Long term VSGers - Anyone who's had one for 5+ years?

I have decided to have a VSG.  When deciding which surgery to have the only thing that worried me about the VSG was the lack of long term results information.  At this point, I feel a VSG would be the best surgery for me but I would still very much like to hear from people who have been living with a VSG for more than 5 years.  I'm interested in your successes and your challenges.  How are you doing?

Thanks, M 

 I am not 5 years out - only 2 - I feel better than I have felt in years.  I wish I would have done it sooner - however it is a struggle - I have gain recently about 8 pounds and am upset with myself- but I am going to get it off.  My biggest problem is head hunger.   My physical body is not hungry.  I think must of us deal with that daily.  That is my biggest challenge.  I know I could have never lost the weight without the surgery.  You can do it.  Good Luck!!!

I'm 4 years and from being on ALL the forums for 6 years or so the successes and challenges are individual not SURGERY related.  I struggle with making the "right" decisions as far as food goes and I think its the same with many of my cohorts.

My restriction is GREAT but my choices SUCK!

Ms Shell

Thanks for your responses.  I know that I have to take responsibility for using the "tool" as it's referred to, to make my weight loss a reality.  I guess the part of the orientation session that I attended where the surgeon explained that there had been other types of weight loss surgery performed over the years that are no longer being performed because they weren't successful over the long haul made me a bit nervous.  That made me worry about whether VSG will end up being one of those types of surgeries.  However, my surgeon does speak highly of the surgery and feels it has potential for long term success. 

M

The VSG is a fancy term for a partial gastrectomy.  Partial gastrectomies have been around for many decades, mostly for the treatment of ulcers and stomach cancer. 

The sleeve was originally performed as the first part of the duodenal switch (DS), which is another weight loss surgery.  The DS has both the sleeved stomach and re-routing of intestines - both restrictive and mal-absorptive.  The sleeve was often done first on super morbidly obese patients to give them a chance to lose weight before doing the more complicated re-routing.  Docs noticed that patients were doing fine with just the restriction of the sleeve, so the sleeve developed as a stand-alone surgery for weight loss.

I'm about 4 1/2 years out and doing great...I'd be happy to answer any questions...

hey there i couldnt stop my self from being a bother and ask you questions :)
- do you ever eat like pre surgery???(portions)
- are you always hungry?
-did your sleeve stretch?
im thinking of getting sleeved next month , ive been researching the hell out of the subject but i couldnt find alot of long time vsgers.

No bother!

- do you ever eat like pre surgery???(portions)
When I eat properly, no. My portion sizes at meals are significantly smaller than pre surgery, but I can probably eat as much candy/chips as I could before, so I have to be very careful not to have foods that I could binge on around the house

- are you always hungry?
No! As you have probably learned, the surgery removes much of the stomach which the produces ghrelin, the hormone that makes you feel hunger. Many people feel NO hunger, at least in the first year or two. I always had SOME hunger and still do, but it's normal hunger. If I haven't eaten in some hours, I'll get hungry, but it's not the gnawing hunger that it was pre-surgery, and of course, I'm satisfied with far less.

-did your sleeve stretch?
In the beginning, you will have swelling, which subsides so your stomach holds more, plus it is normal for the sleeve to dilate a bit, but I don't think mine  got any bigger after maybe a year or so. I can eat about 3-4 ounces of dense protein, so still quite small portions

I have no regrets at all! Good luck on your decision!
ThinLizzy

                                               

 thanks for posting back that was greaaat help.
and very motivating too.