jennibee

I have had 2 port revision surgeries due to it flipping over. I am scheduled for an appointment under flueroscopy this coming Monday to see if it's happened again. It's very discouraging and I've only had a few fills in the 3 years since my surgery (most of them done while I was in the O.R.) I have continued to gain weight because I haven't had satiety for nearly a year and I am always hungry. The fear of finding out that I will have to endure yet another revision has kept me away from the doctors and from asking for a fill. I hope the your experience is better. I think that calling your doctor or making an appointment to be seen is in your best interests. Please don't put it off for fear of not liking what you might hear like I've been doing. 2011 is a new year and a new beginning, I hope things work out for you! Good Luck!

When I told my best friend (former now) that I was approved for WLS her response what "great now instead of being fat and miserable you'll be skinny and miserable" I decided right then and there that she wasn't the kind of person I needed in my life. As far as I know she is the only miserable one now. Sometimes when you make major changes in your life it makes the people around you examine their own lives. Maybe your friends just took a good look at themselves and didn't like what they saw. Congrats on doing what is right for you and taking the steps to live a healthier life!

I have fallen off of the "bandwagon" and fallen HARD! I missed my three year check-up (banded 09/07) and possibly my two year appt. now that I think about it. I don't know how much I weight as I have refused to get on a scale for at least 6 or more months. I have had several port revision surgeries due to it flipping over. I've only had 4 fills in 3 years (two of them during the revision surgeries) and I am certain that my port has flipped again.I can feel it flopping around like a fish out of water especially when I bend over too far. Neither the doctor nor I have any idea why it keeps happening but it's getting very discouraging! I have needed a fill for so so long and I am always hungry and have NO restriction whatsoever. My fear of going back to the drs' and having him confirm my work nightmare is keeping me from getting the help I need. I am going to go back on the post-op diet for a little while and see if I can start to "hear" my body telling me it's full before I bust up into the dr's office probably weighing more than I did on the day of my surgery. Am I alone in this sad situation? Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have become so disgusted with the whole process that I've given up and that makes me sad. I didn't work so hard to be banded to just quit. I am praying that 2011 is my year!

I am two plus years post banding and had a fill for the first time in 11 months on 12/21/09. I won't bore you with all of the details of why it has been so long. Anyway, I have been doing great since then, made it thru the "battlefield" that is the holidays without making any really huge mistakes with my food choices. I am measuring my food, sticking to the game plan and getting exercise. Way better than I had been doing for a year! Everything was okay all day yesterday I ate without any problems until lastnight at supper time. I prepared my food like always (oven baked chicken, and a little bit of broccoli) chewed like always maybe even a little bit more than usual and got horribly stuck. I was in SO much pain it was unbearable! :wub: My 12 year old daughter was really concerned since she has never seen me that miserable. To be honest it's been so long since I have had a "stuck episode" that I don't remember if there is anything to help get unstuck or not. Anyway since lastnight everything I have attempted to eat has gotten stuck or hurt. Is it possible that getting plugged up after so long irritated my stomach so badly that I need liquids for a few days? Or maybe it could be that my fill finally kicked in???? Which would be awesome btw! I am kinda lost any advice would be greatly appreciated.

At one point I was so "not hungry" that the thought of eating made me feel sick. I was forcing myself to eat one meal a day. My dr. kept stressing to me that I needed to eat in order to sustain myself. He even threatened to force feed my himself. My hair started to fall out because I wasn't eating enough protein. I kinda like my hair so I finally gave in and we compromised on two meals a day usually like 6-8 hours apart. Oh how I wish that was the case now, I actually long for satiety...lol! I think this will probably lessen over time but am no expert on the subject just speaking from my own personal experience. Good luck

Same thing happened to me after my surgery. I just mentioned it to my dr at my follow up appt and he pulled it up with tweezers and snipped it off. It was totally painless so you should be okay! Good luck in 2010

The same thing happened to me. I have been on Depo off and on for at least five years. I had my period a few days after surgery it was heavy and then over with. I went back to my "normal" which is all of the annoying symptoms of PMS but no period the next month. Haven't had it since and my surgery was two years ago. I don't think you have anything to worry about! Good Luck!

I would be glad to mentor you if you'll have me. At least I will be pretty well versed in the things you should def. not do. I have made a comittment to doing things the right way and plan to stick to it! Having you to guide on this journey will keep me honest! lol...good luck to us both!

dowhatitdo1, I honestly do not think I would be a good mentor for you since I have just recently gotten back on the "band wagon" I would however really love to have somebody to be band buddies with! Originally I lost 98 pounds within the first year but then had a huge fight with my dr. and just quit. I gave up on myself and the process and in 10 months gained all but 2 pounds back. I searched far and wide for another dr who would treat me but nobody wants to deal with someone elses' band patient in this area. So about a month and a half ago I called his office and said I needed to come in. Before he even opened his mouth I told him how I felt, what I would and wouldn't put up with and that if he couldn't treat me properly I would be leaving and never coming back. Since then he has been very pleasant and super helpful. I had to wait a month until I could get a fill under fluro (yesterday!) I was very diligent about sticking to the plan, measuring my food intake, and keeping active (everything I gave up for 10 months) and was able to lose 11 1/2 pounds on my own in three weeks. Knowing that I was able to accomplish that on my own motivated me big time. I am so glad to have gotten a fill and couldn't think of a better way to stay on track than to have a buddy to keep me going! :tongue:

I suppose I am lucky because I don't usually have a problem making good food choices or being around other people who are indulging themselves. It's those other people who seem to have the problem. I get "is that all you are going to eat?" or "Oh come on it's only one cheese stick...live a little why don't you?" from my family/friends. I'm like "Hello people, I didn't go through all of this and make this choice for myself to have your help in sabotaging it!" Mostly I just say kindly "No thank you, I ate before I left home" just to have something to say.

I have been banded for two years and three months and only have 8ccs in my band. Most of my fills have been between 1 and 2 ccs. Just got one yesterday for the first time in a year (that's a whole other story tho) I know what you mean about them hurting, my first two fills required multiple sticks and lots of digging. Only after being unsuccessful in getting the first one did we discover it was because my port had turned over. He could have dug for 6 years and got nothing. The second one was the same story! So now two port revision surgeries later I am happy to say that fills are no longer painful. I was in and out it 5 minutes yesterday! Good luck with you 6ccs, hope Santa gives you some restriction!

I remember thinking that death would be a better option than dealing with the hunger that hit me about 3 weeks post-op...lol! I had no hunger whatsoever for two/two-and-a-half weeks then BAM, I wanted to chew the legs off of my table! I got scared and called my dr. The nurse told me that it's normal, and probably a good thing because it meant that all of the inflamation in my stomach had finally gone down. I lived thru it somehow (superhuman strength I think) and I am confident that so will you. Hang in there, things get better once you begin getting fills. Good luck!

I can't eat french fries (not that I should anyway) no matter what. I have tried a time or two in the last two years with catastrophic results. Only one fry chewed up to a mushy pulp and SICKNESS for hours to come. Guess that's a good thing cuz I love em' and they are not the most healthy things. Also tried a teeny tiny bit of an apple fritter once and paid the price. I can eat eggs like a champ tho! And my wonderful 12 yr old makes them better than a 5-star chef! :w00t:

I didn't have restriction until 6ccs in my 10 cc band. It felt like it was never gonna happen! I now have 7.5ccs (I think...lol) and things are good. Don't worry about what the scale says, keep your nose to the ground, and stay motivated. I got frustrated and gained back a significant amount of weight back after my 1 yr anniversary. Was just sick of "behaving" but when my body started groaning and paining about being abused again I went back to the dr and got on track.

I don't feel the same kind of "full" as pre-band but I do feel satisfied when I am thru eating. Tho' sometimes even 2 yrs later my "head hunger" creeps back up and I just think I am starving. Generally if I distract myself with something else it passes.

The same thing happened to me last year but my dr. made me go a whole 6 weeks w/o anything in my band. It was he-double hockeysticks! I was so glad to finally get some restriction again! I hope the two weeks fly by for you!

I suffered horribly with the same symptoms till about 6 months post-op, so much so that it often reduced me to tears. My dr. explained that it's "referred pain" from the nerves in the band area, the brain interprets it incorrectly and triggers the pain response in your shoulder area. I only have trouble sporadically now, not nearly as often as in the beginning. I hope that this passes for you as well.

I am two years 2 months post-op and had some issues with hair loss early on (about 6 months) My best friend is a hairdresser and suggest Nioxin also. It did make a difference and I like it so much that I still use it on a regular basis. Also, Biotin seemed to help and don't forget to get enough protein! denouement I see also that you aren't happy with your surgeon either. I actually neglected to get any follow-up care for nearly a whole year because of personality conflicts with mine. Please do your very best to find another doctor of follow-up with, you deserve it. Unfortunately for me nobody in my area wanted to be bothered with this particular drs' patients (kinda like we were his problem and they didn't want to deal with him either) I didn't have a choice in the matter and had to go back to his office. I stood up for myself and made it be known that I would not tolerate being treated poorly and so far there haven't been anymore problems. Good luck, I wish you the best!

I am 16 months out and still get confused about how much is enough. When measuring 4 oz (my dr.s recomendation for a meal) do I use a measuring cup or a kitchen scale? Volume-wise using the scale gives me more food than putting it into a measuring cup does. I wonder how other people measure? I just eat until I am satisfied. My weight loss has been at a standstill but I am dealing with a shoulder injury that has sidelined my trips to the gym. And the weather has been terrible and icy where I live so I haven't been walking like I should. I just don't want to take a chance slipping and hurting myself any further.

I am over a year post-op and was doing wonderfully up until I got a nasty, nasty stomach bug and the dr. emptied my band totally. I was a good idea at the time because it did cut down on the awful nausea and the vomitting. But it's been over a month since and I felt better weeks ago and the dr. won't give me a fill until mid December. I am eating like a fool, I called and tried to explain but he just wants me to measure out my food, keep a food log, and pretty much starve. I am so mad at myself for not being able to exercise more dicipline. I have gained weight to the tune of about 6 pounds. I had really good restriction before my unfill and now I'm starving all day long 24/7. I fight it off as long as possible but always end up eating too much and the wrong stuff. Any suggestions, or kind words, or tough love out there? I am really sad about all this and ready to just give up. This is how I got so heavy in the first place. Can I demand a fill?

I want to thank everyone for the advice, I asked the dr's office it it was an insurance issue and they said no. So I was actually able to get in on the 5th of this month rather than wait. I am glad to know that my fill is coming much sooner than I expected. But now I'm sick over getting on the scale and having the dr. chew me out for gaining. I've worked so hard this past year and in the grand scheme of things six pounds is nothing, I'm just nervous about how he'll view it. I'm going to stick to liquids/mushies till then since I just had a root canal today maybe I'll lose a little that way too before I have to face the music. Thanks again everybody!

I was fortunate enough to have insurance that covered all but the $150.00 co-pay. I'm going to call the office again and ask if it's an insurance thing that I can't get a fill sooner or what. If it isn't I am fully prepared to camp out in his waiting room until he gives in. Keeping a food log that he is going to blow up over doesn't do me any good. I'm being totally honest about what I'm eating and how much, and when. And that is going to get him smoked for sure. I am ready to face whatever I need to in order to get some restriction again!

I have been thru two port revision surgeries (one at 3 months and one at 9 months post-op) My dr. was left scratching his head as to how my port could possibly flipped after the first revision. To be certain that it doesn't happen again he doubled the number of sutures in the second. Fortunately my insurance paid for each of the surgeries. I was almost certain that my port had flipped for the third time (figured I know what it feels like after the first two times) but was pleased to find out that it is right where it is supposed to be! I actually had a pain-free, poke-free, digging for my port fill a few weeks ago. It was the first fill I ever got in his office and not on the operating table.:thumbup: I wish you luck!

The dr said that the tissue he is attaching the port to is weak. He also tossed out that perhaps I am allergic to the sutures that he had been using and that my body was trying to expell them. He used twice the normal number of sutures during my first port revision and then added even more during my second surgery. Most of the sutures were still completely intacted and were not frayed or anything. ???? I don't think he really knows for sure why I was the first patient of his ever to need a port revision surgery one time, and the only one to have it more than once. I think it's just something internally with me.

I have been through port revision surgery twice and quite possibly there is a third round in my future. My port keeps flipping over and the dr. keeps fixing it. I haven't had a fill thru my port EVER since being banded over a year ago. My first revision was scheduled at the six week post-surgery mark (when I went for my first fill) the second was at my six month mark. The surgery itself was nothing, in and out in a few hours, little if any recovery, and no pain whatsoever. The dr. filled me during the operation and I have good restriction for the most part. I am pretty sure my port has turned over again but won't know until I need another fill. I have just made up my mind to not let it get me down, it's been worth it so far. I wouldn't change it for anything.