Ask Dr. Curry

Dr. C - is your sweet spot not a sweet spot if you still wake up coughing due to reflux?  I can finally eat reasonable portions sloooowly, and I stop eating about 3 hours prior to bedtime, yet I still wake to burning and coughing in my throat.  Pepcid is not helping, and either are Tums.  I'm at a loss.  Any insight?

If you are coughing/refluxing at night, that is not your sweet spot.  You have to get an unfil...maybe just a slight one.

Hello...Not sure what is going on here.  Back in June I was suddenly too tight and had 1 cc out.  Over the next month I had 1.5 put back in....still way too loose.  I have now had another .5 put in and STILL too loose.  Also,  I am having pain about an inch above my belly button.  It swells sometimes too.  I can eat bread, steak.... all the stuff I can't when I have restriction.  The pain has gotten worse and when I went in to see the doctor I was suppose to have 3.75 ccs in the band.  She was only able to pull out 1.75 and is sending me for a barium swallow.   SO she took out the 1.75 and I'm on liquids for 2 weeks.   Does it sound like Pouch dilation to you? 

It could be pouch dilation, it could ******osion, it could be a port leak.  You need some more testing done.

hi there
ok i am new to this so i hope i am writing in the correct spot ok i am doing my work up for lap band surgery and i was wondering if after the surgery ..do i need to drink protein drinks and vitamins? if yes are there any other alternatives to having to drink that stuff? thanks inadvance
tracy

There are some patients who may need some protein supplementation after banding but not many.  As far as vitamins, we recommend a quality multivitamin with iron that's all.

Hi Dr. Curry,

I have a question regarding weight gain after uterin fibroid surgery. I had surgery in 11/07 since then I have gain 15 pds. I have good restriction, have been watching what I have been eating, but the weight just won't come off. I was told that my female hormones may be messed up. I have had to switch 2  different birth controls due to that fact my body just wouldn't agree with them.

Have you heard of this before? Any suggestions you have is much appreciated.

One more thing. My band Dr. advised that I have a small prolaspe but didn't think the risk was great since I wasn't having any problems at this time and considering the fact  that I am 20 pds away from goal, he didn't want  to recommend surgery. I guess my point is, is the band not working properly considering the small prolaspe?

Yolanda,
My guess is that it has less to do with your hormones than the fact that you're only 20 lbs away from your goal.  The last 20lbs can seem to take forever!

As far as your prolapse, if it's not symptomatic then I would leave it alone as well.

I was scheduled to have lap band surgery on the 16th but unfortunately got an infection in my leg this week.  Doctor thinks it's MRSA (my brother lives with me and has had it off and on in the past)  but they couldn't culture it because there was no drainage at the time.  I am on antibiotics now.  It is getting better but my family doctor says no surgery on Tuesday. My concern is this... I have heard that once you have MRSA is really never goes away.  So even when my infection clears up what precautions should I take before having the surgery?  Are they tests that they can perform to make sure I am clear from this?? 

As long as there is not an active infection and you don't have MRSA in your bloodstream, I would have no problem banding you.  Lots of people are colonized with MRSA, it's just about everywhere nowadays.