Hi

I was banded in dec 15 . Everything went well. Went for my first fill the nurse struggled a lot but eventually managed to put 3 mls. Went for my second fill the nurse could not find my port or where he needed to put fluids after more than ten attempts. I am booked to see my consultant/ surgeon in two weeks. I have no restriction since surgery however I have losing weight 1 pound a week through diet and exercising three times a week. My total weight loss since surgery is 20 pounds. I want to know if this is a common problem.

I haven't had the experience myself, but being around the board for over 3 years..I've seen this question many times. So you are not alone. Depending on your port's location, the person doing the fill can sometimes have problems getting to it. Mine is attached to my abdominal muscles, so my surgeon had to go through quite a bit of fat to access it.

They can attempt to do the fill under fluoroscopy, which is a live x-ray. That allows them to visualize the port. It's good you have an appointment to see the surgeon. It's possible that the port has flipped. It's a small procedure to correct. Do a search of the forum on "port flip" and you can read up on it.

Hi Denise

Thank u for your information. I have been doing the search on the site and the information has been helpful. I will keep u posted on my appt in two weeks time.

YES YES YES! This Happened to me as well! I completely understand what you went through! The first time I went in for a fill the doctor tried multiple times to get the needle into my port! After several attempts; bending needles and even getting a needle stuck in me somehow he told me I would just have to come back and get a fill under the x-ray machine (I know they have a term for this but I can’t remember … think it starts with an ‘f’). I was bruised and not sure if the next fill would go any better… But it did!! He had no problem what so ever once he could see my port. (I guess my port shifted.) If you not set up to have your fill under an x-ray machine you may want to call and ask for this… just an option. But don’t worry they will find your port and fill you up and the bruising does go away in time… because it was such deep bruising for me it took about 3 weeks for them to go away. Hang in there!