Question about VSG and RNY

  My BMI is about 38 and I am doing some research abut which of these surgeries would be better for me. I already went to a seminar so I know who they are performed but Since I only need to lose about 70-75 lbs, I am quiet scared if I get the RNY I will loose too much weight? So with the VSG I could lose the 75 lbs I need and  not too much? I need suggestions. I don't know if someone had both surgeries done. Thanks!!!  

They are both good surgeries.  I have heard mixed info when it comes to whether or not the VSG can cure diabetes and other co morbidities.  My doctor said only the RNY does, but people on OH have said it does.  Who knows.  I can assume it would help at least, but then the WL itself helps to relieve symptoms of HBP or diabetes.

The VSG would allow you to eat a wider variety of foods, like sugar, as you will not dump.  It will also not have any malabsorbtion so you won't need to to vitamin dependent like us with the RNY.  You can still lose a lot of weight with the VSG, even more then 75lbs. 

Most people with RNY don't dump.  Only about 30% do.

People with VSG still need vitamins.  Since they eat much less food than "normal" people, they need vitamins in order to get all the nutrients they need.  The risk of nutritional deficiencies is less than with RNY, but they still need to take vitamins every day.

 LOL, see every time I comment on VSG vs RNY someone says the opposite!  (in a good way!) 

I think the VSG is still a very new surgery and what it can and can not do is still on the table to be proven.  I have seen many posts where people have said the VSG does not require the vitamin devotion that us RNY patients have, a life long commitment.  In time VSG patients may eat more "normal" portions and not need to have the vitamins.  

I would not call myself a dumper, but with a RNY I am still always careful with sugar.  At a wedding I took 2 bites of cake and had a headache and racing heart for an hour.  Last might I had one bite of a cookie for a persons birthday party (did not want to tell them all I was a RNY patient so I took a bite just to make everyone happy) and it did nothing to me.  So it's a crap shot when you have a RNY.  Maybe only 30% of RNY patients dump but 100% of VSG patients DO NOT dump, so there is no risk of it, ever.

I don't think you'd lose too much weight with either.  Your body weight will stabilize itself.

Partial and total gastrectomies are very old surgeries with a long track record, used in treatment of stomach cancer and ulcers.  It's "new" as a stand-alone weight loss surgery, although a partial gastrectomy is the first part of the duodenal switch.  The "sleeve" part just describes the shape of the new stomach.

I'm one of the people who had diabetes and hypertension resolved.  My doc told me it'd happen.  I think docs who aren't as familiar with the sleeve are more wishy-washy about what it does and doesn't do.

Kelly is right - we still take vitamins.  Multivitamins, calcium citrate, B12 and iron (if you're pre-menopausal or anemic), but we don't have the same malabsorption as RNY or DS, so vitamin deficiencies are less significant.  And VSGers can dump...so can folks with normal stomachs.  That's just kinda luck of the draw.

The value to me of VSG is that everything works normally and you get to keep your pyloric valve.  But it's a restrictive procedure only, so you need to make sure based on how you eat that restriction is enough to make you successful.

 emelar you are absolutely right, I had a VSG in '09 and due to extreme esophageal erosion (from the VSG) and more weight to lose, I'm converting to the RNY.  I lost 100 lbs fast then gained 25lbs back ,to be fair I do have a metabolic disorder but still, your body does stabalize, I haven't gained in months just steady for now. Look at your co-morbidities and long term, make the decision thats right for you and take your surgeon's opinion, if I had listened to him in the first place, I wouldn't be in this prediciment.

Why are you "scared" to get the RNY??

VSG vs. RNY = A "restrictive" surgery vs. a "restrictive w/malabsorbtion"
Of course both different procedures but... surgery is surgery and VSG is still consider "investigational" where as RNY has been around for years.

My eating disorder wasn't just how much I ate, it's also what I ate.
I had my RNY six months ago - Initally I was  seeking approval for the VSG but was ultimately denied by my insurance. Now that I have my RNY I can't help but wonder if I'd have this much success w/a sleeve. I haven't dumped but then again I don't eat much in terms of sugar or fried foods... I'm terrified of testing the waters... hopefully I can hang on to that feeling!!!!!  

yOU GOT TO DO WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU i'VE NOT HAD SURGERY YET BUT MY CHIOICE WAS RNY BECAUSE RESEARCH BOTH BUT i DIDN'T LIKE THEY CUT MOST OF YOUR STOMACH AWAY AND IF YOU HAD TO HAVE A REVISION IS RYN

 Thank you so much for  your responses .So I have a question any of you who got the VSG had any problems after all? I mean I was reading horror stories about complications because the staples,like your stomach could open etc 

 no horror story but as I said above, my esophagus eroded after the VSG.  It's common to have reflux with the sleeve because the bottom portion of the sleeve is the portion of the stomach that creates the majority of the stomach acid and then your stomach becomes a narrow tube, or as I so loveingly refer to it as- the tube of fire- and causes the acid to go into your esophagus and erode it.  I also must say that I have been battling with the volume of my sleeve for a while, I cannot eat a whole meal but I still can eat.  If I had the option I would have just gotten the RNY to begin with, then again, I had 200+ lbs to lose and I still have like 130lbs left to go.... Like I said, research and make an informed decision.