kgranite79

I had the worst habit of drinking while eating. My Dr told me it was ok to drink while eating but take only very small sips at a time so it would be absorbed into the food that was sitting in my pouch and wouldn't push it through into the larger stomach. This has helped the physical habit, since it still gives me the satisfaction of the motion of drinking still.

My port area was sore for a while, every once in a while it would start aching again out of no where, even weeks after the surgery.

Has anyone else has their port replaced more than one time? I had my surgery August 08, had my port replaced January 09, and now I think I may have yet another leak in my port and may need to have it replaced. Has this happened to anyone else, if so did your insurance cover the 2nd port replacement surgery?? Ugh I am so frustrated!!!!! How many times am I going to have to get surgery?! Everything has been great, I have lost almost 90lbs, recently gained 10lbs back due to having ZERO restriction since October. Any input is greatly appreciated!

Hi guys, I am having an issue with my hair thinning. Now I know that its from lack of protein (because I don't take a protein supplement or shakes like I should be) I didn't think it was a big deal, until slowly I started noticing my hair thinning. I had the surgery last august and have lost about 80lbs. I am wondering if I start making sure I am getting my 50g of protein daily, will this help my hair grow back? I know either way I need to be making that 50g of protein mark, and I am going to really try to do it. Its just something I haven't really given much thought about. Does anyone have any suggestions of how to stop it from getting worse, and how to help get my hair to grow back. Any feedback is greatly appreciated! :-)

I remember sitting here thinking man I can't wait to be one of those people posting about their weight loss success, well here I am! August 20th will be a year, got port replaced in Jan of 09..... 79lbs down!!! WHOOO HOOO!! Congrats to everyone, keep up the good work. You should all be very very proud of yourselves!

I have noticed that gradually over the last month since my last fill I have been having heartburn after eating. I have heard that this could be a sign of my band being too tight. I did have acid reflux before the surgery but since then it has completely gone away. I could even drink orange juice (which I was NEVER able to do) without a problem at all. I am having some pbing and getting food stuck every once in a while but I know its because I am not chewing enough, I am working on that and everything seems to be great. I am losing weight again at a steady pace and things seem good other then this heartburn. My fiance thinks I need an unfill, but I don't want to get one if this could be my sweet spot. Any advice? It doesn't matter what I eat, it can be anything and it seems to be happening more and more. Thanks :-) a little history- was banded on August 20th 2008- had to have my port revised in January...this is my 1st real fill since my 2nd surgery (had them put 4cc's in during surgery) went up from 4 to 5 previously the most I had in my band before the puncture in my port was 4.5.

First off I have to say that I can't believe I just sat here and read 10 pages of posts regarding leaking and or complications. I am sorry for everyone who has had to deal with complications (some worse than others) So here is my story and dilemma.... I got banded on August 20th, I have lost 37lbs and am thrilled. I have gone for 4 fills so far. For some reason I see the PA and not the doctor for my fills. On my 3rd fill the PA had to poke me more then onc (prior had always gotten in on 1 shot) and had a hard time getting my port. She told me that my port was "wobbly". After a few minutes of playing around she "got in" I was already up to 4.5cc's in a 10cc band. I was feeling good restriction but wanted just a little bit more. She filled me .5cc's so now I am supposed to be at 5 total. She says I have 5cc's in my band and 1cc in the tubing (whatever that means) Immediately that night I feel ZERO restriction while eating. This was so strange since I had been feeling quite a bit of restriction (even getting some things stuck for a min or so) I knew right away something was wrong. I waited 3 days still feeling no restriction- I finally called. She (the PA) told me to come back in so she can see whats going on. This time she poked me yet again more then once and finally "got in" again. She removed less then 3cc's of liquid. She told me that she might have "missed" the port at the last fill and apologized. She put me back up to 5cc's. Again that night I feel ZERO restriction.....WTF??? So in the meantime Thanksgiving comes, office is closed and now I have to wait until tomorrow (Monday 12/1) to call. I know I have a leak, and after reading 10 pages of posts I realize that it either happened the first time she poked me a million times, OR that it was leaking before then and we just happened to notice it around that time. So I am waiting to call the office first thing tomorrow. My question is, do you guys think I should make another appointment with the PA or should I demand to see the Dr?? I asked her if I had a leak what they would do. She told me they sometimes do the fluroscope with the dye to see the leak BUT that since the dye is thicker then the saline alot of times all it does is plug the leak (if there is one) and sometimes you can't see it leak anyway SO most likely they would skip that step all together and just replace the port. I am confused because how will they know if it is my port of my tubing or my band that is leaking???? UGH this is so friggen frustrating! I was having such success with it, until she went and punctured my port ( I JUST KNOW IT) She (the PA) also told me that she thought the revision surgery was covered by my insurance- I have a feeling this is NOT the case. BUT if it is not covered then I feel like the office should cover it, if it was in fact her fault for punturing it to begin with. They always do a "blind fill" and I hear the risk of puncturing it is much higher this way. I am frustrated, nervous and angry. I just thought I would vent to the best people out there- people who have been through this crap too!!! Thanks for listening to be babble!! :-)