Just a question for those of you post-band... I've never seen or felt a port, so I don't now how obvious or accessible it is...

Does the port get in the way of doing contact sports? In the past, I used to do a form of wrestling (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) and I'd love to be able to do it again, but the thought of having a port that's near the skin and then having some dude with all his weight on my belly creating pressure and friction just makes me thing UGH!

Would that sort of situation bother the port? Will I be able to do BJJ again or should I just stick to non-contact old-lady sports?

Rebecca

This should not be a problem. The port is hardly noticable and it doesnt stick out or anything. You have to press your belly to feel it.

Good Luck

I am at goal and mine sticks out. And it is very noticeable when I touch my stomach. My 2yo daughter likes to kick me and sit on me and it is painful. Also, I sometimes bump it on the counter when doing dishes. I myself would be too afraid of breaking it with contact sports. But my doctor said I can get a low profile port if I have problems. I am not going to have another surgery when my lapband works perfect right now. Dont fix what ain't broke. You will have to talk to your doctor and see how you end up feeling.

Hmm, interesting - seems to be very different for different people... I guess we'll just have to wait and see. I would LOVE to be fit and healthy enough to do BJJ again, but I guess if it's not meant to be, it's not meant to be...

I'm just a few pounds from goal and mine sticks out and can be quite sensitive as well. Last summer I got nailed by a spiked volleyball right where my port is and it hurt for a few days. I didn't even think that it maybe could have gotten broke.. eek.. but I've had a fill since and that went ok.. so I'm pretty sure my port is ok. Also, my six-year-old's head is right at port level and she bumps into it sometimes when she's giving me hugs.. so I just try to remember to shift her to my other side and squeeze away! Maybe you can talk to your doctor about the location of the port.. maybe he or she has a few tricks to make the site not so sensitive. I didn't start to notice mine being so touchy until I was within about 10 lbs of goal.. before that I could feel it when I looked around for it.. but it wasn't at touchy.

Good luck.. HTH,

Kortni

Thanks, Kortni. I suppose they might have a less wrestling-unfriendly spot to put it!

I have been wondering the same thing... because i'm part of a roller derby team and my doctor said it might not be good cause i'd 'get elbowed in it'... but the same surgeon apparently puts the port in the lower abdomen and sews it to the muscle.... so i'm thinking i am not gonna get elbowed in the lady parts lol. it still makes me very upset to think of giving up derby. i want to know the same thing.

I don't understand why they wouldn't put the port in a spot where something like this wouldn't happen? I'm not sure where ...lol...but it just seems like this is a real pain in the ass.

I do martial arts and kickboxing- I have not had any problem with my port. I think its more a matter of your comfort but as everyone has said I would let you doctor know. The only thing that actually hurt was when I was laying on my stomach on a medicine ball on rolling it from your upper abdomen to the lower- basically like taking a rolling pin across it_ Not adviseable:-0 Have fun with the BJJ

PS- I think the port is placed in the abdomen because it is easily accesible and relatively close and in a straight line from the stomach.

I have been wondering the same thing... because i'm part of a roller derby team and my doctor said it might not be good cause i'd 'get elbowed in it'... but the same surgeon apparently puts the port in the lower abdomen and sews it to the muscle.... so i'm thinking i am not gonna get elbowed in the lady parts lol. it still makes me very upset to think of giving up derby. i want to know the same thing.

I started rollery derby about a month ago and I have been wondering this as well. I mentioned it to my doctor before my fill last week and she didn't have any concerns but I am almost a year post op. There are a couple other girls on the team who lapband so I think it will be ok

I would be interested to know if they have some type of port protecting clothing you could wear while doing contact sports. I'm considering going to some BJJ classes near by, but I really do not want to damage my port. It's no longer a bump as it is a gold ball sticking out of my chest. Never does it hurt but it gets very...tender? Almost tickleish.

My port also sticks out alot. My doctor has suggested geting a second surgery and placing the port into the muscle. But i have done some research and found out that most people that have placed their port in there muscle are unhappy and are having more pain when they work out. At this point i have no plans on moving my port, if its not bothering me.

I still haven't gone back to BJJ yet. I've started some dancing, and I noticed this week after doing some very minimal floor work where I rolled over onto my stomach and then got up, the whole port area felt tender and bruised for a couple of days... It's not looking too good for BJJ... I wonder if there's a stomach protector I could wear that wouldn't restrict my movement too much?

I know when I did karate they had rib protectors. Might work? Check martial art supply stores- look at Century.com or some place like that. Good luck

I do muay thai kickboxing - and my port sticks out a lot - I just wear Belly Bands and it's fine (makes me a bit hot when I work out, but hey, that just helps trim my waist so I'm OK with it.) And I have gotten kicked repeatedly in the stomach, with real Muay Thai teeps (think footprint on my abs for days!) it's fine - but I DO wear the belly band cuz it HURTS even more than getting kicked in the flower!

What is a belly band? I've only ever heard that used to describe the thing that pregnant ladies wear to cover their belly if their shirt rides up!

I went back to BJJ today! I'm pleased to report that the port didn't feel endangered at all. It didn't even enter my mind - I was having too much fun focussing on the class (and feeling a bit embarrassed about sucking so bad after all these years off!!! )

I'm verrrry excited about being able to be a martial artist again!!! Plus about all the extra calories I burned today! I don't think there's a muscle in my body that's not burning right now! Even my fingertips are sore!!!