Lapband Slippage

[jillagin2000 1]

My band is slipped and I can't keep anything solid down. Here's a good day...

Get to work around 9am -- open a bottle of Water and take a small sip

wait about 15 minutes to make sure it passes (if it doesn't it'll make me feel "full" or will cause pain/reflux)

if it passes then I'll take a few more sips and keep sipping as long as the Water goes down

heat up some Campbells Soup-to-go (creamy with no chunks) around 11am and sip it slowly, very slowly and if I'm lucky I get the whole thing down if not I throw it up.

keep sipping water

try another Campbells Soup-to-go around 6pm

If I feel too full after too few sips of Soup I'll wait at least an hour or two but if it's still too full I "know" it's just gonna stay there and NOT go down -- and by then I have awful heartburn but I know that I can't take even a Rolaids as it will not go down -- so I stick my finger down my throat and throw it up. After that I stick to Clear liquids for a couple of days, sometimes throwing that up. I'm at the point now where I can't even take a Zantac 75, and that stuff tastes awful after it's been sitting in your pouch for any length of time.

[brandyII 9]

Hi,

I'm curious as to what the signs are of slippage, it's probably been listed in a thread somewhere but I haven't seen it.

The reason I'm worried is because I had an episode a couple weeks ago where I was vomiting my own saliva for 10 hours every 20 minutes because it was too tight, too much fill. Is it possible to slip if it's too tight?

Also how do they tell, I've read about the "flouros" but don't know what it is and don't know if my surgeon has one in his office.:confused2:

Just read about the person who had to have part of their stomach removed during an emergency band removal because of slippage so a bit paranoid. Thanks brandyII.

[socalgal3 4]

Brandy-Fluoro is when you drink a barium solution and they do an "xray" of sorts to see your band. They can tell the position of your band, if it has slipped and if fluids are passing. Being too tight for too long certainly can cause a slip!

Jill- I hope you are under a doctor's care. Making yourself throw up cannot be helping your issues. Are you completely unfilled? Please be careful. You don't want to slip to get worse and cause permanent damage.

[brandyII 9]

Thanks for the info, I got the impression it was something people were having done in the office, I'd have to go to the hospital for that procedure.

I just had one incident where I had a too tight of a fill and I couldn't help but throw up that much, and it was just saliva but two ccs were removed and I still have four cc's in out of a 10 cc band. I see the surgeon in two weeks so I'll ask him about getting things checked out. I'm better at chewing my food now and haven't vomited in a while but still not losing weight! Thanks brandyII

[jillagin2000 1]

Thanks Socalgal -- I am under a doctor's care and will see him this Thursday. I'm going to ask him to take the band out -- I can't continue to live like this :purplebananna:

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I am glad to see so many people posting about slips, and what the symptoms are.

We have so many people who do not want to follow the rules, and say they chewed well and everything is fine. Everyone needs to be aware that slips

are very possible, and especially if you don't follow the rules your doctor

gives you. Some doctors don't even give much advice and that's why

this board is so valuable.

[jillagin2000 1]

Gee Thanks! It's so comforting to know it WAS all my fault! :thumbup:

Really, the band can slip because you're not following the rules. But it can slip for other reasons too. I lost slightly more than 100lbs with my band so I know I was compliant, I followed the rules. I just had a too tight fill that caused me to throw up EVERYTHING, even my own spit, for a weekend and it caused my band to slip. Sometimes they just slip!

I'm not saying to absolve yourself of all guilt, that it's always some outside influence that causes it. But I am saying that it's not always the patient's fault and to listen to your Dr. luckygirl. She knows if you did something wrong. She says you didn't so quit beating yourself up. I hope your surgery went well and you're recovery is uneventful :thumbup:

[floridaoklahoma 0]

I was banded on 12/19/08 have had 4 fills/ lost 30 pounds gained back 14 pounds.. band is not working correctly. even with 4 fills never been restricted. But it caught my attention when you said that about liquids I can not drink liquids either unless they are hot .. every other liquid I throw them up.. any suggestions?? also i have lost 60% of my hair in the last 8 weeks..

Edited April 25, 2008 by floridaoklahoma

[brandyII 9]

FL/OK,

That doesn't sound too good, did you go to the doctor? If I lost 60% of my hair I'd be freaking up a storm! Sounds like you're getting no nutrition and have a Protein deficiency. You can't drink either that's not good, go to your doctor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please

[Ray 479 1]

I was banded June 07 and lost 47 kilo (103 lbs ) in 6.5 months.Followed the post op diet to the letter e.g.2 weeks of clear fluids, 1 week mushies. In the longer term I (cheated) had too much to eat at time but that was down to adjusting to the limitations of the band. My problems started with an overfill i was ignorant to what was happening ,I had not found this site, I did end up having some removal, and later replaced.

Another overfill and the real problem started,three partial defills, 3 trips to Emergency ,after no food and Water for 5 days before each visit and a bout of gastro ( vomiting) on a band that would let nothing through, my doctor was on duty sent me for pictures said it had slipped badly.

Straight into surgery full band and port removal and guess what my band had been in perfect position I felt no pain on fills or de fills.

I am a bloke so I DID NOT CRY ( what a lie) like a baby when they took it away, and the quilt "what did i do wrong) but was told not my fault and he said I was his best patient. weight lose, attitude, life style change etc. that is why when he offered me a new one I jumped at it.

It needs three months to heal so i get my new band on the 12th of May.:thumbup:.

Sorry this was so long.

Ray:biggrinjester:

[brandyII 9]

Ray,

I'm assuming you're not from the states as you're using the term kilos, but we have a show here on cable called "Big Medicine" and it's a father/son team that does lap band surgeries in Texas.

Anyway there was an episode where this man had gotten an infection in one of the incision sites post surgery. The older surgeon was checking him out because of the infection and decided that it needed to be cleaned out. He actually took a pair of scissors and poked into the man's incision to clean it out. It was the most awful thing I had ever seen and I felt so bad for this man.

The man was crying out in pain and the surgeon is like "are you crying, you're such a big fellow, I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt you....." something to that effect. What did the surgeon expect when he's poking a very tender infected incision, "thanks doc, that's a wonderful feeling"? I'm just telling you this because you brought up the fact that you were a male and had cried, it's okay, you're allowed, brandyII.

[brandyII 9]

FL/OK,

Was wondering how you were doing and if you went to the doctor? brandyII.

[starrgirrl 0]

This is a helpful discussion. Another interesting question would be -- how long were you banded before experiencing a slip? There is not a lot of information on people who are 3+ years out. I've had my band for over four years and have just been diagnosed with a slip. I actually just subscribed to the medical journal for bariatric surgery so that I could read up on long-term results. I'm not knowledgable enough to interpret what I've read for anyone else, so I won't be posting anything from the journal. However, it does appear that the risk for complications increases over time. When I say increases... the percentages are still on the small side.

My experience with the band, is that over time I was able to eat a bit more and a bit more. It was not an act of rebellion, but rather an organic change. I attributed it to the change in my stomach that came with the weight loss. I also assumed that the band was looser now that there was less fat around my stomach. However, when I went for a check up, I was diagnosed with a dialated esophogas (this was 18 months ago). I was put on liquids for a few weeks and then told to resume "band" eating.

What is hard to navigate, is that with dialation or slippage, we no longer experience the type of restriction that we had when first banded. Therefore, managing food intake becomes much more based in "will power" than intuitive eating. One of the reasons that I got banded was because it was going to allow me to be more intuitive with my eating patterns... I could listen to the "full" signal and then respond. The full signal comes much later now due to the slipped band. As a result I've gained back almost 30 pounds.

It's interesting reading this board and others like it. A large percentage of posts are from people wanting the band and people who have been recently banded. There is tremendous enthusiasm and much of the information is centered around helping with the learning curve of living with the band. (... and this is as it should be! I benefited greatly from forums such as these when I was seeking more information and support on my banding journey).

However, I welcome finding places to talk with more long-term bandsters. It seems as if we have slightly different challenges than the people one or two years out of surgery.

As for symptoms, I am able to eat more than before (examples -- a 6" sub from Subway.... 4 to 6 pieces of sushi... a big salad.... one soft taco + Beans + rice... None of these are awful amounts of food, but it is adding up to much more than I was able to eat when first banded). I'm also experiencing acid reflux at night. I wake up coughing and gagging. It's painful and very unpleasant.

I still believe in the band and am grateful for the gift it has been to me. It is very likely that mine is coming out. And that's OK, too. I've had four wonderful years of having the opportunity to heal issues related to food and body image and now I'm in a very different place. I'm not the same person who had the surgery four years ago.

We'll see where this journey goes next... but I know that it will be a blessed path.

[jillagin2000 1]

Starrgirrl -- I'm not sure but I think I slipped about 2 years out after a particularly tight fill. Rather than go straight back to my Dr I spent a long weekend out in the heat doing sports but not able to keep so much as a sip of Water through. I threw up 5-10 times a day for 3-4 days, I was miserable. I thought I was OK when I finally got into my Band Doc and he partially un-filled me but my symptoms started then even after un-fill after un-fill.

I'm OK now as I have nothing in the band right now but I'm eating like a paroled felon. I can't wait to get this band out and get started on my bypass journey :-)

[*JASMINE* 1]

Starrgirrl,

I'm 3 years out and have regained 37lbs. I know exactly what you are talking about. Our outlook is a little bit different now. We're past the "honeymoon period". If you don't mind my asking, will you have to pay out of pocket to have the band removed? And how much did you get down to before you started regaining?