Serious Situation

JJinLA · February 9, 2007

OK here is my story, i hope someone can shed some light on this. I was banded in June, everything went fine & i have had no problems. I got a fill in Sept or Oct, well i never felt any restriction, still could eat whatever i wanted. I went back to get another fill Monday, he said i had no Fluid in band, which was no suprise to me, so he figured i have a leak and put some thicker fluid in. Well i was fine on fluids that day. The next day, i couldn't hardly get anything down, and having major problems breathing. I can handle not eating, but i really need to be able to breathe lol. So i am thinking the band is too tight & maybe if i wait it out , it will get better - no such luck, so i call the dr. & go in Thursday. He unfills me a bit, but says he can't imagine the band having anything to do with my shortness of breath. He sends me to have a chest x ray. He sees nothing wrong with my lungs, alot of gas and some signs that my band might have slipped but not totally. So , he unfills me completely. Tells me to come back in 4 weeks & if things aren't better i might have to have an upper GI. So, i am thinking ok, things are going to be better now. Well they weren't, i still couldn't eat or breathe, and having bad stomach pains and in my chest. I am just worried. Can acid reflux make you not be able to eat and cause shortness of breath? Thanks for listening, i know it was long. JJ

barbara465 · February 9, 2007

Sounds like you need to revisit the doctor. I've had lots of problems with fills, but not shortness of breath. Unless you are hyperventilating, that doesn't sound like a normal symptom to me.

As a side note, I have the thicker soution, called omnipaque. It definitely changed how much I could tolerate in my band. Not sure what the difference is, but definitely different. Even if you had a slip I haven't heard of the shortness of breath.

Sounds like you need to be a squeky wheel and find out what's going on. Let us know how you are doing.

February 9, 2007

Or perhaps see another doctor, preferably before the weekend. Do you have a walk-in clinic in your area? Shortness of breath should be taken seriously, especially taken into consideration with chest pain.

sophrosyne · February 9, 2007

Acid Reflux can make you not be able to eat and have shortness of breath. Acid can scar up your esophagus, making it difficult to swallow/eat. It can also back up into your lungs and cause GERD-related asthma. Which is why it's important to treat acid reflux.

If you're having a lot of acid reflux, tell your doctor. In addition to treating the GERD, I also had to go to a pulmonologist and get two different asthma inhalers, before my lungs cleared up. Still, whenever I get sick, it hits me right in the lungs, and I'm back on the inhalers.

Since you can't breathe, and you're having chest and stomach pains, it sounds like it's more than just GERD. It could be GERD combined with an allergic reaction (what you're describing happened to me when I was on clindamycin), or an excess of gas, but you should definitely see a doctor.

JJinLA · February 12, 2007

Thank you all, i guess it was the reflux & gas because i am doing fine now. I was scared for a while, thanks again.

NaturalBeauty · February 12, 2007

Hi JJ, I am glad that you are feeling better now but I would say still see your doctor. If it's acid reflux, it will come back again and you'll be facing the same problem. You may need a prescription to help control the acid. If the acid continues to build without being treated it can even feel like a heart attack.

This is just some information for you. I have been there and done that. It runs in my family badly, my brother, sister and myself deal with it daily.