JeanneC

I have a second slippage and have to have surgery soon. The only problem is that I can't decide what kind of surgery to have. My doctor told me I could either get the newer band (I can't remember what it's called) that is supposed to have fewer slip issues, an RNY or a sleeve. The sleeve would be his (and my) first choice, but my insurance doesn't cover it. He (and the insurance specialist in his office) seem to think that if they go ahead and do the sleeve and request coverage after the fact that it *should* be approved. I am in no position to pay the $20,000+ that this procedure would cost if insurance didn't pay. Do you think it's worth chancing it? Or would you have one of the other procedures done? If so, which one? I've got to decide soon. I *need* to have my band out soon, but I just can't decide what I want to do and can't schedule anything until I do.

I'm now in the throes for my second slipped band. Both times I went in due to intense back pain. It's right in the middle of my shoulder blades and can range from uncomfortable to excruciating. It usually starts about an hour after I eat and continues anywhere from 1-4 hours after. If it hadn't been for this pain, I would have never known about the slippages. And I'm curious about the lightheadedness. I hadn't connected the two, but I have had somewhat frequent dizzy spells over the past several months. I wonder if they are connected? Good luck.

I can't figure out what to do, and I would love some input. Including my initial banding, I have had 4 surgeries in a little over a year. There was the banding, removal of a port due to an infected port incision, replacement of the port, and repositioning of the band due to slippage. My last surgery was in January. I found out two weeks ago that I have slipped again. I had another set of x-rays done yesterday and they said there was minimal improvement. My doctor is out of town until next week, so I met with his PA. She said if I were her patient she would be scheduling another repositioning surgery for me next week. I asked my doctor's nurse what she thought he would want to do, and she said she thought he would want to replace my band with the larger 10cc band. He wanted to before, but the last slippage was pretty severe and I needed surgery pretty quickly. My insurance hadn't approved anything before I went in, and he said he didn't want to stick me with an even higher bill if they didn't pay. I'm really, really tired of having surgery. If there was a guarantee that this would be the last one, I would say okay to the larger band. However, we all know there isn't. Part of me wants to ask him to lobby my insurance company for a bypass. I don't want to have my intestines re-routed, but it's preferable to having 4 surgeries a year. At the very least, I'm going to ask if I can have a few more weeks to see if it gets any better. FTR, when things were going well with the band, I loved it. I would still recommend it to anyone considering it. I'm just not sure my body is a good match for it. What would you do? Get a larger band and cross your fingers? Get a by-pass? Or just have the whole thing removed and accept the fact that I'll always be fat? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks-

That would be ideal, but my doctor doesn't do them and my insurance doesn't cover them. : (

I'm sorry you're going through it, too. My gut (so to speak :thumbup:) is telling me to do the RNY route. I have a feeling my doc is going to be against it though. I'm also a little freaked out by the idea of it. When do you have your surgery scheduled?

Boy, I know *exactly* what you mean. I recently "fell off the wagon" as it were, and gained 30 pounds. I had a complete unfill due to a slip, but even after I had some Fluid put in, I still kept gaining weight. Now I've had yet another slip and unfill and I'm terrified that I'll gain back that last 50. :woot: Good luck finding your solutions.

I had my band repositioned in January due to slippage. I've not felt any restriction and have gained 30 pounds since I first was emptied in October. Although I still feel like I can eat anything (I was able to eat a 6 inch sub a couple of weeks ago. No way I could have eaten that before.), lately I have noticed if I eat too quickly things start to get that stuck feeling. I did throw up once after eating steak, but every other time I've just stopped eating and the feeling has gone away. So basically, I would describe it as minimum restriction. Well, for the past several days I've noticed a bit of reflux. I didn't think anything about it and just assumed I had eaten something that didn't agree with me. But then yesterday and today I developed a horrible pain in the middle of my back between my shoulder blades. This is exactly what it felt like when I slipped before. My next appointment is in a week, but I"m thinking of seeing if he can see me sooner. My fear is that something is wrong again. Am I being paranoid? Or has anyone had a second slip? I'm so grateful for the weight I've lost, but this has become a frustrating journey. I had to have two surgeries due to an infected port and then the repositioning of the band. I've developed a horrible fear of hospitals and don't know what I'll do if I have to have another surgery.

I went in yesterday and it has slipped. In fact, this time is worse than the first one. I'm on liquids and we're going to see if it self-corrects. Fingers are crossed that it will.

I'm new here, but am looking to hear about other folks' experiences with band slippage. I got my band a year ago today, and have a couple of problems. Right off the bat my port incision developed a nasty penicillin resistant staph infection and after 6 weeks of antibiotics had to be removed. It was replaced about a month later and things were fine. However, after my second fill I started having severe reflux. My doc squeezed me in the next day and took about .3ccs out. Things were better. 3 months later I had another fill. I think it was .15 ccs. About a week later I started having INTENSE pain in my band area. It lasted for hours and there wasn't a painkiller in the world (or at least in my medicine cabinet!) that could touch it. I went back in the next day and he took another .3 ccs out. He had me come back in today, a month later (and coincidentally my "bandiversary") for a barium swallow just to check on things. Sure enough, it had slipped. He emptied me out today and scheduled me to come back in in two weeks for another barium swallow. I'm totally freaked out. I am terrified of gaining the weight back. I've been in tears off and on all day because I'm so afraid it's not going to correct itself and he's going to want to remove the band. I *can't* go back to being that fat and out of shape again. I didn't realize how much I had become a recluse until I lost the weight and started doing things again. I kept wondering why no one was noticing I was losing weight, but then realized it was because at my heaviest I had pretty much quit doing anything social. I left the house to go to the grocery store and Target. I don't want to feel like that again. Anyway, if anyone has some stories of postive outcomes after a slip, I would really love to hear them. Thanks. Jeanne 12/4/06 247/234/170/150??

Has anyone else experienced this? I had my first x-rays the beginning of December and my doctor discovered the slippage, emptied my band, and told me to come back in 2 weeks. When I went back for the second set of x-rays, he said there a tiny bit of improvement, but that he wanted me to come back in a month for another set of x-rays before he starts putting Fluid in again. Here's the weird part, the last 2 weeks food has been getting stuck and I've been sliming a lot. I've taken to grazing, which in the past has been a sign that I was too tight, but if I sit down and eat a real meal like I'm supposed to, inevitably I start to slime shortly after. I don't understand how this can happen with an empty band. :eek: My fear is that the food is getting hung up on the part of my stomach that is above the band instead of going through the band, if that makes any sense. Any insight? I'm really ready to start getting fills again. I've gained almost 6 pounds in the past month. I *need* to get back on track, but I don't see my doctor again until the 22nd.

Chrissie - I'm so sorry you're having to go through this. I haven't updated, but I did, in fact, have to have surgery sort of suddenly. A week ago last Friday, despite being completely unfilled, something got stuck. Badly. I called my doc and they told me to go on Clear liquids. About an hour later I PB'd whatever it was pretty violently and ended up with that same intense pain shooting behind my breastbone to my back. They had me come in immediately for another barium swallow. That X-ray showed that my band had a pretty significant slippage, and was much, much worse than the original x-ray. My doc was out of town until the following Monday, but when he saw it he scheduled me for surgery last Wednesday. It was pretty rough. What should have been a simple procedure ended up taking over 2 hours. My doctor has literally done thousands of bands, but he said my stomach had done something he had never seen before. It had created a rind type ring around itself under the band. So, when the band was emptied, it didn't matter. My stomach was kind of stuck at the smaller size. He had to remove all of the hard rind, and then reposition my band. And even though the band was empty, he went back with a syringe and sucked all of the air out it as well so it would be as open as possible. That was a week ago. I'm feeling pretty okay today, and yesterday he gave me the okay to start mushies a week early. Basically he said since I know what it feels like to be too tight, I would know if I needed to stop. He told me to stay on mushies for a while, but move to solid food at my own discretion. I get my first fill February 9th. I'm looking forward to it, but I'm very nervous. I'm so afraid of this happening again. My hospital stay was *not* a good experience, and I never, ever want to repeat it. Anyway, sorry to sound like the voice of gloom and doom. I sincerely hope your band self-corrects. Most of them do. One of the really disturbing things to me is what a mind game this was to me. I *thought* my band was open, so I ate like a pig. I gained 11 pounds. The reality is, I was as constricted as I ever had been but just didn't realize it. I guess the good news is that being on liquids for almost two weeks has gotten me back to within 3 pounds of where I had started. Sorry for the long post and good luck!

Is it possible you are suffering panic attacks? Or are you a caffeine drinker? Both of those can cause a similar feeling. Hope you find an answer soon!

Jessie - I'm only a year out, but I'm having similar problems, but my doc was more of a "wait and see" guy. He had me get x-rays, completely emptied my band, and had me come back in 2 weeks for another set of x-rays. At that time, there wasn't that much of a change, but it looked like it might be getting better, so he scheduled me to come back in a month. Unfortunately, I didn't make it that long and ended up back in his office last Friday. My slip is much worse. Hopefully, your doc might give you a chance to see if your band can self correct after a complete unfill. I know it worked for a friend of mine. Fingers crossed for you!

Thanks, Candi. While I guess there's no real way of knowing for certain why it happened, my doc's assumption is that I was too tight. He's generally a very conservative doctor when it comes to fills, but apparently anything over 1.25 ccs is too much for me. I kept pushing for more, and then kept having to have some removed. Now I know, I guess. Wish me luck tomorrow. I'm hoping to have this over with quickly.

Thanks for the advice, but unfortunately, that's not the case with me. I had another set of x-rays a couple of weeks ago that showed a little bit of improvement, but not much. Since then, I've continued to have food get stuck in spite of a complete unfill. This past Friday I started PBing and had a lot of pain again. They had me come in for more x-rays and it appears the slippage has gotten much, much worse. I see my doctor on Monday and they said to be prepared to schedule the corrective surgery at that ime. Honestly, at this point surgery will be relief. I just want to be able to eat normally again. Also, that sense of fullness I was talking about earlier? Long gone. I've gained almost 10 pounds this month. I'm ready to get back on track, and am looking forward to the "forced" regimen of liquids to mushies to solids to help me do so.

I think it's just one of those things that happen when you lose weight. I've been cold for the past year! Before the band, I used to sleep with the windows open until it got below freezing. Now, if it's below 70, I'm sleeping in sweats and socks!

I'm 5'5 1/2", is that close enough? I started at 247 in a snug 22. I'm not around 170, and have found my 12s in pants are a bit loose. Up top, I'm anywhere from a M to a XXL due to a ridiculously large chest. FWIW, if you want an ego boost, try clothes from Hanna Andersson or JJill. They're infamous for vanity sizing! It's fun to put on a M and have it hang on you!

Nope. In fact I had originally started the process of trying to get approved for a bypass 5 years ago. I had a baby instead, and then went back to seem the doctor after she was born. He said he would NOT do a bypass on me. He is pretty much doing bands exclusively because he feels they are so much safer. He will do bypasses in extreme circumstances, but as a rule, no. FWIW, he did bypasses for many, many years before he started doing the band. He isn't opposed to the surgery, just feels the band is safer and gets the same results.

I would call your doctor. I hate to be the voice of gloom and doom, but that recently happened to me and my band had slipped. Does the pain last for a long time? If nothing else, you might need a slight unfill. When my doc took a little out, the pain quit happening. It wasn't until a month later that he did a barium swallow and saw the slippage. Hope I'm wrong, but I would get it checked out if I were you. Of course, I may be overreacting based on my own experience, but if the pain you're describing is like the pain I had - much, much, much worse than the pain of getting something stuck - then you need to do something about it. No one should have to live with that. Oh, do you still have your gallbladder? That can cause intense pain a few hours after eating. Take care -

Hi! I've had my band for a year (today!), but just recently found this forum. I would get the band again in a heartbeat, but have had a couple of complications and am looking to learn more about others' experiences. Looking forward to getting to know you all! Jeanne

pta2007 - Apparently it *can* correct itself if the band is emptied. In fact, I just ran into a friend who had the exact same thing happen and hers did correct itself within 2 weeks. My doctor told me that it probably would, and if it didn't we would either give it more time (if it looked like it was at least starting to get better) or correct it surgically. I assume if I have surgery I would have to go through the whole liquids/mushies thing, since as I understand it, that's primarily to let the swelling from surgery go down. It wouldn't be fun, but if I could do it once, I could do it again!

WABB - I think I will cling to that 80% number! That's exactly the type of info I was looking for. Thanks! Rastis - I understand the fear of no restriction, but I have to tell you how pleasantly surprised I've been the past 48 hours. Apparently, during my time with the band I've learned how to feel full. Even though I know I have more room in my stomach, I'm finding that I'm still getting, and am able to respect, those signals that tell me when I'm full. I had thought I'd go crazy "because I could", but that hasn't been the case. Good luck in finding some answers.

I'm really glad to be here. My lap band journey has also been an exciting one, but it hasn't been all that easy. Immediately after being banded I developed a penicillin resistant staph infection in my port incision. After weeks of daily trips to my doctor's office for packing and various antibiotics, I finally had to have it removed. It was replaced about a month later, so I didn't get my first fill until about 12 weeks after being banded. It wasn't that big of a deal in the long run, and I really viewed it as a minor bump in the road. My second fill was very uneventful, but my third fill was pretty rough. I ended up with horrible reflux and had to have an unfill a couple of days later. Then my next fill was difficult as well. I threw up pretty violently 5 days after my fill after eating too fast and not chewing well enough. After that, pretty much everything that went in my mouth caused unbelievable pain. I got another unfill and was told to come back for an upper GI in a month. That was yesterday. Unfortunately, the x-rays showed my band had slipped. I was completely unfilled and will be going back in another two weeks for another set of x-rays. Hopefully things will be back to normal by then and I'll be able to start getting Fluid added again. The weird thing is, I realize that if you read the previous paragraph you would think I was miserable with the Band. It couldn't be farther from the truth! The band has changed my life in so many ways, and I still strongly believe it was the best decision for both my physical and mental health I could have ever made. Even if I had to go through 10 times as much, I would still do it again. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the slippage will be just another small bump, and that the band will continue to be the awesome tool for me that it has been for the past year. Thanks again for the nice welcome. Jeanne 12/3/06 247/234/170/150???