I haven't been able to sleep laying down in several months, it all started when I couldn't stop coughing at night and sleeping sitting up helped cure it. Now it is happening when I sit up, I end up throwing up almost everynight. I usually don't eat after 6, I should be loosing more weight but I'm not, and it really sucks because I am not even at my goal weight after 2 years. I've kept 55 pounds off, but I don't have much restriction and I am afraid to get another fill because of the caughing. Also, alot of reflux, sometimes comes out of my nose as well. I don't get it.

I had same problems...coughing...horrible reflux..sleeping(when I slept) in a recliner...pain...had a small unfil(.25CC) and have been fine ever since! Good luck to you!

deb

I'm finally at a point where I'm ready for the unfill. I've been dealing with this for nearly 10 months. sleeping propped up with 7 pillows and still waking up coughing and spitting a couple times a week. I know eating or drinking after 6pm aggrevates it but its hard to be tight enough that you can't eat until nearly noon then be loose enough and hungry enough in the evening to get the food down only to have it come back up when you try to sleep.

I used my PS in a few weeks as my final straw to push me to schedule the unfil for the 25th. Now I can hardly wait. I'm sick of being up past midnight waiting for my stomach to settle. All I've had since coming home from work today at 4:30pm has been 24 ounces of fluids (half of that a Protein drink) and 1/3 cup of sunflower seeds. The last I ate or drank was 9pm then tried going to bed at 10:45. Should have known better. Now I'm sitting her rambling to you all with this terrible nasty taste in my mouth that I can't even wash out because it will only make things worse. Top it off I can't find anymore cough drops which were the only thing I knew that would help. UHGHHH!!!

I can't believe some of you have put up with this for quite awhile. I got too tight of a fill on Friday and spent the weekend feeling like I was drowning. It's a horrible feeling to wake up from a sound sleep with Water (or whatever) coming up. I went in for an unfill on Monday.

the good news is I lost 6 lbs in 3 days after being stuck on a long plateau. I didn't dare try solids. I stayed on liquids hoping it would loosen up. After 3 nights of no sleep, I ran as fast as I could for that unfill.

I suffered with it for 3 months because of daughters wedding and I found this absolutely beautiful dress I wanted to fit into..I fit into it, but was miserable for 3 months. I had unfill 3 days before the weddign because I did nto want to be that miserable for her lovely wedding..that was in June...Gained 7 lbs...but have relost it just by eatign right. I feel so much better!..I will never get that tight again!..AND..it only took .25 cc out to make me feel better. Here is another point to ponder..why? after 4 1/2 yrs would i even do that?? Dr. says he will not let me do it again..lol I can breathe..I can sleep...I can eat...i can maintain at this point! Don't be so miserable..get the band lossened a bit. Seems like it only takes a lil unfill to give the relief you need. Good luck to you

deb

I have been filled for 2 years, have lost 130lbs to date. The vomiting out of my nose started while I was pregnant last year. I thought it would go away after my son was born. It feels like if there is anything in my stomach at all at night it will come out my nose or down into my lungs. I throw up 3 or 4 times a day at least. The kicker is that my band is all the way out and has been since I was pregnant. My son is now 8 mos old. Everytime I bring it up to the doc he suggests taking it out. He has not done any test to see if it is anything that can be fixed. I dont want it out, I haven't even paid for it yet, plus I'm not really interested in the idea of possibly gaining wt. again. Anybody know of anything that can be done if it is already all the way let out (unfilled)?

I am sorry..cant help you there..I never had any of those problems except for when i was too tight. Are you sure you are all the way opened?? I know youa re miserable...good luck to you! Please let me knwo what you find out!

deb

i saw my lap band doc the other day. he looked at my endoscopy and upper gi. he thinks all I need is a slight unfill and my troubles will go away. i am scheduled for that today. he does not think my band has slipped so much that i need surgery....i am so thankful we figured it out....i was up 6 times last night feeling like a was drowning...waking up coughing with stomach acid in my nose and mouth...it has been a horrible experience.

sureed - tell your doctor that you need an upper gi and endo...these tests can tell him alot...he should not be allowing you to be miserable like this!!

good luck to all...i will let you know if the unfill helps

I just had band revision on monday, as my band had slipped. interestingly though I didnt have reflux. I simple had significant discomfort when I ate food and it progressed to pain even when i drank liquids. I was shocked that I really slipped because I had no reflux at all. So I guess you can have a band slip without reflux. :phanvan

I read something recently that was new to me. If you have any refluz, you aren't supposed to sleep with a lot of pillows, because it actually puts you at an angle that crunches your stomach and forces more reflux. You are supposed to raise the head of your bed by putting something under the bed's legs.

I read something recently that was new to me. If you have any refluz, you aren't supposed to sleep with a lot of pillows, because it actually puts you at an angle that crunches your stomach and forces more reflux. You are supposed to raise the head of your bed by putting something under the bed's legs.

Makes sense, alas, my DH has no interest in sleeping at an angle along with me. So I try to creat a faux ramp with multiple pillows starting around my waist and stacking slowly higher and higher towards my head.

Last 2 nights haven't been as bad, as I've been baby-ing my band with mostly liquids throughout the day and NO foods or drinks after 7pm. It SUCKS because sometimes I'd kill for just a small glass of Water. But I finally decided I needed sleep more than food/drink. Still I'll be glad when I get that unfill next week.

Well, will wonders never cease! I recently started to have mild GERD and was put on meds for it....that didn't help. I cut the things out of my diet that I was supposed to....no difference. GET THIS! I quit artificial sweeteners and the GERD went away! Within a day! I'll miss my popsicles, but I sure feel good!

Glad you found the reason..I have no problems unless I am too tight...Good luck to you in your progress!

deb

OK I finally CAVED and had an unfill. Used my upcoming PS next week as the excuse. It worked WONDERS!!!! I found out I had 12.2cc in my 10cc band (I'd never asked before-hadn't wanted to know). They took out 2.5 cc's, a little more than may have been necessary but was worried about the swelling from surgery making it tight again. It has been absolutely WONDERFULL!!! I've not had one case of heartburn, gerd or reflux since the unfill last week. Now as long as I don't gain any weight I'll be even happier.

Good girl!!! Is amazing what a small unfill can do as far as the relief!!!...You will be fine...

deb

Hi all - I will try to be to the point.

I was banded in May, 2005. Had 2 fills within the first 6 months. Went from 325 to 250 by July, 2006. Then my mother went into the end of a 2 year illness and she passed away in June of this year.

I started having reflux for the first time in my life about a year ago. I allowed myself to be so wrapped up in what was going on with my mother, etc. that I ignored myself.

Mylanta was not doing the job after awhile, so I would take a Tagament 150 each night before bed to be able to sleep through the night without waking up coughing from the acid splashing up into my throat, etc.

During this time I developed little to no restriction. Then I started to have an ice cream or a shake every day just to quell the burning sensation in my esophagus that I would get about an hour or two after I ate.

45 pounds crept back on in a year. The Tagament package says to contact your Dr. after 2 weeks of symptoms and now it had been about 6 months. I could not go on taking it for the rest of my life.

I was afraid to go to my lapband Dr. because of feeling like a failure in the weight coming back on. But I sucked it up and made the appointment for Sept. 19.

In the mean time, I went ahead and got a referral for a gastroenterologist from my GP who I happened to see for sinusitis.

I saw the gastro Dr. on Sept. 21 and he scheduled me for an edoscopy on the following Wednesday, Sept. 26.

My lapband Dr. was nothing but kind and extremely concerned for me. Almost as if he took it as a personal failure on his part that I was having problems. I expressed my concern that I feared my band may have slipped and briefly discussed how that would possibly be rectified if that was the case. He had me make an appointment to be looked at under the flouroscope on September 25, the day before my endoscopy.

On September 25, he looked at the band under the flouroscope and everything looked fine (huge relief and thanked God!) :Banane30: and he gave me a fill. He withdrew 5.5 cc's which was just about what he had put in previously total, and he added 1.5 cc to make 7 cc's total.

The next day I had my endoscopy. They discovered that I had Grade 3 Esophagitis - the lower 1/3 of my esophagus was inflamed with ulcers. :think:think

I was in a lot of very bad pain :think:think:think:think after the procedure as they had biopsied something else in there I had never heard of, plus I think the procedure irritated everything going on. I was out of work for the rest of the week and was told to drink fluids - Protein drinks - for a week.

They put me on Zegered - one capsule in the morning on an empty stomach with Water and you don't eat anything else for an hour. It stops all acid production in your stomach and lets things heal. The Dr. did not want to see me back until December 17 - it takes about 3 months to heal.

In the meantime, after a week of telling them I had very bad pain every day (as it said in the instructions I took home from them - let them know if you are in pain), the Dr.'s nurse finally relented and consulted the Dr. who said I could have 2 teaspoons of liquid Gaviscon 3 times a day if needed as it coats the esophagus.

Just about that time the pain relented and I only had to take it once.

From all this adventure I have lost 13 pounds in the 15 days that have passed. I have restriction again and am blending up my chicken or broccoli or potato before I eat 3 oz. of it. I eat 3 oz. of something or a protein/vitamin drink every 2 hours. I try to get in all my water during the day as well. It is a full time job!

THE POINT OF ALL THIS IS: If you have been having reflux for awhile, get it checked out ASAP. You do not want to go through the pain I was in. I slept with 4 pillows under me for a year and it didn't do very well. I have tipped my bed up 8" and still have to sleep with the 4 pillows because although the stomach acid is neutralized, once a night I still get Fluid coming up a bit even though I only eat bland things and nothing after 4 p.m. The fluid is not acid but it can still make you feel like you have something in your throat and have to clear your throat or cough a few times.

I did read on the internet that if you distend your stomach (I took that to mean by overeating) then after awhile you can throw the little flap (that protects your esophagus from acid coming up) out of whack. The acid reflux certainly would help make that flap not work correctly as well.

I believe that this is what I did to myself.

A no win situation! I would say I was eating more than I should have because I had no or little restriction in the past year.

I also feel that now I have a second chance as my band had not slipped and no erosion - so I am as good as gold.

Thus ends my saga - I signed on to this discussion board specifically in the hope that relating all this will help someone reading it to make that decision to take care of themselves better than I did before it is too late. Don't ignore or mask what your body is trying to tell you.

Grade 4 Esophagitis is as high as it gets and I have Grade 3. The nurse said "You don't want to know what Grade 4 is."

That's it for now. >phew!<