Nothing is ever normal

I am in need of some advice/help

I thought I had a slip about a month ago - reflux - dark- throwing up - endoscopy showed nothing bad

Maybe a stuck episode? Only have 3cc in band and lead went right through.

Now - things are rough in AM to eat at all

Yesterday I ate 2 bits of raisin bread @ 8 pm and at 1am I am gagging and bread coming up.

Today - 1/4 c grapefruit for breakfast - 1/2 apple no skin , lavosh crackers and 5 slices of cheese - 4 bites of steak and 4 bites of baked potato

NOW - Total reflux of bitter mucus.

I continually stump doctors they dont get it and neither do I !!!

Barely eat , dont enjoy it and when I do - issues

Not even losing weight ! Miserable!!!

HELP!

Very much not right!! Trouble is barium swallows only show that moment and at some times tissue is less swollen than others. For example, if I had a swallow first thing in the morning, it would show as very tight. By the evening, it would show as much less tight.

having said that, some of the things you mention are ones many banded people find hard. Breads and steak are both known difficult foods.

but whatever the cause, it sounds to me as if you need some fluid taken out. 

your correct NOTHING is ever NORMAL with a Band.

Brown  vomit is NOT normal, and YES you could have a SLIP I did and NO TEST ever confirmed that only removal. 

IF, it's about being too tight then removing saline might help, but it's doubtful.. I've read it too many times before., it doesn't resolve that reflux, but they will more than likely hand you an RX to cover the symptoms *SIGH*

IF the Doctors that you see are stumped I'd get a NEW one that understand what's going on. 

I hope you find answers sooner than later 

This isn't normal.  I only had 3 cc in my 11 cc band and became too tight almost 6 months after my second fill of .5 cc.  It became so tight that by June 2012 I couldn't eat broth.  A complete unfill helped for a couple of weeks and then things went downhill.  My problem was never a too tight BAND, but scar tissue under the band and around my esophagus.  This caused achalasia, a condition that is very rare in the general populous.  It's a failure of the sphincter at the bottom of the esophagus to open in response to swallowing.  The feeling is exactly like being stuck, but food and liquids remain in the esophagus and cause it to dilate.  By the time my band came out last June, I was losing a pound a week, surviving on ice cream, cream soups and protein powder.  

My gastroenterologist and a good MD friend referred me to an esophageal specialist after my esophageal manometry came back with 0% function.  A week later the band and scar tissue were out after 3.5 hours of surgery and 90% of my symptoms resolved.  I still have difficulty with some foods and I've been told that my esophageal damage is so extensive that I'm not a revision candidate.  In addition, there's no guarantee the scar tissue won't regrow, causing the achalasia symptoms to return and requiring further surgery.   

I would get an unfill, ASAP.  If your symptoms continue, get to a gastroenterologist ASAP.  Follow the symptoms.  Best of luck to you!

Upper endocospy only shows the INSIDE of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. So, an endoscopy that showed nothing bad is good news in a way, because it your band had eroded into your stomach, the endoscopy would have found that. A barium swallow (x-ray) would show all the organs in your upper GI tract and the position of your band. It isn't a definitive test for anything, but could give your doctor more clues to help figure out what's going on. Have you had all the fluid removed from your band? Can you take omeprazole to reduce the reflux? With or without a band, reflux can be a sign of an esophageal motility problem. Your esophagus isn't functioning properly, it's hard to eat, and reflux floods upward because the sphincter between the esophagus and upper stomach is faulty.  

I have 2 suggestions: Follow a liquid diet for a few days to let everything in there calm down, then slowly progress to purees, then soft, then solid food. And I would seriously consider getting a second opinion from another bariatric surgeon and/or a gastro-enterologist (who could probably perform (or arrange for) an esophageal manometry test to evaluate the functioning of your esophagus.

Good luck! I hope you feel better soon.

Jean