please give info

please let me know which one you thin was right for me? VSG, RNY, or Lapband? I weigh 370 and I have sleep apnea. I havent been aproved yet through my insurance, but if I am exepted which one do you think is a good one for me? which is more dangerous? was it extremly painful? I just dont know which one is the best decidion. I have to lsoe over 200 pounds.

http://vsgfaq.wordpress.com

Try this link. This is a VSG forum so we tend to favor VSG.

People have lost over 200 pounds.

I had practically no pain, others had some pain. Everyone is different. Do a youtube search for VSG videos from people who are recovering from the surgery.

My sleeve went very very well. Only hospitalized two days minimal pain (3 on the 10 scale at most) and it was gone by discharge. have had more discomfort going to the dentist than this surgery. The sleeve is a very low risk surgery but talk to your surgeon about the pros and cons of each one. Hope this helps and let me know if I can help you further.

Ditto Shrinking, and have you gone to an information seminar yet ?-  it a good place to get a baseline of info.  Also your surgeon should provide guidance.  For instance,  my surgeon would not do the lap-band on me because it is apparently not the best choice for someone of my weight.  I was 413 at surgery on 6-13-11.  He strongly recommended sleeve over RNY saying there was less likely a chance of complications again due to my weight.  I was very lucky,  I  had no significant pain or problems with recovery.  well that is my two cents.  hope it helped.good . I am sure the RNY forum would speaks the praises of that procedure. luck on you choice

 I chose this surgery because it seemed like life after would be the most normal.  There shouldn't be absorption issues, you can take pills and you don't have to go in for adjustments.  Once its done its done.  A lot of people on this forum have had revisions from lap band to VSG  for multiple reasons but I have read that someone had a lap band for 7 years and threw up everyday!!!  I am 3 weeks post op and haven't thrown up once.  I would agree that you should go to a seminar where they tell you about all the different surgeries.  I have a cousin that had RNY and had 200 pounds to lose and she loves it, says she would do it again in a heartbeat!!  Its all up to you!! 

I was in some pain but it has all gone away.  My surgeon told me right before surgery that it will feel like the worst flu you have ever had for about 3 days and he was pretty much right but about day 3 I started feeling much much better!!!  

At the seminar I went to the doctor said the lap band is the least invasive, VSG is in the middle and RYN  is most invasive. 

If you are considering the RNY, then you should also consider the DS as it has similar downsides due to the malabsorptive component (the intestinal re-routing) but generally gives better results in total weight loss and long term weight maintenance. My wife had a DS, lost over 200 lb and has maintained that for over 6 years now. The intestinal re-routing of the DS results in lower absorption of fats which help in maintaining the weight loss long term, but also requires a somewhat higher diligence in taking vitamins to make up for those that don't get absorbed as well (the RNY similarly malabsorbs some vitamins and particularly minerals, though not much in the way of calories long term.) Generally we all need to be taking supplements long term, irrespective the procedure we have done, simply because we are eating less long term, and in some cases much less than the nominal 1800-2000 calorie a day diets upon which the basic RDAs are based, but the RNY and DS patients will be more sensitive to these requirements. If you have a hard time taking your meds consistently, then the RNY and DS will be more difficult for you to live with.

The lapbands are generally considered to be somewhat safer initially because the procedure is simpler and doesn't involve any cutting of the intestinal tract, but overall provide disappointing results, particularly for high BMI patients, and has a higher long term complication rate. Something on the order of 25% of them are removed and/or revised to other procedures due to poor weight loss or complications. Many people jump on the band because it is a simple, usually outpatient, quick procedure (which it is,) but find complications down the road, while the other procedures are somewhat more involved initially, but have few complications past the intial surgery period.

The VSG provides similar results to the RNY but with a simpler procedure and fewer side effects. Many people have lost over 200 lb with it, but the big unknown is how durable the loss is - it is the newest of the mainstream procedures so it doesn't have the track record, but the long term results should be similar to the RNY since it is also basically a restrictive procedure. There is a line of thought now that maintaining the pyloric valve at the bottom of the stomach is helpful in hunger control and weight maintenance and is part of why the DS has much better long term record than the RNY which removes the pyloris from the system.

The VSG, RNY and DS are very similar in their surgical risk level despite their somewhat varying compexity levels - not a lot of docs do the DS because it is more technically challenging than the others, but that also means that DS docs tend to be the better ones in the field (at least those who are well experienced at it), but as with any procedure you should try to find the best surgeon that you can

In my mind the decision comes down mostly to what you are most comfortable with and which one matches your personality best. If you have great difficulty controlling your weight - lots of yo-yo-ing or it is just continually moving up, then you may not be able to maintain your weight once you lose it with a purely restrictive procedure like the VSG, RNY or band and the DS may work better for you. If you have had success in the past with losing and maintaining some weight stability, but can't lose enough, then you should have a good chance at success with the VSG - that's why I chose it over the DS that my wife has succeeded with.

Pain with all of these procedures is variable depending upon the individual, but is usually minimal and short term (as in the first week or less), particularly when done laproscopically. The real pain comes in after you lose that 200 lb and decide to do the reconstructive surgery to lose the excess that's still hanging around on many people - that's where the big incisions are and pain/discomfort is hard to avoid.

I've been down the lapband road and would NEVER, EVER recommend it to anybody--especially someone with a high BMI. Good Luck in whatever you choose. :)