Friday, December 4, 2009

Questions To Experianced Bandster's

Hey Ya'll,

Sorry for making so many posts in one day guys, but something happened today/tonight & I am a bit concerned.  I was hoping to get some feed back from those that have had the Band & to see if anything like this has happened to them.  I am not sure if it is something I should bring to the attention of my Surgeon or if you think it will pass.

Like I was saying in the earlier post, today/tonight I was putting up some Christmas Lights around the 2 front picture windows.  In doing this, I had to bend a lot as well as apply some pressure in order to force the push pins into the wood to anchor the lights.  I also moved my Love Seat from one side of the small conversation room to the other.  Now remember that I didn't attempt to pick up the Sofa, I just pushed it along the hardwood floor.  It isn't very heavy as it is not a sleeper sofa.

By the time I finished for the night, my Port Site area was in a lot of pain.  It subsided after straightening up & relaxing for a bit.  But every time I have needed to bend over after this, it has hurt like hell for a while.  I am not sure if it is my imagination or not, but it appears that I can definitely feel the Port.  At first, I thought that the Port area was swollen, but now I am sure that it is the Port I am feeling.  Should I be able to feel it so soon after Surgery?  My Surgery was only 2 wks ago.

So, the million dollar question.  Do you think that this is something I should be concerned about?  Or should I just watch it & see if it gets worse (or not any better at any rate)?  I am just concerned that I might have flipped the Port.  The other possibility I can think of is that I over used or strained the muscles around the Port, as I have noticed that in the past, if I bent too much, the Port would hurt like this.  But I thought that I was past this kind of problem.  So if any one HAS had their Port flipped, if you could tell me if this is the same symptoms you had that would be great!!  I welcome all opinions.

I will leave tonight with only 1 photo for you.  This photo is mine.  I took it last year.



I hope someone can help me.  I am afraid to call the Doctor's office but I don't want to mess myself up either!!

Aloha My Friends  :(

12 comments:

Roo said...

I would just take it easy over the next day or so and see how it goes...you only had surgery 2 weeks ago and the healing stage usually takes around 6 weeks...you have to remember that the cut goes through not only fat, but muscle and nerves as well....and you need to be careful bending and lifting...I got pain around my port and rib area well into 2 months before things started to feel better....also there is thick scar tissue around this area as it is the largest incision...I am sure you will be fine, but just take it slow and don't push yourself...if you have any concerns or it doesn't get better, talk to the doc about it...take care.

Debi said...

Thanks Roo! I am hoping that is all! Since it stops hurting a bit after I straighten up & relax, I am hoping that I didn't do the worst & flip the Port!! I still need to decorate the Christmas Tree! I think I will do the areas that don't have to bend for & let my DH do those for me! The rest of the decorations I can do standing up & do not deal with weight.

SuperMegaAnna said...

I had a flipped port and didn't have any pain at all. I didn't know it was flipped until the Dr. tried to fill me and couldn't. I agree with Roo, I would just take it easy for a while. If it starts to look bad or hurt more then I would call for sure.

Shrinking Mommy said...

my surgeon has a rule -- don't wait until it is an emergency. i would at least call. it sounds like you just pulled a muscle by your port. i did this in week too also. i now wear a girdle/spanx to keep "everything together" at the suggestion of my surgeon and it feels so much better -- even when i am sleeping.

Nicole said...

I would take it easy, I wasn't allowed to excercise until 10 weeks (other than walking) and no lifting more than 10lbs

Debi said...

Thanks guys. It feels better this morning after sleeping. Although I can still feel the Port & it is swelled out a bit, so it is noticeable just looking at it. But I think I just pulled a muscle like you said.

I will definitely keep a watch on it. If it doesn't continue to get better, or it gets worse, I will call the Doctor for sure! The problem is, the Doctor is a couple hours drive away!! Oh well, if it is necessary, I would go back.

TJ said...

I can feel mine too, espcially after I pushed myself too much. I ask the NP if it could have hurt it and she said no, but what I did was a lot less than you. If you have any questions you should call them.

But you should be careful! My surgeon says no pushing, pulling, or lifting over 10lbs for 6 weeks and I am sure that was much more than 10lbs! You really don't want to slow down your recovery!

My NP went on and on about how I was doing too much and was slowing down my recovery. Now I am supposed to do nothing or almost nothing so I can heal and it isn't fun! And honestly I didn't think I was doing anything beyond my ability.

You might feel that you can do so much, but I wouldn't push it!

Debi said...

Thanks Tracy, it was one of your postings & Tina's response that made me think that maybe I had over done it & messed myself up! I will definitely be taking it much easier for now. I will call the Doctor's office if it doesn't get much better real quick! Hope your recovery goes well too my bandit buddy, since we were banded only one day apart!!

Tina said...

Hi I came over to see what was going on. Yes I agree that you should be a little worried. Do not do any more furniture moving until at least 6 weeks from now and take it easy on everything else. I don't think calling the surgeon at this point is going to do you any good because he/she will just say to take it easy and wait for the swelling to go down. I think your port is sticking out from swelling. If it had torn it would be floating away from your skin not out i would think. If you did tear some stitches then you will only find out when the doctor tries to give you a fill and fails. Just wait it out. In my case I only partially pulled out stitches. Do not worry too much. The fix for my torn stitches was more surgery but the recovery from this was not even as bad as the lapband surgery was.

Debi said...

Thanks Tina! I have been worrying, but I am hopeful that I haven't screwed myself up too bad! I will take yours & every else's advice & take it really easy from now on & wait it out. Hopefully, my first fill on the 28th will be ok. I guess we will find out then if I truly messed it up & need Surgical intervention!

Robyn said...

Hi Debi - I'm a newbie like you but I can totally feel my port and actually see it when I stand up. When I got my first fill I asked the nurse and she said it was fine. So being able to feel it doesn't necessarily mean it's flipped.

Debi said...

Thanks Robyn, I was really concerned since it had pretty much stopped hurting, then I went & moved (pushed) some furniture around & applied force, over & over to string up the lights around our front windows.

My port was killing me by the time I finished so I was really concerned that I might have flipped it. It is still noticeable if you look at it as far as sticking out! And it still hurts occasionally. Especially if I bend over to pick up something or if we walk too fast up the hill!! So, cross your fingers that I didn't really screw myself up.