Help! Reflux after 1 year with the band.

[NewNewMe 277]

I had my surgery on November 5th, 2005. The first year, I lost 90lbs, but then I started having trouble with reflux. I will be sleeping and wake up choking on reflux. The doctor took the Fluid out of my band for a couple weeks, then put it back in. It took awhile to get back to a good fill. The the reflux came back. I had a barium swallow done and it showed my band is in the right place. I moved to another state and have a new doctor. He also took the fluid out and then slowly put it back in. As soon as the band gets to the point where it is doing it's job, I get the reflux back. He took some more out and I am not that restricted. But not I am getting the reflux even at this level. It is so bad, that I don't get any sleep when it happens. I have not lost any weight since my 1 year bandiversary, although I have maintained. I have a lot more to lose, and I am starting to believe that I will never get the band to work for me again. I can't afford to keep having the fluid put in and out.

If anyone has had similar trouble, please help!

Thanks,

Rae

[Alexandra 55]

Hi Rae,

That is pretty much the way it worked for me, I'm sorry to say. After my first total unfill, I could only tolerate a much smaller amount of Fluid, and then only for a while until the reflux came back. Ultimately, I was diagnosed with a slip--whether that was the cause of the reflux of a symptom of being too tight I don't know. But the end result was that my band was removed.

If I had it to do over, I think I'd have tried to stick it out with no fill whatsoever knowing that any Fluid at all would give me reflux again. An empty band is better than NO band. (And I know how lucky I am to be getting a new band next month.)

Good luck, and be very careful not to overstress! Are you on medications at all? They can really help with irritation and pain, but if you're actually refluxing material up into your esophagus when lying down, something is mechanically not right.

[NewNewMe 277]

Alexandra,

Thanks for the reply. I am sorry to hear your band was removed. I hope you have better luck with the new one.

I was told that I did not have a slippage, so hopefully I can keep my band. I guess I just can't have it very tight. I did read on this site that someone suggested drinking vinegar, I did try that and it works. So hopefully I can keep it under control. I just hope I can start losing weight again, since my band is not that tight right now.

Good luck with the new band,

Rae