Dr. Aaron Hoffman - Lap Band done in Buffalo, NY (Dr. Hoffman)

[NBflo Girl 2]

ok, here I go.. I haven't posted in awhile because I kindof screwed up my password.. I have been having problems with my band..acid reflux galore and lately some spasms around the band.. I saw dr keith at the last meeting and she suggested I come to see her.. I did that last week.. I also saw dr posner.. They suggested that I have the band deflated and see what happens. I have an appointment with them at the end of this month.. Dr. P also threw out the possibility of the gastric sleeve surgery.. In reading the posts, it seems that those of you that have gotten this sleeve, are very happy about it.. I have even been considering just throwing in the towel and getting the band off.. But you guys sound so positive about this!! I think I need some guidance !! UGHH.. this has been a long journey for me and I really don't want to give up.. Mind you, I am not sorry I got the band .. I would do it again and I really don't want to gain my weight back.. I am now really thinking about the sleeve.. Any advice out there in Bandster land ?:eek:

[vicki s 146]

ok, here I go.. I haven't posted in awhile because I kindof screwed up my password.. I have been having problems with my band..acid reflux galore and lately some spasms around the band.. I saw dr keith at the last meeting and she suggested I come to see her.. I did that last week.. I also saw dr posner.. They suggested that I have the band deflated and see what happens. I have an appointment with them at the end of this month.. Dr. P also threw out the possibility of the gastric sleeve surgery.. In reading the posts, it seems that those of you that have gotten this sleeve, are very happy about it.. I have even been considering just throwing in the towel and getting the band off.. But you guys sound so positive about this!! I think I need some guidance !! UGHH.. this has been a long journey for me and I really don't want to give up.. Mind you, I am not sorry I got the band .. I would do it again and I really don't want to gain my weight back.. I am now really thinking about the sleeve.. Any advice out there in Bandster land ?:thumbup:

Well NBG, i can only speek for myself, everyone on this site knows i have had many problems with my band fills, unfills, prolapse, revision, yadda, yadda, yadda...

Now, let me start by saying i am not sorry i had my band, because although i gained 40 lbs back after the revision, i was still down 60 lbs.

I now was revised to the sleeve on mon, nov 1st. and the only thing i am concerned about is a possible leak, but most people are not concerned about that. as far as pain, i have to say the band was more painful, i have not taken any pain meds since tues morn.

I had the surg. late mon aft. about 5 pm. was in my room by 7 pm and dishcharged the next morning at 11 am. the hardest part for me now is not being able to eat LOL....i woke up hungry in the recovery room and have been hungry since.

with that being said, i hear that once i am on mushies i will be fine, and very little satisfies you and it is a real feeling of fullness, not a stuck feeling in your chest (esophogus). i am down the 8 lbs of Fluid accumulated during surg. from iv fluids and a real 5 lb loss as of today.

there is a site you may want to check out called verticalsleevetalk.com it has hundreds if not more people who have been sleeved or are waiting to be sleeved and alot of them who had the band first. you could get a wealth of info from there. but dont forget us band sisters, cause we "band" together even after the band is gone...LOL

good luck and keep us informed as to what you decided. vicki~~ I am vicki s on the other site. :eek:

Edited November 6, 2010 by vicki s

[vicki s 146]

lol You're welcome Vicki, you know I was gonna B there for ya!

I have always been able to count on you BG, even when i prolapsed...tytytytytytyty,.....weren't you tired of me Pis%%% and moaning on the phone everynight before the surgery...hahaha you've got the patience of a saint...love ya...:eek:

[NBflo Girl 2]

Vicki, when you mentioned when you got your revision and gained back 40 lbs, do you mean when you were unfilled before your sleeve ?

[vicki s 146]

Vicki, when you mentioned when you got your revision and gained back 40 lbs, do you mean when you were unfilled before your sleeve ?

When i prolapsed, it was acute, happened out of nowhere, well maybe not, i was having reflux and they unfilled me a couple times and it didnt get better, so they unfilled me completely on a fri. and sat I got worse and by sunday morning i couldnt swallow my own salive and was bringing up blood, got totally dehydrated and dr H . admitted me thru the emergency room and did emergency surgery the following day. i was bringing up blood right up until they took me in the O.R. they were giving me something to spit it in...sorry if TMI, then dr. hoffman revised the band, but for some reason, partially my own im sure, i couldn't lose any more weight, even though i did great the first 2 yrs. losing 104 lbs. so since my revision in march, and until my sleeve nov.1. i have gained 40 lbs back. Now i am losing again. since being sleeved on mon.

Edited November 6, 2010 by vicki s

[NBflo Girl 2]

ok, now I understand.. It must have been awful but the more scarry part is that it came out of nowhere.. well, laurie took all saline (almost all anyway)out my band and I need to go back on the 29th to see dr posner. I just pray I don't have any problems because I will be on a cruise for 7 days.. OMG, I can't imagine having problems while I am away.. so far, since last monday, I haven't had any problems.. funny thing though, I still feel some restriction. Thanks for the information.. I will only have my insurance until march of 2011 so I have to make a decision soon..:eek:

[vicki s 146]

ok, now I understand.. It must have been awful but the more scarry part is that it came out of nowhere.. well, laurie took all saline (almost all anyway)out my band and I need to go back on the 29th to see dr posner. I just pray I don't have any problems because I will be on a cruise for 7 days.. OMG, I can't imagine having problems while I am away.. so far, since last monday, I haven't had any problems.. funny thing though, I still feel some restriction. Thanks for the information.. I will only have my insurance until march of 2011 so I have to make a decision soon..:eek:

The restriction your feeling is most likely swelling at the band site, that is what happened to me, they took out the saline and it kept swelling until i couldn't swallow, now dont despair, it happened over 24 - 48 hrs so i dont think at all this will happen to you. but i do think your feeling swelling and not restriction from the band. i would make a decision quick before your insurance runs out, check out the site i told you about, to be honest, i havent found one person who is sorry. good luck on whatever decision you make and keep me posted. if u want to e-mail me direct, it vslawich@gmail.com vicki

PS have fun on your cruise, im going for 7 days on feb 27th....:thumbup:)

Edited November 6, 2010 by vicki s

[val 7]

i felt the same way. i started having problems with the band and then got a slip. i was sleeved june 28th and it has been good. i have had some issues with dense Protein but im able to eat most everything else. im really never hungry. i sometimes get head hunger though. if i think im hungry the first thing i do is think when was the last time i ate and if it hasnt been that long i tell my self i just ate. you still have to pay attention to the signs that u are full, cuz u get full fast. i dont regret my band at all, i lost a ton of weight

[BigGurlX 0]

ok, now I understand.. It must have been awful but the more scarry part is that it came out of nowhere.. well, laurie took all saline (almost all anyway)out my band and I need to go back on the 29th to see dr posner. I just pray I don't have any problems because I will be on a cruise for 7 days.. OMG, I can't imagine having problems while I am away.. so far, since last monday, I haven't had any problems.. funny thing though, I still feel some restriction. Thanks for the information.. I will only have my insurance until march of 2011 so I have to make a decision soon..:smile2:

Hi NBG,

You should go ahead and take the plunge before your insurance runs out. Look at it this way..Atleast you wont have to ever worry about band slips, erosions, or any of that stuff again.

[NBflo Girl 2]

thanks for the advice. as of now, I think I will do it.. I just hope nothing happens while I am away.. that would be a nightmare.. Unfortunately, I will miss the next meeting and then I guess there won't be any in december.. I will keep in touch with you guys on line and Vic, thanks for your e-mail addres. I have been trying to get on the web for the sleeve talk.. but they keep saying that they already have my name and pw and also my e-mail address.. All I need to know is what is the status of these girls that are years out.. Are they still happy ? any regrets or problems.. if problems, what are the most common.. I am going to try again today.. see what happens.. its only been 2 years for me on nov 11th.. I don't want to be going thru crap another 2 years down the line.. Vici, have fun on your cruise.. I wish were were on the same one !! shar

[vicki s 146]

thanks for the advice. as of now, I think I will do it.. I just hope nothing happens while I am away.. that would be a nightmare.. Unfortunately, I will miss the next meeting and then I guess there won't be any in december.. I will keep in touch with you guys on line and Vic, thanks for your e-mail addres. I have been trying to get on the web for the sleeve talk.. but they keep saying that they already have my name and pw and also my e-mail address.. All I need to know is what is the status of these girls that are years out.. Are they still happy ? any regrets or problems.. if problems, what are the most common.. I am going to try again today.. see what happens.. its only been 2 years for me on nov 11th.. I don't want to be going thru crap another 2 years down the line.. Vici, have fun on your cruise.. I wish were were on the same one !! shar

wouldn't that be nice, we could compare what we were eating LOL..... yes, i have read and read the site for weeks, and people even in there 60's and 70's having the surg. and say they wish they could have had it years ago, because they feel better now than they did when they were young! there is people on there that only had their bands for a short time, less than a year and switch and the one thing i keep hearing over and over is the sleeve is everything the band was not...i can't tell you what to do and since i've only had mine for 6 days, i can't say, so i am banking on everything i am hearing too and yes alot of them are a few years out and maintaining their weight without even trying and most achieved their goal in less than a year...i hope the same holds for me.....let us know what u decide, vicki

PS when r they talking bout doing the sleeve and when is your cruise?

Edited November 7, 2010 by vicki s

[NBflo Girl 2]

well, my appointment is on Nov 29 with dr posner so I am guessing the decision will be made then.. I think I am for it.. I don't want to be w/o insurance and then decide to get it..I will only have the insurance until the end of next march..reason being is that I have been retired for 5 years come march 2011 and in the package, they will only give us retirees 5 years coverage.. I can pay for it but why should I since I live in Ontario, (US Cit) I have ontario health that I can use goiing forward, however, if anything is done with this problem, I want BGH in charge.. I want to give myself time for post op visits etc.. My cruise is 1 week from today.. I read your post wrong.., I thought you were going at the end of this month.. I finally got on that forum but can't find the part that I can read past posts.. Since I have been unfilled, I haven't had any problems like you did.. I hope it won't happen while I am away.. I got the Patches for sea sicknes.., I don';t like Water and have never been on a cruise.. but my husband really wants to go and I have been putting him off for so long, when we booked, I really wasn't having any problems.. so here I am.. wish me luck :smile2:

[vicki s 146]

well, my appointment is on Nov 29 with dr posner so I am guessing the decision will be made then.. I think I am for it.. I don't want to be w/o insurance and then decide to get it..I will only have the insurance until the end of next march..reason being is that I have been retired for 5 years come march 2011 and in the package, they will only give us retirees 5 years coverage.. I can pay for it but why should I since I live in Ontario, (US Cit) I have ontario health that I can use goiing forward, however, if anything is done with this problem, I want BGH in charge.. I want to give myself time for post op visits etc.. My cruise is 1 week from today.. I read your post wrong.., I thought you were going at the end of this month.. I finally got on that forum but can't find the part that I can read past posts.. Since I have been unfilled, I haven't had any problems like you did.. I hope it won't happen while I am away.. I got the Patches for sea sicknes.., I don';t like Water and have never been on a cruise.. but my husband really wants to go and I have been putting him off for so long, when we booked, I really wasn't having any problems.. so here I am.. wish me luck :smile2:

Your gonna love the cruise, i went for 3 days in 2001 and always said if i did it again it would be for at least 7 days. i hate to fly but i love the cruise and had no sea sickness issues at all. your docked during the day and sail at night so its not bad..

as for your concerns. maybe you should call the office and see if they totally unfilled you, voice your concerns and see about going in to get a total unfill or just talk to the doc and see if he can reasure you. the cruise is all about food, never ending food 24/7 so make wise choices if you can and their are doctors on the ship if you need them...Where do u live? i dont know if your here or in canada?

[NBflo Girl 2]

Your gonna love the cruise, i went for 3 days in 2001 and always said if i did it again it would be for at least 7 days. i hate to fly but i love the cruise and had no sea sickness issues at all. your docked during the day and sail at night so its not bad..

as for your concerns. maybe you should call the office and see if they totally unfilled you, voice your concerns and see about going in to get a total unfill or just talk to the doc and see if he can reasure you. the cruise is all about food, never ending food 24/7 so make wise choices if you can and their are doctors on the ship if you need them...Where do u live? i dont know if your here or in canada?

Laurie took out 5 1/2 cc's.. according to her, I am totally unfilled. According to everyone I spoke to about cruising, you either luv it or hate it.. mostly they luv it..

I live in Fonthill, Ontario.. Fonthill is between Niagara Falls and Welland.. not far from the rainbow bridge or the peace bridge..but orig from northbuffalo.. I married a canadian and I have been here for about 10 years now..I have had the Ontario health insurance but really never used it because I always had my Com Blue.. I retired from BC BS after 37 years.. But, why should I pay 500 to 600. per month if I really don't have to.. I am going to try out the ontario health plan.. for us its only 500. per year.. My husband has never had a problem with it but he did say that if I have any health issues and we are not happy with the OHIP, I can get the BCBS at any time I want, so we'll see.. Hoping there aren't any problems..

[NBflo Girl 2]

also, I am planning on eating alot of seafood.. I lv lobster, shrimp and crab.. I refuse to gain any weight on this trip... Well, I am going to try hard not to anyway..:smile2: