Frustrated

I am hoping someone can help me. About a year ago my doctor saw that my band was in a pre slip stage and emptied the band out. Since that time we have been slowly refilling it. I am not sure how full I am now, but ever since then the feeling of my band is very low, I am belching all the time and fell like my restriction is hardly even there and I have a lot of heartburn. Every time I get it filled the doctor says it is in a good spot and doesn't appear to have anything wrong with it. Each time I am filled I have the restriction for a week but then a week later it goes back to the same feeling, same belching. I eat and then I belch and then the food drops through and I feel like I ate nothing at all. It seems like each fill does nothing for me and I never "feel" my fill when it is done. I never feel my restriction. I am so frustrated. I have searched online to see if anyone else has had these symptoms but find nothing. The closest thing I find is esophogeal dilation, but I assume my doctor would have found it if that's what it was. What are the symptoms of Esophogeal dilation? How do you diagnose this? Will they find it when you get your fill at the doc office or is there a different type of radiology test for it? I lost 100lbs in my first year and have slowly crept up in the past year after my emptying. I really want to get back on track. Any one have any thoughts on this? I am eating the right foods, but they just drop through when I burp after each bite and it's something I can't help. My restriction prior to the unfill never felt this low and I never burped like this. The restriction feels like it's all the way in my abdomen instead of in my sternum. Anyway. I'm rambling, but wanna figure this out. Can anyone help?

When you get a fill, does the surgeon draw all the liquid back out of the band and measure it to make sure what they put in there last time is still in there this time?  If they do and the fluid is still there, you don't have a leak.

You can ask for a fluroscope so they can see the fill going in and make sure the band is expanding like its supposed to. 

I don't know anything about esophogeal dilation but if you have a slip, the fluroscope will also show that.

If the surgeon was concerned about erosion, they'd order an endiscope but erosion would be causing you some pain.

The fact that you have good restriction and no heart burn or any other problems for a week and then it all comes back sure does sound like a leak to me.  And if there is a leak, you have to have it surgically repaired.  The leak will be in the tubing where the needle hit that and not the port so it will have to be replaced.

I hope you find the problem.  I've had 2 port infections and had the port removed both times and now I'm portless so I know about the gaining weight.  I had lost 92 pounds and have now found 60 of them in the last year.

LaWanda

Thank youn for your input.  I do not have a good restriction and I do have heartburn all the time.  Sometimes I have pain in my abdomen but not all the time.  I'm not sure what a leak is supposed to feel like.  I never see them measure the amount of liquid when the pull it out to make sure it's all there.  I should ask that. 

Hi....I wanted to share my story with you.  I was about 14 out from surgery and I would have a pain/uncomfortable feeling in my abdomen area.  I was having terrible heartburn and what I thought was acid reflux or GERD all night most every night.  I was also having lots of belching and was often throwing up.  I felt as though I needed a fill because I no longer could get the full feeling.  When I saw my surgeon he did a fluroascope (sp).  He was able to see that my esophagus was dialated as well as my pouch was stretched and one part of my pouch hung down like a hernia bulging out.  The surgeon emptied me for 2 weeks and kept me on liquids for 2 weeks.  At my next appointment he did another fluroscope and the pouch and esophagus looked as good as the day I had my surgery.  Needless to say after that experience i am alot kinder to my band and no longer eat to the point of filling full.  I eat my protein and a small serving of veggies and then I walk away from the food and wait for my stomach to tell my brain that I am full.  Also i never drink with my meals and wait for 45 minutes before i do drink.  Not sure if my experience will help u or not.  Best of luck to you.

Thank you for your input.  Does the doctor have to recommend an fluroscope or can you ask for one?  I don't have hardly any vomiting but have continued heartburn all night and especially with water.  Sometimes I feel like I should be vomiting the acid that is coming up.  I never drink at my meals either because I want to make sure I have that full feeling, but never actually get it until after 6 bites or so of a sandwich.  I know something is wrong but the doctor just keeps filling me.  I'm not sure how to get him to do something else to see if there is something wrong.  When I get my fill he checks the placement when I drink the Barium and he says the placing is fine.  I'm not sure if he can tell if there is dilation then or not or if the fluroscope is the only thing to diagnose that.  Thank you for your help

My surgeon says that the acid reflux is a sign that something is wrong and he sends the patients over to the hospital and then he comes over and does the flura scope himself when he is finished with clinic.  On my last visit I just said hey, I am worried about my band, I want a small fill, but I want it under fluro scope.  I am really paranoid about my esophagus getting dialated again and I didn't like seeing how part of my pouch hung down on one spot like the pouch had a hernia.  Food was going down into that hole first and would cause me pain until filled it.  The problem though was the pouch would empty except for the food that was stuck down in the hole/hernia area.  I would cough during the night because of the acid coming up and that would interfer with my rest.  I often woke up with a mouth full of acid.  I was very fortunate that I only had to be emptied for 2 weeks and didn't gain.  One member had to stay emptied for a month and gained 14 pounds.  With my last .25cc fill under fluro you could see the barium still passed through, but he committed that it was slow.  Since that fill I can eat, but I have a heck of a hard time with fluods.  Fluids cause me to feel like there is a major gas pocket in my sternum area and then I belch and burp like a sailor for at least an hour.  When i go back on 7/12 i will ask for another fluro scope and maybe half of my last fill removed.  i have started back with the acid reflux.  Today the time released pills that i open up at bedtime and swallow last night came up with acid at 4 a.m. this morning and they should have been long gone from my pouch.  Speak up to ur Dr and tell him u know that something is wrong and that u want the fluro scope.  u know your body better than he does.  Let me hear from you after your next appointment.  Keep following the plan one day at a time.

Thank you so much for your comments.  When you were getting fills before, they couldn't tell just by filling you and looking on the x-ray that you had any problems?  I have told my doctor about the heartburn and reflux.  He just says don't eat anything two hours before bed or chocolate or anything like that.  I keep telling him I'm not.  I feel like he is not listening to anything I say, but this time I will ask for the fluoroscope and see if they can do something then.  Can they also check for any leakage that way too?  It just seems weird that I have no sensation of the band being filled when the inject the saline into it.  Before I had to have it emptied I felt everything.  I think I will ask for this.  It is really frustrating to be gaining the weight I worked so hard to lose and it makes me not want to see the doctor any more because I feel I'm not being listened to.  Thank you again for your advice.  I will keep you posted :)

When I had my fills prior to having the first fluroscope my surgeon did them in his office and not using an xray.  hafter he injected the amount of liquid that he felt that I needed he would have me drink a glass of water to make sure that it would go down.  If it went down then he would pull back out all of the liquid to make sure that the totals were correct.  My port is easy to locate so he doesn't xray.  None of the surgeons at my facility xray unless they cannot locate the port.  Don't fire your Dr. yet because you won't be able to find one that will take you.  Just keep bugging him.

Ah, I see.  Thank you. My portal has been upside down since month one after surgery, so it's always been pesky and I've always had x-rays.  I will still ask him.  Good to know that no other doctor will take me.  I was thinking about going to a new one.