Is my pain related to my lap band?

TJ posted a comment asking if my stomach pain was related to my band. A few others have asked me that as well, and others have probably wondered.

There are risks and complications that can be a result of the lap band:

• band leak
• reflux/vomiting
• band erosion
• difficulty swallowing
• band slippage
• dehydration
• gastritis

The most common complication I have heard of is acid reflux. Many band patients will experience acid reflux at night when they lay down, and usually it's a result of the band being too tight. I have not experienced this.

Vomiting is also something that can happen if you are too tight, or if you eat more than you are supposed to.

I have never heard of anyone (from the thousands of people I've met online) who have had a band leak, but I'm sure it's probably happened. It seems to be quite rare.

Band slippage is something I have heard people talk about. Slippage refers to when the stomach slides up through the band, making the pouch larger, but making the band feel extremely tight. This is usually evident when a patient has extreme heartburn. There are two causes for slippage: over eating and excessive vomiting as a result, or poor installation. :) Poor installation means the surgeon didn't do a good enough job securing the lap band to the stomach. In almost all the cases I've heard of, slippage was due to patient error, rather than MD error, but either can happen. A slipped band needs to be repaired surgically.

Band erosion is when the band actually erodes in the stomach. Band erosion can occur if the surgeon places too many sutures around the band. If this occurs, the band needs to be removed.

The band is silicone, and the body does not know any better than to accept it. It's not like an organ transplant where the body can reject it.

I have not heard of any other complications that can come as a result of the band, so it does not appear that my symptoms are consistent with lap band problems. To be on the safe side, as part of my testing, I'm sure they'll take an Xray to make sure everything is in place.