Onthegomom

I am a 37 year old female. Married...3 wonderful girls. I taught in the classroom for many years and now work part time(4 days a week) as a facilitator at a local high school. Spending time with my children and family makes my heart beat everyday! They are the JOY of my life!!!

My weight loss story started on May 9, 2008 when I had the lap-band procedure. LIFE as I once knew it changed that very day. Initially the weight-loss journey was good. Chewing, eating slow, and learning the foods that I could and couldn't eat was smooth. Two years after I got the band I started having severe pains where the port was located. Driving, sweeping, getting up from a seated position, turning in bed,, gardening, as well walking upstairs HURT! Movement HURT. I visited with my surgeon on several occasions about the pain. The discussions were always dismissed because after he felt around my stomach area he would say everything is where it should be..ex:band/port. Months went by and in addition to the pain, I started to not be able to tolerate eating on some days...it depended on whether I had irritated whatever was going on inside of me. A huge red circle, hot to touch started appearing around the port area. The redness would come and go just as the pain did. Finally, I was DONE. I went back to my surgeon in TEARS and insisted that he take everything out. The issue then became that my insurance would not pay for the removal. At that point I didn't care, I knew something was terribly wrong and needed it fixed. It was agreed that my surgeon would preform an EGD and make the decision to remove the band and port. What was supposed to take 45 minutes ended up taking 4 hours in the OR. My port had DETACHED from my stomach wall and was floating around. A cyst, the size of an orange, had formed around the port to protect it as my body recognized that it was a foreign object (hello! that is what was hurting me!!!). For weeks after the removal a "valley" (where they cyst/port would sit when not floating) had formed and would fill up with body fluids. A small bump would rise up on my stomach which meant the sac was filling up. I had to have the "sac/valley" aspirated for 6 weeks post removal.
The whole experience was a NIGHTMARE. It is still to this day so vivid in my memory. My family had to suffer though my aches, pains, and grumpiness from hurting.

I am looking forward to having the sleeve done. Dr. Cantu is taking several precautionary measures to make the surgery can be done safely.