My band has slipped after 3 years of being banded

[mrsjones0728 0]

Hi ....I haven't been on in a while now. I was banded 11/4/02. I didn't go for any fills last year since my insurance plan changed at work and no coverage for anything related to weight loss. In December, I had to go to the emergency room with chest pain. After a visit to the cardiologist, it's been determined that my pain was caused by chronic heartburn. I had an endoscopy this week and the doc said I have some minor erosion and probable slippage. They are setting up the barium swallow to determine how bad the slippage is. The doc said I had too much gastric tissue above my band :smile2:

Originally, I had lost about 60 lbs but now I have gained back 40 of those and only down 20 lbs.

Any advice before I go for the barium test? Should I just do liquids to see if that helps?

[jbflorida 1]

Sorry to hear that you are not doing so well right now. Hope it all gets cleared up soon! As someone who had done this awhile back, what are your thoughts? (I am researching this for myself!) Do you think the weight came back because you weren't able to get fills--or what? I hope you get the answers that you need about the barium.

[mrsjones0728 0]

There are a couple of reasons for my weight gain, but I suspect the biggest one is the slippage. My pouch is larger than it should be and not having it checked last year just made the weight gain worse. On top of that, a couple of years ago I underwent infertility treatment and gained about 25 lbs from the hormone injections.

I am looking forward to getting back on track and getting this weight off once and for all.

[Big Dan 2]

My slipped band was diagnosed in April 2007 after 3+ years of banding. I had the reflux, nighttime aspiration, etc., and while those symptoms would resolve with an unfill I couldn't tolerate even the tiniest fill no matter how much time had gone by. I had several barium swallow tests (since my docs do fills that way) and they kept saying the band was in good position. I even had an endoscopy at one point, during which esophagitis was diagnosed, but the band was supposedly fine. But clearly something was wrong. Ultimately a slip was diagnosed and my band was removed. (BTW, I had the 4cc version, and now I think it was too small from the start.)

Insurance carriers handle this situation differently--there are no norms. In my case I had lost so much weight that my BMI was now about 30, so my carrier would not cover a new band. I simply didn't qualify. They paid for the removal and probably would have covered a repair/reposition, but not a replacement. But not all carriers take that approach, so I switched to a different carrier that would treat my band as an ongoing treatment for a chronic medical condition, and they paid for a new one. Now I have the AP-L band, implanted last August.

Obviously not everyone can manipulate their insurance coverage the way I have been able to, so it's really important that we understand our own policies and the laws where we live. It's entirely possible that your state has laws that will require maintenance of ongoing treatment, regardless of whether the treatment was covered in the first place. Check it out with your state's department of insurance, and DON'T take what your carrier says as the final word.

Do you mind me asking what an AP-L band is and how it is different from another?:biggrin:

[utahband 0]

Hi I had a sipged after 2 month and last thur I had another surgery. I am feeling so down and wish didn't put anothe band. Is that going to go away? I am on liquids again, a lot pain and with a big bill. Do you think I will feel better?