my brother-in-law, who suffered from ulcers, abou this discovery over ten years ago. He ignored me. Ten years later, the doctor finally had him go on antibiotics for a few weeks and twenty-five years of horriffic pain stopped. So I know the antibiotics DO get rid of h pylori.

And it may be totally unrelated to the band. Hang in there.

http://www.drugdigest.org/DD/PrintablePages/HealthConditions/1,20041,21,00.html

http://www.retirement-matters.co.uk/gparchive/Ulcers.htm

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1189/is_n3_v266/ai_15183837

Becky, thank goodness this was found and is fixable. Best of luck to you!

Thanks, Donali and Sue, for posting that information!! Not that it does anyone much good, I guess, but it's really nice to know the infection is responsive to antibiotics.

Yet another argument for handwashing...

Hi Becky,

I am sorry to hear about your stomach troubles. I hope you are feeling better very soon and that this is not related to your band.

You are doing a wonderful job with your band journey. 75 lbs in less than a year is amazing. I recall when you were first banded, it seems like yesterday to me... but probably not for you. :think Suffering with sickness since July must have been unbearable.

Please take care of yourself and keep us posted on your progress.

Best wishes and prayers,

Wow! You've been sick for a LONG time!! I hope you recover quickly now that the dr knows what he's treating. Crongrats on the 75lbs!!!

What a rough time you are having. Wow. Hopefully the antibiotics will take care of this. Take care of yourself and good for you for keeping on the doctors till they found out what was wrong.

We need to remind ourselves that we know our bodies better than anyone and make the medical community listen to us when we know something is wrong. IT is so frustrating and down right scary that Doctors have so much control and we believe them at every turn and then something like this happens. Not knocking Doctors, I just wish they would listen to the patient more often and not assume things. Okay that is my rant.

Take care

Wow, you've had such a rough time. Here's hoping it all turns around soon for you and that your health is soon restored.

Nancy

Sorry to hear that you've been so sick. I hope that your doctors get everything worked out for you and that you are feeling well very soon. Keep us posted on your progress, and congratulations on the 75 lbs., that's terrific!