steveelea

If it were any other surgeon then I would think they were dodgy but, this man is so successfull and was the first to be doing the lap band here in Australia. I think I have just been unlucky...or....maybe its the Dr that is doing the fill that is causing more harm to the port which is what my gut is telling me unfortunately. I have just had a call back from the nurses and they are fitting me in for an xray today to see if they can locate the port exactly. As for the cost, I get full rebate on every fill I have and at the start all of the money I paid for the lapband has now covered me for any future operations I may need. So I am covered for life for the band and even if it doesnt work and I need gastric sleeving, then I don't pay a cent. So they really are very good with these things but I think I am just unlucky with this unfortunately :thumbup: Fingers crossed that all goes well today and my surgeon can find it by xray and get it done for me....wouldn't that be lovely :smile:

Just an update with some not so good news......yes think I need to go back in for reoperation yet again :tongue2: Have posted in another section to get some more info from others that may have had the same problem, but apparently they think my port has flipped and they can't fill it!!!!! Yes I am in disbelief I can not believe that this is happening.....I swear I am jinxed!!!!!!!!:eek: I am back to the specialist next Thursday so that he can tell me what we will do about this newest problem. I just don't know if I can face another surgery again:sad:

I am venting and asking at the same time.....has anyone ever had trouble getting thier fills done eg: hard to find the port or port moved etc???? I have been banded since November 09 and have had non stop problems and I am getting soooo disheartened I have never had great restriction due to a leak in the port tube, so I finally had that replaces only a few months ago and everything was finally starting to fall into place, but then I had a fill a month ago and the dr found it hard to do. It took forever for him to find it and get it in the right position. Then today I went back hoping that it would be my final fill for some time as I felt like I was just about there with restriction just needed a little more and bang, he slipped that many times and ended up having to do a local anisthetic to try to find the port as he was almost DIGGING with the needle and the pain with him slipping hard was extremely uncomfortable. I left the dr's with no fill and he has told me i need to go see the surgeon next week to see whats happening as he thinks that now my new port has twisted around and he could only find the back, moreover he also said that he slipped and hit my tubing again so I am now waiting for another leak to start......Why me (sorry feeling sorry for myself big time atm) Has this sort of thing happened to anyone else or I am just really unlucky??????? :tongue2: How can they tell if its turned around or they need to move it???? That would mean 3 ports and tubing in 1 year! Stressed out badly, sad angry and confused :frown::mad::eek:

So sorry to hear that you are having problems lotzasunshine :thumbup: On the upside at least its fixable and once you get it done you will be on the right track again. I have never had propper restriction as there has been a problem with mine from almost the start, so I am over it too but fingers crossed that yours is fixed soon and you can get back to dropping those kilo's Take Care and keep us updated:smile2:

Hi guys, Just checking in to see how your all doing......How are you after the adjustment Keith?? I have been plodding along and have lost about 2kg in a month which is ok. I am due to go back to my dr for another fill on Wed this week so I hope to get another ml put in my band to help me a bit more. I have a 14ml band in (a large band) and I have 7mls of fluid in it at the moment.....so I am hoping that 8ml will be my magic number They had a bit of trouble with my previous fill because I had the liquid bruise (seroma) around my port and the port kept bouncing off the seroma when they tried to fill it. So they removed some of the liquid bruise and then tried again several times....he said maybe you will have to wait 6 weeks. Well I think he took one look at my face and he said ok ok we will try again and he got it. So about 30 jabs later I had my extra 1ml in my band. ( I had said do whatever it takes I dont care but I want my fill TODAY!!!!) It has given me better restriction and I can no longer eat bread of any sort if its not toasted (which is fine with me anyway) so I know its working YAY. I was sooooo scared after he poked and prodded so much to try to fill the band that I would have another leak. It just kept slipping and slipping with a force and I went home paradoid and waiting to feel no restriction whatso ever! Thank goodness that hasn't been the case. Anyway I am really looking forward to going in again and getting another fill to help me on my way. Just the fact that the scales are dropping in numbers instead of staying the same is a real bonus that I have waited so long to see!!!! :thumbup: Let me know how your all going Take Care

How was your visit on Friday Keith?? How are you going? Nonoma, see how you go after this fill....they did the same thing for me when they susspected a leak, gave me 3mls in one fill and I had tight resstriction but unfortunately, it went after the first week and a bit. On the up side I can tell you that if you have been struggling to lose weight and not feeling the restriction and you have to get a port replacement, its worth every bit of it. I now feel restriction and have to chew my food really really well which I never have had to do before, and I just can't fit that much in. I havent jumped on the scales again yet but I will next week (wednesday) when I go for another fill. It is wonderfull to feel such restriction, and I am hoping that I will only need 1 more fill and that will be my limit. Here's hoping

I took your advice Keith (thank you for encouraging me to call them...I needed a push in the right direction :blushing:) and called them first thing this morning. The nurse told me that it is my port and that it has developed fluid around it which doesn't happen to everyone, but its not uncommon. She said the name for it but I can't remember the exact name...she then continued to say its like a liquid bruise around the port and it will feel squelchy. They said I can get some fluid drained out of it when I go in next week for my next fill if its still there but it may go away on its own. She said often when people have a lot of swelling it develops like that and I did have a huge amount of swelling. I did a lot of walking on the weekend (while I was out shopping LOL) both on Saturday and Sunday and I hope I didn't cause this by overdoing it......either way apparently it's not a problem they told me it's just something that happens to some. I can't tell you my relief when she said it was just my port and fluid around it :thumbup: LOL I asked her about how it felt like it was higher up than my scar and when they filled me they put the needle in below my scar. She asked if that was when I was standing up that it felt higher ...and it is. When you are laying down your skin lays differently and she told me to lay down and feel it and I could feel it below my scar when I was laying down. All in all I am soooooo glad I called them and so relieved :thumbdown: I hope you are able to eat soon Keith. Do you think it has anything to do with extra swelling as they fixed a hernia at the same time?? Might just be extra swollen for a time. Are you having trouble swallowing liquids??

So pleased to hear that all went well :thumbup: Great that they fixed the hernia at the same time save yet another operation. I dont know about you, but I felt a sence of relief when the Dr told me that they found the leak. I felt like at least it wasn't in my mind...I wasn't imagining it as I had started to think that I was. They said they clamped it where the tube joined the connecting tube to the band and added some saline, and it squirted out like a fountain up in the air!!!! So they told me it was a very noticable leak but I guess I will never know how it was caused, so I intend on being careful and letting it heal properly...no overdoing it (not that I did before I don't think) They also said I had healed so well they gave me a 1ml fill so I now have a total of 6mls...and they found it straight away which was amazing, that hasn't happened before. Anyway, I am thinking I had better call my nurse tomorrow as I can feel a hige lump (that moves) under my scar. At first I thought it was swelling but it moves and feels like bubbly/squishy when i press on it, but hard at the same time. After totally freiking out....now I have calmed down a bit I am thinking it may be my port, but it is higher up than where they did my fill on Thursday just been, so not sure if it moves around or not. I am dreading ringing the nurse as I don't want their to be anything else wrong.....I felt like I was on the road to going full steam ahead and now this......:thumbup: :smile:

Vent away jldchester.....I know how you feel and I was exactly the same. I was sick of the not knowing and the stress and the waiting etc etc etc :smile: Is the fill by fluoroscopy where they inject dye into the port to see where the leak is when they x ray or ultrasound you?? I asked my Dr about that and he said that they used to do that but too many people have allergic reactions to the dye that is used and it's too high a risk. They said its pretty easy to tell weather the leak is band or port as if it was band it would be empty not slowly losing fluid over time. I wondered what/how they would replace the tubing if that was what was pierced and they showed me that the band that they used for me (not sure if its the same here in Australia to the USA) had the port and a small length of tubing that was part of the way down towards the band and that's where it joined to the rest of the tube to the band. (sorry sounds all over the place I am not too good and explaining these things ) So they replace the port and part of the tubing and they can leave the band and over half the tubing in place. So if its a piercing or a slow leak at the port then it will only be a port replacement. As for paying for my surgery, the specialists that I went with I paid for everything up front and it still cost me about 6grand in total (even though I had private cover)....that was for the consults, dietitian, psychologist and the operation itself. They guarantee the surgery for life. If there are ever any problems then they do repeat procedures free of charge and if for some reason the band doesn't work for me eg slippage, infection etc, then they will do the sleeving procedure for free also. They basically said to me that if you get this done we will help you to lose weight no matter how which is one of the reasons I went through them....the other is that they have been doing the band in Australia for over 20 years and were the first specialists to start it here so they know what they are doing and that made me feel confident that I will one day be a healthy weight :thumbup:

Oh that's very interesting info ibndoc......wonder if they use those needles here in Australia too???? Maybe I will have to ask my nurse on Thursday. Thanks for sharing that.

Yay that your going in on Thursday :eek: Keep us posted I am keen to hear how it all goes and will be thinking of you! Wow a heavy box may have done it that would have been painfull :wink: They said that mine was either a faulty port (which apparently happens too often) or when I had my fills done they had pierced the port area/tubing that gave me a slow leak. They did no tests to see where it was leaking other than check how much was in my band from week to week for a while then gave me a big fill so I had 7mls and then left me for 2 weeks where i had lost about 3 mls over that period. They said if it was a band that was leaking there would be no fluid left in there and if it was a big leak near the port the same thing....faster leaking so may just have been a pinprick from the needle in the wrong place. As I have said before I call myself their problem child as I was very difficult to fill. I am certainly feeling more restriction now than I have in ages although I am not sure if its swelling from the op still (as I am a MAJOR sweller unfortunately) or restriction from the 5ml that they inserted during the op......I cant wait to see my surgeon on Thursday arvo and see what he found as I have't spoken to him since just before I went in on the day that I had my port replaced. At least it's only day surgery and really easy so all the dr's say. I was out of the operating theatre in half an hour and back into recovery. I was done at almost 4pm and discharged to go home at 6.30pm so I was so glad not to have to have another hospital stay and to be at home that night with my family. When I got the band done I had trouble getting my oxygen stats up after so they kept me in for 3 days/ 2 nights (intensive care for the first night because I had sleep apnea) so this was easy compared, as has been the recovery :thumbup:

Apparently from what I have been told there should be no more than .5ml (half a ml) difference in what they can draw out. They said to me that on occasion that half a ml can hide in the band but no more than that. I noticed when they started to draw my fluid out, when they got near what was in their i got big airbubbles comming out into the surringe so that told them that it was almost all drawn out. I too noticed that I had less and less restriction after the fills as the week went on, so if your dr wont look into it properly I would suggest getting a second opinion if you can. I was really lucky and my drs said that me feeling hungry with the amount that was supposed to be in my band wasnt right and it was a warning sign for them. They did err on the side of caution however and test it for about 4 fills before they said that their was definately a leak. Instead of waiting a month in between fills and checks I only had to wait a week or 2 at the most as they knew I was anxious and wanted it sorted out....I can't speak highly enough about my drs that have been helping me through this. Just a question for all of you, did any of you have trouble getting your fills done at the start?? Did your dr have to try a few times to find the port or was it easy?? (sorry for all the higgledy piggledy writing but I am still feeling dopey from the anisthetic )

Hey Keith Well I got my new port on Monday arvo so it's too early to tell just yet how its going, but I am certainly feeling restriction....not sure as to weather that is swelling or not but my surgeon gave me a 5ml in the band so I have 5mls in there now and the new port. I am still swallen so hard to tell whats going to happen and they wont do another fill for another month till all the swelling goes down, so fingers crossed it will work this time! How did you notice you had a leak and how long have you had your band?? Did you have trouble getting your fills?? Did they say what the leak was from?? (sorry for all the questions) Guess the main thing to say is that the port replacement isn't near as big as the surgery you have when you get your band.....It's much quicker recovery :thumbup:

Well I have had it confirmed, that my port is now leaking :thumbup: The dr has suspected it for some time and has been checking my amounts that remain in my band for the last few months. I would feel restriction on the day of my fill and a couple of days after that, but towards the end of the week I would really hungry and look for food all the time. I was starting to think it was in my mind but when they finally tested it, It showed that I was losing about 1 ml per week. They then did a big fill and then sent me to my surgeon 2 weeks later and i had lost 3 mls in 2 weeks from my band. So I am in on monday for my port replacement. I was just wondering about others that have had the same or similar thing happen and how thier port replacement surgery went, if it has been successfull?? I had a lot of pain with my band (origional surgery) and they said to me it wont be as bad with just the port replacement so I hope thats right....I am a scardy cat LOL I am upset because I have been at a standstill for some time now and weight loss has stopped, although I have gained no weight which is great, I still feel dissapointed. I feel like I have to start all over again. I will have 5 mls inserted into the band during surgery, but that does't restrict me much, and I then have to wait another month till I can go for a fill. Oh well lets hope that it's all fixed without too much more stress and that this time it works!

Hi Guys I was banded on the 9th of November and am on the mushies stage now.....I can eat anything puree'd so I made myself a tuna morne' yesterday and it was yummo:biggrin: I am having trouble sleeping at night. My scars are up high under my chest (just under my boobs lol) and every night when i lay down in bed I can only lay on my back. If I lay on my stomach it hurts where my port is, and if I lay on my side it feels like my port is rubbing on my ribs:confused: Has anyone else experienced this???????? I am starting to get a bit stressed thinking that it will be like this forever :thumbup: I also have more bruising comming out again around my port scar which I had to start with but am getting it again more than 2 weeks post op? Anyone experience this sort of thing????

Hi All I to was EXTREMELY disappointed in that story. Scare mongering is just so unfair and it was definately a one sided argument. I couldnt get over the unable to eat healthy foods and, the way Mike pointed to the mans stomach and said so you should have only had this one tiny scar here......WHAT THE???? Anyone that goes in for banding would know that there are 5 points of entry if its not open surgery. Grrrrrrrr reporters can suck!!!!:wink2: Did they even think to mention what someones life would be like living at 200 plus kilos and what the health risks are for that and the preasure on the human body??

Strange question I know, but I am wondering if I will ever be able to eat popcorn again :wink2: I am still in my liquid stage and am not asking if I can have it now of course, but I was wondering how people with the band tollerate popcorn once they are on solid foods?? It's made me wonder if it sticks because it is so dry, or if most can eat it like they can eat crackers etc.

I am experiencing the same thing.....I was banded late afternoon on the 9th Nov, and have been having trouble breathing since then. All of my insisions are up high around my top of my stomach, just under my chest and its very very swallen so not sure if thats why. I am finding that my ventolin inhaler is helping to make it a little easier to breath, and even though I am only a mild athsmatic, the nurse said that anisthetics can set asthma off so to keep taking my puffa. As long as I sip small amounts often I am ok, but if i try to take in 1/4 cup of Soup i feel so very very sick. Cant wait till the swelling goes down and until I can lay in bed and not sleep in the lounge recliner. I was expecting a slightly quicker recovery than this :thumbup:

Hiya 123crod, thanx for the warm welcome to the forum and my new life as a bandit Weel I have less than a week now and can't wait. I will try not to be nervous but I prob will be on the day, just the whole going into surgery is a little scary. I should be used to it becuase I have 3 gorgeous children all born by c-section. Congrats on your band and going so well....can I ask it says that your band was done in July and you said you were 3.5 weeks post op....did you have it redone?? Thanks again for the warm wishes and I will definately keep in touch

Thanks so much Kiz....Its a huge relief and I know I will be able to get there :thumbdown: As for after the op, I am able to have any form of liquids including things like "up and go" its like a long life milk and broths etc. They don't have to be powdered drinks YAY :thumbup: Anything that is liquid consistency is fine for us to have, and they say as long as it fits easily through a MacDonald's straw, then its a liquid and we can have it. I have planned on having chicken broth (home made) and any soups like tomato that I can dilute with water that are smooth and runny liquid consistency. I will also have a few up and go's for the protein, so I know I will be able to do the post op liquid stage. As I said before a liquid diet or any diet is a pain, but its ok as long as you can tolerate what you are drinking. In my case the powdered shakes I just can't tolerate unfortunately.

Thanks so much guys for the support. I rang my dietitian thisarvo, and she said if i am really having trouble tolerating it then they have a food diet equivalent that I can go on that will do the same thing. Its only very small meals but I dont care as my hunger isnt the problem. My problem is that I just cant stand the powder mixes and every time i try to swallow them i dry retch. The only thing I can stand is the berry crunch bars but I cant even manage 4 of them a day as I am supposed to have. I am prepared to go without for the sake of the band and the end result, believe me I have thought about this for the last 7 years, I just wish that I could have had the atkins diet instead of the powdered drink and bars. In all the time leading up to my surgery, my biggest fear was the diet shakes as I know I have never been able to tollerate them before when I have tried. We all know that no diets are nice, but I have always had trouble with the shakes and powdered foods unfortunately :thumbdown: Anyhow,, I will be able to do the food equivilant and I am sure that I will cope a lot better with that. Thanks for your positive wishes, it means a lot. You can feel so isolated at this time and its nice to have some encouraging words :thumbup:

I am day 4 of my 14 day pre-op diet and I am really having trouble. I am on the optifast meal replacement and i cant take another drink! I am having the bars and I am not hungry, but just that powdered taste is so vial and its making me feel physically sick at the thought of eating. I rang my dietitian and asked her if the high protein diets shrunk the liver too, and she said yes but its not good long term. I said what about just pre surgery and she said its not got enough nutrition in it. Well at the moment i am supposed to be having 4 meal replacements a day because i have a high BMI, and i am having 2 because i just cant stomach it. I am thinking i should just replace one meal with protein and have the drinks/bars the other times but i am scared that my liver wont shrink enough and i will have to have open surgery. My surgeon and dietitian are so strict on the optifast being the only thing we can have but I have 11 more days of this! Would love some opinions/advice

Hi all Im going to be banded on the 9th of November and I am very very excited!!!!!! I have been waiting a long long time for this and thinking about it for years. Looking into all the pro's and con's but I think for me the hardest part will be this pre-op shake diet BLAAHHHHHHH.....I hate it.....but I have the big picture in mind and It's only 2 weeks out of my life. Funny the pre-diet has been my dread from the begining. There is something about powdered milk shakes that is just not nice at all Great Idea!:scared2: I have just started a blog site at: My Lap Band Journey - Home Not much info on there as yet as I have only just started it, bhave found it helps to keep me motivated to talk about whats happening. I really need t try to keep motivated during this awful pre-op stage as I am finding it really hard. Look forward to the new group of November lap banders

Hi there, Im on the pre op drink for 2 weeks (im in australia) and i have only been doing in 2 days and its killing me :cursing: I would give anything to be able to not have powdered meals and be able to eat protein and some vegies or anyhting that isnt powdered!

Hi Everyone....just thought I would pop in and say HI! My name is Leanne and I am from Australia. I am getting my lap band in just a little less than 2 weeks now and am going through the pre-surgery meal replacers and its hard :scared2: Thought I needed some support so I thought i would join this forum and chat to other people that have been through and are going through this life changing surgery.....counting down the days and I cant wait (although I am very very nervous :cursing:) Hope to chat with you all soon Take care :cursing: