I was wondering if anyone could shed some light on my missing saline!!??

I went for my second fill yesterday, at long last, only to find that my previous fill of 6 ml (I have a 10 ml VG band) was greatly reduced. Doctor extracted the band to check the amount and only 3 ml came out. When I asked what had happened to the other 3, the only answer I got was "it's probably hiding in a corner" !!! well, I didn't know that a round band actually had any corners!

I have read of this happening with other people but I cannot seem to find the postings about this. Can someone please help? I am sure it doesn't necessarily mean I have a leak, but I am rather curious as to where it has gone.

Anyway doc put 5 ml back in and after me nagging he put in another 2 ml. So according to my records I have 7 ml in total, but could it be more? He wouldn't put any more in, I was determined to come away with 8 ml, I just have this feeling it isn't gonna work. (ever the optimist!)

Well first day after having this fill and I have been hungry all day. I mean stomach rumbling, no, growling at me. I don't just mean the gurgling noises ones tummy makes when doing it's stuff, I mean real hunger pangs. This is another strange thing for me........how did I know that I was hungry pre-op? well my stomach rumbled loads and my head said 'time to eat'. now my stomach is rumbling even though I have just eaten, in fact it just hasn't stopped all day. It's like having two stomachs....... I must be a cow !

Please, please someone help me, feeling rather a confused failure at the moment LOL

A couple of thoughts come to mind.

When the band arrives to the hospital it is empty, nothing in there. There is a certain amount of priming to be done. The tubing is filled with saline as well. I honestly don't have a clue how much saline would fill the tubing, maybe 2-3cc?? That is one place it could have gone. Think about IV tubing. When you got your IV in the hospital there was air in the tubing. The nurse flushes the air out with IV Fluid. Same concept applies here.

Another thought is that sometimes docs don't prime with Water but air instead during surgery. So when you get a fill they add saline to the air within the band. The 2nd fill he could have removed air and replaced with extra saline.

Or, it could be a leak but I kinda doubt it. My vote is for scenario #1.

BTW...

Hunger is not a sound, it's a feeling. This is a HUGE challenge for MOST bandsters. I've seen posts where people said that their stomach was making noise so they must be hungry. True hunger is *almost* painful. It's certainly uncomfortable but it isn't a sound. You will hear lots of noises being banded because with restriction your stoma acts like a one way valve. Air goes down into your bigger stomach but it doesn't come back up. So until you learn to stop swallowing so much air you will hear lots of noises. Again... very common.

There is head hunger and true stomach hunger. Head hunger is when that chocolate cake is calling your name. You aren't truly hungry but you want to eat anyway. Or you believe it is time to eat. Stomach hunger is a feeling, an uncomfortable stomach feeling. If you are hungry after eating then try cutting out ALL sugar and sticking to Proteins. Proteins won't give you blood sugar spikes and make you want to chew on your right arm.

Losing 3 ml seems a lot to me. Yes, a small amount of saline will be lost naturally according to most studies... but I've never heard of that much being lost in a band that wasn't leaking. I would ask your Doc to do a leak test at your next fill if you experience a similar loss. Instead of injecting saline, he can inject a dye that will show up on x-rays/fluoroscopy. Should be pretty easy to tell if there are leaks in your tubing/Band.

Sorry this isn't a more positive post.

I had my second fill a couple weeks ago and my doctor said that half the saline was missing. Her theory was quite simple: she suspects a leak in the tubing or port area. I have a little bit of restriction from the second fill, but not much. It seems to me that the restriction has not diminished since I got the fill, which it might if there was a leak, so I don't know what to think. I do know that leaks can happen, but I hope I don't have one.

I know this issue has come up before. I hope that others will post about their experiences. I'd hate to have to go in for another surgery.