lellow

They pretty much just withdrew all the fluid in the band and where there was supposed to be say, 10cc, there would only be 6cc there. So the fluid is leaking out somewhere along the way.

Yep have had 1 upper GI and 2 x-rays - no erosion, no slip. I haven't done the dye test because they've already determined I have a leak just from the amount of Fluid I've lost so it doesn't make sense to do a test when they already know what it is. They did talk about the dye test to see if they could locate the leak but I need to be leaking at far more than 0.25cc a week for it to show up in the dye test, and I'm not.

I didn't have the same problem but I have had similar frustrations. In Jan last year they found I had a leak. I was checked for erosion and slip as well and had neither. In March I got the port and tube replaced but three months later, after complaining of not getting any restriction, they agreed that I was still losing Fluid and I had another operation in August. They checked the band while I was under and couldn't find a leak so they put everything back in and sewed me up. I still couldn't get restriction (got 10cc in my 10cc band at one point) and this past Friday, after not seeing my dr for 4 months, they've discovered I've lost almost 4cc from my band. I've had two operations and the leak is still there. And from Jan to August I gained 12kgs despite not going crazy with food. In Sept I started calorie counting and exercising formally again to stop my weight gain and I managed to stabilise, but it takes work. I have some fill in my band but I've always needed a high level of fill to feel restriction so I might as well not have any in. It's so disheartening, having something be relatively easy then lose it. To gain that weight back so easily, and to lose it be SO hard. So I feel you

Just a a cautionary tale, when I had my body lift, my plastic surgeon placed my port just under my skin. When I got a tattoo to cover the body lift scars, a tattoo needle hit the tubing. When I had port replacement surgery for a leak, where the tube was leaking, there was tattoo ink all around it. My surgeon took a picture and showed me. He said he was going to write a paper on it, because he didn't think that it was possible. So just be careful not to tattoo anywhere near your port.

I got a phoenix tattooed on my back. I didn't do it in stages, just once I got to a stable weight and maintained it for a little bit. The pic is in my gallery here: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/gallery/image/35844-the-completed-phoenix/ I'm glad I did it. I tend to get tattoos to mark important events in my life and that was definitely an important event!

seeme1954, it's crazy isn't it? I hear about people who only have 2cc in their band, and have enough restriction to lose a tonne of weight. As I went along, I started to think restriction was a myth, coz I didn't feel anything for so long except for the day of the fill itself. Even my dr started saying I had more in than almost anyone else in his surgery. But I moved states and am seeing a different dr now, and he actually doesn't think it's that uncommon. We're all so different so the band is going to work for us differently too. Hopefully once I get my band replaced, I won't need 10cc in a 10cc band to feel it, but as anyone who has been filled and unfilled or had the band for a long time will tell you, restriction can change over time, and what worked the first time might not work the next time. In fact a lot of veterans I know have struggled with finding their green zone again after a few years, or if they've had to be unfilled.

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Thank MsMaui for coming back to reply to me, that was a lot clearer, and especially for someone new to the band. I have been on the forum a long time and I have seen people talking about not getting fills to those who need it just because they themselves didn't need fills and I personally think that's irresponsible, so I'm glad it's clear that that isn't what you were inferring. If you're warning people off from trying to get overtight then I completely agree. Firstly it's a miserable place to be, secondly it's dangerous and thirdly it's counterproductive. Being in the green zone provides the best results, no doubt about it.

Sorry just to clarify, what does 'overly dependent on fills' mean exactly? I got fills to get restriction and it took a lot of fills to get to my green zone. And having the correct fill level helped me to maintain my stable weight for 3 years. That's why I got the band, because to get to my stable weight, I needed to eat very little. I don't understand why anyone would advocate not getting fills to get into the green zone. Sure if you don't need it, great, but for most of us, we got a band to help us to lose the weight, so why wouldn't you use it that way? Being in the green zone helps weight loss like nothing I've ever done before and since. I encourage people to get the fills they need to get to that point, and sure, if they don't need it, don't get it, but needing it doesn't equate to over-dependence, unless you meant something else? I'm not talking about getting overtight, that's a different thing. I'm talking about getting the fills you need to let your band work at its optimum. For some people, like me, that requires a lot of fills. I have 7cc in a 10cc band now and can eat as much, as as fast, as I could without the band. I don't, but I could if I wanted to.

I was the same for a long time. Most of my first few fills didn't really give me any restriction beyond the first day. But as I moved closer to the green zone, they lasted longer, and eventually, I had full time restriction. It took a fair amount of fills to get to that point for me too. Not everyone gets restriction within the first few fills. So it's not unusual if you're just starting out and have not yet hit the green zone. But if you've had restriction before and now seem to be losing it within a day no matter how much they fill you, that's a different scenario altogether.

Once I healed from surgery, I didn't feel restriction until I had 6cc in my band, and didn't get into the green zone until I had 8.5cc in my band (10cc band). I have had up to 10cc in my band in the last year (to counteract the effects of a leak) and I could still eat solids. I completely believe in getting restriction. That's how the band works best. Once I got to the green zone, I didn't have to do anything to lose. All my exercise was incidental, and the portion control my band gave me was enough not only to help me get well below my goal weight, but also to maintain it for 3 years. When I lost restriction due to a stubborn leak, I have put weight back on for the first time in 3 years, so I know that restriction was what was keeping my weight under control. Now I diet, count calories, do low carb, exercise formally, all things I didn't have to do when I was in the green zone just to keep from gaining any more. So the band does give you that added boost to help you control hunger if it's used to it fullest potential. But how many fills you have to get to get there is completely individual.

Some people just need less fill to get to restriction. You may find you're one of those people. If they unfilled you, it's not the end of the world. You're no less worse off than most people for whom that first 'primer' fill doesn't even touch the sides. This will let you heal and eventually when you do, you'll be able to tell if you're still too tight (which I doubt). Then if you're eating more, you can get a fill again. It's too early to tell if you've just had surgery. I have read of a few people for whom more fills after surgery wasn't required. The band itself and whatever was put in at the time of surgery gave them enough restriction to lose the weight. But for most people, it takes a few fills, and for someone like me, it takes a LOT of fills to get there. It'll all play out over the next few months how the band will work for you.

Thanks Holly! I've had two ops to try to fix it in the last year but I'm still leaking. I'm hoping for a full band replacement this time, so hopefully third times a charm.

the tatts on my tummy were never the same after I lost weight but they then got cut away when I got my body lift. The ones on my arms, thighs etc didn't change, just shrank a little as I shrank.

I agree with Marci in that while I had a functioning band, I didn't ever really 'diet'. I lost weight via eating only when I was hungry, eating slowly and when I felt satisfied, I stopped. I didn't actually count calories, avoid carbs or measure food. When I had good restriction I could eat only the same amount as my then 3yo (and often less!) and therefore what I did was eat good food. Because I could eat so little, I wanted to make sure it was good quality. I still had the odd bit of junk food but couldn't eat more than one drumstick of KFC so it didn't really make that much of a difference. But between KFC and a nicely cooked piece of salmon, it was a no-brainer. And when I had good restriction I rarely felt hunger. If I ate, I was full enough that things like ice cream and other sliders usually didn't even appeal to me. To me, that's when the band works well. When it makes you want to choose good food because you can't only eat so little of it. And eating keeps you satisfied for a long time. My band is no longer working (leaking) and now I'm dieting. I calorie count and journal my food and exercise, and I do that simply to not put on any more weight than I did in the first 7 months of my leak. But when the band was working, I didn't have to do all those things, and I maintained at my 'stable' weight for over 3 years, which was a BMI of 23. So I know it was the band that helped me with portion control, or else I wouldn't have to work so hard now. I didn't 'do' Protein shakes (I still don't), I exercised regularly and the band did the rest. I did get frequent fills until I got to restriction, and once there, it was easy. I miss how easy it was!

That's the plan, yes. Full replacement as port and tubing replacement hasn't fixed anything so far, so I wouldn't settle for anything less.

I'm currently not paying for my visits to the dr and the last two surgeries were covered in the majority by my (Australian) private health insurance. If they were looking at full replacement I will be expecting that it will not be at a cost to me, except for the anaesthetist. I have lost enough hours at work, and spent enough time in pain to expect that at a minimum. Which is the other issue for revising to sleeve, because while band removal is completely covered and will incur no cost to me, revision to a sleeve will incur significant cost (as it's new surgery), and I'm loathe to pay yet again for new wls. And while I know that what I've experienced is rare, I can't help but to have lost confidence in the band. I know it's worked for me, but despite going under the knife, not once, but twice, it's still not working. I worry that even if I get a complete replacement, I'm going to forever be wondering when it's going to fail again. I guess it's a bit of a no win situation. I need to try to fix it (again) and hope for the best. I don't think revision to a sleeve is possible for me right now. More because I can't take the time off work. If it starts working again at least it's something...And if it doesn't work, I guess I'm no worse off than I am now...

The thing is (and I get the reasoning behind it) he explained to me that if it were a leak in the band itself, it is expected that it wouldn't be a slow leak like I have. Because of the amount of pressure the band is under compressing your stomache, they believe if it was a leak in the band that all the Fluid would have leaked out in a matter of weeks. However they are now conceding that it may be in the band itself. When I did my first port replacement surgery in March 2012, they did in fact find a leak in the tubing. It was a noticeable leak, which is why he was sure he'd solved the problem when he replaced it. And it seemed the subsequent leaks were only apparent when I hadn't seen him in a few months. Losing at a rate of 0.25 a week or so, it meant that when I saw him every fortnight, it just looked like he didn't manage to get all the fluid out when he withdrew it. After my last op in August, even I was convinced I wasn't losing any fluid. I'd go in, he'd withdraw the fluid, it would be maybe 0.5 cc less than expected and he'd put another cc in. It was only because I was at 10cc at my last visit in Sept and just over 6cc when I saw her on Friday that it became beyond a shadow of a doubt. When I saw that there was only just over 6cc in the syringe, I almost burst into tears, because I realised that up to that point, I'd been feeling like a hypochondriac every time I said I didn't have restirction anymore. I am wondering about a full replacement. I do agree that the band has worked remarkably well for me in the past but I am now concerned about its life expectancy. I don't want to have to keep replacing it or having multiple ops every 4 years....

Ok, I don't know if there's already a thread like this but I know for one thing that I would like to band together (pun intended) with those of us who have had our bands for over 3 years and have gotten complacent. I've always had it easy when it comes to maintaining, but now have a small slip and a leak, and very little restriction, so have decided to recommit to the bandster lifestyle to try to ensure that my weight is maintained. Whatever your motivations for recommiting to the bandster lifestyle, you're welcomed to join me here. So here's me: Banded Aug 2008 Lost 85lbs now have a small slip and a leak, and no restriction, and found I could eat more As a result, I gained 5lbs in a month, pulled myself up, returned to eating well and exercising and have lost it. Looking to maintain and redevelop good eating and exercise habits. I seem to be motivated best by being part of a support group, and I think it's fair, when I'm not trying to lose, but to maintain, to keep that separate from those who are trying to find the right mindset for the first time. I'm trying to reconnect with the mindset that helped me lose in the first place, so I think that's a different kettle of fish. So, who's with me?

It was different for me in that I lost weight THEN my marriage broke down. Dating after weight loss does make you think 'would he have liked me before I lose weight?' and the extra attention you get makes you jaded sometimes, because you can't help but think, "hey, I'm the same person you would have ignored a year ago". But in the end, I think what learned was that society is shallow, but it doesn't mean we have to be, and it doesn't mean we have to help facilitate that. So I hope what you get out of this is that your weight should no longer be your go to inescurity.