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
No comments:
Post a Comment