Leaks??

Has anyone had a leak in their band or port or connection between band & port? My surgeon thinks I may have leakage since he was unable to withdraw as much saline as should be in my band. Over 4 fills he's added 9 cc's to the band but I still don't have restriction and can eat far more than 1 cup of solid food at a time. He says that, rarely, there is a leak where the tube connects to the port but almost never in the band itself.

He wants me to get a limited upper GI test (how is "limited" different from "regular"?) but I'm going on vacation next week and can't get in until after I come back. I have to use a lot of will power sometimes to keep from over-eating and if will power always worked for me I wouldn't have a band! I'm feeling really frustrated right now.

Just wondering if anyone else has any experience with leakage. Thanks!

No, haven't had that issue and sorry to hear that you are.  Let us know what comes from the upper GI.  Good luck on vacation.  When on vacation I wanted to cheat and eat stuff that I knew I shouldn't. So, instead of beating myself up about it, I allowed myself a few bites and then went on with my life.  Even while taking bites of ice cream, etc. I managed to lose weight while on vacation.  I'll be sending you some extra will power.
Best of luck,
Heather

I'm not sure if it's leakage but I didn't feel any restriction at all until my most recent fill from 9.2 to 9.5 in my band. My doc says I have the most in my out of all of his patients. At least at 9.5 it's starting to work.

Haven't had the leak issue, but at 7.75 cc still don't feel complete restriction. Of course, it depends on what I eat. I think just a little more, and I'll be there. Good luck with your vacation. I'm going on one in October and am already concerned about how to handle the "food."

Just wishing you luck my friend!!! Let me know what happens.

Yep! I had a leak! I too had never held a fill! Every time I went in for an adjustment, the Dr. would draw out the saline and there was always significantly less than what should have been there. After ruling out "botched" adjustments, my Dr sent me for a fill under fluoro, and sure enough I had a leak. Mine was worst case scenario too, the leak was in the pillows in the band itself. I had my entire Realize band replaced with a Lap-Band a little over a week ago. When my surgeon was able to look at the Realize band she'd removed, she determined that the hole may have been due to the stitches on my stomach rubbing against the pillows and wore a hole into it. So after 2 yeard of being banded, and 110 lbs lost, I'm starting over! Sorry to hear you may have the same issue I did, but just know you're not alone and the revision surgery was MUCH easier than the original surgery I had 2 years ago! Good luck!

Wow -- thanks so much for posting. I was afraid I was just making excuses for overeating from time to time. I should get the limited upper GI in the next few weeks and have my next appointment with the surgeon on the 30th. I'll know more then and let everyone know what I learn.

Well, it's official -- I have a leak. I had a limited upper GI done this morning and it showed that I don't have the restriction I should have with 9 cc's in the band. The radiologist said the position of the band was good but the barium went right on through without pausing. I'm not sure which band I got (9 cc or 11 cc) but he should have seen much more restriction than he did. I had an appointment to see my surgeon at the end of the month but his office had to reschedule so I won't see him until mid-October. I guess I'll find out then what the next step is.

It's always something, isn't it? 

Ahhh LIFE .. Always throwing a curve ball .. sorry to hear about your issue, but it's good to see they know what it is - and (best news) they can fix it!!

Take some solace in that you've been this successful - even with a DEFECTIVE band!! That's speaks VOLUME how determined you are.

As always, I am here for you. Know you can turn to me, especially during this stressful (and disappointing) time/set-back.