Update on my June 25th surgery
Well guys this has not been exactly the journey I thought I'd be on. I was banded on Oct 27th 2006, the end of Nov 06 was my first fill of 1cc and my Dr. had trouble accessing my port. My second fill was the end of Dec 06 and my Dr. went to check how much was in my band before he did my second fill and well nothing was there. At that time he said I either had some air in my band or I had a leak..... For me in my mind it was like well which one is it??????? Needless to say, last month I said enough is enough, and I called and spoke with my favorite nurse. She started going back over my records. I have had about 12 fills in 20 months and according to the person doing them my band was holding 5.3ccs. She discovered that in April it was not hold anything......... So she gave me a bit of a fill, .8ccs. I had a tiny bit of restriction. Three weeks later I had no restriction. In May they decided to fill we up to see at what point I was really restricted. So we added and added and added I was at 2.8ccs. It was too tight, but I figured it was a good way to force me to get back into those smaller portions and chewing slowly. I eventually had to go have .4cc taken out as after three weeks I was still pureeing my food and I had to make a road trip to Michigan for my daughters college orientation. That was FANTASTIC! It only lasted two days and the restriction was gone. This has been going one for 20 months now. Mind you I was waiting 4 to 8 weeks to go for fills, because I thought it was just me. So... by the time I'd go in for the fill I was starting all over again EVERY *(&$^%io*%& TIME. That leads to me two weeks ago and a port revision. All went well on the sugery. They discovered that my "self sealing" port was not sealing thus the restriction loss. I've heard most people recovery very very quickly from a revision, but not me. I always have to have something special go wrong. I've had a huge semi-painfull buldge under my left breast above my port area. I figured I was just being whimpy and the swelling was a result of my surgery. Turns out it's not normal. Figures. I had to go have an ultra-sound yesterday to determine what's going on. The good news is there is no clot and it doesn't appear infected and it doesn't appear to be blood, that is what the technician felt, but he said the Dr would have to read it. He says the fluid appears to be clear. In either case, my Dr did not fill me after doing my port revision and I have been told by my favorite nurse that it will be weeks and weeks and weeks before this will go away and weeks and weeks and weeks before I can get a fill......................... So that's the scoop. I haven't totally fallen off the wagon and I'm not totally depressed, I bummed cause I can't ride my bike and I was just starting to get good at it too. I was riding weather depending 3 times a week to and from work and my legs were starting to show it..... I can't bend over comfortably or carry anything heavy so I can't dig up any more yard to create gardens and I am used to being on the go and physically active all summer long. Right now I just don't feel so hot and I'm sleepy all the time. Anywho, that's where I'm at Kathleen
"The most important words we'll ever utter are those words we say to ourselves, about ourselves, when we're by ourselves. ~ Al Walker
So sorry to hear that you are still having issues! My heart and prayers go out to you!
Healing Hugs and Prayers! ~Sandie~ 
-147!!WLS:12-12-06:Preop 268,Ht.5'4",BMI 44.9
Click on link to see my journey!!!
http://www.onetruemedia.com/my_shared?z=2bfaca5561a1d558fceb
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"Do unto others as you'd have done to you"~ The Golden Rule to Live by!
You are what you EAT and WHO you hang out with! Choices=Outcome~ what's YOUR choice??
I'm not perfect but I am going to die trying!!!
Hi Kathleen,
Sorry to hear things are still not going well. Do they have any idea then what is causing the bulge? Is it related to the surgery of having the port replaced? Hang in there though. You have lost weight and you are healthier and the band is still there to help you when everything else is cleared up. Good luck! Jean B.
Sorry to hear things are still not going well. Do they have any idea then what is causing the bulge? Is it related to the surgery of having the port replaced? Hang in there though. You have lost weight and you are healthier and the band is still there to help you when everything else is cleared up. Good luck! Jean B.
267/237/171/149 1st nurse's visit/surgery/current/goal
down 66 lbs. since surgery; 96 lbs. total
Yes, they confirmed earlier this morning that I have a seroma. It is related to the surgery. Apparently what happens is little blood vessels rupture and cause this. Sometimes if it really bad people get a hematoma which is a blood filled sac and others get a seroma which is a fluid filled sac. The fluid filled sac is actually loaded with protein and it's stealing it from my body so drinking plenty of fluids and getting in more protein is important. Usually these go away on their own, but if they are really really huge they drain them. They don't like to drain them because you can introduce and infection to the area. They prefer to let them shrink on their own. As a result there will be no fills for me until this happens and apprently it will take weeks as in not just a couple of weeks, but WEEKS.
Kathleen
"The most important words we'll ever utter are those words we say to ourselves, about ourselves, when we're by ourselves. ~ Al Walker
Well, at least they figured out what it was. I've had "bulges" twice, both times they appeared IMMEDIATELY following surgeries, BOTH times they turned out to be hernias. One became a full-blown bowel obstruction, which required ANOTHER surgery (albeit 3 years later), and the last one, Dr. Jones fixed before he did my RNY!
So much as it sucks, at least you have the probability of it resolving WITHOUT the need for another surgery! Hang in there, Kathleen... it's all going to be worth it down the road. Look how well you've done even WITH a bum port???
Imperfect does not = unsuccessful
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