How do you twist or erode a band? If you have to get it removed, can you get a new one? I don't have a problem, but want to avoid it. I have had band for 1 yr and would be lost without it.

Erosion is where the band just gradually erodes a hole in your stomach and works its way through. Its pretty serious, the band must be removed and the stomach allowed to heal, sometimes a new band can be placed, but its not uncommon for there to be just too much scar tissue for this to be possible.

Slippage is where the band simply slips down on the stomach, which is what I suspect you mean by twisting. A loop of stomach will bulge out the top of the band and it may cause you to either lose restriction or to make you unable to even swallow Water. Sometimes it comes with only very mild symptoms like heartburn and reflux. A slipped band can sometimes be fixed by unfilling, and the stomach will readjust itself, or it can be repositioned and sewn back down or removed and replaced. It doenst usually do so much damage that a new band isnt possible.

Twisting of the stomach on the other hand, major, life threateningly serious but not really a band issue, that's something that can happen with techniques like bypass and sleeving, where the new tiny stomach can twist over on itself, cutting off blood supply.

Erosion seems to be one of those things, an infection in the port is very serious as it can travel up the tubing and eventually lead to erosion, but it doesnt often have a known cause. Slippage on the other hand - treat your band badly and you're way more likely to have problems. If you pb daily or even weekly, constantly overeat, and have your band really tight, then you're putting yourself at risk. never ever ignore symptoms like reflux etc, it means you're too tight and that's not good, bands are not supposed to restrict you to eating like a sparrow, they're supposed to reduce the amount you can eat from gargantuan to small and YOU have to do the rest of the work that causes you to lose weight. The high incidence of band problems, I firmly believe, is becuase being a weight loss surgery people AND surgeons simply expect it to perform as well as bypass and expect too darn much of it. They tighten it up and up and up and cause these problems. A moderately firm band that provides portion control but not much else is what is safest and healthiest and that means of course, that there's a lot of people who are just too disordered and unwell in their eating to be able to work effectively with a band. Not a moral judgement in the slightest, but a simple observation.

If you treat your band well, dont have it too tight and make up a lot of your calorie deficit with good choices and good exercise, you stand a good chance of being absolutely fine for years to come. But bands are a bit of a problematic surgery, there's a lot of complications that come with them and you can just be unlucky too.

Erosion seems to be one of those things, an infection in the port is very serious as it can travel up the tubing and eventually lead to erosion, but it doesnt often have a known cause. Slippage on the other hand - treat your band badly and you're way more likely to have problems. If you pb daily or even weekly, constantly overeat, and have your band really tight, then you're putting yourself at risk. never ever ignore symptoms like reflux etc, it means you're too tight and that's not good, bands are not supposed to restrict you to eating like a sparrow, they're supposed to reduce the amount you can eat from gargantuan to small and YOU have to do the rest of the work that causes you to lose weight. The high incidence of band problems, I firmly believe, is becuase being a weight loss surgery people AND surgeons simply expect it to perform as well as bypass and expect too darn much of it. They tighten it up and up and up and cause these problems. A moderately firm band that provides portion control but not much else is what is safest and healthiest and that means of course, that there's a lot of people who are just too disordered and unwell in their eating to be able to work effectively with a band. Not a moral judgement in the slightest, but a simple observation.

If you treat your band well, dont have it too tight and make up a lot of your calorie deficit with good choices and good exercise, you stand a good chance of being absolutely fine for years to come. But bands are a bit of a problematic surgery, there's a lot of complications that come with them and you can just be unlucky too.

wow! that makes so much sense to me!!!!!! Thank you for posting that because it will have a great impact on my band journey. My dr told me I would probably only need a few fills my first year, his NP told me to come back every 6 to 8 weeks for a fill, and then his office manager said I would need a fill every 4 weeks! I'm hoping the surgeon is right.

Now that I have lost some weight and am already feeling better mentally, spiritually, and physically, I am ready to work hard for this all to work! I have been exercising and trying to make good choices. "The lapband is a tool" is stated so many times on this board but I don't think people really get it. Well, thanks to you and my better state of mind, I am getting it