Heartglow
Continuing Saga
Feb 19, 2007
Hello Everyone,
I would love to be writing to tell you all that my band is just fine, not so.
I went into Dr. Jan, thinking I just need a little bit more, maybe .2 or 3, but probably .2 since I had already had a too-tight fill once before. I had no desire to have a repeat of that one.
So we agreed on .2. He didn't even pull the fluid out, just like we agreed last time, thinking my low profile port must be very sensitive to being messed with. So he was sure to go straight in and straight out. We both thought it was going to be just fine.
I just got home about 5:00 drinking water all the way home. I was beginning to suspect that the fill was not working even by the time I got home, because I could feel the water going right into my stomach. When the fill is tight it sits in my chest for a few seconds.
I decided I would eat some chicken noodle soup, the Chunky kind. I realized I was getting the noodles down without any problems, and it became clearer with each bite that there was not much restriction. So, I risked a bite of chicken, chewing it very well, no problem. I ate the whole can. I was still hungry. I was pretty sure by then, nothing was stopping me. So I had a bowl of oatmeal, intentionally pushing the limits. Nothing.
It's now almost 11:00 and I am starving, I decided I would really make sure so I cooked myself a boca burger (veggie burger) something I haven't eaten in months because I would not have been able to get it down even with a mild fill. Down it goes, hardly any, if any restriction.
So... I think we are now looking at a defective port. I really can't imagine he could have punctured the tubing, there just haven't been any fills where they have had to fish around for the port, it's very easy to access.
So, now we have to get me in there and get this figured out so I will be stablized by the end of February, because I have two fairly major trips coming up. We are driving to Vancouver, BC to run a booth March, 3-5, then we leave for Orlando the 7th and come back on the 14th or something close to that.
So, I'm frustrated, a bit concerned about needing to get this settled soon. I do not want to go without any restriciton for these trips. I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world, but I would feel disappointed, because I know I won't want to live on will power while I'm traveling. That's why I got this band, so I could have a life without the stress of fighting my hunger constantly.
Anyway, I am so glad to have a great doctor who really listens to me, and absolutley wants to do his best for me. I'm glad I have insurance to cover this and I don't have to figure out how to handle this in MX. I am thankful that I have my band, thankful for the wieght I've lsot so far, thankful for all of those who suppor me in this processt, and I'm thankful for the time when my band is working as it should be.
I would love to be writing to tell you all that my band is just fine, not so.
I went into Dr. Jan, thinking I just need a little bit more, maybe .2 or 3, but probably .2 since I had already had a too-tight fill once before. I had no desire to have a repeat of that one.
So we agreed on .2. He didn't even pull the fluid out, just like we agreed last time, thinking my low profile port must be very sensitive to being messed with. So he was sure to go straight in and straight out. We both thought it was going to be just fine.
I just got home about 5:00 drinking water all the way home. I was beginning to suspect that the fill was not working even by the time I got home, because I could feel the water going right into my stomach. When the fill is tight it sits in my chest for a few seconds.
I decided I would eat some chicken noodle soup, the Chunky kind. I realized I was getting the noodles down without any problems, and it became clearer with each bite that there was not much restriction. So, I risked a bite of chicken, chewing it very well, no problem. I ate the whole can. I was still hungry. I was pretty sure by then, nothing was stopping me. So I had a bowl of oatmeal, intentionally pushing the limits. Nothing.
It's now almost 11:00 and I am starving, I decided I would really make sure so I cooked myself a boca burger (veggie burger) something I haven't eaten in months because I would not have been able to get it down even with a mild fill. Down it goes, hardly any, if any restriction.
So... I think we are now looking at a defective port. I really can't imagine he could have punctured the tubing, there just haven't been any fills where they have had to fish around for the port, it's very easy to access.
So, now we have to get me in there and get this figured out so I will be stablized by the end of February, because I have two fairly major trips coming up. We are driving to Vancouver, BC to run a booth March, 3-5, then we leave for Orlando the 7th and come back on the 14th or something close to that.
So, I'm frustrated, a bit concerned about needing to get this settled soon. I do not want to go without any restriciton for these trips. I guess it wouldn't be the end of the world, but I would feel disappointed, because I know I won't want to live on will power while I'm traveling. That's why I got this band, so I could have a life without the stress of fighting my hunger constantly.
Anyway, I am so glad to have a great doctor who really listens to me, and absolutley wants to do his best for me. I'm glad I have insurance to cover this and I don't have to figure out how to handle this in MX. I am thankful that I have my band, thankful for the wieght I've lsot so far, thankful for all of those who suppor me in this processt, and I'm thankful for the time when my band is working as it should be.
Fill troubles
Feb 16, 2007
2-11-07
Hello Everyone,
It's been awhile since I've posted, and I have some interesting experiences lately so I thought I would take a few minutes and share these with you all just in case they may be helpful to others.
I had my surgery 9-15-06 in Portland. I have just had my 5th fill.
My last fill was supposed to be a very tiny fill to just tighten me up a bit to keep me at my sweet spot. I was loosing a nice solid 2lbs a week. I have a low profile port which means the port itself is more shallow than the typical port. I think this has played a part in what I will tell you about now.
I got my fill about 2 weeks ago, and I notice a "puddle" on my tummy right after the fill, my doctor was teaching another person to do fills, so the new person wasn't quite as coordinated with his needle stick and put the gauze on the stick place right away. My doctor saw this and asked him to get the gauze and the Band-Aid. I didn't think much of it, just thought maybe it always did that and I just didn't notice before because they always covered up right away. My doctor didn't say anything either.
So, I got home and after the "take it easy after a fill" couple of days went by I noticed that the restriction really was less, more like it was after my first or second fill. So I tried to get right in and get it filled, and it took a couple of weeks to get me re-scheduled.
I went in last week and my Doctor was there, and together we sort of pieced everything together and figured out what had happened. We talked it all through and gave our best guess as to how much to put in to make up for the stuff that must have gotten out with the last fill, and he said it was probably a bigger likelihood of loosing fluid with the shallower port than it would be for the regular ports. I'm glad we got that figured out, so now I'll remember to mention that when I go in for fills.
So, we put in .5 and he pulled a total of at least 2.7 but thought there was probably more. He told me to be careful, because it could be a bit tight.
Well, it is definitely tight! I can drink water pretty well, slowly but now problems. I can't even get my oatmeal or cream of wheat down. I'm hoping if I give a little more rest the next day or so it will calm down a little. I think I may have irritated things a little just because I keep trying to get things down and having a tough time.
I am not planning on getting an unfill at this point. I am just really working on getting protein and water and fiber down in liquid forms now. As I keep loosing weight, I'm guessing it will loosen up on its own, I just need to relax and not push too hard.
2-6-07
Hello Everyone,
It's been awhile since I've posted, and I have some interesting experiences lately so I thought I would take a few minutes and share these with you all just in case they may be helpful to others.
I had my surgery 9-15-06 in Portland. I have just had my 5th fill.
My last fill was supposed to be a very tiny fill to just tighten me up a bit to keep me at my sweet spot. I was loosing a nice solid 2lbs a week. I have a low profile port which means the port itself is more shallow than the typical port. I think this has played a part in what I will tell you about now.
I got my fill about 2 weeks ago, and I notice a "puddle" on my tummy right after the fill, my doctor was teaching another person to do fills, so the new person wasn't quite as coordinated with his needle stick and put the gauze on the stick place right away. My doctor saw this and asked him to get the gauze and the Band-Aid. I didn't think much of it, just thought maybe it always did that and I just didn't notice before because they always covered up right away. My doctor didn't say anything either.
So, I got home and after the "take it easy after a fill" couple of days went by I noticed that the restriction really was less, more like it was after my first or second fill. So I tried to get right in and get it filled, and it took a couple of weeks to get me re-scheduled.
I went in last week and my Doctor was there, and together we sort of pieced everything together and figured out what had happened. We talked it all through and gave our best guess as to how much to put in to make up for the stuff that must have gotten out with the last fill, and he said it was probably a bigger likelihood of loosing fluid with the shallower port than it would be for the regular ports. I'm glad we got that figured out, so now I'll remember to mention that when I go in for fills.
So, we put in .5 and he pulled a total of at least 2.7 but thought there was probably more. He told me to be careful, because it could be a bit tight.
Well, it is definitely tight! I can drink water pretty well, slowly but now problems. I can't even get my oatmeal or cream of wheat down. I'm hoping if I give a little more rest the next day or so it will calm down a little. I think I may have irritated things a little just because I keep trying to get things down and having a tough time.
I am not planning on getting an unfill at this point. I am just really working on getting protein and water and fiber down in liquid forms now. As I keep loosing weight, I'm guessing it will loosen up on its own, I just need to relax and not push too hard.
2-6-07
So far I'm still able to get the necessities down, I'm learning to relax and take it easy, not panic about it. I have an appointment set for the 19th. I think if I can manage I will be fine. I was able to eat cream of wheat today, not quite so thin. I had some cottage cheese and rice crackers last night, not exactly easy, but I got most of down.
So, I think I'm ok for now, and am staying very conscious of whether or not it's getting worse. It actually seems to be settling into a similar pattern than it was before this too tight fill. The mornings are tight, and after a few hours things open up a bit. So, I think the irritation part has settled down pretty good.
2-14-07
I just went in this past Monday, got a tiny bit taken out. Now something is very wrong and I have zero restriction.
I'm suspecting a leaking port or tube, that's what I hear is the usual issue. I wasn't sure until today, though I suspected as much as soon as a couple of hours after my unfill. I was just way to comfortable that I should have been for as tight as I was and for as tiny amount as he took out. In fact he was warning me that I might need to have more taken out.
Well, I confirmed no restriction tonight, with the first solid food I've eaten in two weeks. I was pretty nervous to try much of anything, but I knew I needed to be able to describe just how loose it was. So I worked up to deliberately not chewing and swallowing big globs of food that I knew I would never be able to get down if the band was working at all. It went down like nothing at all.
So, I'm calling my doc tomorrow and get things moving as quick as I can. I'm heading out of town on the 28th and I don't want this mess still going on during my travels.
So, that's it for now. I'll keep you all posted. Oh, emotionally, I'm doing fine. I am so very grateful that I pushed through the first denial from my insurance, and didn't go to MX. These fills and now looking at possible port or tube replacement, would have been a big drain on us financially. Now, it's all covered by my insurance.
2-16-07
I went in to see Dr. Jan, he was great as always. He used two separte needles. The first was only to see what was actually in the band, and it was totally empty. Then he put 2.6 back in which was what my original fill was before I got too tight. So far it feels like it's working great. Just a couple of hours though so I'm not completely sure.
His thinking is that with the low profile port it may be easier to loose fluid if the needle is a bit tilted and the flushing the fluid out and then in, which is their usual technique to check the system, is not working great for me. It may somehow be allowing fluid to come out of the port's membrane more easily than it would in the deeper prots.
So, we are hoping it's working. I still have my original appointment set on the 19th and I'm not cancelling it until I know for sure this is working.
2-14-07
I just went in this past Monday, got a tiny bit taken out. Now something is very wrong and I have zero restriction.
I'm suspecting a leaking port or tube, that's what I hear is the usual issue. I wasn't sure until today, though I suspected as much as soon as a couple of hours after my unfill. I was just way to comfortable that I should have been for as tight as I was and for as tiny amount as he took out. In fact he was warning me that I might need to have more taken out.
Well, I confirmed no restriction tonight, with the first solid food I've eaten in two weeks. I was pretty nervous to try much of anything, but I knew I needed to be able to describe just how loose it was. So I worked up to deliberately not chewing and swallowing big globs of food that I knew I would never be able to get down if the band was working at all. It went down like nothing at all.
So, I'm calling my doc tomorrow and get things moving as quick as I can. I'm heading out of town on the 28th and I don't want this mess still going on during my travels.
So, that's it for now. I'll keep you all posted. Oh, emotionally, I'm doing fine. I am so very grateful that I pushed through the first denial from my insurance, and didn't go to MX. These fills and now looking at possible port or tube replacement, would have been a big drain on us financially. Now, it's all covered by my insurance.
2-16-07
I went in to see Dr. Jan, he was great as always. He used two separte needles. The first was only to see what was actually in the band, and it was totally empty. Then he put 2.6 back in which was what my original fill was before I got too tight. So far it feels like it's working great. Just a couple of hours though so I'm not completely sure.
His thinking is that with the low profile port it may be easier to loose fluid if the needle is a bit tilted and the flushing the fluid out and then in, which is their usual technique to check the system, is not working great for me. It may somehow be allowing fluid to come out of the port's membrane more easily than it would in the deeper prots.
So, we are hoping it's working. I still have my original appointment set on the 19th and I'm not cancelling it until I know for sure this is working.