Kayford

DR. C, What causes a port to flip? I have heard the line can also kink. Some of us just worry too much and especially those of us who are self pay. My port always feels the same to me if I push on it. If it flips does it make the plug area you stick with the needle difficult to get into? Would you be able to tell by manual exam when you get ready to do a fill that it is flipped? Would you "suspect" that is has flipped and then turn on the fluoro? Kay in St Jo Mo A DR C FAN FOR SURE!

I totally understand how all this can get you down. I am a slow loser, can't eat Breakfast or much lunch and then I can usually get dinner down but have tons of issues with meat. MEAT is what I need to get down and it seems lots of things go that are not so healthy. I am almost a year out and just went to my first support group. It was wonderful as there was a gal who has not lost much and wished she had not told her friends about it. She lives in a small nearby town and they all ask about the weight loss. There were men who had done excellent and could eat 3 small meals a day. None of us seem to be exactly the same. I have had like 5 fills and 5 partial unfills. I have had to be on an IV from leaving it too tight and trying to be strong. So it has not been as peachy as they tell you at seminar. IF I HAD TO DO IT ALL OVER I STILL WOULD AS I HAVE LOST. One of my lap band sisters who was banded in TJ with me has not lost well and they can't figure out why. It will be one year real soon and she is 7 down. She tries to look at it that without the band she would be 20 up or so..............but it is still hard to deal with it. We were both self pays. Out of the 4 banded last Nov. One has lost 40, I am getting close to 50 and one had hers unfilled completely and the last one is just not sure what to do since she is only down 7 in a year. Hang in there. Better safe than sorry. Maybe you should have it unfilled and enjoy life a little and try to eat healthy. Maybe you can get healed up as REFLUX is not a good thing to suffer with. DR C will tell you better loose that too tight. Too tight creates slips, etc. We are all thinking of you and you are not a whimp. You are terribly stressed with all the physical issues and that is why you feel "mental" about it all. Kay in St Jo Mo

Can you handle food better in the evenings? I swell over the smallest thing. The last swelling was from chicken hanging up. You would think we would learn to quit trying to eat some of the things that hang up. I would suggest switch to liquids until evening and then try something soft to start with and then test a little. Some of our stomachs are just super sensitive. Let us know how it goes. If you are in real pain please call the doc. My doc says you will know when you have a slip and will seek care for the reflux type pain. I just have a feeling that you do not have a slip but rather have an inflammed stomach lining with associated swelling. Kay in Saint Jo Mo.

I wish I had done a little more research. I have lost slower than I thought I would but I am getting there. I AM NEVER ABLE TO EAT BREAKFAST. That doesn't bother me during the work week but it does bum me out on Sundays. I wish I had expected this. I figured 3 small meals a day and I swell after each fill so that has not happened. I would still do it all over again and I am glad I did it. I am self pay and that can be worrysome also.

Can anybody help me upload my pic???????? What am I doing wrong?

So if our fill doc punctures it, does the physician feel responsible to cover a new one being inserted? How do you know if it was the fill doc or a defective device? Does Inamed take any responsibility? I am a self pay and this worries me. Kay in St Jo Mo. :think

I bet you are just too tight. Dr. C has told me that a little loose is waaay better than too tight. I react after every fill and I am currently only at 1.6cc in a 10cc band. I can't eat breakfast at all. I do soup for lunch and then I can get some meat down in the evening if it is cooked right or in some juice or gravy. I have just decided this is how it will be until I get to my goal. I am losing slowly but I am getting there.

Hi Dr. C, Just wanted to know if you have any patient's like me. I am sooooo tight in the morning that my coffee or warm tea hurts but will finally go if I sip it. Then lunch is Soup. Egg drop usually goes. Then by dinner my band is almost too loose and once I get food going it does not really stop me. I just have to make healthier choices in the evening but I can get a serving of meat down (never chicken or dry meat) and 1/2 can of green Beans down without feeling totally satisfied. Then I am hungry a few hours later. I take Avalide for hypertension and it has a diuretic in it. I can't take it until noon and I still break it up or crush it. Can you give me any directive on how to handle my band and appetite? I am still getting fills but have had an unfill with every single fill. They usually take 1/2 of the fill back out. I am down to 1.6 cc in there now and still can't get morning liquids down very easily. I have lost about 45 since my first fill in Jan. Kay in St Jo Mo

I don't think you better mess around with this. I would get an unfill. Better safe than sorry. You sound too tight. Good Luck.

I can't get more than soup down at lunch. Believe me If I could get anything solid down at lunch I sure would!! Usually I can't even get crackers down with my soup. I usually do egg drop soup. It is choc full of Protein but also has plenty of FAT Thanks for the hints. I am just a difficult case. :biggrin1:

I have noticed if I "sleep in" on Saturday for an hour extra then it sets me back on eating dinner at my normal time. If I take a nap then I am really screwed!!!! I wish I could be normal but I guess it is not going to happen. What does happen .............when I can eat at dinner I can actually overeat and just have to tell myself NO. So I am just a difficult case but it is comforting to know others suffer just like me. HAH!

I think I just went into the tab start new thread.

Thanks for responding so quickly. Last week I had a morning where my saliva would not go. I had to go in for an partial unfill on the 5th and I do follow your advice. You had told me before that you would rather have a patient a little loose than too tight. When the nurse removed some she told me that is good advice. In the practice I go to in KC they have had 4 slips. She said all 4 had been puking/PBing and not telling them how tight they were or how many of these episodes they were having. So less is better. I will try another fill on Nov 01. I am only at 1.6 cc now in a 4 cc band. But if they make it tighter then I am clamped down too much in the a.m. I can't stand not being able to drink. We will keep trying to sneak up on my sweet spot but I think I am just a difficult case. I will just deal with my issues day to day and I just may have to use the band as a tool in the evening and work harder myself. Thanks for all you do for us. I think the world of you. Kay in St Jo Mo

What was the technique they used that Inamed does not approve of? I know Dr. Ortiz proctors for Inamed and he did my banding in Tijuana and used the "pars flaccida" technique. I checked my op notes and he used 3 stitches in mine. Just wondering what they did that Inamed does not recommend. Thanks. So sorry that this happened to you. I am self pay and would just literally "die" if something goes wrong. Kay in St Jo Mo

It sounds like the anesthesiologist should have been watching for aspiration. I hardly had any pain after my banding. I was Banded by Dr. Ortiz in Tijuina and he has a wonderful anesthesiologist there. I wish things had gone better for you. Your surgeon should have also caught the clues since you had sx's of an aspiration. HANG IN THERE.

I am the QUEEN of unfills. I have had 6 fills and 4 unfills. Dr. Malley says my stomach is just super sensitive to adjustment/fills. When we have done the unfills he usually backs off about 1/2 of the last fill. I got a fill Monday and have done great this time,,,,,,,,,,,,,then this a.m. my coffee came back up.................I just got some warm tea down an it is 4:11. I am now trying little nibbles of a Protein bar........This band is so fickle. Good Luck. Don't stay too tight as I ended up with an IV and magnesium infusion the last time I tried to TOUGH It out. Keep us posted.

Poodles, I agree with you. When I lay down at night it lets me pull fluid off.................and my ankles are the least swollen in the morning. So I know there are many theories out there but I think they do not really know why we have this syndrome.....no breakfast ......with our band.

HI there! Welcome to my world. I found out right away that I could not eat any breakfast and usually have to do Soup for lunch to get restricted enough for dinner. They did NOT mention this at Seminar but I am learning there are a lot of us in this club. I call it the no breakfast syndrome!!!! Dr. Malley says there are a lot of us with this. There are NO scientific answers for it and many have theories. Hang in there. Kay in St Jo Mo

KC bandsters has meetings. I just search the net to find KC bandsters. It is yahoo address of some kind. Dr. Malley's office co-ordinates Malley's band wagon and anybody is welcome. His meetings can be found on a tab under malleysurgical.com I live in St. Joseph and they have some meetings up here at the library. I am trying to get their schedule. I think they met last Sat and I was out of town. Congratulations and Good Luck. Kay

I bet the gained weight is due to higher calories in the mushy food. When I can't eat I resort to creamy Soups and yogurt and even ice cream (I can't believe I just confessed to that). I just can't live without eating something!! HAH! I really think IF we can get the Protein down to satisfy us then we don't need to even try to get the more high caloric foods down. It is so strange that they do not tell you this stuff at seminar. They really should tell you that you might not even be able to eat the first 2 meals of the day :hungry: OR @ least tell you that you might be drinking SLIMFAST with the band. Take Care. I love chatting out here. Kay in St. Jo Mo aka Kayford

DR C, Can you give us some pointer's about slips. Can you ever definitively say what caused it? Is is sometimes poor surgical technique and sometimes our fault for not getting an unfill when we need one, does excessive "PB'ing" contribute? This issue FREAKS us all out and we want to be compliant and do right things right. Help us out if you can. What advise can you give us? I was banded last Nov by Dr. Ortiz and did not get a fill until late Jan. I was 9 weeks post op. Get my fills in Kansas City and have had 4 total. The only one that did not require an unfill was the first one. This isn't leading to a slip is it? Thanks in advance for your help and time. You are a legend and an ICON to us bandters. :faint: Kay

I have learned to eat everything really slow and when I feel too tight I just go with Soup until I get an unfill. Those creamy soup calories can add up so I would much rather be adjusted correctly so I can get my Protein down. DR C -- Thanks Again for all you do for us bandsters. You sure have earned your golden crown for answering all our questions. My band is probably fine and some of my fellow bandsters have had unfills but not as many as me. The more I read the more educated I get and then sometimes the more I read the more paranoid I get! I will keep you all posted after my next fill. I will visit a little more with the doc and see what he thinks. It seems as if I react to the fill every time and my stomach swells and then once it is grumpy there is nothing to do but unfill. Kay

This is exactly why I was asking about what contributes to the slip. Is it the doc, is it our eating habits, is it leaving a band too tight for too long, etc. I thought maybe DR C could help us out. I did get a response from NANA if you look at my question out there about a week ago. Kay

Seems this happens to me. It is usually the first food of the day that does this. I am not open until evening. If I am patient the food will finally start going and then I can go ahead and eat some of my meal. Glad to hear it happens to others.:clap2: That makes me feel NORMAL I guess. Kay

My first fill did NOT give me much restriction and I think that is how most are. I could not eat dry meats but a lot of things went thru. I could even eat 1 slice of pizza after my first fill. I bet you will notice a big difference after your 2nd fill. I think you are pretty normal so don't stress just yet. Kay