First of all, I hope everyone has a wonderful, safe and Happy New Year!!!

I have been having acid reflux lately and have woke up several time coughing on my spit or something that came up in the middle of the night. So yesterday, I was eating lunch and my food came right back up....I was eating little pieces of creamy chicken. So after that I went to CVS pharmacy and picked my up some Maalox, and I took 1 tsp with a sip of tea and about 20 minutes after that...it came back up. About an hour later I had to go and PB my spit. So, I called my Dr's office and he is out of town for 2 weeks. They told me to go on liquids for 5 days to see if it helps. No back up Dr around here to take a fill out when my regular Dr is gone. Last night woke up twice coughing, choking...so I went and slept on the couch sitting up....

But, last night I went and got Campbell's Soup at Hand Cream of Broccoli and it went down and stayed down. They taste really good.....

I am having the Blended Vegetable Medley or the Velvety Potato for lunch today.....

So, that is my story for now..........

I am hoping that the liquids help......and this band is so unpredictable.....

Thanks everyone!!! I have decided that I will go on clear liquids for the next 5 days....nothing else...I have managed to hold down some sips of Orange Gatorade. I think that after I do the 5 days of clear liquids that I should be fine. If I am not totally better by Monday then I will drive to kalamazoo to get help. Thanks again and any suggestions is greatly appreciated.....

Good luck Kelly and hang it there. I'm thinking about you, Teresa

Kelly, I cant believe I missed this thread!!! I am so sorry...

Ive been having alot of problem with reflux too, but when Im swollen, I can still swallow my spit. I would pb Water, but never my saliva.

You poor thing!!!

I cant believe that Spiegel doesnt have a "back-up"??? What about the radiologist at Doctors Hosp???

I think...that you have irritated the stoma (the passageway where the band is causing the most pressure) and the more you try to eat, the worse it will get .

I agree. And as long as everything is irritating your esphogus (sp?) -reflux, pb, vomit, certain foods - nothing is going to heal. Ive just thought all of this through on Tuesday, MY last episode of this crap.

Try Fruit drinks... fruit is the easiest thing for our tummy's to digest, and its nourshing! NOT bottles of apple juice, Im talking about the single cans of peach necter, pear necter... less acid in these. Also, MOST restaurants have chedder brocolli Soup (Ruby Tusday's, Cracker Barrel), this is another one that helped FILL my tummy and was easy to digest. The restaurant's seem to make it thicker - and taste better.

Im agreeing with Lisa to stick with warm things. I even drink my water at room temp most of the time... just to avoid that "stopped-up" feeling.

I still cant get over Speigel not having someone to take his emergencies!!!

PLEASE - please complain to HIM. This is a man that is making MILLIONS, and can afford to train someone to give unfills for situations like this

Well, Thanks again everyone.....Last night when I got home I took two sips of Water and that is all I have had. I know that I am usually very tight in the mornings so I have not tried anything this morning. I did sleep last night without reflux. I have been managing to swallow my spit. I feel better.

Paula, the Spiegel thing upsets me alot.....I don't know what to do anout it. He is mostly in Houston now....he is here at the beginning of the weeks, so even if on a Thursday this happens we have to haul our hinney's to Houston.....

I have heard rumors that there is other Dr's around that are going to start doing the lap-band...who knows....

Kelly,

Not to scare you, but these can be symptoms of slippage. You may seriously need someone to look at this under flouro.

Have you had a recent fill? Do whatever it takes to not allow the nighttime reflux. Aspiration pneumonia is very common among bandsters. I'm really sorry you're going through this.

I have heard rumors that there is other Dr's around that are going to start doing the lap-band...who knows....

There is a Dr. Chung here in Lake Charles that started doing the lap-band on Nov. 1. Ive already talked to someone at his office and he refuses to touch any other bandsters that HE did not band.

If he was wise..... oh the money that man could make!!!!!

And ultimately, its IS all about the money!

Thats why (I think) Spiegel went to Houston. money, money, money

But thats not what this is about.

Please address this issue to Spiegel. AND I would certainly take Lisa's advice and contact INAMED.

Spiegel has two choices. He can fix the problem and find someone to handle emergencies, or he can choose to ignore it.

I personally think that it would be in his best interest as a physician in such a SMALL area, to fix this problem.

And I would talk to him - NOT any of his staff... including his wife!

The last fill I had was on October 11th.

Dr Spiegel's nurse called today to check on me and make sure that I was going to be ok..I told her that I think I will be fine and she told me to contact her if I needed anything over the weekend, so that made me feel better.

I have drank 6 oz of hot cocoa and have kept it down.

I heard if your band slips that everything you drink comes back up...is that not true? I really don't think I have slipped the band; just have what Michelle had a while back. I think that the liquids are going to work. Hopefully anyway!!!!

I think too many people worry about slipped and eroded bands, because many of those who DO have them had no symptoms.

If you follow the cheddar broccoli Soup advice, skip the broccoli...meanwhile, do you have a Jamba juice nearby? Get a Peanut Butter Moo'd (or a chocolate Moo'd) with a Protein boost. It's protein, it's VERY high in calories (sorry) and it's good.

Arlington

Whole Foods/Parkway

801 E. Lamar Blvd.

Tel. 817.461.9362**Fax 817.461.1688

Austin

Whole Foods/Gateway

9607 Research Blvd. #300

Tel. 512.345.5003**Fax 512.345.5331

One American

** accepts jambacard **

600 Congress Ave. #G280

Tel. 512.478.8696**Fax 512.478.8605

Arboretum

** accepts jambacard **

10710 Research Suite 306

Tel. 512.342.9998**Fax 512.342.9940

Guadalupe/Austin

** accepts jambacard **

2300 Guadalupe St. #100

Tel. 512.275.0290**Fax 512.275.0291

Carrollton

Park at Tollway / Carrollton

** accepts jambacard **

3432 E. Hebron Pkwy #116

Tel. 972.407.0875**Fax 972.735.0283

Corpus Christi

Corpus Christi

** accepts jambacard **

5425 S. Padre Island Dr. #114

Tel. 361.906.2474**Fax 361.994.7892

Dallas

Highland Park Village

** accepts jambacard **

70 Highland Park Village

Tel. 214.219.3338**Fax 214.219.3382

Whole Foods / Lemmon Center, Dallas

** accepts jambacard **

4100 Lomo Alto Drive

Tel. 214.559.2038**Fax 214.526.0074

Frankford & Preston/Dallas

** accepts jambacard **

18204 Preston Rd. #E2

Tel. 972.665.0425**Fax 972.665.0426

Greenville / Dallas

** accepts jambacard **

5923 Greenville Ave.

Tel. 214.363.6461**Fax 214.363.6448

Westchester & NW Hwy / Dallas

** accepts jambacard **

8421 Westchester Dr.

Tel. 214.363.6828**Fax 214.363.6811

Fort Worth

Sundance Square

** accepts jambacard **

400 Main Street

Tel. 817.870.1001**Fax 817.870.1878

Houston

Post Oak/Houston

** accepts jambacard **

2515 Post Oak Blvd. #A

Tel. 713.850.1089**Fax 713.850.1153

Village Arcade

** accepts jambacard **

2506 University Blvd.

Tel. 713.529.3225**Fax 713.529.3661

Whole Foods/Kirby/Houston

2955 Kirby Dr.

Tel. 713.520.1937**Fax 713.526.3976

Whole Foods/Bellaire/Houston

4004 Bellaire Blvd.

Tel. 713.667.6588**Fax 713.667.4013

Royal Oaks / Houston

** accepts jambacard **

11805 Westheimer #340

Tel. 832.327.0306**Fax 832.327.0307

Champions Village / Houston

** accepts jambacard **

5403 FM 1960 West #580

Tel. 281.444.3930**Fax 281.444.3094

River Oaks / Houston

** accepts jambacard **

2032 - A West Grey

Tel. 713.523.4548**Fax 713.523.4598

Jack Rabbit / Houston

** accepts jambacard **

13325 FM 1960

Tel. 281.897.9923**Fax 281.897.9942

Copperfield

** accepts jambacard **

7017 Highway 6 North

Tel. 281.463.9956**Fax 281.463.9819

Plano

The Shops @ Legacy / Plano

** accepts jambacard **

5700 Legacy Dr. #A2

Tel. 972.398.6550**Fax 972.398.6601

Richardson

Whole Foods/Richardson

60 Dal Rich Village

Tel. 972.699.8075**Fax 972.699.9419

Southlake

South Lake Town Square

** accepts jambacard **

222 State St.

Tel. 817.416.9971**Fax 817.416.6380

Sugar Land

Sugar Land

** accepts jambacard **

2148 Texas Drive

Tel. 281.242.0030**Fax 281.242.0037

Webster

Clearlake / Webster

** accepts jambacard **

528 W. Bay Area Blvd. Ste. B1

Tel. 281.316.9965**Fax 281.316.9967

Sue...I was hoping you would post in my thread...you always give great advice.............No, none of those are nearby.....closest would be about a 2 hour drive....we are going to my aunt's tonight and we are going to stop by Jason's Deli and get me some soup......I was so excited this morning when I woke up and realized that I didn't wake up coughing.......

The last fill I had was on October 11th.

Dr Spiegel's nurse called today to check on me and make sure that I was going to be ok..I told her that I think I will be fine and she told me to contact her if I needed anything over the weekend, so that made me feel better.

I have drank 6 oz of hot cocoa and have kept it down.

I heard if your band slips that everything you drink comes back up...is that not true? I really don't think I have slipped the band; just have what Michelle had a while back. I think that the liquids are going to work. Hopefully anyway!!!!

My slippage gave absolutely NO symptoms, until I went and got another fill on top of it. Then, the reflux began...

How did u figure out the band slipped before your second fill?

Kelly --

I had bad reflux before an unfill...taking a Pepcid at night before going to bed helped. I feel your pain. You're doing all the right things... hang in there and keep getting liquids in as much as you can.

I'm curious about the comments on the ports...my mom has a port for chemo and judging by the way it looks under her skin...the shape is way different than our ports. Maybe a question for Inamed. It would just be such a bummer if a nurse familiar with those types of ports took a stab at ours -- and missed -- risking possible damage to our band and/or port.

Gotta run -- it's almost midnight. Happy New Year!

Elizabeth

082803

-45

How did u figure out the band slipped before your second fill?

I didn't. I went to get a fill/check up because I had moved back to Texas. The new doc went ahead and filled the band, but gave me a copy of my films. Immediately, I began having severe nighttime reflux, pain upon swallowing, but eventually, I could get things down, carefully. The reflux never subsided, so I found someone more experienced to look at the films and they said the band had slipped and I had to be unfilled. They said the person who did the fill should have known what he was looking at, but apparently he did the WRONG thing anyway and went ahead and put the fill in.

Night 2 without waking up coughing...did the liquids yesterday and I feel alot better....now for day 3.........Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!!

Good Luck Kelly!