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getting used to the port...help!!



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Hi, I was banded on 12/20, My incisions are healed and I can feel my port, it feels really large?? I thought it was supposed to be round, mine feels round in one spot and I can also feel a long hard structure under there, what is most un-nerving is the fact that I can feel it and I am very aware of its presence when I walk, like it is heavy in there?? I do not really know how to describe the feeling but it is wierd :paranoid

I was wondering about other peoples experience with their ports. It sort of makes the muscle under there feel sore, also my bra elastic rests on it when I sit certian ways, will I eventually be able to ignore this sensation:(

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Yes it is strange to have our new little friend with us at all times.

I kept touching mine, as if to make sure it was still there. (Weird)

But I had wanted the lapband for so long that I just don't worry about touching it. Yup I can feel it under the skin and I jsut remind myself how much healthier it will make me feel in the long run.

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Yes, your port will most likely remain a sore spot for awhile. The port is sutured directly onto muscle and this takes a long time to heal. The "bulge" you describe is also common. It is swelling and it will also last for probably a few weeks. If it is really, really bothersome you should call your doc. Otherwise, give it time and soon you probably will forget it's there. Don't pick at it though...pushing on it will probably just prolong the soreness! It's not going anywhere so try to let it be and it will heal soon!

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My port feels like a great big orange in my tummy.... (my surgery was 12/17) and yes I am still sore... I am a teacher so I went back to work yesterday and had a hard time sleeping last night because I was so sore.... Doctor said that it will be sore on and off for several months...... It will all be worth it in the end!

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I'm a teacher, too!!! I bet my students are wondering why I'm walking around holding my tummy all the time. I'm very sore much of the time. At night I take the painkillers I had in the hospital so I can sleep better. I'm dying to kick up my exercise but I'm hurting and just can't yet. Oh well....time will help from what I've heard.

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I had surgery in Oct. and I can just now feel the roundness of my port. It was long and hard before like you say. I poke at it all the time without realizing it.. I think it is only natural to feel it. My port wasn't really sore but even now I feel like it is bruised at times when i move just the right way and tug at it. What you are feeling now is the scar tissue. Give it a couple of months..

I am also a teacher!!

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Mine has Fluid built up around it. The doctor described it by saying he had to make a hole in the muscle so it would eventually be flush with the muscle. the pocket he created is collecting Fluid. He said it is normal, as long as I am not runnign a fever.

Anyway, the other day when I laid down on the bed it looked like a mountain growing out of my stomache. Mine too is sore it sits right at my wasit band.

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I'm also a teacher! I teach adults and they all know about my surgery. They ask me soemtimes about it.

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My port has been pretty cooperative and gentle until recently. Certain positions with sex are not very comfortable, but not painful. BUT I tried a new deep Water aerobics class two nights ago. They make you were a floatation belt. If you dont cinch it up real tight, it rides up and rubs under your arm. I LOVE the class. The workout is awesome, but the belt squished my tummy and my port has been sore for two days. I'm almost 8 weeks out. Will this pass or will I have to give up the class?

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Ok teachers I am the school secretary that takes care of all of you. I had my surgery Friday 1/4 and I am going back to work tomorrow Friday 1/11, only because my principal is going nuts without me. If she wasn't my best friends I would wait until Monday to go back. Saw my Dr. today and everything is good. Scheduled my first fill for Feb 11. Dr. Davis is the BOMB.

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I tried a new deep Water aerobics class two nights ago. They make you were a floatation belt. If you dont cinch it up real tight, it rides up and rubs under your arm. I LOVE the class. The workout is awesome, but the belt squished my tummy and my port has been sore for two days. I'm almost 8 weeks out. Will this pass or will I have to give up the class?
I don't know if it will pass or not - I'm not as far along as you - but there are other options for deep Water aerobics. If you explained to the instructor s/he may have some ideas. I've done deep water aerobics with a pool noodle under my arms or with one or two noodles between my legs, or with dumbbells in both hands or under my arms.

HTH!

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Sci Gal:

I'm almost 6 months post banding. I don't even notice my port anymore. It's flat, and so is my stomach (at the top only). Give it time, you'll get used to it too.

Sue

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