Was just curious been reading alot about slippage. What happens if your band slips and how do you know it Slipped ?

:help: :help:

Sometimes with slippage there are no symptoms, they find it during a barium swallow or endoscopy.

Most of the time, if you have slipped you will have reflux, or have a difficult time getting food and liquids down. In Lots of cases you wont be able to swallow anything including Water.

If you band slips the first thing the Dr will do is unfill your band. That will correct the problem of not being able to ingest liquids and food, as well as reflux.

Some slips are repaired by an unfill, others need more surgery to repair it and, in some cases the band needs to be removed. My Dr. will remove an unrepairable slipped band and place a new one during the same surgery if all else is fine.

That's right, if you have truly slipped, which is usually caused by really excessive vomitting, you rarely can get anything down including Water.

What make's you think you might have had a slip? Have you been ill, like with a stomach virus? As I mentioned above, according to my doctor, slippage is usually, but not always, caused by excessive vomitting. I had an episode of kidney stones in December which causes severe vomitting/wretching, and I was positive that my band had slipped clear down to my navel. It had slipped, but just a fraction of an inch, nothing to be concerned about, and it resolved itself within in a few days, thank goodness. It's a scary thought, but it's not as common as one might think.

It really takes a bit to knock that band out of whack for most people.

If you are having difficulty swallowing liquids, then definitely see your doctor as soon as possible. It never hurts to be checked out and it does give you a much greater peace of mind once you have a difinitive answer.

Take care, let us know how things are going. We'll keep the good thoughts coming your way.

Cindy

Does slippage happen often ?

Maebeth, I believe the statistic quoted most often for slippage is 1-3%.

My band slipped a few weeks ago, and I didn't have any incidents of excessive vomiting. A few PB's many months ago, but that's it. In my case, the first symptom was reflux followed by stomach cramping that increased in severity over the course of a week.

My doctor was able to remove my band and install a new one in the same surgery.