Hi all,

How do you know if your band has slipped?

Bumping because I don't have any good answers and I'm curious.

Umm never had a slip but are you in pain? can you swallow and get things down? what are you experiencing that makes you worry/wonder?

No symtoms, just scared because I haven't had my first fill, and I'm eating like normal. I seem to be pushing my luck. Everybody says stick to the program, but If that was so easy I would have never got the band.

Thanks

CHHS

CHHS---This is from another board by a bandster I know......thought I'd post it for you.

I went to see my surgeon today and he confirmed that I have a band slip. So I am posting this as a caution to all bandsters, because even experienced bandsters like me can screw up.

How did it happen? That is simple. I just overate for too many days in a row, followed by some gag reflex although I didn't vomit. According to my doc that is the #1 cause of band slippage in his experience.

What does it mean? The overeating causes concentric pouch dilation - basically the pouch starts to get stretched out. The gagging or if you vomit - well that will cause some of the stomach tissue to 'slip' up through the band. This causes the band to become too tight as it has more stomach tissue inside than before - causing an obstruction.

What were the symptoms? The first symptom was the loss of my soft stop signal (I always hiccup when I have eaten the right amount). The second symptom was the ability to eat much more than I have in the last two years. The doc said that any time you start being able to eat a lot more - you need to stop and get it checked. The third symptom was reflux - that is the killer symptom and the troublemaker for me. Other symptoms are nausea and vomiting, which I didn't experience.

Why did it happen to me? Stupidity on my part. My doc is great, my band was great. I KNEW these symptoms and risks and I allowed my recent stresses to overcome my intelligence and common sense.

What next? Well thanks to this wonderful forum, and especially Jason's recent experience, I self-diagnosed the slip and started on liquids 5 days ago. The doc said that because I caught it myself, in time, that I may have saved myself a surgery to repair it. I will be on liquids mostly for the next four weeks and then go in for a recheck. If at any time the reflux comes back or any signs worsen, I will go in for an unfill. Since I have been doing well on liquids he decided to wait on that option. Trust me when I say that I feel very lucky.

And I want to add the warning that a band slip is not always accompanied by pain and misery, as recently posted on this very forum. I know many people who have gone through this. Now I know it personally. Don't be afraid - this was 100% self inflicted. We have band rules for a reason.

okay, reading all this is freakinggg me out because i've been feeling weird things lately. I went and had a barium swallow not to long ago to check on the fill status because i'm going on a hiking trip soon and didn't want to be too tight incase something was to get stuck, yada yada ANYWAY. the barium swallow read that i was completely open BUT this past week, i could feel things going down. this past week or so also, i've been feeling weird discomforts in my lower abdomin. is that just gas? or is something slipped? ah i don't knoww

It doesn't pay to worry too much about a slip. It's not something that happens to MOST people, and along your banding journey you will have times of being able to eat more, or less, or weird feelings, or gurgling, or even some heartburn and none of these is necessarily an indicator of a slip.

If you're really concerned, call your doctor. But in my experience people who have a slip KNOW it. Things feel VERY different, even if there isn't significant discomfort. CHHS, in the early days of banded life, it's NORMAL to be able to eat more than you think you should--this is called "bandster hell" and happens to everyone before their first (or even second) fill.

thank you for the quick reply. its probably me just worry to much about every little thing.

Katherine & Alexandra,

Thanks for the advice, I was feeling guilty that things were going so well. I was full open and ate with no remorse. I had my first adjustment recently and still am apprehensive.

CHHS:)