What's normal after an unfill?

After having my band for 6 years (it's been 5 since I've seen a Bariatric Doctor), I started having chest pain whenever I inhaled deeply or bent over. My doctor told me I had chest wall pain and told me to take Aleve for a week. I felt better for awhile, but the pain returned, along with reflux. I then started to wonder if it was related to my band and the fact that I didn't follow a proper diet while banded. I followed up with my Bariatric doctor, who had me do an upper GI (to see the placement of the band only), and it revealed that the pouch was dilated and that there was a mild slip. He said that it was caught in enough time to just unfill the band and let it move back up and over the stomach. I spoke with the doctor's nurse, and she said that I will feel chest pain because the band is moving back up my stomach. My stomach/ low back is also fluttery/crampy. I just want to know if anyone has had the same experience and if feeling the chest /stomach pain is normal and if your band did in fact move and how long it took. Thanks!

Thankfully you did catch it early!  Keep in good communication with your surgeon on this, for slips can be serious and many have had emergency surgeries because of them.  If the band can 'slip back up' - perhaps it can also slip even further out of place, too.  If something feels wrong - speak up!  These slips can cause permanent damage to your stomach and even be life threatening. 

Valerie gave you some good advice.  You might try eating a liquid/soft diet for a few days to see if it's just inflammation.  But for sure don't fool around or get fooled around by your doctor.  This can be very serious.  

I was unfilled for several years and the band still eroded into my stomach, caused a hiatial hernia and second hernia at the port site due to ahdesions, along with acid reflux and small ulcers.  Fun stuff....  My advice would be to have it removed completely and revise to an alternative WLS if needed/wanted/possible.  JMHO of course.  I hope you get your chest pain issues resolved asap!

Whenever my band is adjusted, fill or small unfill, I go back to soft, mushy foods for a few days.

It is like hitting the reset button for me ... A chance to start over with my stages of eating, a reminder that I have a band and it requires sensible, thought-filled eating.

If your small slip was caused by bad eating practices (bites too big, or too much at once or poor choices), this will be a chance to go back to better band eating habits.

Best of luck ... I hope the unfill will allow things to settle down, you are likely quite inflamed in there.  

I'll bet that in a week or so you will feel much better if you watch your eating.

Thank you.:-)

As Kathkeb says. A small slip can rectify itself with an unfilled band. It doesn't always but often dies.

edited to amend!  DOES not dies!!!!

"DOES"! I'm pretty certain that Kate meant DOES, not DIES.

Ah! Yes! Thanks Bette!

For a year before I had my band removed I had a pain in my center chest up under my rib cage. All tests showed everything was supposedly fine yet when I woke up from having my band out the pain was gone and hasn't returned yet at 9 mos. later so I can only assume that it was indeed the band causing the pain. Now I still have horrible GERD which causes alot of stomach pain and my stomach empties slower than normal now so I have to eat small meals all day long and chew super good. If I don't my stomach gets all hard and swollen from food backing up. The band is an evil little device in my opinion and should be taken off the market but that's just me.

 I  experienced this chest pain with my band and had to have it unfilled for it to rest and  things to go back to normal. I stayed on liquids for a week or so.   Personally once the band started acting up it never quite worked anymore for a long time, I ended up having it removed. I hope this unfill works for you!