Port thats hard to fill....WHY????

[steveelea 61]

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:

[cshylton 0]

update on me

I went June 17 th second try no luck Fluid still there. I go back July 22 my dr is going to try a fill them a month later he thinks it should me gone by then He called it a serona never heard of it before

So basically i am doing this on my own i was 225 before surgery day of surgery May 5th 213 and today 197 slow weight loss maybe a fill next month.

Has anyone ever had this problem or know anything about it?

Sherry

[steveelea 61]

Hey Sherry

I had a Seroma around my port that they had to drain, but it did take a few visits over time for them to get most of the Fluid out.

My Dr explained it to me in this way: He said it is a liquid bruise that can develop after surgery, that takes time to go down and sometimes they have to drain fluid, but that it should go down in time. I think from memory he said around 6 weeks. I was told that it does happen and they do see it. It's not overley common but it does happen and it's not usualy an issue.

I am sure that your dr will be able to drain some more fluid soon and then hopefully they will be able to give you a fill.

Keep up the fantastic work, you are going so well on your own....way to go what a great start

[clhendrix2 0]

steveelea thank you so much for the words of encouragement, I really do need it now. I know what you mean about putting off the inevitable. I too had thoughts about just seeing how I did for a while on the rerstriction that I had, but my surgeon was adamant about me getting it fixed now.

cshylton sorry you still have not had a fill yet, hopefully you will soon. I had not heard of a Seroma.

Dr Provost is aware money is a real issue for me, he is waving his fee for the surgery, but the hospital of course is not. So I will have the hospital fee, just glad they are not making me pay anything up front. I go this morning for my pre-op visit & to pre-register at the hospital to find out what time my surgery is tomorrow. Wish me luck!

[cshylton 0]

Hey Sherry

I had a Seroma around my port that they had to drain, but it did take a few visits over time for them to get most of the Fluid out.

My Dr explained it to me in this way: He said it is a liquid bruise that can develop after surgery, that takes time to go down and sometimes they have to drain Fluid, but that it should go down in time. I think from memory he said around 6 weeks. I was told that it does happen and they do see it. It's not overley common but it does happen and it's not usualy an issue.

I am sure that your dr will be able to drain some more fluid soon and then hopefully they will be able to give you a fill.

Keep up the fantastic work, you are going so well on your own....way to go what a great start

Thank you for your reply it has been drained twice and my stomach is still swollen thats why he wanted to wait a month to try it again. I feel like the band is not there. I can eat anything i want i am so worried that i eat too much because i forget about the band and cause more problems with it. I am walking on the threadmill and holding a heating pad on it at night but the knot is still there i dont know what else to do!

Sherry:wub:

[cshylton 0]

steveelea thank you so much for the words of encouragement, I really do need it now. I know what you mean about putting off the inevitable. I too had thoughts about just seeing how I did for a while on the rerstriction that I had, but my surgeon was adamant about me getting it fixed now.

cshylton sorry you still have not had a fill yet, hopefully you will soon. I had not heard of a Seroma.

Dr Provost is aware money is a real issue for me, he is waving his fee for the surgery, but the hospital of course is not. So I will have the hospital fee, just glad they are not making me pay anything up front. I go this morning for my pre-op visit & to pre-register at the hospital to find out what time my surgery is tomorrow. Wish me luck!

I wish you the best of luck!

Sherry:thumbup:

[La Gordita 0]

Well I am going though the same thing, I went yesterday for my 1st fill and the Dr thinks that the port flipped, that he has done over 200 bands and this has never happened to him that he is going to call the band company. Mean while I have no fill and have to wait for my insurance should'nt the Dr do this for free of charge?:frown: :lol2: :mad: :frown::mad2::crying::tt1::sad:

[scootergooser 0]

I'm sorry to hear you've had so much trouble. However, I understand the frustration of fills. I was banded back in 08 and have only had my initial fill and one this past January.... My first fill after surgery was painful. My surgeon did it in 20 minutes and ended up bending the needle and having to get a new one. Needless to say, if the hypodermic needle bent... he was applying a ton of pressure. My second and hopefully last fill was extremely painful. My surgeon poked around in me for 30 minutes before he figured out that my port had become partially undone. My port was tilted sideways and he had been jabbing straight down trying to fill it. The pain was horrible and for someone who has a high pain tolerance I must admit it made me cry. My surgeon then mentioned to me that he has had 3 other patients that have had a similar problem... not sure if that was supposed to be reassuring. Today I had sharp pains coming from my port area and it hurt to breathe in. My step-mom is an RN and she thinks it was probably the rest of the stitches popping out.... The feeling of that is not fun. It took about an hour for the pain to subside. If I ever have it filled again, she said I'd have to have an x-ray to see where the port has shifted to.... kinda scary.

I hope everything works out for you in the end. No one deserves more pain when they are trying to better themselves. Just stay strong, find your silver lining

*Sidney*

[danielle b 32]

*Update* I went in yesterday morning at 9am to see Dr.Provost. He tried with 2 needles to hit the port, but no luck. So he sent me across the street to the hospital where I had my surgery, to do the fill under flouroscopy ($100 by the way! :frown:). I went over and as soon as they had a machine available they called him over. I was glad to see that when Dr.Provost came he brought his PA Chrystyna with him. I was glad at this point to see friendly, familiar faces, seeing as I was extremely worried at this point. And cold, that hospital was freezing! So after seeing my port on xray, its not perfect but maybe not completely terrible either. My port is sort of angled upwards, it is not laying flat as it should be, but it is not flipped over either, so no surgery to correct it is planned at this time. They still hope that it will lay down as more swelling goes down and I lose more weight. Dr and PA were there to see exactly how it is facing and how to manipulate it to flatten it out and get the fill done. So I got the fill, I am very, very sore and bruised! My tummy looks like I got hit with a baseball! :tt1: The Dr wants to do my next fill in a little over 2 weeks. Wish me luck! I am feeling a little more restriction, now then I did. But no issues swallowing or vomiting! Yea! Thats a good thing.

My surgeon DOES all his fills under Fluoroscopy (xray). I hope your doctor got it in the first time with the xray. I am not quite ready for a fill yet, but I am hoping I do not have a horror story to tell......I feel sorry for all of you that have to go through more pain. Good luck all!

[CharmedMist 0]

My first fill was done by the surgeon, it was nice and easy. The second fill was done by her regular "fellow" and was also nice and easy.

Yesterday, I went for my third fill... it was her "new assistant" and it hurt!

They never give me a local anesthetic but the first two times it was just a simple needle poke.

Even though he didn't have to poke repeatedly, he did push and push and PUSH on my stomach to find it, then put it in and it hurt.

Hoping he did it right! ~cross fingers~

[steveelea 61]

cshylton no wonder you are hungry, you have no restriction yet you poor thing.....I am sure in time the swelling will come down or they will take more out to ease it for you.

Can you tell them that its uncomfortable for you and can they take more out earlier than your next appointment??

La Gordita I am so sorry to hear that your port has flipped.

I hadn't hear about it before it happened to me and since have heard of a couple of people that it has happened to, even one of the nurses that works with my surgeon, her port flipped so it must be more common than we think.

If you have pain and are at all worried I would make an appointment to see them again asap, as you don't want to feel uncomfortable.

CharmedMist I too think that some Dr's do fills better than others in the way that they are with all the poking and prodding. Some are so rough and some are gentle....things we go through.

danielle b sounds like your first fill will be easy as pie

I know that more than a few of us have had setbacks, and sometimes I feel like when amd I ever going to get started....but I am trying to find the 'silver lining' as Sidney says.

I am trying to look at my issues this way:

In my 7 months of having my band on the down side I have had 2 port replacements and haven't even been up to excersising in between surgeries.... but....on the up side I have lost 22.5 kilos ( equal to 49.5 pounds ) so I can't wait to see what happens when I actually get started :thumbup:

I still have a long way to go but I am on the right track!!!

I find that this site helps so much talking to people about thier journy with thier band and the support has been amazing. Just goes to show that you are never really alone and you should ask for support when you need it, because it really helps you to get through these tough times and you realise that you are not alone :drool:

[♥Amy♥ 5]

To those of you having problems w/ your docs and nurses finding your port, let me ask you this: When you're laying down are you completely flat on a flat hard surface? Or are you on a very slightly inclined exam table? I only ask because usually when I get my fills I am laying flat on a metal fluoroscope table and my doc NEVER has a problem finding my port. On Thursday I had to go see her in a different office for a slight unfill and she had me on an exam table that looked kind of like this:

and when it was reclined all the way it was still at a slight incline and my Doc had a hard time getting to my port. I had only seen her 2 days before and she got right in. I asked her if maybe that was the reason and she said that was what she was thinking, also. So it's just a thought. If you're not completely flat, maybe that's the problem?

Sorry if someone else already wrote the same thing and I just missed it.

Edited July 3, 2010 by ♥Amy♥

[steveelea 61]

Hey Amy,

I have had my fills laying flat, with a pillow under the middle of my back, and standing up.

They have tried all different ways with me.

[Windus 0]

Wow, I cannot believe all the issues people are having.

I would never let anyone try to fill me unless they were using a fluoroscope. My surgeon in Mexico was very adamant that I do that. The day I was there 2 other people were there having repair surgery after people doing a fill in the US without it poked the tubing instead of the port and made them leak.

I go in for my third fill on Tuesday - they just find the port with the xray, spray with numbing spray and one poke and that is it. Never had any pain from it or problem locating the port.

I love being able to watch on the fluoroscope screen while I swallow the barium so I can see exactly how much restriction I am getting and they even print out pictures of it.