I just got back from Monterrey last Thursday where I had surgery to repair my port. My tubing had come off of the port all together and my port had to be relocated.

I think I'm probably a very unusual case. For the most part, Lapband surgery is a one time event, then you get fills and that's about it. In extreme cases, erosion develops and the band has to be removed. In a few cases the band slips but I think it's pretty rare that one develops a leaky tube, then the tube falls completely off the port.

Even with everything I've gone through I don't regret getting the lapband one bit. It has changed my life. My biggest fear is losing the band, but if that day happens, I will still be thankful for what it has done for me. Plus we have a lot of wonderful people that have lost their bands and continue to be inspirations to us all.

So my New Year's Resolution is to take extra special care of myself and my stomach/band. I'm so greatful for it and don't want to do anything that might contribute to losing it. I'm going to be very careful about what I eat and drink and make sure that it's something that I know won't hurt my band. I've got to get rid of this "It's only once, it can't hurt" mentality.

I think I take my band for granted. My doctor didn't tell me "It's got to come out" like some of you have heard for yourselves. I'm so sorry if you are one of the one's that have experienced erosion and had to have your band removed. I hear a lot of people complaining that they don't have restriction, or that they are too tight, or they aren't losing enough weight, or they're not losing it fast enough. My attitude is if you are LUCKY enough to have a functional band around your stomach, then be active in getting it to work to it's fullest potential. Quit complaining if you can eat the house for an appetizer, get a fill! Quit complaining if you pb all the time, get an unfill! Quit complaining if you're not losing 40 pounds a month, learn how to be patient with the band, it's healthier to lose slower anyway. Don't compare yourselves to others, I was guilty of this and everyone is so different that it's not fair to yourself to compare. Get your fill level right and be thankful that you have a healthy band.

With all of that being said :confused: - I hope everyone has a healthy and prosperous 2006!

Tricia

My attitude is if you are LUCKY enough to have a functional band around your stomach, then be active in getting it to work to it's fullest potential. Quit complaining if you can eat the house for an appetizer, get a fill! Quit complaining if you pb all the time, get an unfill! Quit complaining if you're not losing 40 pounds a month, learn how to be patient with the band, it's healthier to lose slower anyway. Don't compare yourselves to others, I was guilty of this and everyone is so different that it's not fair to yourself to compare. Get your fill level right and be thankful that you have a healthy band.

VERY wise words from someone who has reason to know their value. Good luck with your repair, Tricia, and a happy healthy 2006 to you and yours!!

Good Luck Tricia !!!!

Well Said!:0)

Bless your heart girl, thanks for sharing and I wish you a speedy recovery.

Welcome to Weirdoville! Even my own band surgeon calls me a weirdo. I hate to sound selfish, but it's nice that I'm finally not alone.

Happy New Year, and good luck from the newest bandless bandster

Tricia - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for those wonderful words of wisdom. You have said it perfectly, that we need to look at the brighter side of things, even when something doesn't go the way we wanted. Congratulations on such a wonderful job with your weight loss!!!! You are an inspiration my dear for all of us.

I am truly grateful for my band and thank you for reminding me why I should be. It's a good time to refocus and recommit to our weight loss journey. We do no know what the future holds, so we need to make use of the gifts that we have now as there are no guarantees that those gifts will be around forever.

I wish you the happiest and healthiest of all New Year's. You are already such a success story, thank you for sharing all that you did.

Cindy

Alexandra: Thank you! A wonderful 2006 to you and your's as well

NJChick: Thank you!

I'll Succeed: Thanks! Hope all is well with you.

HarleyNana: Just another bump in the road, again, I'm just very thankful

Lisa: I've been fortunate enough to avoid the port infection bug, yet another reason why I'm thankful.

chichgirl: I had a couple of weeks before going back to Mexico where I didn't know what was wrong and I was consumed with thinking about it. All I knew is that I experienced some pain, and I had no restriction whatsoever. I kept telling myself that my band had eroded and that my Doctor was going to have to remove it. I played over in my mind how I would react when he told me this. I told myself that I wasn't going to cry, that I would boldly say "Just take it out" but when he told me that my tubing had become disconnected from my port and it was repairable I felt such a sense of relief that I vowed to never take my band for granted again. I've been through Lapband surgery, 16 fills and two minor surgeries to correct problems and I still love my band. That's how important it has become to me. Thanks for your post

Tricia

Tricia - You have done an amazing job with your band even with all the problems. Thank you for your thread, I think it will wake a lot of us up!

Good Luck!

I couldn't have said it better myself.

We are two unusal cases. I had the same thing happen to me (tubbing came apart from port) 7 wks out from my orginal surgery and had a revision.