Suddenly too tight...again

[privatedancer7 1]

The most common symptom of achalasia is difficulty swallowing (dysphagia). Patients typically describe food sticking in the chest after it is swallowed. Dysphagia occurs with both solid and liquid food.< /strong> Moreover, the dysphagia is consistent, meaning that it occurs during virtually every meal.

Sometimes, patients will describe only a heavy sensation in their chest after eating that may force them to stop eating.

Regurgitation of food that is trapped in the esophagus can occur, If the regurgitation happens at night while the patient is sleeping, food can enter the throat and cause coughing and choking. If the food enters the trachea (windpipe) and lung, it can lead to pneumonia (aspiration pneumonia).

Because of the problem swallowing food, a large proportion of patients with achalasia lose weight.

SO, is the band to tight? Or is it THIS? I don't know if I had it before the band. I don't know if I have the band removed would this condition go away.

All the web sites point to it getting worse. But we have cutting edge hospitals around here so,:juggle: for now I'm fine with it.

Every pound lost is celebrated.

I was diagnosed with dysphagia after the band was removed. My doctor recommended another physician help me because this problem was out of his area. I take a muscle relaxer that works sometimes. You mention that there are experts in your area that can help you with your dysphagia. Does anyone know of any experts in California that can help with this problem? I sincerely hope that no one else has to deal with this scary, uncomfortable feeling.

Private Dancer 7

Banded March 2008

Removed August 2008

Dr. Krahn

San Bernardino, California

[Sommerbrez 2]

I am the same way around that time of the month..I have more restriction then ever..Even after I drink plenty of Water, the tightness only seems to go away after my monthly ends...I am on my 3rd fill and I have alot of restriction anyway's.. Well figure most women as I do have bloating so of course your bloated inside and that makes the band tighter at least in my case...So I mostly drink Protein and Soup at that time..

[privatedancer7 1]

privatedancer7 what caused your damage? were you filled too much? did the band slip? it's not common; what caused your problems? Thanks! :juggle:[/quote

Everytime I was sent to the radiologist when I experienced discomfort I was told that the band was in place. I only had 1 fill with the lowest cc possible and it was taken out. I wish that I could tell you what caused the problem. The gastro.......doctor says that the lap band caused my problem and since I did not have this problem before, i believe him.

Private Dancer7

Banded March 2008

Removed August 2008

Dr. Krahn

San Bernardino, California

[RestlessMonkey 7]

It probably did...I just wondered HOW and what. But I'm nosy and didn't mean to press you about it; just like to have as much info as I can! Anyway, I hope you feel better soon. Sorry it didn't work out for you.

[suepro 39]

i was banded in november 08 too and my band tightens up each month during my cycle. i drink lots of fluids daily but at this time of the month I retain Fluid, my fingers and ankles swell and also my insides.

i had an unfill recently after the monthly tightness didn't settle down and I am pretty close to my goal weight anyway so I decided to go for better nutrition and exercise off the last 7lbs.

[HeatherO 7]

I have had this problem. As you can see from my signature, I have had several emergency unfills and am currently empty. However, empty is working for me because I still feel as though I have some restriction and can't overeat without bringing food back up.

I talked to my band doctor and it appears that my band is just very, very sensitive to hormonal fluctuations. All of my emergency unfills happened during pregnancy until it was emptied altogether. While I was still in the hospital after giving birth to my daughter . . . it started again even with an empty band. Nothing wanted to pass easily and I would have had an unfill if there was anything left to unfill.

I think the band affects us all differently and some of us are extremely sensitive. I can't believe my band is working empty right now when my original sweet spot was 8.3 cc's in a Realize band.

As usual, RestlessMonkey gave great information regarding dehydration being a problem. When I start to get tight, I drink less Water and get progressively tighter. When I realized that this was making it worse . . . I started going on an immediate clear liquid diet when I am too tight and it helps me nip the problem and get back to normal much faster.

For those of us who are ultra-sensitive, Water can make all the difference in the world . . . and can also prevent us from getting an unfill (as long as you can get sufficient liquids in, it is dangerous not to get an unfill if liquids don't go down).

One other thing to keep in mind is that sometimes we are causing our tightness to get worse by our actions as well. If you have a PB, you should go on a liquid diet after (some say for the rest of the day, some say for two days), then progress to mushies and then solids as you can tolerate them. PB's beget more PB's if you don't allow your stomach swelling to go down. Every additional PB you have can cause more swelling, which causes more PB's, which causes more swelling . . . and on, and on - you get the picture. So be careful about babying your stomach when it needs it if you are sensitive.

One last thing, my band doctor says that in periods of extreme tightness, I can take a dose of liquid motrin which eases stomach swelling. Ibuprofen is usually on the no-no list for bandsters but he has told me to use it in this case and it works very well in cohoots with a liquid diet to get you through tight times where you are pb'ing too much. He doesn't want me using it for any other purpose and this is only to be used on vary rare occasions. However, since this goes in the face of common bandster medical advice you should contact your doctor to get their opinion before using it.

Edited July 30, 2009 by HeatherO
typo

[wannabthinagain 0]

i agree...with the Water and with the going on liquids after pb'ing.

I hadn't had a fill since 4/23/09 . At first i had NO restriction and was thinking of going in for a fill. then, i felt restriction, but could still eat if i chewed well and slow....and suddenly 2 weeks ago, i was fighting Water and shakes coming up! I had gotten tight for my TOM before, but nothing like that.

i called on a thursday because i was worried about the weekend coming and ask the Dr. what they thought, and what should i do. they told me i could go get a tiny bit taken out, or i can try to wait it out a few more days, AS LONG AS I WAS ABLE TO GET AT LEAST LIQUIDS DOWN. i had to work at getting what i needed in each day, but i was able to, and sure enough, it got better. I still had to be very careful, but i was able to eat very small amounts in addition to my water and shakes.

Suddenly about 3 days ago, i can eat a tortillia...HUMMM?

i had made enchilada's for my family and i tasted a piece. it went down fine. i ate a little more. I'm still getting full without eating nearly as much as i did pre-band, but i am able to eat more than i could the last month or so!

I had lab's done almost 2 weeks ago, and should be getting a call for my appointment any day now. I will discuss the up's and down's, look at my weight loss since my last appointment and go from there if i should or shouldn't get another fill.

i'm worried if i get a fill that when TOM comes around again that i will have to get an unfill.

[fujipear36 0]

I just want to say THANKS to everyone that has posted here. It has given me so much info. I'm heading to the Dr.'s office right now because yesterday I could not even keep Water down and that REALLY scared me. I was sooooo dehydrated. Today, I am able to drink Water but I think I want some of my fill taken out. Thanks again and I am going to try to stay more hydrated. Which reminds me, I almost always start my meal with a HOT cup of Soup and it does lubricate my stomach and helps me eat. Hopefully this info will help someone else as well!

By the way, please ignore my ticker...I can't remember my PIN...I've lost 54 pounds!

Edited August 17, 2009 by fujipear36

[mumwithnobum 0]

Hi

I'm on my 2nd complete unfill and I'm still really tight. I'm on fluids for 3 weeks to hopefully allow the swelling to go down so that I can eat something.

[samanthazzz 0]

Hi

I'm on my 2nd complete unfill and I'm still really tight. I'm on fluids for 3 weeks to hopefully allow the swelling to go down so that I can eat something.

I was horrified to read this. May things turn around for you quickly.

All my best!

Samantha

[me1234 0]

What a great thread. I have had my band for 5.5 years. i have continually complained of my band tightening up on its own. i can have a fill that works great for 4 months at a time and then it just shuts down. I don't think i have had a fill this year. every time i go in, its for an unfill. I have never been able to get a straight answer from anyone as to why this happens. This is the first time i have found others like me who have this same problems. My hormones seem to affect the band if im pretty tight. I had a problem which flying which caused the whole thing to shut down on me for 4 days. When i got back home, i had them pull it all out. It feels different this time. I have never had restriction when i am totally empty, this time there is. now i am having reflux which of course is a sign of something bad. today is the first day for this so im going to have to keep an eye on it for the rest of the week. the surgeons office is never any help. true results is never any help. I have no help and i have reached my limit. i want this thing out before it does more damage. when its too tight i tire of the sore throat from continually trying to swallow. i feel like i am damaging my esophagus. i had the egd done last year and they said every thing is normal. no damage. im just so tired of all of it and not getting any answers.

[HeatherO 7]

It feels different this time. I have never had restriction when i am totally empty, this time there is. now i am having reflux which of course is a sign of something bad. today is the first day for this so im going to have to keep an eye on it for the rest of the week. the surgeons office is never any help. true results is never any help. I have no help and i have reached my limit. i want this thing out before it does more damage. when its too tight i tire of the sore throat from continually trying to swallow. i feel like i am damaging my esophagus. i had the egd done last year and they said every thing is normal. no damage. im just so tired of all of it and not getting any answers.

If you are closed up on an empty band and having bad reflux, you probably should go get checked out unless it works itself out in a day or two.

I just had to go for a barium swallow because my band closed up while it was empty and I was having reflux every night, several times a night. They said things didn't look right, did an EGD and found I had slipped on an empty band while I was in the hospital after having my baby. I was still able to take things in because my pouch had dilated, but evetually things would come back up, mostly at night with reflux. My band was replaced a little over a week ago.

I know when it slipped because I could feel it. It involved a lot of back pain near my bra line and I couldn't eat or drink anything very easily for a couple weeks thereafter (but I could still get liquids in). I think after it slipped is when my pouch began dilating. It happened because I took the first darvocet in my life in the hospital and vomited terribly.

I found that my band is extremely sensitive to hormone fluctuations. I never had a problem until I became pregnant. I really think that is why I had problems with sporadic tightening. I also think those extreme hormone fluctuations immediately after having a baby may have contributed to the slip as well.

[notateechanow 7]

Heather, Congrats on the new baby! I'm pleased to see I'm not the only one who goes back and forth. Sometimes I feel like I see my surgeon more for unfills than fills! I'm constantly going back and forth. I have tracked religiously to see some consistencies to figure out what I'm doing wrong or why my body seems to keep fighting this---someone at my support group was talking about bodily fluids and how the band tightens when you retain them. It got me thinking more about what I've eaten--soup, pre-packaged meals, etc, and how retaining Water could really affect the tightness of my band. Her surgeon hypothesized that the band is tighter in the morning due to the placement of fluids in the earlier part of the day---obviously if you've been prone all night, they're in your torso and surrounding your organs. As the day progresses, they tend to dissipate and move downward. (This would also explain why exercise seems to loosen my band....) So....with that considered, it all makes sense to me finally! I'm staying away from the salty (and hidden salts!) foods that I crave during PMS. I've always been so sensitive to sodium laden foods, so I'm not surprised...

Hope that helps!

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Heather, I think you're on to something. If people are sensitive to tighter/looser depending on time of month, and if stress (a different but still potent hormone) tightens people up, then pregnancy and post partum must do a real number on the band. Some aspiring bariatric doc should do a study.

[Fastpitch Mom 0]

I continually have this problem when it is my TOM. My doctors say that I am their only patient that has this problem, but I calendar it every month and it has been a continuing pattern for over a year. My doctor prescribed some Water pills to try. I am just getting tight again, so I popped one today. We'll have to see if it helps. It's such a bummer when this happens.