Hi there

My band was emptied 3 weeks ago due to reflux issues (x ray was normal before Fluid removal) and now band is tight and I have been sick a few times and have unpleasant too tight feeling.

Has anyone experienced this? Should I be concerned?

Never had an empty band before, 4mls was put in during surgery.

I am 3 1/2 years out.

Thanks

If your band is tight when empty, there are, as far as I know, but I am not medically qualified, only three possible reasons.

One is that the issue under the band is inflamed. This can be for a variety of reasons, seasonal allergy, hormonal changes etc.. Or because of a serious stuck episode. Anything which might cause swelling, irritation or Water retention.

The second is a slip. But this would normally have shown on the XRay. I have read of people saying the XRay was normal but they later found the band had slipped but this surprises me!

The third would fit in with you already having become too tight -hence the reflux. Some people find that scar tissue builds up round the band. There is no specific reason why it happens to some and not to others and it was not something anyone mentioned when I was banded in 2006. But it seems to be not uncommon. The normal progress of this is that, some time after banding and not connected to getting fills, the band gradually gets tighter without any obvious cause.

My advice would to go back to your doctor, it is never good to be tight for any length of time.

Thank you KateP, spoken to a surgeon, unfortunately even the doctor's choices are limited if patient has problems. It might well be that scar tissue is building up which means that the band has to come out at a later date. Apart from getting it completely unfilled docs cant do anything about it.