Sleeping Problems...Help!

July 28, 2005

Hi, I'm 18 years old and have had my band for exactly one year. After a recent fill up, I began having problems with sleeping. I have vomited in my sleep before, and sometimes I will wake up with the sudden urge to run to the bathroom and vomit, having not eaten anything since the evening before. This happens even if I go to bed without discomfort from food. I have also been experiencing uncontrollable coughing in my sleep (at times to the point of vomiting). This cough goes away once I wake up and go about the day's business. Occasionally I have trouble breathing, and friends tell me I make terrible gurgling and choking noises when I sleep. I was thinking that I could be too tight, BUT my band has been tighter than it is right now and I had no problems like this. I have read through a bunch of forums and have not read about anything similar to what I am experiencing, so I'm pretty confused, and sort of worried.

Anybody know what's wrong with me?

penguins4ever · July 28, 2005

You should see your dr right away, it sounds like reflux and you may have to have a little unfill. Please don't wait with this, you could cause damage by vomitting.

the best me · July 28, 2005

I agree! Too tight! This could also be a symptom of slippage, but not necessarily...so get it checked out. Call your doc! Have a flouro unfill and take a look!

Here's what I think...if it's slippage, I have heard of folks getting a complete unfill and the stomach area straightening itself out, then after some healing time, back in for a small fill. Kind of like starting over. If it's bad slippage, only surgery will repair it.

If it's only reflux related, an unfill will allow healing. You can really cause damage by letting this go on. You should NOT be vomiting in the middle of the night and having these coughing bouts. If you unfill, let things heal, and then start over, problem solved. Or you could do a slight/partial unfill, let things heal, be extra careful and maybe take a Prilosec or Nexium, or that type of med for acid, do a liquid then soft diet for a while...then see how things progress.

Do a search here on reflux and see what you find. By what I've been reading, your symptoms don't sound odd at all. Maybe uncommon, but something that you should call your doc about.

Hey! Welcome to LBT!! How's your weight loss after a year?

Alexandra · July 28, 2005

Yep, I agree. It's reflux. The very definition of reflux is just material coming up through the esophagus instead of going down, and it can happen to us when we're lying down and especially when we're sleeping since the muscles relax that normally keep food/fluid down. And gravity works against us too.

Just because you have no discomfort from food before going to sleep does not mean it's not going to happen. Your pouch really has to be empty, so try not to eat or drink anything for 3-4 hours before going to bed. But you probably need a slight unfill too, if that doesn't help.