Curious about VSG

 Hi all. I had my first consult with my bariatric surgeon and he has suggested the VSG for me. I have many questions. I guess the first one is any of you who have had it done, I'd like to know what it was like and whether your weight loss was what you expected. Hopefully I get some ideas.

Thanks,
Michelle

Hi Michelle. 

I just had VSG 5 days ago.  Immediately post op I had some pain (from the gas) and nausea that lasted about 1-2 hours.  About 2 hours after the surgery I was up and walking 10-15 minutes every other hour.  I had the occasional pain now and again but now I am virtually pain free. I don't have any issues with sipping (drinking) my gaterade, water, broth, or jello.  I actually don't feel hungry, I just sip all day to keep from getting dehydrated. 

As for the weightloss, I haven't had my expected weight loss yet (5 days post op) but I have read hundreds of people on this site who have reached their goals and some that exceeded it.  The rule of thumb is to follow your plan, don't obsess over the scale as weight fluctuates every day (even throughout the day), stalls do happen but they also end too.

Good luck!

 For me, the surgery went very well. I had very little pain or discomfort and no nausea. That is not the case with everyone though. Some do suffer a bit with pain for a week or two out. I was extremely tired for a while. But, now, I am back to normal but just can't eat as much as before. I consider myself a slow looser, but it is coming off none the less. If you look at the posts on this forum you will see many, many success stories. I like the sleeve because I can still eat any of the foods I ate previously (although I do focus on proteins an try to limit carbs now) but I just eat a lot less than before. I've only had what I felt was a dumping syndrome once and it was my fault. I made a bad food choice and ate it too fast...bad combination! Good luck to you with your decision and feel free to ask away! Everyone on this forum is very helpful.

I had surgery mid-March and had a very easy time.  As for my weight loss, so far, so good!  Slow and steady will win this race for me! I go into quite a bit of detail in my blog...even though I need to update it!  Good luck to you!  I'm thrilled with my sleeve!

I'm almost 2 years out, and absolutely love life with the sleeve. My weight loss was beyond my expectations, maintained my loss for a year before the pregnancy hit, and myself and Sprout are thriving. I recommend checking out all the information in this following link. It will help you with a lot of your initial questions, has personal stories, and research articles at the bottom.

http://vsgfaq.wordpress.com/

Hi Michelle -- You have come to the right place to get all your questions answered.  This is a great group of folks, and we love our sleeves!

The surgery was a cinch, only the slightest discomfort for a few days after.  In less than a year, I had easily lost all my weight.  I followed my surgeon's guidelines to a tee for about the first six months and never had the first problem.

I had a 20-pound weight re-gain about a year and a half post-op when I had to have spinal surgery (completely unrelated to WLS) and got back into the sugar and junk carbs, which cause me to crave more of the same.  I am in the process right now of detoxing :-)

So my word to anyone considering the surgery is DO IT if you are ready to change your life for the better!  I wish I had done it when I was in my 30s rather than waiting until I was 55 and had ruined my body and blighted my life.  It is one of the best things I have ever done for myself!

Best wishes on your journey :-)
--Dorothy

 Thank you all so very much for your words of encouragement. It helps a lot to know there are others out there who have succeeded and it is nice to meet all of you. I don't usually post a lot but this site seems different. The people who I have had the pleasure of conversing with were all very comforting and encouraging and believe me when I say, I can use all the support I can get.

Thanks bunches, 
Michelle

Hello there fellow Canadian (but I don't live there).

I had my sleeve done in September, 2008, and I lost 195 pounds without any significant problems along the way. It does take a certain self-discipline, and you do have to work at it. It isn't magic, but it IS a very good tool to help you get the weight off and keep it off.

My recovery from surgery was uneventful. I was very lucky, my first stall happened at 10 months (everyone stalls. The trick is, not to let this stop you. It is NOT the end of the world, you have not messed yourself up, etc.)

You WILL cheat (we all do, it's just that some won't admit it). Once again, the trick is not to make a huge big deal out of it. OK, so you cheated. Now, get right back on program and stay there as closely as you can. Just don't make cheats last for several days, and get back in program.

If you are serious about losing weight, begin a mild exercise program NOW. I walked, and that is the ONLY exercise that I did. I could barely walk to my mailbox (300 feet) at first, but within a month and a half, I could walk a mile. I built that up to 3 miles, 3 days a week and Istill do that.

DO NOT COMPARE YOUR WEIGHT LOSS TO ANYONE ELSE. You are you, not someone else. Your body will lose at its pace, not someone else's. Especially, do not compare your weight loss to a man (men ALWAYS lose a lot faster, which discourages women).

Remember, the same hormones that slow your weight loss, also make you live a lot longer than we do. It all evens out in the end!

I was a 65 year old, pure couch potato, and lazy as a person could be when I had my surgery. If I could do it, then for certain you can.

You can see my weight loss in the line below.