Becky Lambert

I have been banded since Jan 2005 and after some success lost 56 pounds it was determined that the band shuts down my esophagus muscles and i can not tolerate any fill at all,even .1 was too much, after 1 month it became unbearable,I was not pbing or unable to eat solids, i began to have weakness and back pain ,it is hard to describe I was litterally miserable, me and my husband thought maybe I was having a reaction to a flu shot I had gotten the day before, but I just knew it was the band, I was getting so weak and ill that I called the band dr who met me at the emergency room and took out the .1 fill,we could not believe how immediately I was back to normal?I went from squirming in misery all the way to the doctor to being able to go shopping in litterally 5 minutes.I dont get it ,I could eat and drink but I did have reflux during the nite,why if it was so tight did it not keep me from eating?What do I do now ?empty the band does not cause me any problems but very little restriction?I read all these forumns and I never see anyone who has these weird symptoms they know they are too tight when they can not drink?Any answers would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I have suffered with nightime reflux a year out ,like you I could eat fine but the esophagus muscles were not pushing the food down with much force and this was causing bad reflux at nite. I had to have complete unfill for about 4 months to get muscles to work again correctly with a smaller fill.I think you need to consider a unfill to let esophagus rest. This can help you keep the band . Good Luck Becky

My doctor told me that insurance would probably pay even tho I am now a low bmi for another type of surgery if done at the same time. Check with your drs office it seems that they can make it work with the way they submit it. Good Luck .Becky

:scared: I think we finally figured out my weird symptoms ,I have weak esophagus mucles and was confused on why my symptoms were so different than everyone elses when the band is making me sick, I can still eat and drink with no pbing or problem but yet I get so sick , well it seems when I eat something that causes heartburn and reflux I panic and stop eating and drinking all together (did not realize I was doing this)then i get dehydrated which causes the flu like symptoms ,weakness,chills, fatique, lethargic,and meanwhile I am having heartburn so i thought it was the band causing all this. My doctor just assumed that I was not eating or drinking because it was too tight, not that I just quit ,so he does a unfill and then I think okay I can drink now and I do and all the symptoms go away. So even tho I will never be able to have a fill due to esophagus problem I can keep the band which has helped me to maintain at 157 for over 8 months.I can live with that now that I know what was causing the weird symptoms, i just drink water now and take malox for the reflux and it goes away. this seem so simple now but had me so worried and confused .I never knew I could get dehydrated wo quickly, i thought it took a couple of days. Well I hope this made sense to yall and may help someone else. Becky

Well after getting some hope from Dr. C.I called my doctor and told him I wanted to be checked for a hernia,even tho earlier endo said none was present.I explained to him what Dr. c had been finding in some of his patients and his reply was I have never heard of such a thing that is ridiculous. You just eat too much and we need to take the band out and do the DS? My test have shown very little esophageal muscles are working , I could eat one cup with a fill and it would be too much if it just stays in my esophagus and does not move down.I know he is the kind of doctor who once the surgery is done he is pretty much through with you except for fills. He has very little aftercare he just says take it out and get the gastric bypass. I weigh 165 I cannot have that surgery , my highest weight ever was only 203. I just cannot put my family through that for such a small weight loss. I have been dieting since age 16 and I have been able to keep my weight down somewhat but i am only 5'3 so this is still heavy for me, but with no fill I am really struggling, I play like i can not eat bread or noodles and I stick to that just as if I had a fill and I only eat lean cusines and diet snacks, I run on treadmill 20 minutes each nite .I dont know what else to do without a doctors help . I sometimes think just give up it is not worth thinking about dieting 24 hours a day. When i was younger I was made to feel that fat people are lazy and slobs, I always feel like this when I get heavy. I wish I could just feel normal . I need to just be able live without self hate. I sure found the wrong doctor for that. Babs from Texas can you tell me who the doctor was who finally helped you?I would love to try him. Thanks Becky:help:

Well after starting this thread and getting some hope from Dr. C.I called my doctor and told him I wanted to be checked for a hernia,even tho earlier endo said none was present.I explained to him what Dr. c had been finding in some of his patients and his reply was I have never heard of such a thing that is ridiculous. You just eat too much and we need to take the band out and do the DS? My test have shown very little esophageal muscles are working , I could eat one cup with a fill and it would be too much if it just stays in my esophagus and does not move down.I know he is the kind of doctor who does not care about his patients once the surgery is done he is pretty much through with you except for fills. He has never helped any patients in the past with problems he just says take it out and get the gastric bypass. I weigh 165 I cannot have that surgery , my highest weight ever was only 203. I just cannot put my family through that for such a small weight loss. I have been dieting since age 16 and I have always been able to keep my weight down to 160 range, i am only 5'3 so this is still heavy for me, but with no fill I am really struggling, I play like i can not eat bread or noodles and I stick to that just as if I had a fill and I only eat lean cusines and diet snacks, I run on treadmill 20 minutes each nite .I dont know what else to do without a doctor . I sometimes think just give up it is not worth thinking about dieting and being fat 24 hours a day. When i was younger I was made to feel that fat people are lazy and slobs, I always feel like this when I get heavy. I wish I could just feel normal . I need to just be able live without self hate. I sure found the wrong doctor for that. Thanks for listening to me ramble on. Becky:help:

You need to get a unfill quick before you do damage to your esophagus.I would go back to the dayton dr to get unfill and then try to find someone more willing to help you. Do not stay to tight to long the muscles in the esophagus are to weak to push the barrium down,Good luck ,keep us informed. Becky

Nykee, what test showed your hernia?I dont know much about hernias but I do know the Gerd and hernias are strongly related.I have called my doctor to ask if I can be checked for a hernia, but I think he is going to say the test already ruled that out.

Dr. C could the hernia make the esophageal muscles weak?I ask this because I actually had the manometry test done and it did indicate weak muscles. I was extremely tight before all this started and actually had alot of pain one morning when I think this could have happened.I just want to make sure before I approach my doctor with this?I am afraid if he goes in to look and does not find one he will want to remove the band, I have no trouble at all with it empty but he seems to think it is useless with not fill, I disagree , I still have some restriction.

Dr. C thanks for the information,can you tell me what test would identify a hernia? I was scoped to see if I had a narrowing, would it have showed up in that test?Thanks Becky

Trish I am from Texas and I use A Dallas doctor, he told me when they first started trials for the lapband their were major concerns about it having some major problems concerning the motility of the esophagus but went on with the band as it affected only a few not everyone, well after a year I became one of the small percentage, my only option is empty band or switch over to gastric bypass.I am below 200 pounds about 165 and i am not going to do that drastic of a surgery.Their is no getting around a esophagus motility problem, it is not band friendly.Good luck with your test and I hope you just need to be stretched again.They can fix that.

Kesba, I did have the test to see if the dysmotility was caused by a immune disease and all the test came back fine. So it was determined that it was just the band , I have no problems if I leave it empty, I too feel that I have some restriction with just the band and no fill ,but I am struggling with not gaining any weight back. I can eat pretty much all foods but of course I am trying to continue the rules, I still do not eat bread or pasta ,no cheeseburgers ect,I am hungry more often but it does not take much to fill me up.I am glad to hear you also have restriction with a band and no fill, I thought maybe that was all in my head. Good luck to you with your MS, I know that must have been a scary diagnosis,but it sounds like you are learning to handle it well. Thanks Becky

My daughter had the same thing at 19 she was diagnosed with mono.She also was really nauseated , she was in the hospital for about 3 days but sick for about 8 days. Sounds like the same symptoms.

Hi Meagan, I am in the same boat as you , i am now completely unfilled but I am beginning to realize I can eat most everything and more of it. I had to get unfilled due to reflux at nite, I have almost no esophagus muscle action since being banded. It make the food back up an stretch the esophagus, this will just for no reason start causing reflux until i get completely unfilled. I go back for a fill and it will only hold about .1cc and barely goes thru then. I leave and the whole thing starts over again. The doctor also suggested the ds surgery to me , but I only weigh in the 150s and I think that is drastic measures however I will gain it all back eventually, I dont know what to do either. I guess I will keep going back and forth filling and unfilling until I can no longer take it I have had every test know and it is just motility disorder cause by the band. I am stuck not loosing and trying to creep back up to 203.If you get any answers be sure and let me know. Becky

Shelly and Babs, I got banded in Jan 2005 at age 46 I did fine until like Shelley I was given a too tight fill, since then i have had every test known to man to determine why my esophagus muscles do not work they do not push the food or liquod down into the stomach. I have just recently been dismissed from a rhemotologist with the report that i do not have a disease causing this lack of muscle motility.So we are back to the band. I was completely unfilled for about 3 months to be tested and then allowed to go back for a 1 fill. it worked fine all reflux dissappered for about 6 weeks an then wham !I was sitting up allnite long with reflux coming up even thought I have been on prevacid for 3 months. (this was after drinking one can of slimfast all day.)I had to go back for unfill and reflux stopped again, I dont think I ate or drank anything to cause this sudden tightness?Why would it get tighter for no reason?Now I am again empty but feelling fine. Do I go back for a small fill again in a few weeks or just try to stay banded with no fill? I think i can maintain that way but not loose. I am so confused ! My doctor said maybe another type surgery. I only weigh 150 and I can not imagine getting my insides rearranged at that weight. I dont PB or throw up I just get chest tightenss when things wont go down the esophagus as they should. I can live with that I think but the reflux at nite is not going to work . I will not live like that.I have lost 55 pounds and I think if I can maintain I will be happy enough. Do you think this band will tighten up on me again with no fill in it?I know I was never able to have more than a 2.2 fill, so it must be tight fitting. Help me figure this out .

Shelly and Babs, I got banded in Jan 2005 at age 46 I did fine until like Shelley I was given a too tight fill, since then i have had every test known to man to determine why my esophagus muscles do not work they do not push the food or liquod down into the stomach. I have just recently been dismissed from a rhemotologist with the report that i do not have a disease causing this lack of muscle motility.So we are back to the band. I was completely unfilled for about 3 months to be tested and then allowed to go back for a 1 fill. it worked fine all reflux dissappered for about 6 weeks an then wham !I was sitting up allnite long with reflux coming up even thought I have been on prevacid for 3 months. (this was after drinking one can of slimfast all day.)I had to go back for unfill and reflux stopped again, I dont think I ate or drank anything to cause this sudden tightness?Why would it get tighter for no reason?Now I am again empty but feelling fine. Do I go back for a small fill again in a few weeks or just try to stay banded with no fill? I think i can maintain that way but not loose. I am so confused ! My doctor said maybe another type surgery. I only weigh 150 and I can not imagine getting my insides rearranged at that weight. I dont PB or throw up I just get chest tightenss when things wont go down the esophagus as they should. I can live with that I think but the reflux at nite is not going to work . I will not live like that.I have lost 55 pounds and I think if I can maintain I will be happy enough. Do you think this band will tighten up on me again with no fill in it?I know I was never able to have more than a 2.2 fill, so it must be tight fitting. Help me figure this out .

I know how bad you want the band and If you are like me you will not want to hear this but the band and the esophageal dysmotililty work against each other and neither can work with the other. I have really not lost any weight since I developed the motility problem I lost my weight the first year before the swallowing problem started now all I can do is maintain.You do not want to start out with this problem it will only get worse as time goes by.If you can it would probably be much better to have one of the other surgeries. I know you dont want to hear this and I am not a doctor but I have been thru the ringer lately and i have read everything I can find on this and they do not work together. Go to the specialist and hear what he says but just remember most did not start out with this problem it developed over time . I hope you will get a good report from the specilalist and I will be praying for you. Becky

The test for it are first a upper GI shows barium not going down thru the stomach, next came the camera down the throat Endoscopy, and next the bad one the tube down the nose while your awake and it measures your muscles strength it is called manometry.All these test an I was told my diagnosis is weak esophagus muscles duh!that is what I told them when I called to schedule the test. I would not get banded if I knew this problem was there to began with. the band and the esophagas dysmotility do not work together. I believe after reading alot of stories the band does cause this problem in older people especially i also think it goes away when the band it taken off, I just am not ready yet to face that.

Wendy, I have weak esophagus muscles now that I am banded(no problems before that) I have had all the test upper GI, Manometry test, esophagram and they all agree my esophagus mucles are just now pushing the food down, I have just now been able to get a slight fill no where near what I had before, They have me on Reglan which is suppose to make the muscles work better. I only use it when I have to (clogged up )I dont want to become immune to it for when I really need it. I am not giving up my band easily, I am trying to work with a small fill and the reglan, they are still sending me to another specilaist thinking I may have a immune disease causing my weak muscles, I am almost 100% sure it is just the band.I am not loosing at my current fill level but I am able to maintain. I may follow the others lead and try to increase it some after 6 months but my luck that will make me have to have it out. I am so frustrated ,since the unfill at first the reflux has gone away, I think the dilation also has decreased but I still have hard time swallowing anything but mushies, i do loosen up at nite enough to eat some meat. I wonder sometimes what is the esophagus problems and what is from just restriction?It is hard to tell. Do not give up on the band but do get a unfill and let things rest, my problem did not start until one year after being banded and probably to tight for a month,but i was not PBINg so I thought I was okay.Good luck and remember nothing is worth the being afraid to go to bed at nite, that is a awful feeling that you may wake up choking. I will not go back to that even for the bands sake. Becky

Malice I had a dilated esophagus and was immediately unfilled .I did not overeat but was determined that I have weak esophagus muscles that was allowing the food to back up in my esophagus and be still their by my next meal causing it to stretch.I only became aware of this when reflux began at nite. I had never had reflux before. It went away the day the band was emptied. I am now back with a small fill 1.0 and taking reglan to help the muscles push the food down better. so far it is workin well but I plan to hurry and try to loose the last 20 pounds so I can empty band and just maintain. I dont want to damage the esophagus big time but I also dont want to regain weight. Good luck my advice if you start having reflux than run back to doctor for unfill and give it a chance to go back to normal .

Note of caution, I also love phenergen and keep it around because I am always getting a virus,the other nite I had one so bad I was actualy lying in the bathroom floor on a blanket close to commode. I took the phenergren suppository and then had diarhea, so worried that it had not been in but a second, i used another one ,I was determined not to slip my band, well the next thing i know I woke up in the floor with the 911 emts standing over me, I had a seizure and scared my poor husband to death. He called them. Guess what the side effects of too much phenergan is ,SEIZURES. The paramedics outside told all my neighbors that had gathered outside to see what the ambulance was there for that "The lady took too many pills and fell and hit her head."Talk about embarrassing .Oh well lesson well learned."

The only time I have heard of someone having a cough with the lapband it is usually from reflux at nite irritating the throat. I had this and was to tight.It all went away after a unfill. Heart problems could be possible just may not be due to the band. It would be best to have it checked by your doctor.

Hi everyone, I have mainly been a lurker here for the last 3 months.I found this site when I typed in esophagus motilty orders and Geezer Sue and Karen came up (nutcracker esophagus).I was banded in Jan of 2005 a lightweight at 203 but only 5'3" so pretty desparate. I lost slow but I was happy with my weight lost I was down to 149 and one year out when I started having problems. I thought since I was loosing slowly I need to be tighter, so my drs asst tighteded me up way too much, I started suffering from bad reflux and had to sleep sitting up on the couch at nite. I had never had reflux before even before the band. I did go back to get it loosend but it seemed to be too tight even after letting some out. The last time i went in to get some out I was told "you wont loose weight you will gain if you let more out I told the doctor to check me out any way I felt something was not right. He did a fill under fluro only to find that the barium just sit there did not move at all and my esoophagus was dilated.. He was kind of freaked out then and took out all the fill. He sent me for a upper Gi which also showed very little movement when I swallowed.He then sent me to endo dr. who did the upper endo all he found was a couple of irritated places and diagnosed me with esophagitis. This was not bad enough to be the cause of my original problem. He then sent me for a manometry test (this one is horrible)the lady performing the test had her back to me and kept telling me to stop going to sleep(I was wide awake but no movement was taking place when I swallowed so she assume I was asleep.Now 4 months later they have diagnosed me with weak esophagus muscles and I have been told to see a rhematologist.I have put on 4-5 pounds during all these months of testing which shocked me I could do that in one week before the band.I made a deal with my endo dr that I would do the manometry test if he agreed to let me have a small fill if they did not find that I had achalasia(this was what he feared a pretty bad esophagus disorder)I went for my fill this morning but I am a nervous wreck that it will cause me more problems we both agreed on only 1 cc in my 4 cc band. I had no problems before the band I passed my upper GI with flying colors to make sure I could get the band. I do believe the band caused my weak esophagus muscles but I am terrified to regain the weight back. I have been fighting my weight since age 6 and this was the answer to my prayers I thought. I know this is long but in all the research I did to find answers to my problems this was about the only site I found . I think more people then we think has these problems but no one takes the time to tell others. I am stll happy with my band but very nervous.Becky

Leatha, I think maybe older people have more trouble with the esophagus then younger ones I am 47 and it seems that that is more of the norm.It is so frustrating to know that the band is not eroded and I am not PBing but yet I still will more than likely have to have it taken out. It is so embarassing to think that I told my family and friends how great an safe this surgery would be and they will all be watching me ballon back up soon.I have not had any trouble with the fell from this morning so maybe it will be okay at least for a while. My problem showed up in the upper GI also and that test is a lot easier. I would have that one first if I was you. Thanks for listening to me whine. Becky

Karen How did your problems with the band and the esophagus nutcracker turn out? Are you keeping the band? I too have problems , I am waiting on the motility manometry test results,I have weak mucles pushing the food down. Did you do the tube down the nose test? I am really nervous about loosing my band. I have been emptied since March and I am doing my best to not regain weight, My smaller clothes still fit but are getting tighter. Thanks Becky