Acid freakin reflux

[hockeymother 178]

Had my first fill 5 days ago (surgery was 7 months ago and down 45 lbs). Today I had a stuck episode and felt the affects all day long. Couldn't eat or drink anything without it coming back up. Now it's the middle of the night and I can't sleep due to acid reflux. I've never had an issue with acid reflux in my life. Is this normal after a fill or is it too tight?

[Bandista 7,466]

Do you think the stuck episode kicked off acid production? I would call and get input from your doctor. Maybe they can prescribe Omeprazale or something along those lines. Prilosec, etc. My husband had years of acid reflux (not banded) and he has to take a pill each day and he eats yogurt for Breakfast. Some people get relief from having the head of the bed a little higher with blocks (inch and a half or two?) so you're not laying flat.

What triggered getting stuck -- a particular food or just eating too fast or not chewing well enough? Hope you feel better soon!

[B-52 7,113]

Acid reflux seems to be a very common theme with banded people....my Dr. explained it to me but I won't get into it now....

I am always susceptible to it...for me in my case, I had to stop eating the spicy foods I used to love..no more jalapeno peppers, hot sauce which i used to put on everything, horseradish, hot or spicey mustard....and on and on...I am very careful about it...

Also, I have found I should not eat too close to bed time....laying horizontal.....so if I don't eat before 7pm, then I don't eat.

[kll724 3,055]

I, too, found that eating too late cause my acid reflux. But, your stuck episode sounds like it started your swelling. How soon after the fill did you try eating? and what did you try to eat? I, and many others, can't do sandwiches with bread. Also, beef seems to be a bugger for many of us, too! Try a day or so of liquids, and see if that helps, if not call your surgeon tomorrow!

Best wishes, Karen.aka..kll724

[NaNa 878]

Had my first fill 5 days ago (surgery was 7 months ago and down 45 lbs). Today I had a stuck episode and felt the affects all day long. Couldn't eat or drink anything without it coming back up. Now it's the middle of the night and I can't sleep due to acid reflux. I've never had an issue with acid reflux in my life. Is this normal after a fill or is it too tight?

Are you asking is acid reflux normal with the band? The answer is NO. However many banded people get reflux when the band is tightly restricted. Reflux is one of these things you should monitor carefully with the band because it can lead to issues and usually the first warning sign that your band may be a bit too tight.

Fill adjustments are not an exact science, sometimes you may get overfilled, and it may require tweaking to get it just right, and it is up to you to go back and get some taken out.

For many people when the band is tight, they avoid eating close to bedtime without having the night regurgitation and sleep with high pillows and chew papaya enzymes from GNC to help digest food and move the food from the esophagus to the lower stomach.

If you can't eat small amounts of moist foods slowly, and drink liquids without vomiting, that is a clear sign that you are too tight.

Whether you get saline removed is up to you, but if it were me, if I was not able to drink or eat anything without vomiting, I'd go back immediately and remove about .25 or .1cc of saline, to prevent further swelling and obstruction and other issues.

If you remove saline immediately, then you will be able to keep most of your fill and it will put you in the green zone, but if you keep it along with the vomiting, you probably will end up eventually getting most of the saline removed from your band and starting over which can get costly.

Good luck

[hockeymother 178]

Thanks everyone. As my day went on the acid reflux went away so I'm assuming it was due to the stuck episode. Although, I do think my fill has made the band too tight as I am on day two and can only drink, and even that is a chore and painful. I'm calling my dr first thing tomorrow to see if I should get some taken out. This is so miserable.

[missybear 86]

I've been banded a year and a half and reached my goal weight. I've had the Fluid in the band reduced to 2.5cc already to ensure I get enough nutrition in to support the level of exercise I'm doing.

About 3 months ago, I was getting terrible night reflux. Was having trouble getting any decent sleep, eating only plain bland foods, and to not help, was under a fair bit of stress work wise. I ended up drinking a lot of milk to try and help ease the fire in my chest.

I spoke to my GP, they prescribed some medicine to aid the reflux. He also suggested putting a blanket under the head of my mattress, it's raised the bed head by about 5cm. He also advised to ensure I have dinner, skipping meals wasn't helping.

After about 2 weeks of the medicine I stopped taking it, finally getting some decent sleep and work getting better definitely helped as well. I've left the blanket under the head of the bed, my partner doesn't notice it, and fingers crossed it was just an unfortunate experience fueled by work stress more so than the band