I was banded two years ago and have not had any problems at all. I've only had two fills which were both within 6 months of my surgery. Over the last 4 months I have started experiencing what I believe to be reflux at night while I am sleeping. Initially, it seemed to worsen around the time of my period but now it has been the last 8 nights in a row. I wake up and feel like I am choking. My band has also become noisier at night and in the mornings when layihg down. I have varied what and when I eat and over the last week it has not make any improvement. I am fine while awake. Any soluteions?? please help. I am in Arizona and had my surgery in Mexico so I don't even know a Dr. but I need a good nights sleep. thanks for your help!!

hi guys,

i went and got some of my fill taken out and I must proclaim "YEAAAA"!!! I am doing so much better. My gurgling has decreased 90% and my reflux is totally gone. I sleep all night and it is a beautiful thing. I think my problems came on so slowly and gradually that I didn't even realize how uncomfortable I had become. I now eat and still get the fullness so that I stop eating but without all of the other discomfort. I feel like this is probably how I should have been to begin with but just didn't even realize "that I hadn't found my sweet spot". I don't know if this will last but it's been a week so far and I don't think I felt this good with my band... ever. Hopefully, I will be fine now but if now I will let you know. thanks for all of your responses. I never post and was grateful to have a place to go with my concerns.

Hi Tinaj

I had some of my fill removed today also. I am hoping I will have the same results as you have. The doctor said to let him know in a week if I am no better and he will have another upper GI and maybe refer me to a gastroenterologist if nothing shows on the upper GI. I am so afraid of not feeling restriction but I can't keep going on the way I have. I will report in on how I am progressing. Thanks for everyone's suggestions.

Thanks for these postings. I have been banded for 4 years and have had periodic acid reflux and other issues over the past couple of years (esophagus problems due to reacting to anti-malaria pills). But the last couple of weeks have been miserable. After reading your posts, I am hoping that an unfill will do it.

I have my dr working on setting up appointments for me when I return to the US at month end but it is very stressful being days away from drs and weeks away from getting to them.

I really hope I don't lose my band. I do love the new me and am dedicated to maintaining myself but the band helps alot. Also, I only have a couple of weeks in the US and I don't want to spend them recovering from surgery. Sorry to whine but I am having middle of the night coughing up stuff and stressing.

Keep us posted on your progress Road Queen. I can't tell you how relieved I am just to know it isn't just me feeling this discomfort. My doctor acted as thought he has never dealt with anything like this before. I am hoping that having a slight unfill will make my nighttime a more pleasant experience. Good luck to you.

Well, now thats its daylight and I am thinking rationally, I might know some of the reasons it is so aggrevated right now. Our temperatures have rapidly risen above 110 and that tends to cause me issues. Also, lots of people here have gotten parasites lately so I should go ask the nurse about meds for that. Just praying I don't have anything serious and need to lose my band.

People either lose weight here or get really fat. With my pre-disposition towards overeating, I would explode overnight...will keep you guys updated.

Okay, I just had my first night of no reflux or coughing in almost 3 weeks. I feel so rested. I don't know why I was suddenly so tight after having been okay for the last 6 weeks. Anyway, I am so relieved that I don't have to go for another upper GI and won't have to see a specialist. I hope you are feeling better Road Queen and I hope anyone else having this problem considers having a slight unfill. My doctor was worried it would cause me to feel less control over my eating. I am eating the same and don't feel hungry so it has worked out wonderfully for me.

Hi,

I had the same thing, the acid at night and throwing up. I was miserable after 1.5 years of being fine with the band. Sure, my stress level was up, but there was no reason. I finally went to the Dr. because I couldn't even swallow more than a sip of water per hour. She took out 4 of the 7 in my band and I could eat and drink again. What a relief. No more acid even though I haven't even filled the drug rx she gave me.

But that was 2 days ago and now I think I am gaining weight because I don't have the restriction. No refill appt until July.

Suggestion: Get some taken out of the band as soon as you feel this way, but don't get too much taken out.

hi everyone, well the last couple of nights I've started to feel the reflux again. Not as badly as before but I am coughing and feeling congestion in my throat and chest. I don't know whether I am tightening or what. I haven't had as much restriction as I've had the last year and as a result I have gained a couple of pounds and can't seem to lose. I work out at the gym 5 days a week so I don't think it's inactivity. I am so worried, if I get a fill to help me lose I will be back in the same boat again. When I saw my surgeon he acted as though he'd never experienced a patient having this problem. I know I am eating larger portions and am consciously trying to cut back but I am now feeling hunger again. So frustrating.

I had my band removed for this very same reason. I was fine for 2 years. Everything was fine in the daytime, but at night it was another story.

I called my banded friend and she told me I had to sleep sitting up and put a bowl next to the bed to throw up in the middle of the night. This was AFTER I had my fill removed. I knew I could not live like that, and worried about the band damaging my stomach and esophagus.

I had my band removed and got the revision surgery to a sleeve. Now food does not get stuck, and I can take my medications without fear of them coming back up. Life is so much better with the sleeve.

I worry about all those people out there who are choosing to live like this in fear of gaining their weight back.

Hi OregonDaisy,

I am interested in the gastric sleeve. I don't know if my doctor has performed that surgery or if my insurance would even consider letting me have it. I am back on the couch tonight after waking up choking and coughing. It's been about 5 weeks since the doctor removed some of my fill and I am hungry and I know I am eating larger portions. I am also eating bigger bites because I can. Last night for dinner I ate half a hamburger and a little bit of salad. I also had made some oven roasted potatoes and ate maybe 2 of them. I was so stuffed I couldn't believe it. I didn't think I had eaten a huge amount but felt as though nothing was going beyond the band. When I went to bed I was still feeling that bloated feeling. I knew it wouldn't go well and it didn't. At 4am I woke up coughing and unable to breathe. I got up so I didn't disturb my husband's sleep. I now feel better but am wondering why I was feeling this way. All I had eaten yesterday was a scrambled egg in the morning and a small salad with a little chicken in it for lunch. Then my hamburger for dinner which I cut in half and only ate the one half. I have felt the tightening feeling in the band over the last week and yet I am getting hunger pangs again which stopped after my band was put in. My doctor is leaving the practice in another month and I don't know who will replace him. There will be a substitute doctor coming in from her own practice in another city once a week. This worries me that I will never be able to get an appointment if I need one. I sure wish I had a support group here in my city. I haven't attended any of the support groups because it's at 6pm once a month and it's 75 miles away from my home. I feel like you all are my lifeline to share with and learn from.

Edited July 11, 200917 yr by wishin4

Wishin4, why didn't they take all of your fill out? It has been a month since they took mine out, and I was refilled to 3, on a 10 band yesteday, was at 4.6 at top. If you read back on this thread you will see that they couldn't tell if the band had slipped or just created a pouch above because it was too tight. The pouch corrected itself and the band is still in place after they took all fill out for a month and I had no reflux last light after the refill, and also no pain, which I was having previously. I always eat to fast and I think that is part of the problem, so am trying to slow myself down and chew more.

I was eating more with the fill out, but managed to only gain 1 pd in the month, and I think that may help me get back to loosing, and make it to my goal of 155. I have only lost 8 pds since last Oct when I first started having problems. I don't want to loose the band, it is the first time in my life I have felt in control, and if it takes the band to make me fill that way, I want to keep it. I don't like to give advice, but if I was you, I would ask the dr to remove all fluid and give your band a break like I had. Maybe it will help you like I think it will help me. Some of us are evidenetly more sensitive to the band, per my dr, and can not get as large of a fill without problems.

When I started having problems, I had my band unfilled. Things went fine for a couple of months. Then, it started back up again. food I had eaten at dinner time around 5pm was coming up in the middle of the night again. I would wake up coughing and choking and have to run to the bathroom.

I decided that the band was not a good idea for me anymore. I worried about what it was doing inside where I could not see. I was tired of the cost of esophagrams just to tell me I needed to be unfilled. I was already unfilled and having problems.

I went to Dr. Alberto Aceves because he is very experienced in band to sleeve revisions. I was worried that if I didn't get that band out of there, it would damage my stomach to the point that I could not have a revision surgery.

Life is so much easier with the sleeve. I have a small stomach now, not some piece of silicone wrapped around my stomach. I felt like that band was choking the life out of my stomach.

Hi OregonDaisy and everyone else who is interested. I went back to the doctor in August and a substitute doc removed the whole fill. She said I needed a scope test to see if I had an ulcer or something else causing my reflux. It took until October for the test and I went back last week for the results. Nothing showed. Everything looked good and they only saw the indentation from the band in my esophagus. I saw the new surgeon Monday and he said he would fill me very slowly so as not to cause more reflux. He commented on the fact that I have a 4cc band which is an older band. Since it was put in last year I couldn't understand why they didn't use the newest bands on the market. I said outloud "maybe they were trying to use up the old stuff before using the new" He nodded as though he agreed. Anyway, he only put in 1cc. I felt heartburn during the night and a couple of times during the day but no reflux yet. It's funny, several of you have mentioned the gastric sleeve and he did too. He said in his opinion the sleeve is the future of bariatric surgery. Fewer problems and more successful. I don't know if my insurance company would consider paying for my conversion to a sleeve. I guess if I start with reflux again I may have to call them and inquire.

Hi OregonDaisy and everyone else who is interested. I went back to the doctor in August and a substitute doc removed the whole fill. She said I needed a scope test to see if I had an ulcer or something else causing my reflux. It took until October for the test and I went back last week for the results. Nothing showed. Everything looked good and they only saw the indentation from the band in my esophagus. I saw the new surgeon Monday and he said he would fill me very slowly so as not to cause more reflux. He commented on the fact that I have a 4cc band which is an older band. Since it was put in last year I couldn't understand why they didn't use the newest bands on the market. I said outloud "maybe they were trying to use up the old stuff before using the new" He nodded as though he agreed. Anyway, he only put in 1cc. I felt heartburn during the night and a couple of times during the day but no reflux yet. It's funny, several of you have mentioned the gastric sleeve and he did too. He said in his opinion the sleeve is the future of bariatric surgery. Fewer problems and more successful. I don't know if my insurance company would consider paying for my conversion to a sleeve. I guess if I start with reflux again I may have to call them and inquire.

I, too, had a 4cc band put in in Sept. 2008. The two general surgeons in the practice took over the practice of a retiring bariatric surgeon. It is my theory that he used up old inventory before buying new. There is an expiration date with these bands (guaranteed sterile) and mine was June 2009. So, I agree that using the old band was a monetary and not medical decision.

This surgeon was inexperienced and being a general surgeon did not just do bariatric surgery. It quickly became apparent to me that he didn't know a lot about follow up care or how the band works. He overfilled me and then blamed me for the resulting problems.

In April of this year, I switched to an experienced doctor who just does bariatric surgery and it's the best decision I've made so far.

Cleo's Mom I agree with what you said about your other bariatric surgeon. My surgeon was also a general surgeon who switched to bariatric surgery and I don't think he really knew the ins and outs of LapBand surgery. When he filled me he said he thought that the sooner he got me to my sweet spot the better but I think he actually had me too full and that is where my trouble started. When I went to him and explained the trouble I was having he said maybe I wasn't compatible with the LapBand. And that not everyone was compatible with it. I think he just didn't know what else to say. I don't know if he is still doing bariatric surgery or is back to general surgery. But I am grateful to have an experienced surgeon now, and one who even has the LapBand himself so he really can identify with any problems his patients have. So far I am doing well and I hope it goes well in the future. Thanks for your input.