[jbarfield]

I just visited with my surgeon yesterday and he gave me the bypass option and the sleeve option. He says it is a relatively new procedure, therefore there is no history to study. He just came back from a seminar as well and was very excited about the procedure. He says that the weight loss seemed about the same as bypass surgery for at least 5 years, but they had no further data to follow. I still have questions myself.

I sounds like the potential to regain your weight is very high, what do you think Dr.?

[DocSanae]

Here's my take on it.
http://www.renewedreflections.com/fo...html#post28256
Take a look at the discussion going on there.
Also, check out the threads/posts of jenlyn, a newbie who had it done very recently.
It does seem to be a good option, depending on what your needs are.

Admittedly, there's a potential with this surgery that it's easier for the pouch to stretch. Also, the mesh that is used to prevent the pouch from stretching could move and get messed up. There was a newbie posting a few days back about having this problem and was scheduled for a revision, but the person's name slips my mind at the moment. I'll see if I can find the post later.

Anyway, as with RNY, there is a risk, I'll admit, but then, the positives are very good, too.

[jenlynn]

Hi Jbar!

I had the sleeve surgery 12/5/07 ans I have lost 42 pounds since the surgery. My doctor recommended it for me because of several medical issues I had that predisposed me to not having an RNY.

The pros and cons are as the Doc said in her post. There is similar weight loss for the VSG as it is called compared to the RNY. The surgical risks are similar as well. It can be done open or lap too. Mine was lap.

While it is a relatively new procedure here in the states, it has been done extensively in other countries with results quite similar to RNY.

The thing I like the best is that there is no dumping syndrome. I am able to eat things with sugar or carbs and not dump. However, doing this defeats the whole purpose so it is bette to stick to the sugar free.

While it is true you can stretch your stomach pouch after surgery, I have found that in the two months post op, I am still only able to eat about a half cup of food each meal more or less. I think it is the fact that I am still new post op that accounts for this and I am being diligent in my food choices and amounts. You can still have vomiting if you overeat and you have to be very careful for the first few weeks after surgery in your foods but I will tell you that I would have it again in a heartbeat!

It is strictly restrictive without the malabsorption so it is a good choice for some.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me and I will help all I can.

[jbarfield]

thanks for all of the info. My surgery is this Friday and I am very excited. I stocked my kitchen cleaned and organized my bedroom and closet, so I think I am ready.

Right after surgery did you follow a post op diet most like the band or RNY?

How much could you eat at one time, right after surgery. I know you said your are around 4 ozs now, but could you consume that much in the first month?

[tervill]

There is a VBG and a VSG. What we call the "sleeve" is the VSG, which is fairly new and has great results. The VBG is an older procedure that most surgeons don't do anymore. I don't know a lot about it, but it is not at all like the VSG. The VSG is where they just take out most of your stomach. They take out the stretchy part and what's left is more muscular. They say you shouldn't have a problem with that stretching because it's harder than the stretchy part. The VSG is the one that can be turned into the DS if you don't have sufficient weight loss. I was a "light weight" and this is a perfect surgery for a light weight. Some of the heavier BMI's have to go on to have the 2nd part making it a DS. There are not long term results, as they only seem to go back 5 yrs, but this surgery has been done for over 30 yrs but not for weight loss. They sometimes do this for people with cancer or ulcers. I post at obesityhelp and a lady over there said her mom had this done 30 yrs ago because of ulcers. She said a side effect of it was her mom lost weight, and became healthier. 30 yrs later and her mom is still a normal weight, so she never gained her weight back. Another lady said her mom had to have it done because of cancer. They also started doing this surgery for the SMO (super morbidly obese) as a 2 step procedure for the DS. They would do the first part so they would lose some weight before going to the 2nd part. It was safer to do the 2nd part if they weren't as big as they were. They found that they had a lot of people who never came back for the 2nd part of it, which is why the VSG started as a stand alone procedure. It used to be done for BMI's over 50 only, as the first part of the DS, but now it's done on lower BMI's (like me) because it is a great stand alone for us. I'm only 9 months out, and "only" had 74 lbs to lose to be "normal" on the BMI scale. I was considered normal at 140 lbs. I lost the 74 lbs in 6 months and now at 9 months weight 127 with a BMI of 21.8. I went from wearing a size 22 to now I'm wearing a 4/6 depending on the stale or brand name of the clothes. I had high blood pressure before surgery and 3 weeks post op was able to stop my medication. There is a huge sleeve support forum at obesity help with lots and lots of people who have had the surgery. I learned so much from there. Any question I had, there was an answer, and there is a doc that also posts there sometimes. Be sure your doc isn't looking into the VBG, as it's a failed surgery and most surgeons don't do it anymore because of the failures.
Oh, and with the sleeve (VSG) we don't have any foreign objects in us. I have heard of a doc putting some sort of mesh, but most doctors don't do that. With us, they only take out most of the stomach, and nothing more. Oh, another plus to taking out that part of the stomach is the hormone that produces hunger (ghrelin -don't know how to spell it) is in the stomach, so when they take that part of the stomach out, most of your hunger hormone goes with it. Before 6 months post op, I had to force myself to eat because I was never hungry. At about 6 months you get some hunger back, but it's nothing like before. It's more of a twinge that tells you it's time to eat. I can even ignore it if I'm busy, where as before surgery, if I was hungry, it consumed me. The hunger is not like the starving, shakey feeling I used to get. Now it's just a little tiny reminder to eat and I eat my tiny amount of food and I'm good to go. Even if I don't eat my tiny amount of food, I don't feel horrible like I did before.
If you have any questions, let me know.
Teresa

[shranch]

Thanks so much for this post. I went to my seminar last night with lap band only in mind and my mind made up. After the seminar I was really leaning towards this sleeve. Now I think at my apt next week that will be my choice. Thanks again, Sherri

[DocSanae]

FYI:
VBG= vertical banded gastroplasty
VSG= vertical sleeve gastroplasty
BPD/DS= biliopancreatic diversion/duodenal switch

VBG was once the most popular restricive surgery, but it is rarely done now, as the long term results from this was not as good as hoped for, plus the number fo complications due to this procedure is high enough that 15-20% of patients who underwent this procedure needs a second operation to correct the complicaton.

VSG underwent extensive study through a 5 year grant form the NIH to exlpore the efficacy and safety of the procedure. Upon completion of the study, after the results and academic evalution is out, it's quite probable that the numbers of this procedure will pick up.
There are advantages and disadvantages to this procedure, as with any procedures, so you need to weigh them all against your particular needs and your life style and habits.
Keep in mind that with ANY and EVERY new medical development, there is always excitement and the *this is IT* mentality both in the medical community and the public, especially media hype. Whether these new developments are truly the *miracle* drug/procedure, only time will tell. In many cases, this *time* means years and years and years, and by that time, it's probable that someone has come up with a new method, or several new methods.

Whichever procedure you choose, I hope you will all remember that the true work is within you. The surgeries are tools to help you align your life style, and develop your problem coping mechnisms that made you turn to food, while for the time being you are able to lose weight willy nilly due to the immediate after effects of the surgery. After that, the continuation of success is completely up to you. The surgery itself will never change the root of the problem, that is the work that is up to you.

[Cockney]

I has the VSG ten months ago.I have lost just over 130 pounds. I realize this is a very serious subject, as is all surgical procedure. But I have to say that I turned to a medical procedure because all the will in the world did nothing for me (and frankly faded quickly.)

I know that many do not agree with my attitude, but I was sick and tired of the guilt that came quickly after being sated...The last thing I wanted was to continue the guilt.

I have said before that today I can and do eat anything I want, which many find obtuse. The real point is that I can only eat a certain amount of everything I want. And that is the thing I love about this procedure the most.

The VSG does not just remove a large part of the stomach, I understand it also removes the portion of the stomach that creates the hunger hormones. While it is true that the sack may stretch in time, the lack of (in my case) 130 pounds means I move more swiftly that I did previously, and presumably burn more calories than before.

I no longer care for meat, buy bread that gets fed to the birds and find myself eating for sustenance instead of habit.

Make no mistake I love to go out for dinner, I have become the world's cheapest date :-) .....

But Dinner becomes the next days lunch with plenty left over for the feral cats. :-)

Please excuse my rant...But food before the surgery was my master...I REFUSE to allow it to remain my master after the surgery....and thats the best thing I have ever done...

My body knows what is bad for me and always has...I just started listening.

Good luck and God Bless.




P.S. Now that I can move again my spine is annoyed :-)...Scheduled for spine surgery Monday...

[DianeB]

Cockney good luck with your spine surgery Monday--hope all goes as well as your WLS--You've done fantastic with your weight loss!!

[DocSanae]

Originally Posted by Cockney

Please excuse my rant...But food before the surgery was my master...I REFUSE to allow it to remain my master after the surgery....and thats the best thing I have ever done...

My body knows what is bad for me and always has...I just started listening.

Good luck and God Bless.


P.S. Now that I can move again my spine is annoyed :-)...Scheduled for spine surgery Monday...

This is what's most important--not let food be your master. Some people let it still, post op, which can mess up the results, whatever the procedure.

Congrats on your fabuloust
weight loss, and keeping you in my thoughts and prayers for your spine surgery.