I have been gone for awhile from lapband talk. It's good to be back. You cant beat the support on this forum! This is for Kashia, and all of you others who are suffering form complications from the lap. I have had 2 great years since being banded, with 90 lbs off. I have had some complications over the last year, which have really gotten worse lately. I am in the process of trying to get a lap band revision surgery approved by the insurance, for after having an upper GI, the surgeon thinks the band may have slipped. I too, have tried to understand what has happened, and have at times blamed myself. After much research, here is my conclusion:

I received the adjustable lap band 2 years ago, when it was fairly new to the states, and therefore the stitching techniques were new to the surgeons. I went to a reputable surgeon, who was also the only one in my area approved by my insurance at the time. He did every surgery known to man, including the lap. I found out after the fact, that he had only done 20 lap bands. I am not blaming him, but we all know... practice makes perfect! Anyway, I have found out that MANY lap banders have had a problem with slippage if you were banded in 2004-2005. My new surgeon tells me the stitching technique has now been updated to assist with Band slippage. I have read some guilt stories on this forum where some of you are feeling responsible. I too have had guilt feelings. One thing I KNOW I DID WRONG, ( which I believe is a dirty little secret that many lap banders are too ashamed to talk about is forced vomiting.) Please hear me... I was never bulimic at all before my weight loss. An overeater...YES, but never bulimic. The shear fact is I many times feel I ate the wrong things, or the wrong amounts, and food got stuck and made me miserable, and instead of waiting for food to go down slowly and painfully, I stuck my finger down my throat. Do I think this made by band slip? Well lets just say it didnt help matters! But nobody ever told me to be careful of this... I want to help others of you out there know that this is not good for your band! Lets face it... WE ARE ALL NEW AT THIS! We are all trying to break years of unhealthy habits! The doctors are obviously new at this too. I think band slippage is an individual thing, and it can happen for a number of reasons. I have heard success stories of people getting the band revised and doing just fine. I am praying and staying hopeful and my insurance will approve the revision, and that I will be successful in managing my band better this time. I DO NOT want to lose my band and I AM NOT giving up... for I believe it is a great tool, and has changed my life. One thing I have also learned, is that you have to be careful during stressful times of your life. Your stomach restricts when you are stressed, which can cause your band to be tighter, and I feel while I was nursing my husband back from a near fatal accident, and while I lost a pregnancy and then went through a late in life adoption of my baby, my stress factors contributed to my lap problems.. ANYWAY...I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE ANY FEEDBACK OUT THERE FROM OTHERS WHO HAVE SUFFERED WITH SLIPPAGE, ACID REFLUX, TROUBLE KEEPING SOLIDS DOWN< LOSS OF SLEEP DUE TO ASPIRATING FOOD AT NIGHT, SEVERE BURPING AND GURGGLING NOICES... all of which I have had. Thanks for your response and support. If you are expereincing any of these, please dont feel alone....

Lets stick together, and we can get through this! We all deserve the healthy life we are pursuing! Take care~ Bullit143

Leatha, sorry to hear of your health delemers. You have still done well with the band weight wise. My surgeon refuses to do the gb as he thinks its too invasive. However, he might think its ok in extreem situations as he is not a black & white type of guy. I see him in 2 weeks, and will ask.

Please keep us informed of your journey. I am surprised that your band is either too tight or loose, that sounds like a slip. A normal band has room to adjust it, hence the name!! I can understand the stop signs not working but I thought your fill was ok??? It sounds very complicated.

Also, to the other poster, thanks for your kind words. What is the vanguard band, why is it newer or kinder on the stomache??

Curley, this is my very non-medical understanding of the VG band, 10cc.

The Inamed Vanguard band is larger in circumfrence and the area inside the band that holds the saline solution is like little pillows. It is suppose to let the food pass easier because it gives a little more. I looked at all the bands my Doc had and it was the most flexible, softer material.

I've heard the downside of the VG is that getting the "sweet" spot restiction is harder. I've never PB'd or had any food get stuck. I can eat anything. Maybe not always so good.

There are some threads on different sizes of bands and the VG band.

Curley, one more thing, the Inamed VG band has only been out about 8 months I think, so it is newer. Could be good or maybe not? You've got to figure they are trying to make the bands better? Better materials, better design? One would hope!

Hi Health1st,

So you had a slip within the 1st 3 days after you were banded? How odd! Do you know what caused this?

Thanks,

Cathy

upps, the GB (gastric bypass) was never an option. At least if you have band complications you can get it out.

Curly,

I am also a patient of Profs. and this is my second band. First band was done Jan 05 and slipped, found out 14mths later that it slipped, lived with the slippage for about six months and had to have it replaced last Sept. I had nothing but misery since my second band:pout: , cant get any restriction, but that doesnt bother me too much, I think I have learnt to restirct myself (I hope), my problem is the gasses in my stomach. I am talking serious gas here, can't sleep properly cause it feels like I have twins kicking around, not to mention the discomfort. Its extremely uncomfortable during the day espcially at work, lets face it cant just let off fluffs every five minutes, so I am running to the loo forever. Its interfering with my social life, cant go anywhere and dont feel too comfortable having people over either. This week John D. ordered an endoscopy and colonoscopy just incase something else is going on, well there isnt, but they found that this band was placed too high, basically I have no pouch it is sitting almost on my esophagus (sp?). Prof said he will reposition it and that is happening early oct. If that doesn't help the situation I will probably have to have it removed. Both Prof and John D. said it should be the last resort as 99.9% of people after loosing their band put all of their weight back and more, sooner or later. That really frightens me:omg: :speechles as I am 40kgs down, and wold still like to loose another 8kg if possible, but I cannot go on like this for the rest of my life, its unbearable.

Hope everything goes will with you, you can pm me if you wish:)

wheeler

Cathy,

The Doc said it was hard to tell why my band slipped right out of surgery but .... . . . . . .he thought I had a lot of adhesions around my stomach to my diaphram and maybe in recovery where they have you cough so much I just pulled my stomach thru. (He got rid of many adhesions in the 2nd surgery.) I did NOT vomit in recovery. He wasn't sure why

There is a possibility he just goofed up but I don't think so. He is very well respected and has done the most bands of any Doc in Colorado. I felt he was very honest with me during the whole ordeal. He was consulting with the most well-known band docs in the US, they all told him just to wait, it would settle down. After 4 days, he said "you should be getting better, let's take a look", and sure enough a prolasped/slipped band. I was a self pay and he did work with the hospital to keep my bill way down. And finally, maybe it is just one of those rare occurances, sh_t happens. I do think it should have showed up on the TWO flouroscopes they did post op but I haven't requested the films.

Anyway, long story and short story, I'll never know for sure. BUT I am very careful about what I eat!!! And am scared of a bad fill where a slipped band might recur again. It is very painful!

The reason I asked is that I'm having MAJOR restriction with NO fills at all, and I was banded on May 17. I'm having pain in my back, on the left side, inside my shoulder blade, and I can't eat any solid food, only liquids and very mushy foods. Some days are better than others, such as I was able to eat watery scrambled eggs yesterday just fine, but today I ended up throwing them up. I was having lots of pain when I ate anything and especially drinking Water.... and belching a gazillion times to get it down! I'm not having that kind of pain much now, but I still have to belch a lot... WAY too much. I think that I irritated my esophagus, and that's where the pain was coming from.

I started having this restriction around mid June, about a month after I was banded, AND towards the end of a bout of bronchitis (which I had for about 5 weeks). I started coughing 4 days after my surgery. I had just started eating solids and ate too much on a couple of occasions and too big of bites, and I PB'd and haven't been the same since. I keep wondering if my band has slipped, due to the coughing. Well, I'm going to Mexico next Tuesday to see my surgeon again to find out what has happened. I have been on liquids for almost 6 weeks now. I can't live like this.

Do you think this sounds like a slip, from what you know of the symptoms that you have had?

Thanks! ........... Cathy

Cathy,

The Doc said it was hard to tell why my band slipped right out of surgery but .... . . . . . .he thought I had a lot of adhesions around my stomach to my diaphram and maybe in recovery where they have you cough so much I just pulled my stomach thru. (He got rid of many adhesions in the 2nd surgery.) I did NOT vomit in recovery. He wasn't sure why

There is a possibility he just goofed up but I don't think so. He is very well respected and has done the most bands of any Doc in Colorado. I felt he was very honest with me during the whole ordeal. He was consulting with the most well-known band docs in the US, they all told him just to wait, it would settle down. After 4 days, he said "you should be getting better, let's take a look", and sure enough a prolasped/slipped band. I was a self pay and he did work with the hospital to keep my bill way down. And finally, maybe it is just one of those rare occurances, sh_t happens. I do think it should have showed up on the TWO flouroscopes they did post op but I haven't requested the films.

Anyway, long story and short story, I'll never know for sure. BUT I am very careful about what I eat!!! And am scared of a bad fill where a slipped band might recur again. It is very painful!

Cathy, I am so sorry you are having trouble so soon. I know the feeling and the pain!

I am no expert, so you'll have to take what I say with a grain of salt.. . . . .but yes, your symtoms are very similiar to what I had with a slipped band. You just can't eat or drink anythiing and I felt terrible. One of the possible reasons a band slips is vomiting, also coughing a lot. It is rare but I am living proof that "rare" can happen.

Your Doc will probably do a flourscope to see what's up. That's the test where you swallow some awlful tasting stuff that shows up on an x-ray. Then they do a kind of live x-ray to see what the Fluid is doing. Is the fluid pooling above your band? Is some of it going thru the band into your lower stomach? Is the band placed in the correct place, etc. If the band has slipped they might have to repair it with a 2nd surgery. Sometimes they can do a complete unfill to fix a slipped band but you don't have a fill. The good news is I felt much better in relative terms after the 2nd surgery with a proper band that works. Excpet I was VERY tired for 8 weeks because of the complications and anethisia (and I'm 55) but I am much better now. You might want to investigate the VG band. There are some treads on this board.

Keep us posted and sending you warm wishes that all is well.

By the way: It is very important to keep your fluids up. If you get dehydrated it can make surgery to repair the band delayed until they get you hydrated. Just sip all the time.

Thank you so much, health1st! Even after my NP said that she didn't think it was a slip, there really wasn't a way for her to be sure because she was only looking at an X-ray. I will be glad to get down to Monterrey and get this checked in a proper way. If it needs to be and can be fixed, Dr. Rodriguez will do it Wednesday afternoon, after my test. I am just hoping that he doesn't say that the band needs to be removed, but I am prepared for that also. Anything to take this pain and vomiting away!

Yes, you are right about the dehydration. This past week I got steadily weaker during the week, and had to take off from work on Thursday. I got more Protein in that day as well as more Fluid. I felt much better on Friday.

I will let you know how it goes this week.

Cathy

Cathy, I'm glad you are getting it checked out. If you wait too long there can be damage to your stomach and you don't want that. The wonderful thing about our bodies is that they do recover. When they went in for the 2nd surgery I told them just to take the DARN thing out, I was in so much pain. But my Doc and my husband encouraged me to get it fixed. I am glad they did talk me into it. I feel so good today I can almost cry with relief and joy! So hang in there, you'll get thru this!!

PLEASE keep us posted. I'll EM you my phone number incase you need to talk to someone while you are there or have some questions. I'm not an expert by anymeans but I do have some experiece with what your are going thru.

(Oh, I'll be in Mexico too this week, Guadalajara for a vacation but will have my cell phone with me and can call you back.

Wheeler, so you are a fellow Aussie? My computer has been down, so I couldnt reply till now!

Did the Prof. put the band in too high?? That sounds like a big stuff up! Also why did they replace the band, and not just reposition it after the slip?? With all that farting it sounds like a gastric bypass!!! LOL But, in all seriousness, thats just not good enough! Gee, the band is sounding less & less perfect isnt it?? I also lost about 40kgs & it comes back very quickly when the band is not working...for me anyway!!!

Please keep us posted. Maybe we will cross paths at the Ave!

why does band slippage happens?

I had 2 fills, the fist one I was told might not work, I had my second one a month later, it's been a month and now I feel like I'm eating a lot again, do I go back for another fill? please help!!!!

Just to let everyone know that I went down to Monterrey, MX this week, and Dr. Rodriguez ended up having to remove my band. After only having it for 2 1/2 months! I had no slipped band, no hiatal hernia. My problem was with the sphincture at the base of the esophagus. It was really swollen and wouldn't work correctly. It wouldn't let hardly anything pass, although when he did the fluoroscopy on Tues night, the barium went through, then when I drank Water, it just closed off completely. No wonder I had such a hard time drinking water!

Tues night, he couldn't figure out where the restriction was, so he had to do an endoscopy the next morning. That's when he found the swelling, but still didn't know the reason. So he went in with the laproscope and made the decision to take out the band, because he said the swelling might go down with medication, but it could always come back later, and I might get an eroded stomach. He said that my body just might produce too much acid and that may have been causing the problem but he really wasn't sure. He just didn't want to take the chance with my esophagus and stomach.

He put me on steroids for a couple of days after the surgery and I was able to drink water and other liquids with no problem. I have to stay on liquids and mushies for about 2 to 3 more weeks. I'm just relieved to not have the reflux or the pain in my back or chest anymore and to be able to guzzle water again!! :scared: I am more sore than when I was first banded, but I kind of expected that. And I can't wait to be able to eat regular food again!

Cathy

Thank you so much, health1st! Even after my NP said that she didn't think it was a slip, there really wasn't a way for her to be sure because she was only looking at an X-ray. I will be glad to get down to Monterrey and get this checked in a proper way. If it needs to be and can be fixed, Dr. Rodriguez will do it Wednesday afternoon, after my test. I am just hoping that he doesn't say that the band needs to be removed, but I am prepared for that also. Anything to take this pain and vomiting away!

Yes, you are right about the dehydration. This past week I got steadily weaker during the week, and had to take off from work on Thursday. I got more Protein in that day as well as more Fluid. I felt much better on Friday.

I will let you know how it goes this week.

Cathy

Just to let everyone know that I went down to Monterrey, MX this week, and Dr. Rodriguez ended up having to remove my band. After only having it for 2 1/2 months! I had no slipped band, no hiatal hernia. My problem was with the sphinctor at the base of the esophagus. It was really swollen and wouldn't work correctly. It wouldn't let hardly anything pass, although when he did the fluoroscopy on Tues night, the barium went through, then when I drank Water, it just closed off completely. No wonder I had such a hard time drinking water!

Tues night, he couldn't figure out where the restriction was, so he had to do an endoscopy the next morning. That's when he found the swelling, but still didn't know the reason. So he went in with the laproscope and made the decision to take out the band, because he said the swelling might go down with medication, but it could always come back later, and I might get an eroded stomach. He said that my body just might produce too much acid and that may have been causing the problem but he really wasn't sure. He just didn't want to take the chance with my esophagus and stomach.

He put me on steroids for a couple of days after the surgery and I was able to drink water and other liquids with no problem. I have to stay on liquids and mushies for about 2 to 3 more weeks. I'm just relieved to not have the reflux or the pain in my back or chest anymore and to be able to guzzle water again!! :scared: I am more sore than when I was first banded, but I kind of expected that. And I can't wait to be able to eat regular food again! But..... I have figured out a plan and will stick to it.

Cathy

Thank you so much, health1st! Even after my NP said that she didn't think it was a slip, there really wasn't a way for her to be sure because she was only looking at an X-ray. I will be glad to get down to Monterrey and get this checked in a proper way. If it needs to be and can be fixed, Dr. Rodriguez will do it Wednesday afternoon, after my test. I am just hoping that he doesn't say that the band needs to be removed, but I am prepared for that also. Anything to take this pain and vomiting away!

Yes, you are right about the dehydration. This past week I got steadily weaker during the week, and had to take off from work on Thursday. I got more Protein in that day as well as more Fluid. I felt much better on Friday.

I will let you know how it goes this week.

Cathy