Fear of Bravo test

Haven't had the bravo test but did have the manomertry test. I was terrified because I also have a very sensitive gag reflex. Test wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I had a great assistant walking me thru it and it was over before I knew it. I dreaded the thought of the test but knew the most certain way for me to make an educated decision on this surgery was to provide the surgeon with as much data about my situation as possible. My surgery recovery has gone very well and I do feel I'm having this success because my surgeon knew my case as well as he could.
Hope your tests go well and provide you with some good information.

Dear Rae3

I've had the bravo test. I did not have a problem with the surgical procedure itself. But I did have difficulty eating until the capsule finally fell off. Everytime I ate something it would brush up against the capsule which they attached to the esophagus. So if you cannot eat with this capsule attached, they will not get a good reading for the test. Everyone responds differently to these type of procedures.

I want to strongly recommend that you be tested for delayed gastric emptying before you consider reflux surgery. People who have delayed gastric emptying either have serious GERD issues or vomiting. If your GI doctor will not send you for the delayed gastric emptying test, you can have your primary care physician order this test. It is an easy test. They will have you eat some eggs and take x-rays of your stomach to see how fast the food empties out. It's always best to rule this out first before having reflux surgery.

I had a Bravo back in November. I read all the negative comments also, and I was worried about going off my med's for almost a week - I was on 40 mg Nexium 2x a day.

I had no issues at all - no discomfort eating, no problems swallowing and minimal problems off the PPI.

Let's compare results, when you get yours... I had a Demeester score of 48.

CAGU, thank you for suggesting the gastric emptying test. My gastroenterolist never mentioned that, but I will bring it up with him at my next appointment. I have a feeling that won't be my issue, but as you said, it's good to rule everything out.

SharonZ, It makes me feel better knowing others who have a strong gag reflex were able to tolerate the manometry test. I'm going to try my best to get through it as best as possible.

kmonroe99, I'm glad the Bravo wasn't too bad for you. I'm also worried about going off my PPI for that length of time. But hopefully the symptoms won't flair too bad. Is a score of 48 bad? I haven't been told yet what the scores mean. We'll definitely compare scores once I have it done!

tom t, I'm glad it was nothing at all for you. I hope it is the same for me.

Thank you everyone for your responses!

Hi Rae!

I had the Bravo test and a manometry before my surgery last year.

Getting the Bravo capsule installed wasn't too bad, and I didn't notice it much for the first few days. However, towards the end of the week I started noticing some discomfort when I swallowed as I assumed the capsule was in the process of falling off. I'll admit - it wasn't super pleasant, but it wasn't horrible either. Certainly not as uncomfortable as the reflux I was having! I had a couple days of being uncomfortable when I ate anything solid or hard that would brush up against the capsule before it finally fell off. I celebrated that day :)

For me, the manometry was worse, but it was over faster, which was good. I don't have a strong gag reflex, but my nose was really sore and uncomfortable afterwards. They had a difficult time threading the catheter in - after trying a few times on one side they had to give up and try the other. The procedure itself was not what I would call painful, but it was very uncomfortable and slightly disorienting. It was difficult for me to try to swallow water while lying down flat and unable to breathe through my nose. If you're prone to being anxious you may want to be prepared to meditate or do something to keep your attention focused elsewhere.

If you're scared, ask to be knocked out for getting it pinned to your esophagus. You might have a bad time with being nervous and a gagger. Take a driver with you! I had to be off acid reducers for 10 days before getting mine pinned on. I was happy when it fell off early, after only 1 day, but nearly had to have the test repeated. Fortunately my condition didn't really need the test.

Bravo normally goes down your throat, not your nose. It's like a giant pill. It can stick as long as a week or 10 days, until the tissue it's pinned to breaks down and if goes into your stomach.

They try to tell you you won't feel it, but some of us do. I couldn't eat anything as long as it was there. It hurt every time I swallowed!

I kept a written record of the readings myself, so I know my acid level was at 0 to 2 all the time - because my valve was stuck wide open from an accident. Then all of a sudden it went to 8, when it went into the small intestine, which is basic.

I was told if it was intolerable to go to an ER and get it taken out.

It's normal for the nurse or tech to make you sit up to get the Bravo pinned, but I couldn't tolerate it. A resident had me lie down after several failed attempts, and that made it lots better.

Well, I got the manometry done today. I spent the past two weeks worrying about it due to my gag reflex. But it really wasn’t that bad at all compared to what I was thinking. It’s like all of you said, it was mostly comfortable and disorienting. My only problem with it is how sore my throat is afterward. When I swallow it feels like the tube is still there – the sensation of it. And the entire left side of my throat is really swollen and it hurts to swallow or to turn my head. I hope that doesn’t last long. Did any of you experience that?

The bravo is next. I get that one in six days! I’m so looking forward to all of this being done soon.

My throat was sore after manometry but nothing too bad. I gargled with warm salt water a few times and it helped. It was all fine by the next day.

The bravo capsule is horrific never imagined i'd be in this much pain..

Yes I heard not everyone experienced this severe of pain. I would not wish this pain on anyone. Let me know how your procedure go's. I am on day 8 now and this little monster still hasn't detached. I have an appointment this morning and I really hope it was worth me going through this.good luck and God bless

Post Edited (Zaiah) : 4/20/2015 8:38:17 AM (GMT-6)

Well, I think my Bravo fell out today. Not sure 100 percent though. Today is only day four. But I felt a little bit of pain the whole time, not unbearable, just pain in my throat when I swallowed and a little bit of chest pain that just stayed the whole time. I got intense pain last night and it hurt to breath, to cough, to laugh, to eat, to drink and to swallow saliva. I was hoping that meant it was about to fall out. Then today I woke up feeling better, but still in a little pain. However, I just now ate and no longer feel that tugging sensation as I swallow. So I'm hoping that means it's gone. Now I just have to wait for the results, which should come in about two weeks.

I'm doing OK. Just confused on everything after I got my results back. I've been diagnosed by three different gastroenterologists with GERD and one of them diagnosed me with a hiatal hernia during one of my previous endoscopies. But when I got the bravo, the same doctor who told me I had a hiatal hernia said I didn't have one anymore. So I guess it just disappeared? And on top of that, the bravo results came back perfectly normal saying I don't have any acid reflux even though I had heart burn, chest pain and regurgitation the entire test. My surgeon now says I have non-acid reflux disease and says the LINX would still be good for it. He's making me get the 24 hour impedance test (which I am really not looking forward to after the manometry...). This test is supposed to show that I have reflux but there's no acid in it. I'm so worried that this test will come back saying everything's normal too. I have no idea where I'd even go from there. I get heart burn and chest pain constantly and I always have regurgitation in my throat and back of my mouth. I've head my heart checked and everything was fine, so this just isn't making sense to me.

Any one else have this problem?

And how are you doing, k_dawg? Have you received your results yet?