Do any of you guys ever experience an increase of air coming up your throat as your fills sometimes seem looser after a month or so? I normally burp a little here and there, but last week all of the sudden I have air that's pretty much barrelling up my throat after I eat or drink. I am terrified that my band leaked and that's why I am experiencing an increase of air. I have to be filled with Omnipague because my band won't hold saline. Last month I had to have my band emptied because I had surgery. I went back to get my band filled back up, but my fill doctor said he couldn't fill it all the way back up in one shot. He filled it about half way (2.3 cc's in a 4 cc band) and I am scheduled to go back on the 19th to get me back up to 4.2 cc's. When he injected the 2.3 cc's I could really feel the band tightening on my stomach! The fluid went through easily on the flouro and I knew it would because my band was only about half way full. I could really feel the food sort of gurgling down through the band the first week. I knew it was because I had some swelling. I could feel throbbing around my band on my 3 hour drive home from the fill doctor. I knew that was just because the Omnipague is thick and my band had been empty for a few weeks, so it was a bit aggravated. I knew that I wouldn't feel the food going down through the band as much as the swelling subsided, but now I am worried. I got the 2.3 cc's on May 11th. I felt like evrything was fine until all of the sudden when I was having a smoothie for lunch on June 6th I started burping a lot of air. In the past I have experienced the same sort of burping when I

first got my band and it was totally empty during the healing phase before I started getting fills. So, now I am terrirfied that the Omnipague has leaked out and my band is really loose so that's why I am burping. What confuses me is that I don't recall experiencing that sort of burping when my band was empty for two weeks for the surgery. I guess I am trying to rationalize to calm my fears! It seems to me that if my band was holding around 4 cc's of Omnipague when I had it emptied for the surgery I don't see why it would leak when it only has 2.3 cc's now. I wouldthink that if the band could handle the pressure of that much Omnipague in there it shouldn't have a problem holding about half the amount right now. I guess the only way to know for sure is to see how much my fill doctor pulls out when I go for my next fill. I will just die if it has leaked! I am self pay and this is my second band. The first one slipped. My fill doctor has checked for a leak on the flouro every time I have seen him for a fill since my band won't hold saline, but we never see any indication of a leak on the flouro! I guess it must be happening a while after I get the fills. I have decided that if I am missing some omnipague when I go in on the 19th that I am going to stay at the doctor's office and have him look at me on the floro one hour after the fill and if we don't see a leak I will wait one more hour and have him look at me again and so on. I just have this strong feeling that my port is where the leak is. He always looks at the port on the flouro and it's the same story. Nothing. I am going to see my surgeon that same day for my one year post-op check in. I would really like to be able to tell him where the band is leaking! I don't want a leak at all, but if we found a leak I would like for it to be leaking from the port. I know that people have ports replaced all the time for many reasons. The front office ladies at my fill doctor said that I could probably get a new port for about $1200. I don't want to spend any more money. Between two bands and several plastic surgeries I have spent almost $40,000! However, if that's what it would take to fix the darn thing I would go ahead and do it. I know that my surgeon is not going to do anything about it, but I think it's horrible that I went to all of the trouble and expense to pay $15,000 for a new band and the thing stopped holding saline within two months of my first fill! There should be some sort of guarentee or something! I would consider my band to be a "dud"! Sorry to ramble! I am just scared. I am not really trying to lose any more weight, but I do have to worry about maintaining my weight for the rest of my life which is where my band would come in really handy!

The saline also would not hold in my band so I had to get the thicker stuff which has seemed to stay in place because I always feel restricted. I have huge and long lasting burps like I have never had in my life ever since I got the band but I do think the thicker fluid can increase the gass bubbles since it keeps your pouch tight. My doctor assured me that that fluid stays in place. He also told me that if it did leak it is totally non toxic. I would try not to worry too much but do discuss it with your doctor on your next fill. Gass X does help! Good luck!

The tighter my band, the more I burp. And it's exactly like you describe, air barrelling up my throat from my stomach. It's totally not controllable, it just happens. At least with a regular burp, you can control it and make it quieter, there's no stopping this type of burp. I wouldn't worry about it too much.