I'm karenl and had my lap band surgery Oct 3rd last year. I have lost about 45 lbs. I had to have some fluid removed from my lap band about a week and a half ago do to severe heart burn and vomiting. I was out of town so this went on for two weeks before I could get the band reduced. 5 days ago I got a sore throat that is severe. The dr. says that it is viral. But it really hurts to swallow and feels like it is taking a long time for the fluids to go down. Could the sore throat be related to the problem I was having before or just a viral infection? I am not running a temp and feel fine otherwise.

Hi Karen! I am no doctor so I don't really know what to tell you. I just wanted to say that I hope you feel better soon. Welcome to the site and good luck to you!

Persistent sore throat can also be a symptom of reflux. So keep an eye on it. I'd ask the doctor how long a viral sore throat will last, and if it doesn't go away by then, see if your he/she will recommend a reflux treatment to try for a couple weeks. Mine had me on Nexium + an antacid and that cleared up my problem nicely. Now I'm re-filled and have not had any reflux symptoms since. (and sore throat was one of my symptoms -- in my case, I thought it might just be sinus drainage)

So you probably have to wait another week to see, because I think a viral sore throat might last a week or two. But definitely double check with your doctor. The problem is, if you start taking antacids now, you won't know whether it cleared up on its own (viral) or was reflex and the antacids took care of it.