Pre op testing

[freebird]

I am planning on having the lap band. It will take six months before they do anything.

At this point I am having all these test done. I had the stomach one that you have to drink all of the crap. Now they want me to have the other stomach where the use the tube to go in your throat. They said I had inflammation in my stomach. Is this normal to have inflammation or do you think there is something else they are looking for. I am a nervous wreck. I am nervous about EVERYTHING. I recently quit smoking because that was one of the requirements, that you are not a smoker. I hope I can go through with this and if you have GERD or acid reflex or ulcers, can they still do the lap banding?

[snowbird]

I am planning on having the lap band. It will take six months before they do anything.

At this point I am having all these test done. I had the stomach one that you have to drink all of the crap. Now they want me to have the other stomach where the use the tube to go in your throat. They said I had inflammation in my stomach. Is this normal to have inflammation or do you think there is something else they are looking for. I am a nervous wreck. I am nervous about EVERYTHING. I recently quit smoking because that was one of the requirements, that you are not a smoker. I hope I can go through with this and if you have GERD or acid reflex or ulcers, can they still do the lap banding?

I had an upper g.i. endoscopy (tube down your throat) prior to my lap band surgery, although not because I was having the band surgery. I had GERD/reflux for several years, so my doctor wanted to check the state of my stomach and esophagus. When you have GERD for several years, the chance exists for a condition called Barrett's esophagus, where the body replaces the cells with intestinal cells because they are more resistant to stomach acid. This is something they want to watch because it MAY lead to esophageal cancer later on. They could also be looking for a hiatal hernia, where the top of the stomach protrudes upward through the diaphragm, or signs of an ulcer. Ulcers are often caused by a bacteria called h. pylori, which is treated with antibiotics. The doctors are trying to find the cause of your inflammation so they can treat it properly.

If you have a hiatal hernia, which is likely if you are suffering from chronic GERD, your surgeon will probably repair it at the same time you have the band put in place. It is very common among obese/overweight people to have the hernia. Both my husband and I had it, and had it repaired.

Don't worry about the endoscopy. It's a piece of cake. They put you out and you don't even know when they do it.