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That's funny, Heidi. Thanks for the laugh.

Carrie, I am so sorry you are going through this. I haven't had my first fill yet, so I can't really say that I understand. But I can totally see and feel your frustration and it's completely understandable. Have you talked to the fill doc about the weight not coming off? If your not able to keep anything down, the weight should have dropped some. Even a few pounds. Also, it does sound like you need a little unfill though. I hope that this gets worked out for you. Call the doc and let us know how things go.

I don't know anything about the weight loss tracker. But I just wanted to say welcome to the forum. It's a great group of people and I hope you find what you are looking for here. Best wishes.

Hey, good news. I called back the Dr.s office and asked if they ever use Flouro if there was a concern. The lady I spoke with said that I can request flouro at an additional charge. It also limits my appointment opportunity because they only do flouro on weds. mornings. I have to double check on the price though. She said " I think it's $300." I asked if that included the fill fee of $150 or if that was seperate. She said it was included, but I have run into people telling me wrong info on fill prices before. So I am going to double check that. If her prices are correct, than I could just go to the same doctor and just rotate and use flouro every other time or something. I guess we will see. Still worried about problems occuring and needing "repairs" though. Makes sense to go back to the OCC for that reason. I am still figuring it all out.

Thanks for all the replies. You guys have given me a lot to think about on both sides of the fence. And I can see both sides of it too. I am able to have a fill as early as 2 weeks from now, although I planned to wait a little longer. So I guess I need to make my decision quickly. The only thing I liked about doing them here with the bariatric surgeon, is that if for any reason I came into an emergency situation, he would be able to treat me, rather than having to rush back to TJ on short notice. But you guys made a pretty good arguement for using flouro too. AGGGHHHH. I am not sure what to do.

Seriously, you can hear a pop sound. That makes me feel a little weak in the knees. But I guess I can see the comfort in the "pop."

Vix, that is my big question. For the first fill, how do they know they got the port??? Each fill after, they can draw the fluid out, but the first one seems so questionable to me.

Okay, I can save a bundled of money if I go to the bariatric doc here in Utah that actually does the lapband procedure, to get my fills. Only thing is that he does NOT use flouro. That's why it's cheaper. However, I am paranoid out of my mind that the one bite of solid food I took during my post-op diet (yes, I know it was wrong) or I sat up once and felt a "pop" feeling in my stomach, I am paranoid that something could be wrong and I just don't know it. Using flouro seems to give that piece of mind that things are going smoothly. Do you guys have these worries about your port and band. Do you worry that you have stretched your pouch or your port has flipped. I am nervous about these things, and just want to know if others have these same concerns. I eat solid foods now, and when I feel full, I instantly think, "oh man what if I just stretched my pouch." Doesn't flouro help you to know if you have stretched your pouch? I just want to know that I am not alone if feeling worried or concerned about my pouch, band and port. Even without any symptoms to suggest something is wrong, I am still nervous that I will screw it up somehow. OR even worse, that I already did. For those of you who don't use flouro, do you worry that you aren't able to see how things are going with the band and pouch? I am such a worry wart, I know.

Oh my goodness, I think this might actually clear up some of the confusion for me. Thanks for adding this. Makes a lot of sense when you think about it, I just didn't even consider this. I feel a little silly now.

I heard that it was $99 for the use of the xray. And then you pay for your airline ticket, transportation to and from the airport and hotel if staying over night. I found a bariatric dr. here in Utah that does the lapband surgery. He will do fills for mexican banded patients for only $150. But the down fall is that he does not use flouro. The nurse said that if he had some concern he would schedule a fill to be done at the hospital and then check the band under flouro. But I figure he is a lapband surgeon, so that gives me some comfort that he will know what he's doing. I would like to go back to the OCC, but this is a way cheaper option for me. So I am going to try it out. But I think if you can afford to go back to the OCC, then do it. For me, I have little ones and my husband works or goes to school 7 days a week. He would have to take a day off work for me to travel back to TJ. So we lose additional money there. I wish I could go back to the OCC. You could call one of the patient coordinators to double check the prices.

I am 4 weeks post op and I had the same question. From what people are telling me, that lump you feel right under the large incision is just scar tissue. Everyone has also said that Dr. Ortiz puts the port about an inch under the large incision. However, I feel two hard "things" one under and one above the incision. So I can't tell you really where the port is. I have determined that I will not really know that answer until I go for my first fill. But I understand that need to know where it is. It's weird having something in there and not really knowing where.

I felt around my stomach trying to see if I could feel the port where everyone else describes and I think I feel something about 1 inch below my large incision, but...I still feel something above the large incision as well. Hey maybe I got two ports just for fun. I think I am just going to have to wait until I get my first fill to see where the port actually is. I am scheduled for my first fill the end of October. About a week after you. So I guess we shall see.

Now I am confused. You guys all seem to be saying that the port is lower than your big incision. But when I feel below my incision, I feel nothing at all. Not even a hint of a port. But up above my incision, I feel something hard under my mysterious bump. I guess I can only give it time and see what happens. I guess I will know for sure when I go get my first fill. And I can ask then about the bump too.

I totally forgot to mention how things went with Dr. Miranda. Well, I personally think that she got wind of what was being said, but I could be wrong. She was soooo pleasant and nice when I met her in person. I am not sure if she knew that I was the one who she had spoken with on the phone or not. But she was more than happy with the weight I had lost. I honestly think she just says those things to scare people into losing more weight before they get there. Seriously, she was night and day difference from the phone consult to the actual meeting. Who knows???

Heidi, that's way funny that you say it reminds you of the babies knee poking out. When I first posted this question, that is EXACTLY what I was thinking it reminded me of. So you have the little bump too. This makes me feel better because than I know this is normal. I looked at it again after posting my question and it really is very minor. Just a barely there bump. I guess time will tell what happens with my little bump. I am going to wait until I have a fill and see what the doc says than.

at what point should the swelling be gone, though? I mean at what point should I be concerned that there is a problem with the bump and it's no longer swelling that could be causing it? Thanks for your support and encouragement. I can't wait to post some pics either. Although I can't for the life of me figure out how to get them on here. I will have to post a link to them.

Okay, talking about ports...I have an area about 3-4 inches below my left boob, that is actually a small bulge or bump on my stomach. When looking straight down at my stomach,(moving the big boob out of the way, of course) this small area actually bumps out a little. It's not extremely noticable, but there is definetely a bump. When I feel this bump area, it feels like this might be my port, but I am not sure. Should I be concerned that it's a bump??? That seems weird to me. I am just over 3 weeks post op, so it may be the port area still swollen. Has anyone else had this? This bump is also above the large incision, if that makes any difference. I am a little nervous that my port is bulging out or something??? Like it moved out of place.

I will post pictures soon. I did take a before picture, but I don't think there is a dramatic difference yet. I will probably wait until I lose another 25-20 pounds before I post pics.

Glad your back stormy. Can't wait to hear how things are going. Rest up and get feeling well. Hope things went well for your son at the babysitters.

Vix, would you say that your port is above the large incision or below? About 3-4 inches under my left boob, I have a slight bulge on my belly. It's very small, I just noticed that there's a bump there. And it's above the main incision too. I think this may be my port but I am not sure??? How do you know where your port is? I see a bump and when I feel that area it feels like there might be something under there, so can you feel your port? You are much smaller than I am, and so maybe you can feel your port better. I am just confused at how people know where their port is before the first fill. And also curious what this bump is.

I didn't have numbness from the band surgery, but I had two C-sections. The numbness is my lower belly is still there and my baby is 5 yrs old now. It's not severe numbness, it just feels like I don't have strong sensation in that area. Like if you poke me with a needle, you would have to poke a little harder for me to feel it on my lower belly. And it was way numb after surgery, so it has improved. So, I think what you are feeling may be normal, but if you are concerned, put in a phone call to the Doc, just to double check on it.

I think everyone is different on the amount of days they need. But I would say as a general idea, give yourself at least 2-3 days. Also, I am not sure how "active" you are as a teacher. Or what age you teach? I would say bending, lifting, running, etc. are not going to feel comfortable for at least a week. It won't hurt, it just won't feel comfortable. And I am talking about things such as bending over to pick up a piece of paper or something. Strenuous bending and lifting are obviously out for I think 3 weeks. But again, I have heard of others say it was a breeze for them and they went back to work very quickly. For me, I had surgery on a Friday, and did not feel decent until the following Tuesday or Wednesday. I didn't start to feel "back to normal" until about the one week mark. Best of luck. You will likely have an easier time than I, as it seems most people say that it went farely easy and smooth.

I was walking around the house the other day and I caught myself having to pull my pants up because they kept sliding down. THEY ARE GETTING TOO BIG!!!

Well, I finished the post op diet today and weighed myself. I lost another 10 pounds. Not as much as I had hoped for, but still a good number. That brings my total weight loss now to 35 pounds!!!! I also measured and I have lost 12 1/2 inches off my body as well.

Hey Cathy that's awesome. One question though. I have heard of others who also started preparing for and also getting the tummy tuck before reaching their total weight loss goal. I am sure that I will need a tummy tuck at some point and may even throw in some work on the boobs too, but I just naturally assumed that you would want to wait until you had reached your goal weight. But now I am seeing people talk about having it done sooner. So how do you know when the right time to have the tummy tuck is? And if you do it say 30-50 pounds before you reach your goal, how does this affect your stomach after you lose those last 30-50 pounds? I am hopeful to hear that I can do a tummy tuck sooner than I originally thought. Who wants to carry that loose saggy skin around any longer than they need too, right? I just thought it would be ruined if you did it before you reached your goal weight. Would love to know more.