VSG for Over 50 Patient with Bad Back

Thanks psychoticparrot (love the name by the way) :-)

I have had laminectomy on L4-L5 and L5-S1 once in 1989, and had to do further discectomies i***** 1998, and Nov. 2016 since I apparently have severe degeneration in the discs and they tend to pop on their own. My neurosurgeon who operated on my last says my only option is to remove entirely both discs and replace them with artificial discs and fix the entire region using six screws and two rods. He says the chances of this surgery to improve my back pain is 50% at best! I don't like those odds. Another doctor neurosurgeon doesn't think I should go this route and he is the one who suggested that some extensive weight loss with core strengthening exercises, along with some epidural nerve block could help. He also said that even if I ended up with a fusion, I need to lose the weight before the surgery otherwise I jeopardize the results. I am 5'8" and I weigh about 233 lb. My weight is concentrated in a tire around my waist.

I am hopeful that the insurance would find me qualifying (BMI above 35 and co-morbidity in the form of hypertension, depression, anxiety, high cholesterol, and sleep apnea). I should know that within a month or so but so far my Primary doctor has written a support letter and said I would benefit from the surgery, so did my psychiatrist (I was being treated from depression and anxiety), and I had an endoscopy two weeks ago which showed no haital hernia.

However, in the interim I have already started to eat less portions, focus on protein, don't drink water within half an hour of the meal, etc.

Sorry for the long message, perhaps this is more than I should have written about myself, but I am new at this.

Many thanks for all your support folks.

Exercise is great for lots of things, but not for losing weight. It's all about the food.

I was 52 when I had surgery, and you can see my stats below. I am very active, but don't exercise.

Focus on the food, and you'll do fine.

This is reassuring. Incidentally, what do these M's in the signature stand for? (apologies for the newbie question). Does it refer to Measurement? Cheers.

Month 1, month 2, etc. How much we lost (or gained) each month. It's common shorthand here, and usually only includes the actively losing period after surgery.

Thanks for the information. These are some pretty impressive numbers!! Congratulations.

I have Degenerative Disc disease and progressive Osteoarthritis and had my VSG at age 49, I am now 50. Like Gwen suggested, my physical therapist helped me with finding a balance when it came to exercise. I began walking 3 days after surgery and now walk 60 minutes daily. The only other exercise I can tolerate is swimming 1-2 days per week and some light strength training. I used to never be without my cane, now I only use it to walk with my dog. My surgeon told me "weight loss is 85% food intake and 15% movement." I am 20 stubborn pounds from goal 15 months post op.

It is definitely possible to have great success, don't let the lack of movement keep you from getting the surgery. It has never taken away my pain, but has reduced it greatly and has improved my quality of life beyond words!

Thanks Kristi. This is great. I am hoping that my weight loss would help me avoid lumbar fusion.

I had VSG in December. I am in my early 50's. My back /neck pain was out of control the months before and was thinking about back surgery too. It was so bad the morning of surgery, it hurt to lay in the bed. I was driving the pre-op nurses crazy because I couldn't get comfortable. When I was in recovery, the first thing I noticed was that I had no back pain. They kept asking me if I wanted pain killers for the surgery and I kept saying no because I felt so much better than I did when I came in. I'm not saying you'll have the same reaction, because it was probably a combination of the anesthesia and muscle relaxants during surgery that helped. Fast forward 5 months later and I'm down 62 lbs. I feel amazing and my back, while not completely pain free, is 80% better than it was before surgery. Your BMI isn't that high but I feel like every few pounds I lose now is helping my mobility overall. Good luck.

Thanks for that. I am really looking forward to being approved by the insurance and to going through the VSG. I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Good luck and let me know how you make out - Cher