CONS TO VSG - AFTER SIDE EFFECTS

Hello

I am going for my orientation on April 18th.  They dont know yet that I want the VSG instead of Ontario's golden standard RNY.


I have been researching all kinds.  I know on this website they have advantages and disadvantages, but I would rather here stories from real people!!

Please tell me any problems you have had with the sleeve:

I know there is hairloss, acid reflux

but I want to get your personal stories

ALSO  can you identify why the VSG was better suited for you than the RNY and why??

Thank you so much for helping me and reading this!!

Please see my blog, I have been very honest from day 1 about what I have disliked about my sleeve.  At almost 7 weeks out I am starting to not have such horrible buyers remorse. 

I don't like that I don't feel the restriction I had expected.  I knew it wasn't a magic pill, and I can't eat a whole lot, but it is more than what is "average" around these message boards. 

Because they pull your stomach out of an incision, that incision has a greater risk of infection than the others.  I was that lucky person to get infected.  

Also, I honestly didn't expect it to be so painful.  And it wasn't for my husband who had it the exact same day.  But, with any surgery that is a possibility.  

I do LOVE the fact that I can still eat most anything in moderation.  I haven't tried sweets yet, but my husband and I split a hamburger the other day and I ate (most of my 1/2) with no problem.  I also love that I have yet to get sick from anything.  I hope it continues to be that way!! 

GOOD LUCK!

 hair loss is not exclusive to VSG...  it happens to RNY'rs, DS'rs, and for that matter, anyone who has major surgery....  doesn't happen to everyone, but as long as you keep up your protein intake and vitamins, it is temporary...   mine started about 4 months out and stopped about 3 1/2 months later...

my issues with food were portion control and insatiable hunger signals...  i love food -- i ate a lot of it, but never felt full and always seemed to be hungry...  VSG addressed both those issues...  i am 2 1/2 years out - i can eat about 3 ozs of dense protein, or 1/2 to 2/3 cup of soft stuff (chili, cottage cheese, etc)    i get full and i stop (otherwise i throw up), and for the first time in my life, i don't feel hungry an hour later....  

some folks who had RNY chose it because they had issues with sugar and carbs, and the possibility of dumping works as a deterrent to bad choices....  for me, i wanted to continue to enjoy food, just in smaller quantities...  and i can do that...  if i want to have a sliver of birthday cake, i can do that without fear of getting sick later on...  i decided i did not want to deal with that and the other side effects of intestinal rerouting...

good luck in your journey!!


jeris

I'm a new sleever but for me I chose the sleeve because I didn't want the malabsorption of RNY. My aunt had RNY 15yrs ago and struggles all the time with her vitamin/protein levels and anemia. She gets a lifetime of vitamin malapsorption but only a few years of calorie malapsorption. Just didn't sound like a good deal to me!
I also love my pyloric valve so really didn't want it removed! The only problem I had was the week post op- I burped like craaaaazy, constantly. That and the nausea were the biggest problems but after the first week, everything was much better.

I'm on a PPI twice a day and I've never had a  moment of reflux so far. The hairloss... I think that happens with either surgery? Best of luck with whatever you choose!

So far no hair loss, no acid , and great restrcition.
I eat about 3 oz. max and feel the best I have felt in years!!
No regrets.
Julie

In talking to my surgeon he feels that the long term studies for VSG are really not good enough to determine whether long term weight loss is just as good as RNY. His experience is that most people will lose if they are highly motivated and will lose within 10 - 20 lbs of what they would have lost with RNY and just as quickly. My opinion is that it is a tool and it is going to depend on how you use it. People fail all the time with any kind of weight loss surgery because they don't change their behaviours and develop the necessary coping mechanisms for dealing with food issues. WLS of any kind is a great kick start for weight loss but like any other type of diet you have to be committed to making it work, you have to be more physically active and you have to exercise your will power!!

I wanted a VSG because I need to take NSAIDs for migraines and I really didn't want the digestive rearrangement (not that a doctor will accept that as an excuse!) that goes with RNY. The calorie malabsorption does not last forever and so can't be depended on, same as dumping, not everyone with RNY dumps, things like that can't be depended on as a method of negative reinforcement to lose weight (though some people do from some posts I've read). I wanted something that was going to give me that kick start thinking that the first 50 - 75 lbs would come off fairly easily and after that I could manage on my own. Altogether I've lost 67 lbs from my highest weight, I am pretty pleased with that even though I still have lots to go. I feel that it has helped tremendously but I've still got lots of food issues. In that respect it makes no difference what surgery is done, you still have that work to do no matter what.

I'm sure VSG was better suited to me than RNY because of the way it works

1) Fully functional stomach
2) reduction in serum ghrelin
3) faster satiety

Do I have regrets?  No. Problems?  Yes, but they are issues  related to non-sleeve medical problems that go back 20 years. Having a big-bad autoimmune disorder adds a level of complexity to everything I do, not just VSG. Honestly,  I had an easy recovery, virtually no pain, and no complications.  My weightloss has been awesome, and my results consistent with following the program. I have virtually no hunger.  I had hairloss that resolved itself, but all surgeries come with that added 'loss.'  I have some extra skin, but it's not bad, and frankly I'm 44. There's a certain amount of gravity at work to start with.

I booked tickets for a flight to the Spokane in May for a National Specialty dog show for my breed, and I no longer need to worry about booking an extra seat or even buying the extra leg-room seat even when traveling with a dog in the cabin.  As 5'2" and wearing a size 2, I can fit pretty much anywhere on the plane except an overhead bin, at this point.  Contrast that to October 2010 when I flew to Nebraska and bought an extra seat, etc.  That trip made up my mind to get VSG, and I can't honestly say I'm sorry. 

 You guys are all SO AWESOME!  First and foremost. I'd like to really thank you for taking the time to reply to my post!!  I am so glad they have this forum to get to the real truth and stories of real experiences. It most definitely helps me decide on getting the VSG!!

I think I will have the will power to get this pat down!  I joined the gym last year in January. I was working out 5 days a week. Busting my butt!!!  Lol. I dropped my calories to about 900 a day and tried to stay more on the protein side. My dr followed me closely and I did this for six months straight!  I only lost 7 lbs. at this point my dr ran every test out there on me and found nothing. I was falling into a major depression and was quickly losing faith in ever being thin again. My dr who is anti RNY. Suggested the VSG. So I am confident I will rock my sleeve and be on track using it as a tool. Not abusing it!!    


Congrats on your wonderful success. I wish you all the best and hope you all reach your goal!!

I picked the sleeve for the same reasons everybody else did no rerouting the system, less malabsorption issues, less complications, etc.... But My main reason is I did not want to end up so focused and worried about what I was eating that I would not be living. I want to live... that being said... I do plan my meals and have healthy snacks/meals and water with me at all times... But I do not have to worry about eating something and then having dumping syndrome. I want to be "normal"... what ever that may be... I feel better, look better and am happier than I have been in years and years...  I did have one complication I pulled one of my sutures open in the hospital and bled quite a bit before I realized it. I had to have a transfusion because my levels were down and I had to stay one extra night stay in the hospital (total 3 nights). The first two weeks suck like any surgery your tired and feel uncomfortable. I only had soreness near where my stomach is. None of my sutures hurt at all...  I would do it all again in a heart beat.....  You will rock your sleeve...

 I was working out 5 days a week. Busting my butt!!!  Lol. I dropped my calories to about 900 a day and tried to stay more on the protein side. My dr followed me closely and I did this for six months straight!  I only lost 7 lbs. at this point my dr ran every test out there on me and found nothing. 

If the above is true then you may really want to consider the DS because that sounds like a metabolic issue even if the doctor couldn't pin it down. The calories/exercise that you describe isn't out of line for a person with a sleeve.  Some eat as little as 600 calories a day, but others range more in the 800 - 1000 calories a day range.