Dilemma: VSG or "Suck it Up and Stick to a Healthy Lifestyle Already"

Hi, I'm new here and am struggling about my decision for WLS. Earlier this year, I qualified for VSG with a BMI of 39. My insurance requires that I be medically supervised for 6 months before they will approve WLS! I am at the halfway point now and have lost 13 lbs. already based on the foods my doctor suggested I start eliminating from my diet.

The problem: my weight is 217 lbs and my BMI is now 37.4. If I lose more than 12 lbs in the next three months, I will no longer qualify for WLS. My family history runs deep with heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. For several years, I have had HBP, high cholesterol, pre-diabetes, and hypothyroidism. Just recently I've been diagnosed with sleep apnea. I just turned 50 and am also going through menopause, which adds another element of frustration.

My dilemma is this: Should I wait the three months and maintain my weight to have the surgery? Or should I just get back on a healthy diet and exercise program and lose the weight to reach my goal without having the surgery?

Within the past year, my sister, brother-in-law, and niece have all had VSG with amazing success and don't regret a single second of it. However, my friends (some who are in the fitness field) are saying I'm crazy for even considering WLS because I'm not heavy enough and if I just change my eating habits and exercise routine, I could drop the 75 lbs I need to lose to be healthy.

I feel like I'm on a teeter totter, always going back and forth about what is the right thing to do. I continue to attend my monthly check-ins with my bariatric surgeon while trying to figure out what is best for me. My cardiologist gave his approval and my physician will approve, however, she would prefer me to just eat healthier and exercise to lose the weight.

Has anyone else had a similar experience? And, if so, how did you decide what was best for you?

I would greatly appreciate feedback from anyone who has struggled with this issue.

Thanks so much!

This was the issue for me. i could and DID lose hundreds of pounds over the years. the problem was I couldn't keep it off.   As soon as I returned to eating a

"normal" diet,i would gain and couldn't seem to stop it.

I have lost 98# and kept it off for 3 years. That is all I can tell you.

The people who are telling you to just change your eating habits and you can lose and maintain,don't know what they are talking about. Some of us (THEM) can do that and some of us ( US) cannot.

Don't let them try to influence you as you are the only one who lives in your body and you know better than anyone else how your body works and what you can and cannot do relating to losing weight and maintaining the loss.

I mean,seriously,if you could do what these people are advocating,wouldn't you ALREADY have done it? I think they are crazy for even trying to advise someone about something they are clearly ignorant about.

As far as losing 12 more #,no problem. it is the STARTING weight when you first consulted your surgeon that is the magic number,the number they will us when filing for approval.

GL and don't let anyone make this decision but you.
 

Absolute TRUTH!  AMEN!!!!

I have a trainer who totally advised that I did not get the Sleeve.  He was adamantly against it.  But when he saw my amazing success, now he is all for it.  Go figure!

I can only speak for myself here, but I knew my history.  Could I have lost the weight?  Probably, if I really buckled down and worked hard.  Would I have kept it off?  Doubtful.  I was always really good at dieting.  So the question is not "can you do it", it is "will you do it".  Look at the cycles you have gone through over the last 30ish years.  Why do you think now would be different than before?  It might.... But most likely it would be the same.

Do your research and make an informed decision taking into account your history, health and your dedication to success.  Only you can answer the question.

It can be done.  When I was 30yo I lost 113.5 pounds through diet and exercise.  Then I gained it all back plus about 50 more over the next 24 years.  You can't imagine how stupid I feel about that.   I wish like anything that I had been stronger and had pursued more avenues to keep that weight off the first time around. 

Some people do succeed with that.  I failed miserably.

Statistically I believe it's harder to lose weight over age 45, but I have no numbers to back that up.

My co-morbidities were HBP, sleep apnea, depression.  I am also hypotensive and take medication for that.  My PCP very solemnly told me one fine day last June that my get-out-of-diabetes-and-heart-disease-free card was expiring and that something had to be done NOW.  By that time all the fight had gone out of me due to various highly stressful family matters and such, and I knew I didn't have it in me to do this on my own again.  Less than two weeks later I had my first surgeon consult and chose VSG.

My ticker below indicates how things are going post-sleeve.  (I just turned 55yo, FWIW.)  The added benefits of small portion size and the lack of hunger (at least currently) because of the major drop in ghrelin production give me more likelihood of keeping the weight off this time around, but it's not a guarantee.  This is a rest-of-your-life vigilance thing, just like the first time I did this, but now there are more tools at my disposal.

Just my POV.

I wish you well with your research and decision.

Good grief.  Sorry, I'm not hypotensive -- I have hypothyroidism and take medication for THAT. 

I am quite capable of losing weight. But I've never managed to keep it off. I have probably lost and gained a thousand pounds in my 31 years. I wanted a tool to help me lose the weight AND keep it off. I was tired of doing the same things over and over again with the same result. Hence my decision to have WLS (which took about me 5 years to make mostly because of funding).

You have a lower BMI, but a lot of co-morbidities and family history. If I were you, I'd take that into consideration. But only you can make that decision. Best wishes to you!

Ladies, thank you so much for your input! You all bring up a very good point...I also have lost ALOT of weight over the years...and have always gained it back, and then some. I've been struggling with my weight since becoming a mother at the age of 19. I am now the heaviest I've ever been and it has been far more difficult to lose over the past several years than when I was in my 20's or 30's.

Truly, I need to stop caring what others think about me and my weight loss choices. Thanks again for offering your individual points of view! And congratulations on the successes you've achieved with your weight loss! You are all an inspiration! 

I'm only 11 days out, so I deserve no congratulations. But yes, it is very important to stop caring what others think of you. I suppose I care to an extent, but this is my body, my life and I feel no shame in my decision.

For most folks, it's not losing the weight that's the problem---it's KEEPING it off, long-term.

Frankly, with your family medical history and your current health issues, I'd be looking into getting the full Duodenal Switch, not just the Sleeve. The DS has the very BEST stats for resolving or preventing co-morbs like diabetes and high cholesterol. Yes, it's a more 'extreme' surgery, but it also gives more 'extreme' results.