Surgeon is recommending VSG vs. RNY

Hello All , 

  For the past two years I have researched RNY .  My insurance covered the band and RNY only.  My surgeon informed me yesterday as of March 1st they will be covering the sleeve . She said the sleeve is a better option.   For those of you that have had the sleeve do you recommend it ?   My concern is losing slower. I was excited at being able to lose fast with RNY. Although, I'm told that with the sleeve you can loose more.  I would love to hear from some of you, what your experience has been with the sleeve. Also  did you end up having the second surgery to lose more weight? 

Hello,

Initially a few years back I went to the seminar for Rny, but couldn't deal with the idea of rerouting and malabsorption.  I chose to do nothing as a result.  Later, I saw a news report about the Vsg and went to that seminar.  It was a perfect fit.  Then, my surgeon on the consultation gently suggested the Rny, as I was diabetic with a self professed issue with sugar.  I was firm about the Vsg.  He said at my one year consult (post op) that the Vsg patients and Rny patients are very similar with weight loss.  At the time of my original appointment though he said the Vsg folks lost 5% or so less then the Rny.  I did the math.  I wanted to lose 132 pounds, so the difference of 6.6 pounds was totally worth the risk to not have to reroute.  With that said, I had NO PROBLEM getting to goal!  Many, many of us make it to goal here with the sleeve.  Do a search on rny versus the sleeve for a lot of posts on this.  No side effects, all the weight loss, no malabsorption, no rerouting, easier recovery, gherlin gone or significantly reduced, no restrictions on nsaids (after recovery), etc. 

I can't recommend it enough :0)

Your surgeon is right, in my opinion. The Sleeve is a much better option than the RNY. Well, at least it was for me. And of course, I'd say that - it's the surgery I chose.

The  more the data pours in from the sleeve the more the data debunks that RNY patients lose more weight and lose it faster. It is very common for people with VSG to lose more than 100 pounds in 6 months. Some lose more, some lose less in the same time. I went  to a support group  meeting a few weeks ago and one of the things we did was go around the room and tell how many pounds we had each lost. We were all VSGers and the average loss was between 100 and 110 pounds. Of course, there were some losses that were less and some that were significantly more. An example is Frisco who lost 190 pounds in 13 months. I'd call that pretty rapid!

If you have the sleeve and require a revision, the sleeve is already 1/2 of the Duodenal Switch, which is one heck of a powerful weight loss surgery.

I'm very happy with my sleeve. I'm 14 months out and have been at goal for almost 7 months. I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat!

Well it sounds like the sleeve is the way to go by both of your responses.  I do have a major sweet tooth, but from what I've read with out the ghrelin , I won't have those cravings anymore.  I'm going to seek therapy throughout the first year. Just in case my food issues rear their ugly head!  

The cravings don't go away- that is head hunger.  They don't amputate your head, just most of your stomach.

I looked into surgery in 2010 when the band and rny were the only options with insurance.  I almost got the band and am so thankful I didn't.  Then, last year when I started researching it again I new I didn't want the band and was watching tons of YouTube videos, trying to convince myself that rny was right for me.  Then praise God I found out about VSG!! I am moving ahead no hesitation and am so glad that this procedure is available.  I'll be sleeved in April, and can't wait!!

I too only had the choice of the band or rny.  I went with the band as I didn’t want the re-routing of the intestines.  Then I found out the mal-absorption of the calories with the rny only last ~2 years but the mal-absorption of the nutrients last a lifetime.  I went with the band and did well with the restriction of the band, just not with the problems from the band itself.  So now I have the sleeve.  In between the band and the sleeve, I did tons of research on the sleeve.  Talked the daughter and a sister out of the band/rny into a sleeve and both have done great with it.  DD is two years out and over 100# down and the sister is 100 pounds down and out a little over a year.

 

Smart surgeon! Have a read through my blog on my profile. I think an entry in late October, early November goes over all the reasons why I went for the sleeve over the RnY and am so happy I did!

I had the same reservations as I was a heavy weight to start (370lb, but tall at 6'1). My surgeon recommended VSG rather than RNY.

Im down 120lbs in 6 months, which is more than his RNY patient stats at 12 months, so clearly VSG has been just as effective for me in terms of speed of loss AND I have kept my digestive system intact, which Im very happy about.

Im a very happy sleeve camper

 

 

I have absolutely no regrets with the sleeve--lost more then I initially wanted.  My friend had RNY about 10 years ago (before the sleeve was an option).  He recently told me that if he had to do it over again, he would have chosen the sleeve.