The New Year is upon us and a time for new hope and resolve; maybe even a resolution or two. My last fills and attempted fill were not so good with my elusive port. We felt it was time for another try. Unfortunately, the result was the same as that in December. The port is moving and very difficult to access in it's current position. Luckily Suncoast Bariatrics was getting a new machine that would allow them to perform a procedure such as a fill under Flouro emissions, pretty much under X-ray, allowing them to see what's going on inside as they work. My next attempt was scheduled to be done using Flouro for this purpose. Unfortunately on my next visit the machine was not yet in service due to some overdue safety badges to detect radiation levels from the machine. Dr. Jessee still gave it a shot, since I had come all the way down there and she was the one that was able to access it before, even after things got difficult. She wasn't able to repeat her magic again this time however, and we decided to try again only after the Flouro machine was in operation.
The very next week, in fact it ended up being on my previously scheduled 9 month follow up, we came in to try the fill under Flouro. This was fascinating. Standing in front of the machine when they fired it up, I could see my insides on an x-ray screen live. I have to say it was pretty cool! They could see my band, and it looked like it was still in great position. My port on the other hand had flipped entirely, where the side that can be accessed with the needle for adjustments was now facing away from the skin. Through some heroic efforts on Dr. Jessee's part, she was able to manipulate the port through the skin where she was able to access the port from underneath. I have to say it wasn't easy and took more than one attempt, but the tenacity of Dr. Jessee made it happen. They drained the band and gave me some fresh fluid with what they refer to as a reset. Oddly enough in the end, they actually put less fluid back in. We were able to test this fill out, while still using the Flouro machine. I was given some tasty barium to drink, so it would show up on the screen as it went down. It collected in the small stomach pouch and would trickle through the band just as designed. Dr. Jessee felt we shouldn't rush to fix the position of the port as it would require surgery. If we waited some time for me to further lose more weight and stabilize, it would be better. Now she knew the exact method she would use from this session under Flouro, to give me subsequent adjustments. I was concerned, what would happen in the event of an emergency and I had something get stuck in my band, and needed an emergency adjustment. I was concerned that the doctors in the emergency room would be ill equipped to adjust my band through my port. Dr Jessee assured me that she would always be available for me and could always be reached via pager.
I am continually amazed at the dedication of Dr Jessee, Dr Ache, and the rest of the staff at Suncoast Bariatrics. My particular case has certainly had some challenges along the way, but they have always given me extraordinary care and gone above and beyond the call of duty. It's been over nine months since my Lap Band surgery, and despite some of the unusual challenges, I certainly don't regret it. I feel tremendously better; I'm able to sleep through the night; My diabetes is under control; and I've lost a bunch of weight! Thank you for this great gift; it certainly has changed my life!
God Bless!
me
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Where's My Appendix?
I'm back from my show and tell tour, and after enjoying my time there a little too much, it's certainly time for my next fill. After having some difficulties during the last two fills where hitting my port with the needle has been particularly challenging for the doctors at Suncoast Bariatrics, I'm a little apprehensive about going. The doctors have been as gentle as possible, but there is still some discomfort and inevitable bruising that takes place when you have a needle wiggling around in search of a port. This time was no exception. Unfortunately this one was even worse in that they weren't able to access the port even after sustained effort. It was very disappointing, since as difficult as the last couple fills were, at least they were successful in that the adjustment was accomplished. We decided to let things sit for a bit and try again after the New Year. The cause seems to be that my port has shifted a bit and seems to be at an angle towards my belly button. More on this development in a later post.
It's Christmas time now and along with the holiday cheer, I've got belly pain. Not from the aforementioned aborted fill and resulted bruising, as that has already dissipated, but from my right side, no where near my port or band. After several days of pain, my wife convinced me on a trip to the emergency room. Apparently most of my symptoms seemed to point to an appendicitis, which if not caught in time could be life threatening. On Christmas Eve Eve we ended up in the emergency room. It was an interesting experience, which included a CAT scan to check my appendix, which they couldn't find. This didn't give me a lot of confidence; for some reason I expected a hospital to know where my anatomy is located. On the plus side they were impressed with all my vitals. Thank you Lap Band surgery! It seems it has made me much healthier along with the weight loss. It was nice to get some physical confirmation of that. The CAT scan didn't find my appendix, but it did see my Lap Band and they said everything looked really good, which was another nice confirmation. In the end they didn't have an explanation for the pain and recommended I see my primary care physician as a follow up.
I was able to get in to my regular doctor's office. They didn't find anything wrong either and were concerned that perhaps it was something related to my surgery like scar tissue and I should consult with my surgeon. My next stop the next day was to Suncoast Bariatrics and they sent me to another hospital ER where they can run another battery of tests for them to review. As you can imagine, I was fairly frustrated by this point. Every hospital and doctor's office was a full explanation and battery of tests with the same result until now. Finally Suncoast Bariatrics had someone at the hospital that came right into radiology and made me feel quite better. I went through the tests and got a much better diagnosis even if it was a somewhat embarrassing one. Before I get to that, they did say that the Lap Band was looking good, but they did note that my port had shifted. They decided that we should wait and see if it continues to shift as sometimes it may shift back based on how and where the weight comes off. It wasn't a priority right now as the band was certainly not what was causing my current pain issue thankfully.
OK, now for the embarrassing part. Apparently to no one's surprise, I was full of it! Yes, it was as simple as being constipated. I was surprised as I felt like I had been regular, but maybe I wasn't going enough? You could see right on the CAT scan that I had my intestine full all the way around to my side where I was feeling the pain. They prescribed me some stool softener and sent me on my way. Again the hospital staff was impressed with my vitals as they indicated that my Lap Band surgery and certainly done a lot for my over all health, which was nice to hear. I certainly feel a lot better over all. I can breath; I can sleep; I can move comfortably on my own without feeling like I'm going to pass out. It's been nice. My body has gone through some changes and perhaps one of them is my body chemistry where I may not be relieving myself as often as I should. It could just be I need some more fiber? Within a week of taking the stool softener, I was pain free and back on the healthy track. It made for a bit of a stressful holiday week, but in the end I felt better for it and glad to say I haven't had any constipation issues since. Thank you to all of those at Suncoast Bariatrics for seeing me on such short notice during the holidays and helping me with my constipation. They didn't dismiss me just because my issue had nothing to do with my Lap Band; they gave me excellent care and made sure they got to the bottom of my issue. Without their care I may not have been able to go as I needed to.....
God Bless!
me
PS - The reason the hospital couldn't readily find my appendix on the CAT scan is that it is usually very small when healthy. It only becomes very noticeable if there is an issue and becomes inflamed; at least that is my layman's understanding. I certainly don't have a medical degree.
It's Christmas time now and along with the holiday cheer, I've got belly pain. Not from the aforementioned aborted fill and resulted bruising, as that has already dissipated, but from my right side, no where near my port or band. After several days of pain, my wife convinced me on a trip to the emergency room. Apparently most of my symptoms seemed to point to an appendicitis, which if not caught in time could be life threatening. On Christmas Eve Eve we ended up in the emergency room. It was an interesting experience, which included a CAT scan to check my appendix, which they couldn't find. This didn't give me a lot of confidence; for some reason I expected a hospital to know where my anatomy is located. On the plus side they were impressed with all my vitals. Thank you Lap Band surgery! It seems it has made me much healthier along with the weight loss. It was nice to get some physical confirmation of that. The CAT scan didn't find my appendix, but it did see my Lap Band and they said everything looked really good, which was another nice confirmation. In the end they didn't have an explanation for the pain and recommended I see my primary care physician as a follow up.
I was able to get in to my regular doctor's office. They didn't find anything wrong either and were concerned that perhaps it was something related to my surgery like scar tissue and I should consult with my surgeon. My next stop the next day was to Suncoast Bariatrics and they sent me to another hospital ER where they can run another battery of tests for them to review. As you can imagine, I was fairly frustrated by this point. Every hospital and doctor's office was a full explanation and battery of tests with the same result until now. Finally Suncoast Bariatrics had someone at the hospital that came right into radiology and made me feel quite better. I went through the tests and got a much better diagnosis even if it was a somewhat embarrassing one. Before I get to that, they did say that the Lap Band was looking good, but they did note that my port had shifted. They decided that we should wait and see if it continues to shift as sometimes it may shift back based on how and where the weight comes off. It wasn't a priority right now as the band was certainly not what was causing my current pain issue thankfully.
OK, now for the embarrassing part. Apparently to no one's surprise, I was full of it! Yes, it was as simple as being constipated. I was surprised as I felt like I had been regular, but maybe I wasn't going enough? You could see right on the CAT scan that I had my intestine full all the way around to my side where I was feeling the pain. They prescribed me some stool softener and sent me on my way. Again the hospital staff was impressed with my vitals as they indicated that my Lap Band surgery and certainly done a lot for my over all health, which was nice to hear. I certainly feel a lot better over all. I can breath; I can sleep; I can move comfortably on my own without feeling like I'm going to pass out. It's been nice. My body has gone through some changes and perhaps one of them is my body chemistry where I may not be relieving myself as often as I should. It could just be I need some more fiber? Within a week of taking the stool softener, I was pain free and back on the healthy track. It made for a bit of a stressful holiday week, but in the end I felt better for it and glad to say I haven't had any constipation issues since. Thank you to all of those at Suncoast Bariatrics for seeing me on such short notice during the holidays and helping me with my constipation. They didn't dismiss me just because my issue had nothing to do with my Lap Band; they gave me excellent care and made sure they got to the bottom of my issue. Without their care I may not have been able to go as I needed to.....
God Bless!
me
PS - The reason the hospital couldn't readily find my appendix on the CAT scan is that it is usually very small when healthy. It only becomes very noticeable if there is an issue and becomes inflamed; at least that is my layman's understanding. I certainly don't have a medical degree.
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