Just had an upper GI. Confused now..

[spoiltmom 44]

My surgeon thinks I have esophageal dilation but he doesn't think its a big deal. My family dr disagrees so she ordered an upper GI.

I drank 2 oz of super thin barium. After 15 minutes most of it was still sitting in my esophagus and hadn't gone through my band yet. The radiologist was concerned about that.

With a band it's supposed to take longer to go through right??

I asked the assistant if esophageal dilation would cause that and she said she wasn't sure.

Thoughts?

I should have official results tomorrow. I'm trying to see a surgeon who specializes in bariatrics but he requires you do the upper GI first.

[stept04 465]

I know it only takes a minute or so for food to pass through the opening of the pouch. As far as anything else I'm not sure. I'm not a Dr. though. It would be a good idea to let your surgeon now the results of the test it could be quite helpful. Good luck

[JACKIEO85 308]

No, this isn't normal AMEN for your family doctor! Get it checked out, search these posts.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/168467-secondary-achalasia-due-to-agb-warning-complication-post-the-why/

[2muchfun 8,927]

Fluids should pass through your esophogus, pouch, band and into your stomach in a matter of seconds.

[spoiltmom 44]

No' date=' this isn't normal AMEN for your family doctor! Get it checked out, search these posts.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/168467-secondary-achalasia-due-to-agb-warning-complication-post-the-why/

Thanks for the links!

[ItsBritneyB 39]

I had the same thing. They took all the liquid out of my band and put me on "band vacation". My doctor treated this very serious. He said that if I countinued to stretch my esophagus that it could cause malignent cells to form. I hope you get this figured out soon! Check out my Lap band blog www.biscuitsandexcuses.blogspot.com

[spoiltmom 44]

I had the same thing. They took all the liquid out of my band and put me on "band vacation". My doctor treated this very serious. He said that if I countinued to stretch my esophagus that it could cause malignent cells to form. I hope you get this figured out soon! Check out my Lap band blog www.biscuitsandexcuses.blogspot.com

Did your dr think it was just esophageal dilation??

I go for weeks where I'm fine, no problems, pain or vomiting. Then I have weeks where I vomit CONSTANTLY. Sometimes to the point of dehydration.

I am considering removal or sleeve revision depending on my Upper GI results.

[Baba Wawa 543]

Did your dr think it was just esophageal dilation??

I go for weeks where I'm fine' date=' no problems, pain or vomiting. Then I have weeks where I vomit CONSTANTLY. Sometimes to the point of dehydration.

I am considering removal or sleeve revision depending on my Upper GI results.[/quote']

Did the barium make it to the pouch and the remainder sat in your esophagus? You said you drank 2 oz, which is a typical pouch size. In that case, if it was in the pouch, little or no barium should have remained in your esophagus. It sounds more like failure of the lower esophageal sphincter. This is caused by damage to the sphincter from back pressure from the band. This is expected in banding, but some people's anatomy can't tolerate this pressure. Are you having any chest pain, regurgitating of food? If you eat something and bend over, does it just come up? If your band isn't empty, it should be. It will minimize the damage, though in my case, the condition accelerated when my band was empty. You need a GI doctor with a specialty in motility disorders to evaluate.

I hate to bear bad news, but IF you have esophageal damage, sleeve isn't going to be an option, since its also a high pressure system, like the band. I know of two people who revised to sleeve with this type of issue. It's a disaster and irreversible.

Please get an unfill, at least partial.

[spoiltmom 44]

I rarely have chest pain, only when something gets stuck.

Honestly the radiologist referred to it as my esophagus, he never really said anything about the pouch. The barium was going down but only a trickle was going through the band. The rest he said was sitting in the "esophagus". Still he said it had plenty of time to pass completely and it didn't. It just sat in the esophagus above my band.

[spoiltmom 44]

An unfill isn't an option until I see a new surgeon because my current surgeon doesn't see a problem. I saw him 2 weeks ago and asked about an unfill and he said it was not needed.

[Baba Wawa 543]

If you had just 2 oz barium and it was in your esophagus, that's an esophagus problem. It can lead to major problems in a short period of time. Please read my blog post "History" paying attention to the time between last June and present. I'm not trying to scare you, but save you from my experience. I belong to a band complications group on FB which has several members with this history. There is a phenomenon called psuedoachalasia, which usually occurs with underlying disease, but is occurring quite often in banded patients and is a relatively new development. I have what appears to be end stage achalasia, 0% muscle activity shown on manometry, but I'm hoping with my band removed, will resolve. I've been told to expect treatment ranging from feeding tube for 6 weeks to allow the esophagus to rest and regain some motility to removal of my esophagus. It's not something to mess around with.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3174396/

[spoiltmom 44]

If you had just 2 oz barium and it was in your esophagus' date=' that's an esophagus problem. It can lead to major problems in a short period of time. Please read my blog post "History" paying attention to the time between last June and present. I'm not trying to scare you, but save you from my experience. I belong to a band complications group on FB which has several members with this history. There is a phenomenon called psuedoachalasia, which usually occurs with underlying disease, but is occurring quite often in banded patients and is a relatively new development. I have what appears to be end stage achalasia, 0% muscle activity shown on manometry, but I'm hoping with my band removed, will resolve. I've been told to expect treatment ranging from feeding tube for 6 weeks to allow the esophagus to rest and regain some motility to removal of my esophagus. It's not something to mess around with.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3174396/[/quote']

If that were the problem wouldn't I be vomiting all the time?? I have plenty of time where I eat a meal and within 45 minutes I'm fine to drink again and everything goes down smoothly with no issues. My vomiting only occurs because I have times where my band suddenly tightens up for no reason at all. It will stay that way a week or two and then go back to normal.

[Baba Wawa 543]

If that were the problem wouldn't I be vomiting all the time?? I have plenty of time where I eat a meal and within 45 minutes I'm fine to drink again and everything goes down smoothly with no issues. My vomiting only occurs because I have times where my band suddenly tightens up for no reason at all. It will stay that way a week or two and then go back to normal.

That's what I thought was happening. It's the LES that won't open, in that situation. The band doesn't and can't get tighter and looser just randomly. It can seem to tighten over time due to scar tissue, but won't loosen. The only way it can feel like that is the lower esophageal sphincter failing to open in response to swallowing. Mine was intermittent and progressed to constant over a few months. If barium is just trickling through the STOMA, then you most definitely need an unfill ASAP. That might resolve your esophageal issues with just a part of the Fluid removed.

It's the back pressure from the band that causes nerve damage at the gadtroesophageal junction. Even eating exactly as told, the pressure occurs. Banding is a high pressure system, as is vsg. More GI doctors are recommending esophageal manometry pre-op, since there is a growing consensus that the intolerance to the band can be predicted and those pts given different options for surgery.

Have you ever felt stuck on Water or even yogurt? It's not your band stopping it. Fickle bands, first bite syndrome, getting "stuck" on soft foods and liquids are all signs of a potential problem. When so many report these things happening, it looks like a normal part of banded life, but it's not. It's a warning sign.

[spoiltmom 44]

That's what I thought was happening. It's the LES that won't open' date=' in that situation. The band doesn't and can't get tighter and looser just randomly. It can seem to tighten over time due to scar tissue, but won't loosen. The only way it can feel like that is the lower esophageal sphincter failing to open in response to swallowing. Mine was intermittent and progressed to constant over a few months. If barium is just trickling through the STOMA, then you most definitely need an unfill ASAP. That might resolve your esophageal issues with just a part of the Fluid removed.

It's the back pressure from the band that causes nerve damage at the gadtroesophageal junction. Even eating exactly as told, the pressure occurs. Banding is a high pressure system, as is vsg. More GI doctors are recommending esophageal manometry pre-op, since there is a growing consensus that the intolerance to the band can be predicted and those pts given different options for surgery.

Have you ever felt stuck on Water or even yogurt? It's not your band stopping it. Fickle bands, first bite syndrome, getting "stuck" on soft foods and liquids are all signs of a potential problem. When so many report these things happening, it looks like a normal part of banded life, but it's not. It's a warning sign.[/quote']

Hmm. I do know that when I'm having episodes like that and I can get in with my surgeon a partial unfill relieves it and I'm able to eat/drink again with no vomiting at all.

[Baba Wawa 543]

Unfilling a bit, reduces the pressure. You might lose better with less. I still go 4-5 hours without hunger and my band is just sitting there like a loose ring on a finger. It takes me forever to eat, I drink Perrier with meals, cause it helps to open the LES, and still get the hunger dimming response.