I haven't been on here in a while. My life got busy after the weight loss. Now I'm having problems & I find myself back here. I have lost 90lbs. January 26, 2008 will be my 3 year bandiversary. I have been aspirating at night & when I went to the doc he said it sounds like I have a slip. I go in for a barium swallow Wednesday. He says my band will have to be replaced. I just had to get this off my chest.

Sorry to hear that you are not doing so well right now. Hope it all gets cleared up soon! As someone who had done this awhile back, what are your thoughts? (I am researching this for myself!) Do you think the weight came back because you weren't able to get fills--or what? I hope you get the answers that you need about the barium.

There are a couple of reasons for my weight gain, but I suspect the biggest one is the slippage. My pouch is larger than it should be and not having it checked last year just made the weight gain worse. On top of that, a couple of years ago I underwent infertility treatment and gained about 25 lbs from the hormone injections.

I am looking forward to getting back on track and getting this weight off once and for all.

My slipped band was diagnosed in April 2007 after 3+ years of banding. I had the reflux, nighttime aspiration, etc., and while those symptoms would resolve with an unfill I couldn't tolerate even the tiniest fill no matter how much time had gone by. I had several barium swallow tests (since my docs do fills that way) and they kept saying the band was in good position. I even had an endoscopy at one point, during which esophagitis was diagnosed, but the band was supposedly fine. But clearly something was wrong. Ultimately a slip was diagnosed and my band was removed. (BTW, I had the 4cc version, and now I think it was too small from the start.)

Insurance carriers handle this situation differently--there are no norms. In my case I had lost so much weight that my BMI was now about 30, so my carrier would not cover a new band. I simply didn't qualify. They paid for the removal and probably would have covered a repair/reposition, but not a replacement. But not all carriers take that approach, so I switched to a different carrier that would treat my band as an ongoing treatment for a chronic medical condition, and they paid for a new one. Now I have the AP-L band, implanted last August.

Obviously not everyone can manipulate their insurance coverage the way I have been able to, so it's really important that we understand our own policies and the laws where we live. It's entirely possible that your state has laws that will require maintenance of ongoing treatment, regardless of whether the treatment was covered in the first place. Check it out with your state's department of insurance, and DON'T take what your carrier says as the final word.

Do you mind me asking what an AP-L band is and how it is different from another?:biggrin:

Hi I had a sipged after 2 month and last thur I had another surgery. I am feeling so down and wish didn't put anothe band. Is that going to go away? I am on liquids again, a lot pain and with a big bill. Do you think I will feel better?