esophagus dilation--does that mean band has to go?
hello, folks.
i am freaking out. trembling with fear.
i found out yesterday that my esophagus has become dilated/stretched/malshappen, and my doc says that means the band MUST come out.
is that true? is there no way to recover from this? we took all liquid out. I am willing to do Optifast and not chew a (!%_!-thing for six months if I can just keep my band.
any ideas?
andrea
overeating is one cause. and most likely the cause of my problem. i could not tell the difference between food in the pouch and in my esophagus, and that allowed me to overeat for months and stretch it out. it cannot go back to the normal size on its own, so the band has to come out.
i just called my doc on his cell phone and he pretty much told me that if the test shows the same results next weds then we have to take this out now. unreal.
the signs: pain during swallowing, not being able to hold any food down, acid reflux out of this world.
the confirmation comes with the barium swallow test, or maybe an xray which can assess the size and shape of the esophagus. they compare it to the pre-surgical pictures..
The reason why I chose the band 4 years ago is because I was too chicken to have the RNY surgery. When my band sprung a leak, I knew I needed another full surgery to fix it that Is when I said to convert me. At this point, I had been in the bariatric office for over 4 years...I saw living people...not dead people. I knew medicine had come far in those years and I felt confident with the surgeon.
i was just talking on the phone with a fellow band/conversion person and we both were saying how much easier it is to eat with the rny. It is so easy to eat protein and appropriate food than with the band.
Joan
I have not been compliant with the rules, and I think my doctor is sick of me, to be honest. He told me today that he thinks it the esophagus is damaged and will have to come out. Period. When I pressed him he added that it may be inflamed/swollen, and that by next week (on liquids) that should have gone down. So, next Weds when I get another barium test he plans to make that determination.
I am doing research on inflamation, because I think that it is highly unlikely that a few months of over doing the food (because, I realized that I did not have a fill until late February of this year, and then had several unfills over the past few months--meaning that the "stuffing" problem has not been going on that long--plus, I don't do it on a daily basis) could permanently damage the esophagus. He said it could but I refuse to accept that.
So, I will probably have to get another doctor if the verdict next week is removal, because I am not willing to do that right now. Not without a real attempt to heal myself first.
thank you soooo much for writing back to me!!!
I have not been compliant with the rules, and I think my doctor is sick of me, to be honest. He told me today that he thinks it the esophagus is damaged and will have to come out. Period. When I pressed him he added that it may be inflamed/swollen, and that by next week (on liquids) that should have gone down. So, next Weds when I get another barium test he plans to make that determination.
I am doing research on inflamation, because I think that it is highly unlikely that a few months of over doing the food (because, I realized that I did not have a fill until late February of this year, and then had several unfills over the past few months--meaning that the "stuffing" problem has not been going on that long--plus, I don't do it on a daily basis) could permanently damage the esophagus. He said it could but I refuse to accept that.
So, I will probably have to get another doctor if the verdict next week is removal, because I am not willing to do that right now. Not without a real attempt to heal myself first.
thank you soooo much for writing back to me!!!
My doc would totally unfill you and put you on liquids for a few weeks. One of my friends he put on liquids for 4 weeks before he would do another barium swallow, hers was pretty significant. It happened to her again at a later time (pouch packing) and he unfilled her again and put her on liquids for 2 weeks.
So why would he check you again in a week? What if you put yourself on liquids for at least two weeks and THEN have a repeat barium swallow?
Just throwing out thoughts.
Luckily I live in a city with three really top-knotch lap band hospitals. So there's lots of room to get second, third and fourth opinions.
I wish that I could scream to the lap band world to follow the directions. I really blew it with non-compliance. I wouldn't be surprised if my esophagus problems are the result of (a) packing from time to time; (B) drinking while eating, which may make the muscles stop working properly; and (c) pb-ing when I was uncomfortable.
I will go to the other doctors to join their support group as well. I need to go back to square one and learn how to eat with this thing. I never understood "full" and clearly never got used to the itty bitty portions. But I bet that this scare will set me straight.
Thank you so much, MidewesternGirl!
andrea
