how to avoid band slips & erosion

[suzie 0]

i am just wandering about band erosion,, will it happen after 1 year?

i am hoping it would take years before it happens. i don't want to be cut open again.

is there any tips and cautions to avoid slip bands and erosion.

can' t believe some people are having erosion after only a year.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Nobody really knows why erosion happens. There are theories but nothing set in stone. It only happens in less than 1% of banded people so don't worry about it. Worrying isn't going to help anything anyway.

As for slips just follow your docs advice to a "T". Don't cheat on the post-op diet, follow all the bandster rules, don't over eat, chew well, don't eat foods you know are not going to work, do everything you are supposed to and your chances for a slip are quite low.

[mousecrazy 2]

Chalk this up to a theory, but I believe it's pretty sound advice: be careful about being "overfilled". Having very aggressive fills, and relying on the band for all your self-control seems to be a recipe for some kind of problem. Whether it is that the band is so tight it invites erosion...or whether all the constant PBs cause problems in the espophagus, which lead to slipping and erosion...whatever the causal chain...kep that in mind as you proceed through the banded journey.

It's probably a better idea to meet the band halfway...partner with it, don't lean on it so heavily. And like I said at the beginning...this is a theory, of course.

[Mrs Husker 3]

My Dr nurse said that smoking might be related to band erosion. Has anyone heard this before?

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

My Dr nurse said that smoking might be related to band erosion. Has anyone heard this before?

Yes, that is one of the many theories. For some time they thought NSAIDs were the evil-doers. (Motrin, Naprosyn, etc) They realized that is not accurate. But they are still looking.

[catzintj 1]

i started smoking after i was banded. i noticed the acid reflux started with the smoking. i quite smoking and i havent had any trouble since. i wasnt eating much and needed the smokes as a substitute. the hand to mouth thing i guess. thank god i quit. i hated the smell and the fact that i was harming my body, we go to such lengths to lose the weight, but we still have to deal with the emotional side .

[princess_n_thep 2]

Either way, I realize and have come to terms that there WILL be another surgery eventually. The band is not designed to be life long only long term to change eating habits so that you learn to live without the band. Those veterans that have had their bands removed seemed to be doing good for a few months after but then I never see them post anymore. I wonder how Michelle and Penni are doing with weightloss efforts?

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Either way, I realize and have come to terms that there WILL be another surgery eventually. The band is not designed to be life long only long term to change eating habits so that you learn to live without the band. ...

Hmmm, I think I am going to have to disagree with you on this one. The band *is* designed to last a life time. There are parts that could malfunction but overall the band is designed to last a lifetime.

If we could take off weight and keep it off we wouldn't need a band to begin with. Many people have lost hundreds of pounds just to regain and lose again. But since we all have problems of one sort or another with food isues then removing the band just puts the person back to where they started from. This is not all about behavior modification. If that was the case we wouldn't have needed a band to begin with.

[Mickey_1969 0]

If you haven't stuck to the post op diet 100% but not overly bad, do you all think that by going back to exactly what you are supposed to do will undo any ill effects you might have done?

[Jachut 487]

I agree with several others - I think being tight (not necessarily "too" tight, just tight) and being filled too quickly are the main risk factors.

I just think you'll do better long term if over time you learn to gain that self control, not rely on a hard stop from a tighter band - it does come with practice. I think being so tight that you cant eat quite a few different foods, have stuck or PBing episodes more than once in a while is risky and I think fills need to be done conservatively. Like if you think you eat too much but are still slowly losing, but would rather lose faster, you dont really need a fill kind of thing.

I guess I do believe that it DOES have to do with behaviour modification and using the band to help you achieve that, not getting a band to stop you eating so much so that you automatically lose weight. Its taken way longer than what I ever imagined it would every time I went on a diet but after 16 months, my eating habits ARE better, I DO say no when I really want to say yes, day after day I DO choose healthier foods and avoid the not so healthy ones. I never thought I could do that, but I have and I honestly do not think that if I lost my band I would just pile it all back on again. Maybe I'm kidding myself but I've achieved all I've achieved with a relatively loose band - loose enough that I can eat bread and pizza and all of those bad foods and I've chosen to undertake a lifestyle that includes a lot of exercise and that lifestyle and those choices are normal to me now.

I dont believe for a moment that we all need a band because its impossible for any of us to achieve that. We CAN do it but we need help to do it which is what a band does for us.

I have no real basis for saying that, its just what I think.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I guess I do believe that it DOES have to do with behaviour modification and using the band to help you achieve that, not getting a band to stop you eating so much so that you automatically lose weight.

But.... we aren't talking behavior modification with a band, we are talking about behavior modification withOUT the band. The scenario is that a person was told the band isn't designed to be for life but for 10-15 years and at the end of 10-15 years there should be enough behavior mod. that the band could be removed without a problem.

I don't believe most people would stick to a "banded" diet and Portion Control if their band was removed. I think it is like telling an alcoholic that since they haven't been drinking for 10-15 years that they are now able to drink socially and appropriately. That just isn't going to happen.

[Mrs Husker 3]

I think it is like telling an alcoholic that since they haven't been drinking for 10-15 years that they are now able to drink socially and appropriately. That just isn't going to happen.

Perfect analogy. How many people have lost weight for a few years, just to put it back on again. The band is a tool to help us achieve what we are unable to achieve alone.

[fabfatgrl 10]

I agree with the previous posters. I really think that aggressive fills are one of the biggest issues. That does not mean that one should not get fills... you need them to make the Band work. BUT, there will come a point where you are not eating very much and perhaps have stalled. Many people will choose a fill at that point... even if it causes severe reflux or whatever. A better option would be to work with the fill you have and increase your exercise or whatever.

[lyndalafe 1]

I so agree on the aggressive fill scenero. I think a lot of doctors are trying to get higher weight loss records so they sometimes overfill instead of gradually reaching a good fill level. I was constantly be overfilled for a year and then two to 3 weeks later it would get tighter and I ended up with reflux and a slip that has now corrected itself and I have found that at my lower fill level I can eat some bread and some pasta; but must be slowly and not a lot.....which has made for a much slower weight loss; but definitely less painful. I think some doctors feel you should only have Protein and salad..........but I tell you in order to get a chicken breast down - your fill also has to allow some bread.....cause if you can't eat the one........you'll have a heck of a time getting the protein down also.

[sunnysea 1]

On the subject of the band not being for life........ I'm new to this and will be getting my 1st fill on the 16th, I am wide open right now and I can eat anything, I do find that I stay full longer than before the band. I think people are forgetting about the hunger issue before being banded. You can improve your habits but without the band you would be hungrier requiring more calories to stay satisfied and thus gain weight. As of now I can't imagine being without the band and hope that if it ever comes to that there will be a replacement of some kind. Sunnysea