Lapband Slippage

[Donna113 2]

I'm scared I may be having some problems with my band. For the past couple of weeks, I've been woken up in the middle of the night with acid reflux. Not bad burning, just yucky back up in my throat. Once I sit up, I can hear and feel it gurgle back down within 1/2 hour or so and then I'm fine. I haven't experienced any problems during the day and I can eat or drink most anything without any issues. Last night, I woke up with the same yucky backup but it was so bad that I ended up throwing up (just bile) several times. I feel fine now but am sticking to liquids only until I see my doctor on Thursday. Has anyone else had something similar to this happen? BTW, I haven’t PB’d or thrown up prior to last night.

[mia31771 0]

How soon after eating are you going to bed? I usually go to bed around 9 and if I eat anything after 7pm I will see it again the next morning. My doctor says this is because what is in the pouch has not had enough time to digest before going to bed and just like an untied Water balloon if you tip it sideways whats in there is coming out. Try leaving a few hours between snacks/meals before going to bed and see if that helps.

[Donna113 2]

I usually eat around 7 or 8 and go to bed around 11:00. I have been banded for 6 months and have maintained pretty much the same schedule. I have been extra cautious in the past 2 weeks to avoid even a bite of food or even drinking Water for at least 1 hour prior to going to bed.

[mia31771 0]

An hour usually isn't enough for me. Try not eating or drinking anything besides Water at least 2 hours before bed tonight. If that doesn't help then contact your doctor. I can usually have water with no ill consequences even if I take a sip right when getting into bed. Milk, juice or anything else will give me the same problem. food needs time to digest longer than liquids so try not to eat anything, even a snack. I tried to get away with having a SF pudding about and hour and half before bed a few nights ago and wound up seeing it again in my mouth the very next morning. Food kind of loses its appeal when you see it the next morning, lol.

[Donna113 2]

The doctor said I was too tight and took out .5 cc which took me down to 4.5. He said I'd lost 12 lbs since my last visit on 12/2 and was happy that I'd lost an overall 35 lbs since my surgery date in July. He said that was a good rate of loss for me. I told him of the 12 lbs lost, that the majority of that was by Christmas and I've only lost about 1 or 2 lbs since Christmas. He raised his eyebrows at that and said I need to be keeping a food diary because I shouldn't have had a stall for that long.

He said my band probably tightened up since I've been under stress. He told me wait until the stress goes down and I feel back to normal and we'll recheck to see if I need another adjustment. He said the pouch looked fine and there was no dilation or slippage. He gave me the picture to take home with me.

[twinmommy2014 7]

I was banded nov 5/08 and has my port revision done today. I also got my first fill while under because of the flipped port. He added 4.5 to my 10 band. I still have vomitting issues. I dont regret getting it done despite the complications. I am hoping to start feeling more restriction, eat slower and loose more weight. I have locst 17 lbs so far which is a start.

[tinybelle 0]

what does a slip feel like?

I feel like my sternum needs to pop & it does. It hurts some, but feels good at the same time. I have trouble getting some stuff down. so i'm doing liquids for a few days.. but Tuesday is my Birthday. :thumbup:

[krmaguire 0]

This is my first time on this website and had some questions about a possible band slippage. For the last 3 days I've had pressure in my chest no matter what I eat or drink. My surgery was 1-9-09 and have had problems off and on with belching, gas, Constipation and occasional chest pressure. It's only gotten worse lately. My doctor's not available until Monday, but how do I know if it's a major problem and call the on-call doctor. It's not painful, no vomiting ... just uncomfortable, even after a day of hot liquids.

Any advice?

[wrestlersmom 0]

How did u find out you slipped??? What test was done?

[jennibells 0]

My band slipped a few weeks ago and they sent me to do the barium swallow test and it showed that my pouch was much bigger than normal because the stomache had come up past the band and no Fluid was going down. I had alot of pain, throwing up anytime I tried to eat food, severe indigestion and heartburn and extreme pain in my stomache even with just fluids. I just got it replaced on 3/17 and things are going great.

[jo angel 0]

This is a helpful discussion. Another interesting question would be -- how long were you banded before experiencing a slip? There is not a lot of information on people who are 3+ years out. I've had my band for over four years and have just been diagnosed with a slip. I actually just subscribed to the medical journal for bariatric surgery so that I could read up on long-term results. I'm not knowledgable enough to interpret what I've read for anyone else, so I won't be posting anything from the journal. However, it does appear that the risk for complications increases over time. When I say increases... the percentages are still on the small side.

My experience with the band, is that over time I was able to eat a bit more and a bit more. It was not an act of rebellion, but rather an organic change. I attributed it to the change in my stomach that came with the weight loss. I also assumed that the band was looser now that there was less fat around my stomach. However, when I went for a check up, I was diagnosed with a dialated esophogas (this was 18 months ago). I was put on liquids for a few weeks and then told to resume "band" eating.

What is hard to navigate, is that with dialation or slippage, we no longer experience the type of restriction that we had when first banded. Therefore, managing food intake becomes much more based in "will power" than intuitive eating. One of the reasons that I got banded was because it was going to allow me to be more intuitive with my eating patterns... I could listen to the "full" signal and then respond. The full signal comes much later now due to the slipped band. As a result I've gained back almost 30 pounds.

It's interesting reading this board and others like it. A large percentage of posts are from people wanting the band and people who have been recently banded. There is tremendous enthusiasm and much of the information is centered around helping with the learning curve of living with the band. (... and this is as it should be! I benefited greatly from forums such as these when I was seeking more information and support on my banding journey).

However, I welcome finding places to talk with more long-term bandsters. It seems as if we have slightly different challenges than the people one or two years out of surgery.

As for symptoms, I am able to eat more than before (examples -- a 6" sub from Subway.... 4 to 6 pieces of sushi... a big salad.... one soft taco + Beans + rice... None of these are awful amounts of food, but it is adding up to much more than I was able to eat when first banded). I'm also experiencing acid reflux at night. I wake up coughing and gagging. It's painful and very unpleasant.

I still believe in the band and am grateful for the gift it has been to me. It is very likely that mine is coming out. And that's OK, too. I've had four wonderful years of having the opportunity to heal issues related to food and body image and now I'm in a very different place. I'm not the same person who had the surgery four years ago.

We'll see where this journey goes next... but I know that it will be a blessed path.

I also have been told that I slipped after four years almost to the date. I belive I may have slipped three months ago but I thought I had flu symtoms like eveyone else at my work. Now I know the chest pain and coughing was my slip. I also had a lot of phlem and sudden cough even when I was awake. My doctor says I will need a new band. I have to see him on monday and I will lean more. I so scared I will have my band removed altogether and gain the weight back I lost 117lbs and I worked so hard no one seems to be were I am except you.

[jennibells 0]

I wish there was a place where people who had the band long term talked about their exsperience. Is there anywhere on this board that has that?

Now that I actually slipped and had mine replaced I am nervous and thinking about if it happens again. I never gave it a thought before. I guess I just thought that it wasn't going to happen to me!

[gail8999 0]

I went for a fill yesterday and the nurse said my pouch was stretched, I just went about 2 1/2 months ago and all was fine.

Since then I got a cold couldn't stop coughing and would throw up several times a day, more so in the mornings or during the night I would get to coughing and throw up. My regular doctor just gave me cough meds. (this went on for about 4 weeks) So I'm thinking that the throwing up may have caused the stretch, does anybody know anything about this? I haven't eat different than I have the last 3 years why would it all of a sudden stretch? I'm suppose to measure my food to a cup at a time and go back in 4 weeks to see my doctor. Does this usually fix itself? the nurse said yesterday that it hadn't slipped. Any ideas anyone?

[jennibells 0]

If your band hasn't slipped than I would suggest you be very careful, eat small amounts, avoid throwing up at all cost and than hopefully your pouch will go back to normal.

My band slipped because I got very sick and threw up for 3-4 days straight and than continued to throw up off and on over several weeks because I never gave my pouch long enough time to recover and let the swelling go down. I wish more than anything I would of called my doctor but I didn't and now I am on my second band.

Good luck!

[gail8999 0]

I hope it goes back to normal. I don't want to have to have surgery to fix it, if I do it'll be January before I could do it, so I could do the flex account.I do have insurance but still have to pay the 20% and they usually want that up front.

I have been eating just a little at a time. I guess I'll find out next month. I'll just have to pray that it'll be ok.

I read somewhere that 70% of the time it will fix itself I hope I'm in that 70%.