Colombe

I had been a thin person most of my life, but after giving birth to twins and suffering the unexpected death of my brother, I began using food to lift my mood and alleviate my constant fatigue.  Over the years my weight increased and I could not get a handle on it. The more I tried to diet, the fatter I became.  I had no control over my eating and needed desperately to lose weight.  When I learned of the merits of this kind of surgical intervention, I was elated.  I wanted to look like my old self and I was tired of food being my issue.  I got the band and lost 60lbs.  My weight loss consisited mainly of regurgitation and a life of pain.  I looked good, but had very little energy and was always on the look out for foods that would go down easily.  I could not ingest any raw fruit or vegetables, red meat, or bread.  I also couldnt take any dietary supplements.  I felt sick most of the time.  It was worth it, I thought.
In recent years I have had very severe periods of reflux and have had the band emptied on a couple of occassions and then refilled when weight gain crept in too fast.  The compromise I made two years ago was to have the band partially emptied because I no longer had any sensation of satiety.  For the most part my weight settled and I ate like someone who had total control of her diet.  In the last six months, however, I noticed that I was awaking at night choking or producing a frightening amount of saliva coming up in my sleep.  During the day I felt gassy and bloated and began to use a vast amount of antacids and Nexium just to get through the day.  I went for a coloscope and endoscopie and the doctor said that she was unable to see my colon because I appeared to have a pouch (second stomach) that was full of food that was just sitting there.  She suspected that it had been there for some time.  She said that there must be a mechanical problem with the band.
The pain seemed to be worse than ever.  I have felt pains in my chest and my lungs feel like I have bronchitis.  I have also had pain in my upper back.  I made an appointment to have the device (which had little in it) completely emptied.  The technician found that nothing passed anymore and that I have mega esophagus.  I know that besides the mega esophagus, that there is something else there.  The pain in my chest is persistant and my stomach pains and general weakness have increased. 
No one told me that the price to find my old self was to live a life of pain and discomfort.