Hey some one please help me here, Im up awake and cant sleep.. not because im not tired, to the oppisite, im so tired i can barely stay awake.. but i cant lie down, for 2 weeks, if i try to go to bed or even lie down 3-4 hours after dinner I wake up chokeing , then i get the I got somethng stuck in my throat feeling, and its scarry, i keep getting the " roll up : of food and liquid if i try to lie down..Im about 1.5 years out and this was a suprise..

HELP?

any one else

Could you have acid reflux? Do you have a recliner, if so try sleeping in that. At least til you can see a Dr. I have a friend that gets reflux,she props herself up in bed with 3-4 pillows behind her head.

Good Luck

Yep, that's what that is. The usual prescription is an unfill, because something is going on inside that pevents material from exiting the pouch completely before you lie down. The condition itself can cause inflammation which can make it worse, to try to be extra careful for a few days. A medication such as Prilosec can help, and avoid trigger foods like coffee and acidic things. Take special care to NOT eat or drink anything for several hours before bed, and see your doctor if it doesn't go away.

Good luck!!

I had the same problem. It is a horrible feeling! I have avoided eating or drinking anything for atleast 3-4 hours prior to lying down. Once in awhile I forget and "BAM" it happens. DH thought someone was choking me or something. Anywho try that and if that doesn't work....see your doc! Best of luck!

I've been doing that lately as well, but I've quit drinking water or anything around 6:00. I get so thirsty, but it's what I have to do. After just reading Dr. C's post about that being a sign of slippage, I'm terrified!

Wow I just posted about the same thing! I would hate to get an unfill b/c the weight loss is still soooo slow or none! I am a little over 1.5 out too. Seems we have a few things in common. I am 30 years old and I am now at a weight of 225. I started out at 360 though. Do you have days where you feel like you cant get enough to eat and others to tight for a protien shake? Just last week I had about 2 slices of pizza but now I am afraid to eat/drink just about anything!

Yes, my weight loss has stalled at 212 for 3 weeks, and I was just comming of a plateau of 221 fir 3 months!!

I got a fill to jump start things back in order and some days Im super tight and sometimes I could eat a steak..lol

Ive been following advice and not eating or drinking 3-4 hours before bed and taking zantac 150 at dinner and things have improved.. but not gone away.

Its scarry and I dont want to start over so i resisit a unfill.. I dont have any other symptoms of a slip.. so I pray thats not it either,, im just doing fluids and soft foods till it gets better.. any other advice?

I was in exactly your position a few months ago. I was taking zantac every night and really watching the timing of my eating, which MOSTLY kept things under control, but if I'm honest, I was still sleeping on 3 pillows and feeling very burpy when I woke up most days. Not full blown reflux, but my pouch wasn't empty when I woke up, as it should be.

I didn't say a word because I was losing so well and didn't want to chance feeling that crazy pre-band hunger. I went along like that for about 6 months.

Then I went for my annual exam and they did a barium swallow, just as ordinary course for 1 year out. My doctor, who is known to be very aggressive with fills, forced me to take out just a tiny bit based on the esophogram (I'd still never mentioned a word about POSSIBLY being too tight). I went from 10 to 9.5 in my VG, which is akin to going from like 3.3 to maybe 3.1 in a small band.

All this is to say that I was really concerned over nothing. A month later and I can tell you the only difference in my very slight unfill is that I sleep like a baby on one pillow now. The same amount of food fills me up and I stay full just as long. I had a little head hunger for about 2 weeks, but even that seems to have gone away now.

Being too tight is dangerous for our long-term band health. I totally understand where you're coming from -- I was there -- but having been forced to unfill just a little, I have to tell you, it's better.

Good luck!

I second that, Julie. I have been unfilled twice, once due to aspiration pneumonia (from being too tight) and once because of esophageal dilation (also from being too tight). If you are having reflux and can't control it with meds not eating late, etc then you need a slight unfill. Remember, better to let the doc take out a little than to hang on and end up losing it all.

Once you have to be unfilled,you have to SLOWLY work your way back up to the "sweet spot". During those 2 or 3 months, you can gain a lot of weight.

Sounds like you might need an unfill. Nighttime regurgitation/reflux is often a sign of excessive tightness. Don't be worried about an unfill. Sometimes that is what you need to LOSE WEIGHT. I saw three patients in clinic this week that were unfilled during their last routine visit 6 weeks ago and LOST WEIGHT since that time.

You see, when you are too tight, you are going to resort to eating foods that get through your band. That usually means (1) thick liquids such as ice cram or shakes and (2) Fried or crispy foods such as tortilla chips.

If you are to tight an get an unfill you may find your eating habits improve and you lose weight.

Good luck.

Thank you so much .. I spoke to my Dr and he started me on previcid and no eating after 6.

After my first fill the doctor told me to drink something hot first thing in the morning and last thing at night. He said the hot liquid would wash out the pouch, especially in the morning,. He sort of compared it to a drain with some grease build up. I've been doing that. Not sure is that would help the choking feeling at night. I have a cup of decaf flavored hot tea last thing every night.

Thank you so much for checking on me, yes I am feeling better,, although i was getting very distrought and worried, with all the late night being afraid to lie down and sleep.. I stoped eating/ drinking 3 hours before bed (which is a huge challenge because I often work late) and Im taking 150 of zantac in the evenings and 75 in the mornings,, I have had no problems for a week,, im still scared though,, i get that ,, waiting for it to happen feeling some times..

any how, thanks again for checking in on me that makes me feel so special!!

thanks for being awesome

Wow, the same thing has been happening to me. I went in for a gastro swallow on MOnday and go back to the DR tomorrow. I was in so much pain and my stomach was on fire. Last year the same thing happened and I was told I did not have reflux as per the radiologist. I am a year and a half out also. My DR took all of my fill out last week. I still am having the same burning but not at the same intensity. I am taking protonix, carafate......whatever makes it feel better. I have not gotten the results back from the swallow study, but I am left to wonder what is next. I have lost 50 lbs but want to lose another 20. What can they do? This burning has been ongoing. I have not had a fill in almost a year. I did get a fill in Dec, but it was too tight so I had it taken out. I am really down right now.:cry

I am having the same issue. I can not eat before bed. I mean several hours before bed. I sometime try and sleep with my head proped up on pillow sitting up. Sometimes I cough and in gose into my lungs. Ifeel sick the whole nexted day. I started takeing medicine to acid reflux and it seem to be getting better. Let me know what you fine out. I am considering calling my Doc.

Hello to all! Let me tell you of my horror recently. On May 12th I went to bed with nothing to eat or drink before as usual. During the night I woke up choking on stomach acid. It scared me to death! Long story short, I had two unfills, little at a time. Visit my internal medicine doc and my gastro doc. Both said I was to tight. With the reflux, vomitting, etc., my esophgus became very inflammed. For three weeks I could not eat and then drinking became impossible. I suffered from severe burning in my left rib cage, pain in my chest very much like a hear attack. The longer I went taking Protonix, Nexium, Prevacid, Prolesec, Carafate, you name it, I was taking it trying to find relief. After the third week and 17 pounds less, I was able to sum up my feeling. I felt as if I had a virus that was stalled at my waist. Did I fail to mention no bowel movements during that time? Anyway, I began vomitting a black liquid, high fever, etc. FINALLY, they discovered the bottom of my stomach had pertruded up into the band causing a blockage. YES a blockage. I was at the point of death. Had emergency surgery to put all back into place and have been doing great since.

I am not trying to scare anyone but the best advice I can give you to NOT to play around. Go immediately and get under the flourascope and have your band checked and do a complete unfill until the reflux is totally gone. It has been two weeks since my surgery and unfill and I have NOT gained any weight thank God! In my mind, I feel as if I can eat what ever I want and for the most part, I have.

The lesson that I learned the hard way was instead of being a fill freak, if you pb all of the time, you better take heed and get loosened.