Lesson learned? Band slipped!

Elise · February 24, 2004

Here's what happened and am still a bit freaked out: went for my first fill about 10 days ago. Felt fantastic after the first op (placement of the band) and as well after the fill. My surgeon told me to drink liquids for a week afterwards, and then mush for the 2nd week, and only after that attempt food. Well, after three days I felt so good and so hungry that I attempted a small package of flaked salmon. First half went down no problem. Waited an hour and tried the 2nd half. Immediately I started having some back pain (felt like food was stuck going down my spine, though I know that wasn't the case), followed by that choking/golf ball feeling. Nothing took the pain away and I started to vomit. Long story short: had to next day call the surgeon who took out 4 ccs (that's how much he originally put in) and he thought that would relieve the pain and pressure. It didn't. So the next day I was admitted to the hospital and x-rayed: from the pressure and vomiting of the salmon, my band had slipped and I had to have immediate surgery to replace the band. The doc said he might also have to remove the band, but luckily he was able to save it. I had immediate huge relief, and unfortunately face another round of surgery in 8 weeks to "re-buckle" the band. Then will be another period of 8 or so weeks until I can go back to the very beginning and go for my first fill.

I'm trying to figure out the lessons I (should have) learned here. Obviously, I should have waited the full two weeks to have attempted to eat solids, but I felt so good on liquids/chunkier liquids after the fill, I didn't think that anything serious could happen eating some salmon. I was so wrong. Also, I didn't immediately have that pb feeling that everyone talks about, a feeling of "uncomfortableness" (that weird back-pain thing) only happened a few minutes before I was violently vomiting. I've talked to other bandsters who said they didn't follow the liquid/mush rules to the letter, and were just fine. Maybe I just wasn't "in tune" with my newly filled stomach, as it had just been three days. Obviously, the next time around I will follow my doctor's rules to the letter, but I guess my question (sorry so long-winded) is how will I know next time that whatever I'm eating is too much? I'm still a bit freaked out over the whole experience!

Alexandra · February 24, 2004

Wow, Elise, what an ordeal! Thank you so much for coming to share it with us. I hope you're feeling better now; be sure to take care of yourself!!

Actually, the post-fill diet your doctor prescribed sounds very unusual to me. My doctor has me on liquids for 24 hours and then just tells me to use caution when eating. My guess is that it wasn't just the flaked salmon that caused your discomfort and distress. Three days after a fill you should be able to eat that, it seems to me, if you take it slowly and chew well.

I wonder if it wasn't your fill itself that somehow caused the band to move out of position. Or perhaps some other malfunction along the way.

In any event, it's always important to be extremely careful when getting used to a new level of restriction. food getting stuck is a very unpleasant experience, even if it doesn't result in slippage.

Good luck, Elise, and thank you again for posting. Please let us know how you're doing with the new band!! :rolleyes:

Elise · February 24, 2004

Alexandra, thank you for your response! I live in Europe, so I had my procedure/fills done in London by a very highly respected surgeon. He errs on the side of caution (hence the two weeks of liquid/mush after the fills), and I also had my fill done under fluoroscopy and everything was perfectly situated and measured. I think as this was my very first experience with eating after a fill, perhaps I ate the salmon either too fast, or didn't chew well enough. Salmon is pretty soft, so I didn't know how much more I could have chewed it ... and I know that I was feeling very good right up until I started the second half of the package. I just didn't get any of the typical "warning signs" that I had either eaten too fast or too much. This in a nutshell, is what is scaring me for the next time around. Has this ever happened to anyone else? I am a fast eater so maybe I really wasn't in touch with how slowly I should eat? ugggggghhhh....

Alexandra · February 24, 2004

I'm also a fast eater and it's been a real education learning how slowly I SHOULD be eating. In the time it takes for the signal that I've had enough to reach my brain is shorter than it used to be, for sure, but it's still long enough for me to take several more bites beyond that. And that's where I get into trouble.

What I try to do now is really nibble more than bite. Or if I do bite, I chew the bite really really well and put down my fork while I'm chewing. It's this last thing that's really hard to remember to do, but so helpful. I try to make sure the bite is well and truly down my throat before picking up the fork for the next one.

It takes practice, for sure, but it's the wolfing that got me here and it's something I have to conquer.