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!

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:

If I were you I would give them a call ASAP. That is what they are there for. Hope everything turns out OK for you.

I am still haveing a very Tight feeling but getting better as the days go on. Will se the Dr this friday and may take a little out if it does not allow mw to eat solids, Still on the drinks only and still hard to take. We will see.

Take care talk again soon

Keith:thumbup:

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??

I can take water ,Coffee but slow. Today I ate some mashed potato's with a little gravey and everything went very good.

I think you are right about the swelling. I go back to Dr this friday so I will ask him what to do. Keep as is or remove some.

Glad to hear yours was something small.

Take care talk again soon

Keith:thumbup:

Wow...good info. Glad everything went well, Keith!!!

I noticed that about a week after my fills, I would lose restriction. I thought I hit my sweet spot only to lose weight the first week and stop. I told my fill dr. and they took the Fluid from my band to find 2ccs gone. I have a 9cc band and it was supposed to be up to 8. So, they put 2 more in and I finally had my first "stuck" experience (veggie chips and sushi). I go back in a few weeks and they're going to ck it again. I REALLY hope there is no leak but I'm not having great success with weight loss... So, if replacing some stuff will help with losing weight...I'm all for it!!!

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

Hello to all

Went to the DR today 2 1/2 hrs away and I still have a very tight problem. Only soft food. So I asked them and told what was going on and they said also I was too tight so they checked the amaount and removed 1/2 cc from my 5cc band. What a difference that made. Pain in chest gone. Water test was just fine.

On the way home We stopped food supper and I had a cup of soup and that went down ok so I thought I might as well try some fish my wife had and it was ok also.

I had a cup of soup and a piece of fish 2"x 4" piece and I was full. Worked just like it should I am so happy.

In 7 days I lost 21 lbs because I could not eat very much. I could drink water slowly so that saved me.

I do have a little infection in the hernai repair but nothing to worry about the DR says . Have to take some pills for 10 days and see how that goes.

Other then that everthing is GREAT NOW. I love the band and how it works when it is working right and now it is right again:thumbup::thumbup:.

Hope everyone else is doing OK

Keith

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

Glad to here everything is work better for you.

I am doing much better myself after they removed some fill from me. I gain back 2 lbs after not eating for a wek but I am sitting there right now. In two more weeks I will se the DR. again for a check up and will ask to get a small fill again.

I have restriction not but can eat just a little to much. Other then that I am all good . I have now only 2cc in 5 cc band.

Hope that everyone else is doing good also.

Just a note that to fix the leak in my hose th eoperation was not bad at all. sore for two days only. Just glad I have restriction again.

Good luck to ALL:thumbup:

I am getting a port revision on the 17th. It sucks. i have gained almost 20 lbs being 2 months without restriction. I am exercising and trying to hold back on the calories. it is really hard without help. Good to find a thread where others have had the same issue though. I really appreciate the insight you have given me!

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:

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:

Just an update with some not so good news......yes think I need to go back in for reoperation yet again :thumbup:

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!!!!!

:tt2: Yes I am in disbelief I can not believe that this is happening.....I swear I am jinxed!!!!!!!!:smile:

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:

That SUCKS! To me something seems hinky. I wish there was a way to find out if it is your dr's fault so that you wouldn't be charged for the surgery. But to have to go through another surgery just sucks! I am so sorry that you have to do this.

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:

Ok, I am at our hotel and doing very well. I woke up a lot easier from my drugs than I did last time. I noticed right when the nurse had me sip juice that I have restriction! YAY! Not a lot, but a lot more than nothing! My Dr didn't want me to have to be empty anymore. Also Dr k showed the port and tubing to my mom and it has a 1/8 in tear in the tubing. This is the 4th time it has happened to one of Dr k's patients. He told her that he is meeting with the company that makes them on Friday to discuss how they should be financially responsible for not only the part cost, but the cost of the patients replacement surgeries as well. So we may get our money back for this one! Too bad I can't make them magically lose the weight I gained in the mean time. Oh well. I did really well my first year and plan on doing that well again this year. Plus I exercise a great deal more now than I did then.