Do I Have A Leak?

[wildrose1966 396]

My office puts my fill in the needle, finds my port then pulls all my Fluid out of my band to measure it and then puts it and my new fill back in..........I then have to sit up, with the needle still in me and gulp a cup of Water to make sure it goes down okay, if everything is good, the needle comes out and the fill stays in.

[FLORIDAYS 3,040]

I am no scientist but For those of you who are wondering about evaporation.... I had a fill in April. I was at 5.7ccs In September I felt I needed a fill so the Dr measured and I only had 5 ccs in the band. I asked the Dr where did the .7ccs go... he said even though it is a sealed unit the fill is saline which is Water and water evaporates. I decided to do a little experiment... I put a cup of water in a ziploc bag and duct taped the top to make sure it was sealed air tight. I opened it after a month and there was less than a cup of water.... so I guess it would be the same with the band.

[FLORIDAYS 3,040]

I've had 9 fills because I feel no sort of restrictions. The 10lbs lost were lost all on my own (exercising, dieting etc). The lapband is suppose to be a "tool" to assist me in this journey. If I feel no restrictions, then WHY did I get it in the first place... if you were to diet all on your own, then why did you go through with the lap band surgery? You folks keep saying "take control of the situation yourself", then let me ask you, if you could have taken control, why didn't you do it on your own a very long time ago?

I say I don't trust this doctor because I feel like he is putting in less than he claims and asks me to come in every 3 weeks just so he could receive payment (since i'm paying $120 out of pocket each visit). Thats why I said I dont trust him. He claims to put in .5-1cc each time, but I think in actuality he's been putting in .2ccs. Why else would I have 4ccs total, when I'm suppose to have 9 by now. Theres either a leak, severe evaporation, or a scam on his part!

If you do not trust your Dr then you should find a new one. It wouldnt make sense for him to "scam" you but I suppose there are bad apples out there. If you want you might want to look around for another Dr and share your concerns with him. I think I would be more apt to have a frank discussion with your surgeon and ask him to show you the amount he is putting in your band. Unless of course you have a leak ...then that is another issue all together.

As for your question about taking control... The band isnt a magic cure. Especially if you arent in the green zone. When you do get there it will be a wonderful tool to prevent you from overeating but even then you must take control over what you put in your mouth. When I decided to get the band I researched and had frank conversations with my Dr. I knew I could lose the weight on my own but I always got bored with diets and always gave up and gained it all back. My Dr explained that if I limited my portions and controled my calories I would lose weight and then the band would prevent me from overeating.

I am almost to goal... and for example today... there are donuts and fruit in the breakroom at work. I could eat one with no problem... well maybe 1/2 of it. But I did not. I chose the banana instead. The band will not prevent you from eating the donut. You have to do that your self.

Best of luck to you!

[DELETE THIS ACCOUNT! 12,703]

You said he was able to extract 4.3cc this time. Have him extract it again next time, and see if the Fluid level has remained the same or decreased. Mystery solved.

Here's a link to help you better understand the band and what "restriction" really is: http://drsimpson.net/fills/Lap-band-eating/lap-band-not-restriction/lap-band-and-restriction.html

[cruel2bagirl 0]

A year and a half

Wowo that's good