bigjim6278

Have any of you old timers 10 year plus ever run into leaking bands? I was doing great no adjustments in last 4 years when suddenly lost 8 out of 9 cc. Refilled and it lasted 4 months. What about heavier viscosity fluid? Ie mineral oil?

I have been vended for over 10 years and was doing quite well with 9 cc in a 13 cc band having lost 90 lbs but suddenly felt no restriction band had lost all but 1cc. Had not had a fill in 4 years. Has anyone heard of putting in heavier viscosity fluid to prevent leakage?

I have also been suffering from severe upper mid back pain that gets so intense that it radiates through the chest. I have been banded for almost ten years. No adjustments had been made for 2 years when the problem started six months ago. I had the heart tests run and x rays.including lower go.looking for diverticulitus. They did find pockets associated with diverticulitus and assumed the answer was found but after a round of antibiodics the problem was still there so out of desperation I took 4 CC out of my band and three days later the pain was gone. Three weeks later I refilled 3 CC. Thaw problem reoccured although with less intensity. It appears to be band associated although no one can say.why.

It was not the wrong price I spoke to th Dr. himself and his office mgr.I am not in Oxford, I am in Ocean Spings Ms. and it is 150.00 per fill if dr. Avery did the initial surgery and $ 1500.00 if he did not. My surgery was in St. Louis Mo. and I later moved to Ms.

8 hours seems a long way to go for a $350 fill. since I moved 11 hours away from my surgeon and the local doc wanted $1400 for what he called a foreign band, I decided to do it myself and it has been the best move I have ever made aside from marring my wife of 35 years and of course getting banded in the first place. It costs me about $1.50 per fill takes about 1 minute and if I over fill or under fill, its easily corrected.I had gone almost 2 years of my three years banded without a fill and was beginning to gain some of my 90 lb. loss back but now I am back on track.

If you have been following the threads on self fill, you can see that I am about the only one to attempt to do self fill. again, it is very easy if your port is visable . You must use the proper needle, straight deflected tip huber needle,20 gauge 1-1/2 " long with a 10 cc syringe.clean the area with bentadine solution and hit the center of the port if you hit the outer edge you risk hittig the tubing which is not self sealing, therefore creating a leak, and need for additional surgery. having said that, if you cant hit the center of a half dollar or quarter size port, depending on what type you have, then you shouldnt attempt it anyway.

I would not consider it either if the docs in this area werent pushing us into a corner. I am self pay ,no insurance due to history of cancer. and I had the proceedure done in the St. Louis area where my fills were only $100.00 ea. but I moved to south Mississippi where the local docs call it a foreign band since they didnt make all the money up front. Their charge for fill is $1,400.00 per year which would be 2 at most therefore costing $700.00 each . NOT a viable option. Greed has overtaken them to charge that kind of money for a proceedure that takes under 2 minutes and supplys cost at most $2.00.

If you are not inteligent enough to use sterile proceedures and skilled enough to hit the center of your port instead of peircing your bowels, then it would be best not to try it but, again, with a clear head ,determination, and just a little skill, its VERY easy.by the way, sepsis would not result from peicing the tube,but it would ruin your lab band,resulting in an additional surgery.

Yes I did find the needles,they are called straight deflected tip huber needles 20 gauge 1 1/2 inches long. I got them through a medical supply company and a perscription is not required . as long as your port is visable and you can hit the center of it and you know your port volume its easy.get 10 cc syringes so you can load 2 cc in it even if you only intend to fill 1 or less, then when you acess the port draw out what is in it to verify that you havent lost any, then put it back plus what you need for your fill, and you still have extra in the syringe in case you did have slight leakage. mine is almost three years old and hasnt lost a drop.

No need to ask the surgeon, I found a supply of huber needles and saline and since my port is highly visible it was a peice of cake. the important part is knowing how much your port holds and how much you currently have in it.best thing i have done since being banded.

Saline does not dissapate or evaporate from a closed system. It msst have had a leak and the doc that mentioned dissapating must think everyone is as stupid as he is.

Sticking yourself with a 22 gauge huber needle is little or no difference than giving yourself daily insulin injections or b-12 shots.

It must be somthing about Mississippi I was banded 2 1/2 yrs ago in St Louis Mo. and my fills were $100 I moved to south Ms. and the only doc around here that does it wants $1500 for 1 year no exceptions.That would figure out to be 750 per fill because the most I would have in a year would be 2 , So I have opted for self fill .Needles and saline can be purchased without a perscription.I have a very visable port no need for flouro. so why not?

My doc is out of the loop already since I live 800 miles away and it has been 2 yrs since last fill. I used to be a para medic and my wife is in her clinicals as an rn now but since my port is so visabel I dont see any problem with self fill .I would probably be more apt to take it slow and get it right than if I had to go to the doc each time anyway. I have had to stitch myself up a few times and that is a lot more invasive than a saline inj.

Yes you can buy needles and sterile saline or sodium chloride without a perscription but, the only problem is finding a source for the proper huber style needles ,it can be done, it just takes reserch.

My port is very visable and easy to find center ,no need for flouro, and for a doc. in an ecconomically depressed area such as south Mississippi to charge $1500 is just mind boggling.also there are no fill docs in the area. If I cant find the proper huber needle I am going to use a fine tip needle.

I was banded in St. Louis and my doc filled for $100. but moved to mississippi and because they call it a foregin band , they want $1500 to fill for one year no exceptions. since I am 2 yrs out I would only fill 1 or 2 times a year. that makes it outrageous. I am currently seeking info on proper needles for self fill.

I am also interested in self fill because I currently live 12 hours away from my doc. and the one down here will not fill a band that he didnt install without an $1800 fee for one year service.I am a former er tech and EMT and have no issue with port injections I just need to find source of huber needles. I have not had an adjustment in 18 months and i have little or no restriction. I wiil not pay $1800 for what might be 1 or 2 fills in a year. I am self pay and recently paid a fine surgeon $750 to repair an inguinal hernia, which requires a lot more expertise than a port injection. I was banded 2 1/2 years ago and lost 100 lbs. but have recently gained back 20 and I am getting desperate