so I've been having pain and nausea/reflux after I eat for about the last month. I go to the doctor, and they remove all the Fluid from my band to see if my stomach/band will settle down.

10 days later I'm still symptomatic so they order an Upper GI.

During the upper GI the barium isn't flowing through my stomach like it should and I can see on their faces that something is "odd".

After she is done she says that she thinks my stomach has flipped over. I ask if she means that my band slipped, and she said "no, your stomach is flipped up side down". She has the radioligist read the xray and he confirms it.

WTH?!

Has anyone ever heard of this?? I have NO idea what is to come. My doctor didn't call me and he is on his way out of town for a seminar this next week. So, it can't be emergent.

WTH?

Did I do something wrong? Why did this happened?

There is no obstruction, so that is a really good thing.

What will happen? Does it go back to how it's supposed to be?

Do I need surgery? and most importantly

WILL I HAVE TO HAVE MY BAND REMOVED?! :-(

I'm confused. I can understand that your stomach could have slipped up through the band and be sitting incorrectly but to say your stomach is flipped upside down doesn't seem to make sense. Are they talking above or below the band? Can you get copies of the X Rays so that you can understand what they are talking about?

I would have thought that if your stomach really had flipped that it would be a medical emergency.I am sure it is for horses!

It is probably a "normal slip" and they are probably making you panic for nothing. The medical profession are really good at doing that.

Fingers crossed.

http://www.abdopain.com/gastric-volvulus.html

seems this condition is common in animals more than humans, but evidently can occur .. i found this article when i googled it, its not specifically to do with the lapband it would seem but it may be more likely because of it, seems pretty rare tho .. It might be they dont know what a band slip is and thats a description more than a diagnosis

good luck !

The article does say it is a medical emergency requiring either manoeuvre or surgery. The fact that they are not treating this as an emergency would seem to indicate that this is not the problem.

It would be a HUGE emergency! First of all, your stomach cant flip unless you happen to posess a few extra feet of esophagus. It can twist, and that must be what they mean.

This is an emergency. You have a partial blockage, which is dangerous enough, it could progress vey quickly to a full blockage, which presents the possibility of rupture. Ive had several obstructions in the smll intestine and have always been hospitalised immediately, NIL by mouth and under obsrvation till it clears. This is unlikely to just clear! Id be seeking nother opinion.

I had aslip, which sounds liek what you have. Seek another opinion, as Jachut said. It sounds very serious. How you doing, now? Take care, and best wishes for an answer and feeling better. Karen

I have a call into my surgeons office. They are at a conference tight now and she is going to call me in a little bit.

Was your slip fixed? How bad was it?

Oops "right now"

Just talked to my surgeons PA and she and my surgeon looked at my films again and confirmed that The radiologist was correct. My stomach is flipped. He said that everything up to and including my band is ok and looks good. Everything below my band is "flipped up" toward my band (like a taco shell). I get sick after eating and have reflux because the food does'nt know where to go.

He said this can happen from adhesions and this happens to people that are not banded. So, its nothing that I did (thank God)

The adhesions are like spider webs and lift and move things around.

I have been having slight pain most of the day today but if I start running a fever or chills, severe pain or vomiting, I am to get to the ER immediately.

I have to be on liquids until they can meet and discuss my pain issue, so at least until tomorrow.

Hi Imagine923,

I have just had the same diagnosis just recently..

I persisted for with absolutely no weight loss for over 1 year but I had been not able to keep any food down for about 3 months, I had Fluid removed a few times to no avail, the doctor I had kept telling me to keep following his diet instructions of no Breakfast, tuna or chicken only for lunch and the same for dinner with a cup of vegetables.. Yet I could not even keep down Soups or other soft foods.

I got to the stage where I could no longer put up with the constant vomiting and went to see another doctor for a second opinion. I made the decision to get the band out and have it checked, which he did on the 15th of June 2012, The doctor informed me after the removal of the band that my band was pushing into my liver and my stomach had flipped up from the bottom to the top, (like a taco, as you describe) hence the food had no where to go accept back up and out. My GI tract is scared from the constant vomiting.

He has told me to have 6 weeks for recovery after which he is going to sleeve me, he did give me the option to re-band but after what I had already experience I made the decision to go for the sleeve instead. I have another appointment on the 27th June for a review. I will update after the appointment with any other information.

Good luck with your next surgery.

my stomach had flipped up from the bottom to the top,

This sounds like a "normal" slip. The stomach beneath the band pushes up past the band and flips or mushrooms over the top.

Hi Elcee,

The stomach had a small pouch below the band as well as above the band and the bottom of the stomach had bent up like a taco shell and was stuck with a glue like substance keeping the stomach from being able to go back down to it's normal position. He said he had never seen anything like it before and could not understand why I was not in more pain than I presented with.

Hi Elcee

My surgeon verified with me that it is not a slip. I was very worried about this and he said that everything up to my band is fine. My pouch is fine and normal size. I have a very minimal "angle" to my band but he said it is not unusual since I've been banded a year and a half.

I got a copy of the UGI study on CD today, and you can watch the barium as I swallow, see it pass through my band and go back "up" into my stomach that is flipped up.

My surgeon and I had quite a long talk last evening, and I've googled gastric vulvulos and read some interesting articles about it.

He told me that it's most likely caused by adhesions and is not common but happens mostly to women that have a significant weight loss and are "older". (gee thanks Doc!) LOL

When I eat, the food goes into my pouch, and through the band like it's supposed to. Once it goes through my band it just sits there because gravity is not doing it's job in helping with the normal digestive process. As I continue to eat, the food is pushed up into my stomach, but my stomach is most likely not emptying as it should, causing the nausea and pain. He said it can happen if you are banded or not.

Sometimes this flip resolves on it's own, sometimes surgery is needed to clean up the adhesions and put the stomach back in place. I do think that my port has moved, it seems to be up higher.

If I had a slip my pouch would be either be enlarged or have stomach up through the band. I am very thankful that it is not a slip. No danger of losing my band at this point.

I go on monday for an EGD so Dr Beane can see whats going on from the inside, and we can come up with a plan of action. I have no obstruction at this time, but that's not to say something couldn't happen that would turn this into an emergency. I am praying that my body behaves until my surgeon returns from the Lapband conference in California. I trust him with my life, and don't want anyone else messing with my band or stomach.

I am now on soft mushies until he comes back.

Hey Julez....sorry to hear that you went through so much to get a diagnosis.

I have never thrown up, just had a lot of nausea and reflux after eating along with pain.

Good luck with your surgery.

Hi Imagine923,

Thank you, good luck to you also, I will be updating as time goes on, I look forward to hearing your surgeon has returned to look after you. take care xx

This sounds like a "normal" slip. The stomach beneath the band pushes up past the band and flips or mushrooms over the top.

No, she said the band and everything above was fine. Her bottom stomach has flipped up, like a taco. It has nothing to do with the band. I hope you realize that when people share on here it is not to be " put off " by someone who feels they understand the situation without taking the time to really read through! Geez! She's looking for some help, not some curt response that doesnt address her issue! Please be more thoughtful in your responses

If you feel that my response was curt that was your interpretation. It was in no way meant like that and if you had done what you advised me to do and really read through you would have noticed that I was concerned about the OP and the fact that a flipped stomach would normally be a medical emergency.

The reason I highlighted the response that I did is that this part does in fact sound like a normal slip. There are a lot of bandsters that are new that read these things and many would read that with total horror and it may in fact put some off being banded.

The stomach pushing up through the band is a normal slip. It happens more commonly than we would like but it happens. Generally it is not a medical emergency.

The stomach flipping below the band is not a common occurence and as the OP has pointed out it does not seem to be related to the band.To me it actually sounds a lot more serious than a slip but her Dr has told her it is not which is good news. I was concerned that she was not getting the care that she should have been getting in the circumstances as her Dr was away .