Bile in nose and lungs..help!

evcase · April 6, 2007

:help: Please help...I am waiting for surgery to remove or repair my band on May 1st.

While I wait for surgery I have such terrible nights trying to sleep. Does anyone have any advise on this:

When I go to bed (empty stomach) I have terrible throwing up of bile ....and it is coming up through my nose and into my lungs so that I spend the entire night caughing and trying to catch my breath as the bile some how gets into my breathing tubes. Even if I sleep sitting up it happens. If I go to bed with undigested food than I have the above symptoms AND throwing up undigested food. Please, any advise would be great. I am taking phenegrin and prilosec.

NaturalBeauty · April 6, 2007

Please call your doctor, you should not be going through this, this is very dangerous to your well being. Explain what is going on and if he is not responsive, then call another band doctor in your area.

Road Queen · April 8, 2007

Ev, I had similar issues. Don't eat for 4-5 hours before bed, see if you can get a prescription for pepcid AC or something, sleep sitting up, take something that will coat your stomach before bed (gaviscon, maalox, I even resorted to baileys). Papaya tablets can also calm your stomach during the day.

I am now totally fine. I found out all of my problems were from my anti-malaria pills. I quit them a week ago and have not had any problems since and I have been struggling since Sept. If you have a dr you can go to, it will help.

Unfortunatly, I didn't have a dr available but it has worked out fine. Good luck. Celeste

waterlily1072 · April 8, 2007

I am so sorry you are going through this you really need to talk to your surgeon, they need to take care of your right away. It sounds as if you are aspirating and that can be very serious. Please take care.

evcase · April 9, 2007

Thank you so much for all your advise. Here is what I did.

I changed my rx to Protonix

I do NOT eat or drink (even water) after 6pm.

No more prilosec, no more tums

I go to bed at 10pm. A little throw up, some possibly undigested food, but no more than about 1/2 cup. Before this change, it was at least 10 oz of fluid!

...and guess what. I sleep with out throwing up all night. NO bile either!!!

However, now I have started caughing, and as a past asthmatic I recognize it is my lungs. SO I am doing my inhalers of albuterol.

I wonder if the lung thing is from all that bile going into my breathing and nasal passages???

So last night, I did NOT throw up but was caughing (unproductive-tightness in chest). I was so happy for the unproductive cough...but had to go sit in recliner for the rest of the night. And no more caughing.

I called surgeon and the office said if I felt it was an emergency than just let them know and I can go to the emergency room (2 hrs away). But since all of your advise is working, I want to wait until May 1st....cause decision is still out on whether or not insurance will pay for sleeve surgery. If not, I will have the band repaired. I was going to just give up, but have since decided that if no sleeve surgery, than I am going to repair the band and continue working on this weight issue.

I am on Protein shake for Breakfast, dinner and I eat something sensable for lunch. Most times it goes down, slowly.

Thanks again for all your advise. Any more advise please send my way. I really really appreciate it.

Ev:)

itsyvonne · April 10, 2007

Sounds like you are managing it well now. The only other suggestion I would have is to try full liquids (no solids) until surgery, if you can't move the date of surgery sooner!!!

The cough could be symptoms of reflux...so I think you're still suffering and I wish you could move your surgery date sooner. I didn't have nearly as terrible symptoms as you did, yet my surgeon cleared his schedule to replace my slipped band within a week after he saw my upper GI. He didn't really think there was an option to wait.

Good luck...take care.

evcase · April 10, 2007

How did you do after surgery? Was it a hard to decide to fix it verses removing it? Were you afraid that you would do something to cause it slip after surgery? how long has it been since surgery? How have you been???

Thanks...E