band2sleeveinNoVA

I had my band in March 2010 and was he same way up and down with fluid in the band and then it slipped even though I'd never puked nor eaten bread or trigger foods. I was revised on 5/23 to the sleeve and I am loving it! Though recovery was a bit longer and more difficult (drinking for me was very painful at first and I lived off Popsicles). Now I can eat anything again in small portions which does get annoying sometimes because I know my body needs the calories to workout but there's definitely a hard stopping point. The band can also desensitize your stomach so my PA said that likely I will be able to eat more a bit sooner than someone who wasn't banded. All in all so much better! I returned to work on post-op day 6 and would have done 5 but it was a holiday, started running again on day 9 and was feeling good by day 12. I'm 9 weeks out and feel the best I've felt in a year! -30 lbs after gaining 25 with the slip. Good Luck!!!!

Any update?????

With the band I lost hair at about the 4 month mark and it was back by 8-9 months. My new surgeon has me taking biotin daily to help prevent this, it's a small gel cap that's easy to swallow

I was converted from the band to the sleeve 5/23 and had awful gas pain which I didn't have at all with the band. I will definitely second waking up and feeling like i'd been hit by a truck but later that night I did feel muh better with a heating pad on mu shoulders and some Tylenol I didn't use the pain pump. I got really nauseous after I had skin removal surgery in November so I asked for more anti-nausea meds from the anesthesiologist which tremendously helped. I also had a migraine going into surgery (I get one every time though usually I wake up with it) so I was a wreck going into the OR but magically my head felt 1000 times better in recovery. I had a patch behind my ear, a script they had me take 3 hrs before of Emend and I could have zofran in my IV whenever i wanted and also I think they gave me Reglan in my IV every few hrs. M doc also sent a visiting nurse to give me home hydration since it was 90'+ here that weekend my mom switched the IV bag daily and it really helped because drinking the first few days hurt. Good luck!!!

I will second www.theworldaccordingtoeggface.com every recipe I tried while banded was AMAZING!!!

How long did it take everyone to get back to a workout routine? I was sleeved and had my band removed on May 23 after a night stay and home hydration I went to work on day 6 post op and today, day 10 I did a light workout (the doc had said just no lifting over 10lbs) did a light jog and walked a few miles. I'm dying to get back to my normal workouts an see the doc again on Monday I'm just concerned in not getting enough calories in...

I was working out 6 days a week but I also was 2+ yr out of Lapband surgery and have lost 100 lbs. I had my revision to the sleeve on 5/23 after my band slipped. I know that's why I am so eager to get back to my routine because I feel better when I'm working out and sweating, also I have a feeling my pain levels were next to nothing because I'm numb from my belly button to my very upper thighs from my skin removal/abdominoplasty. You'll feel like working out when your body is ready - it helped me a ton with the loose skin!

Try propping yourself up on stiffer pillows. I had my band removed on May 23 and also had a hernia repair, I felt the pain in my chest also and leaning back while propped up helped alleviate it especially at home. I didn't take any pain meds buy did tr some Tylenol when I was home and that took the ede off as well. You'll feel better just take it one day at a time

Sleeved onthe 23rd as well... so over liquids...BUT today was way easier than yesterday to sip everything, so here's to hoping all our tomorrow's are even better! Try a creamier soup if you can, it helped me a lot today to get rid of the sweet feeling in my mouth. I also use the ramen noodle packets in hot water (I cannot under any circumstances tolerate the taste of unjury) and that helped as well. Xylitol gum (sold at Vitamin Shoppe) is sugar free and has a pretty decent lasting taste as well.... good luck!!!! Congrat's on 20 I'm down 14.

Yay! I had my crapband out on May 23 and was sleeved... so far so good just on the thirsty train as well, sipping and sipping ever so slowly although today (8 days out) I noticed I can definitely take a bigger sip and I don't feel anything negative like I did the first few days... I spent 1 night in and then my doc paid for me to have a visiting nurse over the holiday weekend for hydration for 3 days, it was the best move ever, it made me way less stressed about drinking when it was painful and I was able to get back on feet easier. I was back at work on the 29th and here I am I'm down 14 lbs since surgery and no pain (though I think this is mostly due to the fact that my belly button to top of my thighs are numb from my plastics in November - blessing in disguise)...I am longing for something salty that isn't broth however...I ventured to a creamy potato soup and that went ok today i just left the potato chunks there but probably could have eaten them given that my chewy vitamins and jello are going down quick and easy. AMEN for popsicles

I went back at 6 days post-op ... surgery was May 23, back on May 29...I was fine to be back, not on pain med's and just sipping...I credit most of my ability to do that to being in fairly good cardio shape but mostly to my belly button to thighs being numb from my abdominoplsty, I literally just feel like some of my "incisions/punctures" are bruises... take all the time that you need and the doc suggests, I looked at this as being very minor compared to plastics where I was off work for 4 weeks, could have gone back after 2 but was starting a new job.

I'm 8 days post-op and can lay on my stomach now but I think it's mostly because I was a Lap-bander who also had plastics done in November 2011 - my belly button area (majority of my sleeve surgery) is still numb so I'm back at work fulltime and doing whatever really, no pain med's at all just sipping allllll day long. Do what your body will allow, for both my band and abdominoplasty it took a while until I felt comfortable and even now I don't lay for long periods of time, side sleep is your friend

I am 8 days post-op and feeling pretty good...I had my band removed at the same time and a hernia repair. I am alost 7 months out of plastic surgery after losing the first 110 and then gaining about 25 back thru the inability to workout and my own failed eating habits. I've dropped 14 lbs since the morning of surgery, I'm trying really hard to get some more protein in during the day, I'm on a slightly different diet because they don't want me losing too fast and only really want 40 lbs max off me, so I've had normal juices and jello/popsicles. Keep up the great work! I'm sipping right along with you Jen

A few of us are meeting on Saturday at the Starbucks in the plaza by the old office in Reston. If anyone wants to join let me know we're meeting at 2pm.

I've had the following on my EOB's: Pinnar, Eric D. Greene, Barry S. (before I saw him in April '12) Synchrony Health LLC Merchia, Pankaj AWLS If you all would like we can coordinate a meeting over the weekend to chat further? coffee in NoVA? I live in Arlington but could travel to the Fairfax/Reston areas later in the day on Saturday? Please private message your email if you're interested and I will email from my gmail account. Jennifer

Hi all - anyone who is a former ERIC PINNAR patient getting EOB's from their insurance that they never paid for anything? I am and I know others are as well. My insurances (yes insurances, I switched jobs midway through my treatment) are getting bills 2 years after my surgery for the actual surgery amongst other charges for things that I never had done. Would appreciate any insights - send me a private message, I am seeking legal advice as well. thanks!

What may be interesting to note is that in the last 14 business days I have received 46 explanation of benefits from 3 insurance companies (1 of which has not been active since 2007 and I had surgery in 2010)....these EOB's state that Dr. Eric Pinnar is billing all my insurance companies for nearly $150k of treatments and procedures and when I looked up the procedure codes some of these procedures are for things I never had! I've got calls into the fraud departments at all insurance providers and a fellow Pinnar patient who has become a friend of mine also has had repeated claims filed for surgery and aftercare that we both paid $17,000 up front for. Fraud at its finest. The "billing department" that was given to my insurances listed a number that was tied to a Synchrony Health which was tied to Dr. Merchia's personal residence in Great Falls, VA where it lists him as selling it in summer of 2011. Shady. Would be interested to hear what anyone else has to say?????

AMEN!!!!!!!!! So glad that I found Dr. Greene and Linda the AMAZING PA!

Dr. Pinnar left the patients in the care of a "sleep doctor" who CAN'T do fills and who fired the PA. We only got notification after people who worked for him started telling the truth. The fact is that Dr. Greene was NEVER in the Reston office, always was in Rockville - that said he has been very gracious in taking us into his practice where the PA is amazing! Dr. MERCHIA, the SLEEP doctor took all the charts, NOT Dr. Greene and we the patients had to go and seek them from him PERSONAL residence, not even IN the office. Purely fishy behavior. A "change" huh? interesting since his mother is literally on her death bed in VA.

I am going to SECOND, the BEWARE of Dr. Pinnar notion - I had my surgery 5 March 2010, and have had amazing results - HOWEVER this is due to MY hard work and not Dr. Pinnar nor his PA. Dr. Pinnar did completely leave his DC/VA patients high and dry with literally NO notice. And what the previous posting said about finding someone to fill you is 100% true, in the DC/VA area there are many lapband surgeons but they want to APPROVE you as being a patient and are wary of taking on other surgeons patients. Thankfully for me personally I shelled out the $17,000 and my remaining year of care is being honored by Dr. Greene - whose PA is absolutely amazing I might add and made me feel inspired and excited to lose my last 17 lbs (96 lbs lost total). Further, the quack that Dr. Pinnar "sold" the practice to is just that - firing the PA in front of patients and not even having anything to do with weight loss anymore - he is now just running a sleep Center there. He took my chart home to his personal residence and I had to demand it back to give to another office. Dr. Pinnar didn't care who he screwed when he left, he just cared about making more of a name for himself.

I was banded March 5, 2010 and have had tremendous success (-90 lbs)... around December when my bad was at approximately 3.8cc I experienced pain like never before a week after a fill, I suffered through it, convinced it wasn't because I was too tight (the pain was in my stomach not chest discomfort like I normally had experienced when "stuck") and eventually had some taken out at the end of the month, I waited another 5 weeks and had .3cc put in, everything was good to go for another 5 weeks. In March I had a .3cc fill and for 4 weeks all was well, I could tell I didn't need a fill at my next appt so I canceled it - 2 days later I was in pain, stuck on chicken, Water wouldn't go down and had .2cc taken out. For the past several weeks I've been hating life, I was tight and having some reflux (maybe?) issues, heart burn more or less and I've never had that - then the last 2 weeks I could eat ANYTHING, I don't eat bread but I could have I'm sure - all of a sudden on Monday I noticed I was having a lot of restriction, same thing yesterday, I could feel everything going thru, with minimal pain but it wasn't fun. I woke up with a mouthful of acid in the middle of the night and this morning I can drink liquids but again I feel it going all the way down. I didn't eat anything differently or do anything abnormal - anyone else ever experience this crazy swing from seemingly wide open to crazy tight?