Eosinophilic esophagitis a complication of Lap Band?

Hey all!

I had my band placed in July of 2009, lost quite a bit of weight and then became pregnant in 2010.  I have not had a band adjustment since finding out I was pregnant.  In 2013, I started having heartburn and regurgitation of food after hours of eating it while sleeping and waking up choking and bringing up brown, coffee ground looking blood.  Last year I had an EGD done which showed eosinophilic esophagitis and now it has gotten to the point where I am living on spinach, fruit smoothies.  I had another EGD done Friday thinking maybe I had a stricture in my esophagus, but it was narrowed a bit, but not to the point which would cause me to not be able to eat, and the GI doctor asked me if I was sure it wasn't around where my band is (before I had the repeat EGD).  I told him, no I thought it had to be in the upper esophagus.  Well, he did dilate my esophagus, but I'm still having the food regurgittaion if I try to eat.  he did tell me that at the bottom of the esophagus, close to the band, that it is irritated and looked as if it could be due to allergy.  So, I'm wondering if this is all due to the band.  I thought maybe someone might have a simliar story.  Thank you for reading!

--Paulette 

100% it is because of the band.  I did well for several years with the band and then the heartburn/reflux started.  I all my fill removed and I still had the heartburn/reflux and it got worse and worse.  To the point I was eating tums like they were candy.

My band, tubing, and port all had developed scar tissue around them and became inflamed and irritated.  Even with no fill I had a hard time eating any type of dense protein without it coming back up. 

I had to fight my insurance, but over a year ago I was revised from the band to the bypass.  It took my surgeon an hour just to "chisel" out the band.  I had a little bit of damage done to my stomach that he cut out as it was weak and would have caused issues when the bypass was done.

As soon as I was awake from the surgery the heartburn was gone and has never come back. 

My advice would be to get the band out before it does any permanent damage.

Thank you both for the replies.  I am definitely going to get this thing taken out.  I am pretty sure my insurance will cover it.  So, I'm very thankful there.  I just can't stand this anymore.  I always feel like something it stuck at the hollow of my throat.  I can't eat apple or any type of dense vegetables anymore and waking up choking is no fun either.  I am happy to see you both are much better without the band, but gosh I sure wish I really would have thought about scar tissue and things like that before having this thing placed.  I have had all kinds of weird things develop since having the band and I can't help but wonder if a lot of it is due to a reaction to it.  I will definitely come back and post to let you know how things go after getting this devil out. 

Thank you Ladies!

Paulette

It is absolutely caused by the band and is very common with bandsters. You must get it out just as soon as possible even if it means self pay and I know that is difficult but it truly can be a matter of life and death. The coffee ground like material means you are bleeding internally. The problem is that the longer the band is in, the more scar tissue builds up and this causes the band to get tighter and tighter. This causes irritation and can cause bleeding and excess acid which causes heartburn and GERD which can give you Barretts esophagus (a pre cancerous condition) and/or esophagitis. You are a walking time bomb as long as the band stays in. I've seen many people who have permanently damaged stomachs because they kept their bands in too long. I was one of them and regret I wasted so much time because I didn't have the money to get it out and my insurance didn't cover it. If you have to collect tin cans , just get it out!

Flipping Lap Bands. SO many of us have had tremendous complications from the band. I hope you can get the thing out and feel better. 

It's most certainly due to the band. It's a familiar story. Best of luck to you, Paulette. 

I'm experiencing the same exact thing and was also banded in 2009 . Currently fighting insurance tooth and nail for revision approval . Nobody has ever heard of the bringing up rusty looking coffee ground blood when I tell them about it and it's so frustrating to have them look at me like I've got lobsters coming out of my ears .

im glad that you posted and I'm sorry we r in the same boat 

Gosh, I am so sorry you are experiencing the same thing.  I also have a Realize band.  I made a trip to the ER once because of the awful heartburn and the bringing up brown stuff.  They confirmed it to be blood.  It is truly miserable and I hope one day they will take these awful things off the market! Thankfully, my insurance will cover it to be taken out and will pay for revision, but I just want it out.  I don't think I want to mess with anything else.  :o(.  This nightmare has been enough for me.  I hope they can get something figured out for you and you can get it taken out and your revision. 

Me too!!!  Coffee grounds were my speciality.  Was banded 2009, lost 120 lbs, reflux, vomiting, misery, unhappy family,  very unhappy me. Band removed last year, RNY last week. FANTASTIC! !!!  So happy now.  Good luck.

I'm curious - did any of you have esophagitis but end up with a clear EGD? I just had an endoscopy last week and the doctor said my lapband looked fine. But I've had "fire" in my throat nonstop since November. I was on Prilosec before that (for post-nasal drip) and they added Zantac in December.

Still lots of fire in my throat, but the ENT and GI drs are saying it's acid reflux, BUT that the tests are all coming back fine. I keep thinking it might be related to my lapband (I had it in 2008).