Stuck, Slipped, Or Normal - Am I Fighting Myself?

[JimR915 21]

Hi and Happy Early Thanksgiving everyone!

I'm looking for a bit of guidance. I have an appointment scheduled with my surgeon tomorrow morning to discuss this, but I wanted to see if anyone had any similar experiences or insights.

I was banded on 8/12/11, and have done very well losing weight. I hit my target weight on my year anniversary, which I was ecstatic about. Since then, however, I have had a lot of problems with increased "stuck" episodes. Even Water tends to sit in my pouch for prolonged periods (hours).

I have had 3 LARGE unfills of 2 or 3 units at a time. Each time the same thing happens:

1. I'm good for about a week or so

2. I start having more stuck episodes

3. I start throwing up more and more, I'm sure irritating my band

4. Finally nothing will pass, not even fluids

5. Return for another unfill

6. Repeat

This last time, I was feeling good and loose, so I had him add about 1.5 back into my band, but the same thing has happened. Now I'm on my way back to the office tomorrow for an unfill again.

My questions are

• Am I really fighting myself here? Am I just eating too fast, getting stuck and irritating the band, while not giving it time to heal before eating again/throwing up?
  

• Could something more serious be going on? Could my band have slipped, causing these symptoms?
  

• Should I insist on an XRay to just take a look at things and perhaps put my mind at ease, or diagnose what is going on?
  

• Could it just be that this is my "new normal" and is just the way it should feel. When I eat throughout the day right now, pressure builds up with liquid and food until I just have to expel it (sorry for the graphic description)?
  

I'm hoping that the doctor will set me straight tomorrow, but he's been a bit stumped to this point. I plan on really pushing him to do something tomorrow. This is for the birds.

I suspect I know what the answer is, but I have been unwilling to do it. I think I just need to go back on fluids for a while, but hard to do when not even fluids will go down.

Sorry for the long winded questions. Thank you for your time.

jimr

[CHEZNOEL 4,061]

Hard to tell what the right answer is. It could be a lot things. I would carefully watch bite size and chewing time. I got a little sloppy at the one year mark and had similar problems.

[Toddy 758]

I would definitely insist on a barium swallow. I had a couple of really bad episodes where I threw up and just thought I irritated my band and had unfills. My doctor didn't think it had slipped because I was only eight months post-op and had only thrown up twice. We did a barium swallow and it showed quite a large slip, to the point he had to reoperate. He said I was the earliest slip they had ever had in their practice and the majority of slips they had had were from chronic vomiting, not just vomiting twice. He was definitely stumped by my case but he's replaced my band and added plication, so hopefully the bad stuff is behind me!

[JimR915 21]

Thank you for the responses. I'm sure it could be any one of these things, but I am certainly hoping it doesn't boil down to a slip.

I saw my surgeon this morning. He took more Fluid out and is scheduling an upper GI. Hopefully that will shed some light.

Thanks again

[hely88 883]

I wish you luck and can you please keep us posted?

[JimR915 21]

So...here's the scoop.

Upper GI showed a "major league" slip (doctor's words). No Fluid passed through the band for more than 15 minutes.

I was admitted on Friday for emergency surgery. Surgery was postponed, but then performed on Saturday morning. My band was removed and now I am in healing mode. I am scheduled to have a new band put in between Christmas and New Years.

The doctor said that, while a slip is a rare complication (about 2 - 3% of cases), they most often happen after a person has lost a lot of weight. My issue, I think, was that I had lost a lot of weight, band was too tight. I started vomiting, which agitated the band/stoma. Doctor failed to diagnose it multiple times and kept unfilling me. I kept telling him that the unfills were doing no good, but he waited almost 6 months to schedule an upper GI. I can't blame him though. I simply wasn't forceful enough about him scheduling an upper GI.

I'm on the mend, but my advice to people, after having gone through what I've gone through over the past 6 months, is to be firm with your doctor. If you are having problems swallowing/keeping liquids and solids down after a significant unfill, insist on an upper GI. My understanding is that the sooner a slip is diagnosed, the better chance that it can be corrected without surgery.

[hely88 883]

Thanks so much for sharing . I hope you heal fast and get better soon. Keep us posted on your other surgery

[#MagicWithinme 173]

"My understanding is that the sooner a slip is diagnosed, the better chance that it can be corrected without surgery" thats exactly what my md said this morning after he unfilled my band. I have had problems swallowing and just not being able to eat alot, I was living on peanutbutter and drinks for a week and lost 4 2/4 lbs, although the weight loss is great, I am also having problems catching my breathe. Dr says I will go back Monday , sometimes after an unfill the bands correct themselves and no further surgery is required, I'm hoping thats what happens.

Good luck to you as well. We have to be our own advocates. Md said he's glad I come in, instead of some people happy they are loosing weight and starving /dehyrating themselves till it makes it worse, I said all I wanted was to be able to breff!

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

You offer VERY wise advice!!! I hope others read this and take your words to heart.

Best wishes to you for a speedy recovery.

[kll724 3,055]

Oooh! Sorry that you had to have th eband removed, be careful of weight gain! Just my personal waring. I only had a revision in November of k]last eyar. I am just now starting to lose again since my intial weight gain while empty and it has been a battle of my own wits, not surgeon's. He is satisfied, but I am not. I am back to being overweight! Anyway, glad to hear that you are on the mend. It can happen to anyone, but it is not as common as people on this board seem to think. Mine was my 2nd slip, the 1st one was approxiamtely a year and half before, and it was easily fixed by an unfill for a month. I think the 2nd was because I sick and then let myself get dehydrated. People, take care, call your surgeon even if its Sunday, and don't do what I did, i didn't want to disturb him and flet it coudl wait for Monday! Good luck.Karen