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Leaking at 4 1/2 Months Post Op



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Hello All,

I am fairly new at posting here, so bare with me. Originally I posted my question in a different group not realizing their was one just for complications-so I am reposting my question. Anyways, I am 4 1/2 months post op and I have a leak. I have had 5 fills and never had restriction. My surgeon was aware of this. I assumed I just needed to know what my new "full" felt like and have measured and drank a lot of Protein. Yes, I have managed to lose a lot of weight; however, knowing that I have a leak this early confuses and scares me. I have stuck to the diet and the Protein out of fear of having a complication, but here I am. (yes, a risk I took having the surgery) I was a self pay and if I have to get this fixed, by surgery, it would have to be out of pocket again. Has anyone had any experiences with leaks, know what can causes them (obviously a needle can), how to prevent them, and how do they fix them. I do not do well with surgery so the thought of a second scares me, but what scares me even more is the thought of continuing my journey without my buddy-my band. :sneaky:

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Melissa,

My doctor regularly solves this issue by injecting a contrast medium called Omnipaque into the band. It's thicker and so less likely to leak. He has done this for many years without complication and it works like a charm. It worked for me.

The way he explained these small leaks is like air leaking from a balloon...there's not any one spot that can be 'fixed'...you just need thicker 'air'. You might want to ask your doctor about this possibility...or even put him in contact with Dr. Hadar Spivak in Houston. He is one of the most experienced LB doctors in the country, being involved from the beginning with the FDA trials, then proctoring doctors after that.

In addition, you may want to do a search for 'omnipaque' here on this board...there are more than a few that are filled with it.

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
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