steveelea

clhendrix2 I am soooooo sorry to hear you have to go through surgery again :thumbup: Firstly I can tell you it's not as bad getting the port replaced as it is having the entire procedure. I know how you feel that heart sinking awful feeling when you think about going through it again, but you know you have been going so well and just look at it as a minor setback. I have heard of ports flipping before, sometimes for whatever reason they just dont take?? Not sure why but my specialist said to me "her up thier (god) didn't mean for us to have foreign objects in our bodies, and our bodies are trying to heal what isn't ment to be there, so sometimes it just goes wrong but we can fix it" So guess our bodies are strong but, WE want our ports to stay put After my port flipped I was thinking about leaving mine as it was and trying to cope on what restriction I already had, but then I thought if my port ever needs to be accessed for anything else, then I will need to have it operated on then. So I figured I was putting off the inevitable and just got it done asap. You will be fine I am sure after this one. Doesn't your specialist cover the cost of any further operations you need done?? After all it was something that he did so he should cover it I would have thought I paid all upfront and have a garantee with mine for life so am lucky in that respect, and my specialist says we are responsible so we will fix it you don't need to pay anything further....maybe its worth having a look around at some other surgeons or having a chat with yours and seeing if they will do the same. Good luck and my thoughts and prayers will be with you Please let us know how you go :seeya:

Well I have had it confirmed, that my port is now leaking :thumbup: The dr has suspected it for some time and has been checking my amounts that remain in my band for the last few months. I would feel restriction on the day of my fill and a couple of days after that, but towards the end of the week I would really hungry and look for food all the time. I was starting to think it was in my mind but when they finally tested it, It showed that I was losing about 1 ml per week. They then did a big fill and then sent me to my surgeon 2 weeks later and i had lost 3 mls in 2 weeks from my band. So I am in on monday for my port replacement. I was just wondering about others that have had the same or similar thing happen and how thier port replacement surgery went, if it has been successfull?? I had a lot of pain with my band (origional surgery) and they said to me it wont be as bad with just the port replacement so I hope thats right....I am a scardy cat LOL I am upset because I have been at a standstill for some time now and weight loss has stopped, although I have gained no weight which is great, I still feel dissapointed. I feel like I have to start all over again. I will have 5 mls inserted into the band during surgery, but that does't restrict me much, and I then have to wait another month till I can go for a fill. Oh well lets hope that it's all fixed without too much more stress and that this time it works!

48 hours after I start to really feel it for about 3 days then I seem to start to go on the mend. Everyone is different though and I guess the worse the swelling is the worse the discomfort. It takes me so long just to get over the after effects of the anisthetic though....I have foggy brain for ages, which I guess is nothing new really LOL I had my second port put in the same place as the first but it didnt take well as the operations were fairly close together, so thats why he has moved mine to a new spot this time. I am sure yours will be fine as you had a fair while inbetween your band and this port replacement by the sounds. I still had scar tissue there from the first port so it wasnt taking properly. I feel like frankensteins bride when I look at my tummy.....but people tell me that the scars will fade and its only been almost 7 months since I got the lap band in the first place, so I am optimistic that they will dissapear a lot more over time

Hi Everyone Hope your all going well Just an update to post.....I have had my new port (3rd and hopefully final time) put in the other day (15th June) I am still in a fair bit of discomfort and out of it on pain relief. I have now got 2 more scars and in total 3 inscisions this time (2 are 3 inches in length and the other is small nearer my belly button) I am trying to be positive but sometimes I just have my scared times when I am worried something else will go wrong again, but I think 3rd times the charm and I will blitz it from here on in :thumbup:

Thats fantastic news lotzasunshine....way to go:thumbup: I got out of hospital the other day but am still in a lot of pain.:thumbup: I had my 3rd port put into a new place and now I have 3 incisions to heal this time....2 of them are 3 inches long and one is smaller. I am in a lot of discomfort but hopefully that will be over soon and it was 3rd times a charm. Take care

I am heading back in to the hospital this Tuesday to get my new port put in, and my surgeon is changing where it will be located. I have a diagram in a photo below to show you where my old port is and where my new port will be. It got me thinking where are other people's ports located as I am concerned that my new port although it will be easier for my dr to fill, may be in an uncomfortable spot for me. Any feedback on where ports are placed would be greatly appreciated. Here is the picture below....Red is where my new port is going and Blue is where my old port is (click on picture to enlarge for a better view)

Yes the bra thing is worrying me a bit as I have to wear an underwire bra.....boobs being not what they used to be :frown: So sorry to hear that you broke a rib.....thats horrible are you in any pain??? Thats great to hear yours is going well in that spot onikenbai

Thanks Sue I am glad to hear that someone else has it in that spot and is happy with it. I have a lot of trouble sleeping on my tummy where the port is now so I am hoping that it will be easier to sleep with the port in the new position. It's hard when your a tummy sleeper.

:frown: Me toooo LOLI was going to write this is my gorgeous body (i WISH) :wink5: I did take a photo of where my scar is but then couldnt bring myself to post my tummy for all the world to see....I would have just scarred people for life :Yawn: Anyhoo.....I should have mentioned the reason for my port replacement, its a long story but to cut it shortish this will be my 3rd operation in 6 months :tongue: Had the lapband surgery all went well, then after a few months I developed a leak in the port tubing so just a couple of months ago had to have the port and tubing replaced. The surgeon replaced it into the same spot and when I went to get a fill during this week just been, the dr couldnt fill it so back to the surgeon the next day and he tried and said, my dear it has flipped.....so praying that 3rd times a charm I am back in on Tuesday for yet another port replacement. They think that it flipped because of it not adhearing due to scar tissue etc. It's only day surgery but as you can see from the sexy diagram, I will have to have another inscision so I am guessing it will be pretty uncomfortable but I will just have to suck it up and get over it....it's only pain afterall :sad:

clhendrix2 I am so sorry you had to go through all of that to get your fill.....but on the upside you didn't need surgery and they could give you a fill so that was great in the end. I feel for you with your bruising and swelling you poor thing....sending hugz your way :frown: My tummy is still swallen and distorted from all the poking and jabbing that I got for 2 days in a row as well...don't you feel like a human pin cushion I was wondering where your port is located?? I am going to post a diagram of where my old port (my port now) is located and where my new one is going and wondering where everyone elses is as I know that they do put them in different spots depending on the surgeon. I think I need to start a new thread for it though and have never posted a pic before so I will give it a go here too Red is for the new port and scar and blue is for the old port and scar

StevieVieth thats a relief that you have a good issue and that they know how to find it and are aware that it moves around clhendrix2, sometimes some drs are better than others are getting the right spot and getting the fill done. Let us know how you go after you have seen your other dr but if she checked it by ultrasound and all looked normal then it sounds positive. cshylton, I had a lot of swelling to start with and fluid around my port and they told me that was more common than you think, so they do see it a bit and they told me it usually resolves itself. It sure did after my first op its just the dr that did the fill pierced the tube or the tube kinked and I had a leak....nothing to do with swelling causing the problem and also one side of my stomach where the port was was a different shape and stuck out more than the other side of my tummy...also it sounds to me like the amount of weight you have lost already is amazing....I don't see why he would be dissapointed with that??? bambam31 :crying: I certainly wont be buying any lottery tickets any time soon...at least its easy for them to fix though just horrid that I have to go through another surgery yet again :frown: LapNYC I know how you feel being stuck with needles countless times as that has been the case with most fills for me, but they say the more weight you lose the easier the fills get as they can find it more easily so I am waiting for that day :eek: khunt719 My luck sure does suck, in regards to lapbanding anyway They do say 3rd times the charm so here's hoping...Hey can you ask your dr to see how much is in the band by pulling out the saline and checking again next time you go???? It will at least put your mind at ease and you would think it would help him to so he wasn't flying blind and knew how much he had to work with

Thanks for the kind words guys, and sorry to hear some of you have had problems with your ports too. I went to my specialist today and after trying to do a fill and realising that it was hitting the back of the port, told me that I am going in for surgery on this tuesday comming to get yet another port replaced. :crying: Well when he told me I said oh no not another operation and started to cry (then thought stop it you big baby and suck it up and get a grip) I thought well I guess it could be worse. He said that the port has flipped around and the backside of the port is facing out. He thinks that maybe as he placed the port where the origional one was (even though he cleaned the scar tissue up while operating) that it has not adheared properly due to the scar tissue. This time he is moving the new port (replacing the old port and part of the tubing to be safe) to just up the top just under where my ribs meet. The scar will be on my bra line so unfortunately he will have to make 2 inscisions. One where the port is now to remove it and one along the bra line to place the new port. Unfortunately the port scar now is around 3 inches long and so will the new scar be :frown: Dreading the recovery as I am a complete sook when it comes to pain I am begining to feel like the bride of frankenstein with all of my scars but hey, guess its all worth it in the end. He said to me that ports and me dont realy agree and I said tell me about it. I have had trouble since the start trying to have my port filled...there has always been problems so heres hoping and praying that 3rd times a charm :eek:

If it were any other surgeon then I would think they were dodgy but, this man is so successfull and was the first to be doing the lap band here in Australia. I think I have just been unlucky...or....maybe its the Dr that is doing the fill that is causing more harm to the port which is what my gut is telling me unfortunately. I have just had a call back from the nurses and they are fitting me in for an xray today to see if they can locate the port exactly. As for the cost, I get full rebate on every fill I have and at the start all of the money I paid for the lapband has now covered me for any future operations I may need. So I am covered for life for the band and even if it doesnt work and I need gastric sleeving, then I don't pay a cent. So they really are very good with these things but I think I am just unlucky with this unfortunately :thumbup: Fingers crossed that all goes well today and my surgeon can find it by xray and get it done for me....wouldn't that be lovely :smile:

Just an update with some not so good news......yes think I need to go back in for reoperation yet again :tongue2: Have posted in another section to get some more info from others that may have had the same problem, but apparently they think my port has flipped and they can't fill it!!!!! Yes I am in disbelief I can not believe that this is happening.....I swear I am jinxed!!!!!!!!:eek: I am back to the specialist next Thursday so that he can tell me what we will do about this newest problem. I just don't know if I can face another surgery again:sad:

So sorry to hear that you are having problems lotzasunshine :thumbup: On the upside at least its fixable and once you get it done you will be on the right track again. I have never had propper restriction as there has been a problem with mine from almost the start, so I am over it too but fingers crossed that yours is fixed soon and you can get back to dropping those kilo's Take Care and keep us updated:smile2:

Hi guys, Just checking in to see how your all doing......How are you after the adjustment Keith?? I have been plodding along and have lost about 2kg in a month which is ok. I am due to go back to my dr for another fill on Wed this week so I hope to get another ml put in my band to help me a bit more. I have a 14ml band in (a large band) and I have 7mls of fluid in it at the moment.....so I am hoping that 8ml will be my magic number They had a bit of trouble with my previous fill because I had the liquid bruise (seroma) around my port and the port kept bouncing off the seroma when they tried to fill it. So they removed some of the liquid bruise and then tried again several times....he said maybe you will have to wait 6 weeks. Well I think he took one look at my face and he said ok ok we will try again and he got it. So about 30 jabs later I had my extra 1ml in my band. ( I had said do whatever it takes I dont care but I want my fill TODAY!!!!) It has given me better restriction and I can no longer eat bread of any sort if its not toasted (which is fine with me anyway) so I know its working YAY. I was sooooo scared after he poked and prodded so much to try to fill the band that I would have another leak. It just kept slipping and slipping with a force and I went home paradoid and waiting to feel no restriction whatso ever! Thank goodness that hasn't been the case. Anyway I am really looking forward to going in again and getting another fill to help me on my way. Just the fact that the scales are dropping in numbers instead of staying the same is a real bonus that I have waited so long to see!!!! :thumbup: Let me know how your all going Take Care

How was your visit on Friday Keith?? How are you going? Nonoma, see how you go after this fill....they did the same thing for me when they susspected a leak, gave me 3mls in one fill and I had tight resstriction but unfortunately, it went after the first week and a bit. On the up side I can tell you that if you have been struggling to lose weight and not feeling the restriction and you have to get a port replacement, its worth every bit of it. I now feel restriction and have to chew my food really really well which I never have had to do before, and I just can't fit that much in. I havent jumped on the scales again yet but I will next week (wednesday) when I go for another fill. It is wonderfull to feel such restriction, and I am hoping that I will only need 1 more fill and that will be my limit. Here's hoping

I took your advice Keith (thank you for encouraging me to call them...I needed a push in the right direction :blushing:) and called them first thing this morning. The nurse told me that it is my port and that it has developed fluid around it which doesn't happen to everyone, but its not uncommon. She said the name for it but I can't remember the exact name...she then continued to say its like a liquid bruise around the port and it will feel squelchy. They said I can get some fluid drained out of it when I go in next week for my next fill if its still there but it may go away on its own. She said often when people have a lot of swelling it develops like that and I did have a huge amount of swelling. I did a lot of walking on the weekend (while I was out shopping LOL) both on Saturday and Sunday and I hope I didn't cause this by overdoing it......either way apparently it's not a problem they told me it's just something that happens to some. I can't tell you my relief when she said it was just my port and fluid around it :thumbup: LOL I asked her about how it felt like it was higher up than my scar and when they filled me they put the needle in below my scar. She asked if that was when I was standing up that it felt higher ...and it is. When you are laying down your skin lays differently and she told me to lay down and feel it and I could feel it below my scar when I was laying down. All in all I am soooooo glad I called them and so relieved :thumbdown: I hope you are able to eat soon Keith. Do you think it has anything to do with extra swelling as they fixed a hernia at the same time?? Might just be extra swollen for a time. Are you having trouble swallowing liquids??

So pleased to hear that all went well :thumbup: Great that they fixed the hernia at the same time save yet another operation. I dont know about you, but I felt a sence of relief when the Dr told me that they found the leak. I felt like at least it wasn't in my mind...I wasn't imagining it as I had started to think that I was. They said they clamped it where the tube joined the connecting tube to the band and added some saline, and it squirted out like a fountain up in the air!!!! So they told me it was a very noticable leak but I guess I will never know how it was caused, so I intend on being careful and letting it heal properly...no overdoing it (not that I did before I don't think) They also said I had healed so well they gave me a 1ml fill so I now have a total of 6mls...and they found it straight away which was amazing, that hasn't happened before. Anyway, I am thinking I had better call my nurse tomorrow as I can feel a hige lump (that moves) under my scar. At first I thought it was swelling but it moves and feels like bubbly/squishy when i press on it, but hard at the same time. After totally freiking out....now I have calmed down a bit I am thinking it may be my port, but it is higher up than where they did my fill on Thursday just been, so not sure if it moves around or not. I am dreading ringing the nurse as I don't want their to be anything else wrong.....I felt like I was on the road to going full steam ahead and now this......:thumbup: :smile:

Vent away jldchester.....I know how you feel and I was exactly the same. I was sick of the not knowing and the stress and the waiting etc etc etc :smile: Is the fill by fluoroscopy where they inject dye into the port to see where the leak is when they x ray or ultrasound you?? I asked my Dr about that and he said that they used to do that but too many people have allergic reactions to the dye that is used and it's too high a risk. They said its pretty easy to tell weather the leak is band or port as if it was band it would be empty not slowly losing fluid over time. I wondered what/how they would replace the tubing if that was what was pierced and they showed me that the band that they used for me (not sure if its the same here in Australia to the USA) had the port and a small length of tubing that was part of the way down towards the band and that's where it joined to the rest of the tube to the band. (sorry sounds all over the place I am not too good and explaining these things ) So they replace the port and part of the tubing and they can leave the band and over half the tubing in place. So if its a piercing or a slow leak at the port then it will only be a port replacement. As for paying for my surgery, the specialists that I went with I paid for everything up front and it still cost me about 6grand in total (even though I had private cover)....that was for the consults, dietitian, psychologist and the operation itself. They guarantee the surgery for life. If there are ever any problems then they do repeat procedures free of charge and if for some reason the band doesn't work for me eg slippage, infection etc, then they will do the sleeving procedure for free also. They basically said to me that if you get this done we will help you to lose weight no matter how which is one of the reasons I went through them....the other is that they have been doing the band in Australia for over 20 years and were the first specialists to start it here so they know what they are doing and that made me feel confident that I will one day be a healthy weight :thumbup:

Oh that's very interesting info ibndoc......wonder if they use those needles here in Australia too???? Maybe I will have to ask my nurse on Thursday. Thanks for sharing that.

Yay that your going in on Thursday :eek: Keep us posted I am keen to hear how it all goes and will be thinking of you! Wow a heavy box may have done it that would have been painfull :wink: They said that mine was either a faulty port (which apparently happens too often) or when I had my fills done they had pierced the port area/tubing that gave me a slow leak. They did no tests to see where it was leaking other than check how much was in my band from week to week for a while then gave me a big fill so I had 7mls and then left me for 2 weeks where i had lost about 3 mls over that period. They said if it was a band that was leaking there would be no fluid left in there and if it was a big leak near the port the same thing....faster leaking so may just have been a pinprick from the needle in the wrong place. As I have said before I call myself their problem child as I was very difficult to fill. I am certainly feeling more restriction now than I have in ages although I am not sure if its swelling from the op still (as I am a MAJOR sweller unfortunately) or restriction from the 5ml that they inserted during the op......I cant wait to see my surgeon on Thursday arvo and see what he found as I have't spoken to him since just before I went in on the day that I had my port replaced. At least it's only day surgery and really easy so all the dr's say. I was out of the operating theatre in half an hour and back into recovery. I was done at almost 4pm and discharged to go home at 6.30pm so I was so glad not to have to have another hospital stay and to be at home that night with my family. When I got the band done I had trouble getting my oxygen stats up after so they kept me in for 3 days/ 2 nights (intensive care for the first night because I had sleep apnea) so this was easy compared, as has been the recovery :thumbup:

Apparently from what I have been told there should be no more than .5ml (half a ml) difference in what they can draw out. They said to me that on occasion that half a ml can hide in the band but no more than that. I noticed when they started to draw my fluid out, when they got near what was in their i got big airbubbles comming out into the surringe so that told them that it was almost all drawn out. I too noticed that I had less and less restriction after the fills as the week went on, so if your dr wont look into it properly I would suggest getting a second opinion if you can. I was really lucky and my drs said that me feeling hungry with the amount that was supposed to be in my band wasnt right and it was a warning sign for them. They did err on the side of caution however and test it for about 4 fills before they said that their was definately a leak. Instead of waiting a month in between fills and checks I only had to wait a week or 2 at the most as they knew I was anxious and wanted it sorted out....I can't speak highly enough about my drs that have been helping me through this. Just a question for all of you, did any of you have trouble getting your fills done at the start?? Did your dr have to try a few times to find the port or was it easy?? (sorry for all the higgledy piggledy writing but I am still feeling dopey from the anisthetic )

Hey Keith Well I got my new port on Monday arvo so it's too early to tell just yet how its going, but I am certainly feeling restriction....not sure as to weather that is swelling or not but my surgeon gave me a 5ml in the band so I have 5mls in there now and the new port. I am still swallen so hard to tell whats going to happen and they wont do another fill for another month till all the swelling goes down, so fingers crossed it will work this time! How did you notice you had a leak and how long have you had your band?? Did you have trouble getting your fills?? Did they say what the leak was from?? (sorry for all the questions) Guess the main thing to say is that the port replacement isn't near as big as the surgery you have when you get your band.....It's much quicker recovery :thumbup:

Hi Guys I was banded on the 9th of November and am on the mushies stage now.....I can eat anything puree'd so I made myself a tuna morne' yesterday and it was yummo:biggrin: I am having trouble sleeping at night. My scars are up high under my chest (just under my boobs lol) and every night when i lay down in bed I can only lay on my back. If I lay on my stomach it hurts where my port is, and if I lay on my side it feels like my port is rubbing on my ribs:confused: Has anyone else experienced this???????? I am starting to get a bit stressed thinking that it will be like this forever :thumbup: I also have more bruising comming out again around my port scar which I had to start with but am getting it again more than 2 weeks post op? Anyone experience this sort of thing????