Deannaintx

I had my surgery in May 2002 within a week of being diagnosed as diabetic type II. I lived in Tijuana then, so I didn't have to travel to find a surgeon. Long story short: Dr and I did not get along at all. I had my first fill and followups with another doctor from there on out. Because my BS was so high, I took a very, very long time to heal, very painful.I did lose weight from the start. I lost dramatically, followed all the rules, excercised and just went on with my life. I didn't lose everything i needed to lose that first time..I only got down to a size 10 from a 28, but I was happy with that. I gained 3/4 of it back over the next 5 years. My life entered an extremely stressful period and I had learned to cheat the band by then. Nothing will work for you unless you want it to. I HATED choking or vomiting and missing out on foods I loved like asparagus and many meats because they simply wouldn't go down. I didn't mind the bread, I was going more towards low carb anyway. Also, since I'm a 'grazer', the band wasn't a good choice for me anyway. I've never been a person who would eat a lot at once, unless I was upset and then THOSE foods would go past the band anyway. Cookies and chocolate and chips go down fine.
Anyway, I stopped having fills and went on with my life. My port had shifted and created an ugly lump at my waistline, the thinner I got, the more obvious it was. No fillilng that, the port was now 'about face'. Ahhh, no biggie. I asked my doctor here how much it would cost to remove the port while I was under for a hernia surgery. He quoted me $3k dollars. WHAT?? For ONLY the PORT?? Never mind.
About 6 months ago, I was chasing my little dog around the house, playing. I was at my lowest weight ever, 158, size 8, and I was walking 8-10 miles a day and doing yoga, considering joining a gym to start weigt training. I slipped and fell, catching myself on the edge of the buffet in the dining room. My bad luck, I had struck the port and bruised the skin. It looked like two little blood blisters at first.
As weeks went by, the skin started opening and stretching until I had a hole around that port and it was starting to work its way out of my body. I had no insurance, no way to get help and couldn't qualify for any aid because my roommate makes too much money. No doctor would touch it without payment up front.
So I finally sterilized a pair of scissors, put on gloves, washed myself down with betadine and grabbed the port, pullled it the rest of the way out and cut it off. I tried to get as much of the tube as I could. Problem partially solved. I managed to fight off infections and waited. It took 4 months to heal, but it finally closed.
I was free!! I could wear jeans and shapers again! This thing was right at my waistband area. I had only gone outside about 10 times in all those months.
Of course, during this bleak time, I gained weight because of the stress of that and some other major stressors that happened at that time. The thing stayed closed for 1 month.
One morning last week, I woke up with pain and swelling in the area. Rut-Roh, the feared infection had arrived. It swelled up so fast that by the time I could get a ride to the ER, the doctors didn't believe that the infection had begun that morning. It was HUGE and looked as though it needed to be opened. The pain when I walked made me want to faint. They gave me 2 rounds of IV antibiotics and a shot for the pain and referred me to a surgeon. I didn't even take the referral with me. No insurance, no money for surgery, why waste our time? It did open later that morning...what a mess. Now I'm back to cleanings, changing the bandages and taking an antibiotic that seems to want me dead. Once it's gone, well, I guess the infection comes back.
Friends are trying to find me some doctor who will take the thing out, but I think the entire band would have to come out, I just don't know. And what doctor is going to do that for a reduced rate the way things are now? Drs have to practice defensive medicine. I can't imagine that anyone will touch me without cash up front.
Has anyone had anything similar happen? Thanks for reading if you got this far :)