430 LBS and worried about surgery choice GSV vs. RNY

Hi All-

I started my pre-op requirements in January for the GSV. I started at 438 LBS's and am not 430 as of yesterdy.

(GOOOO Me )  

My concern is that I may be making the wrong choice with choosing the GSV because the impact on weight loss is only 65% of you excess weight loss vs. 85% for those who have had he RNY surgery. Also I've not seem many testimonials from those who had GSV that share my weight class. My surgeon is capable of both and doesn't have a preference for either one but he doesn't feel that it will make a big difference between the two surgeries. 

Anyone out there in my weight class and GSV pre-op willing to share your experience? 

Thanx!

I have not had surgery yet; however, I started the supervised diet 4 months ago at 444 lbs. There are people that start at a weight like ours and are very successful...it seems to me that you get out what you put in to it and that is the case for any of these surgeries. If you are dedicated, you can make it happen.

Again, I'm not an expert because like I said, I'm about 2 months away from surgery, so I guess time will tell how it works out for me!

my surgeon prefers  doing the sleeve on heavy weight it is much safer

 and there are very many heavy weights doing great on the sleeve

 check out the over 50 bmi forum 

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/bmi_over_50/

 

 both are only a tool if you stick to the plan you can lose all your extra weight with ether surgery, but consider the life style you will be living the rest of your life

do you need to or ever need to take nsaid pain killers you can with the sleeve but not rny

 you have time to decide , it is more important which doctor you use and what his/ her plan is than which surgery you get

 you need a plan you can stick to the rest of your life , do your research 

I understand your dilemma. I am not in your weight class but can understand why you are hesitant with VSG over RNY. I will tell you I have seen people on this board start off with a high BMI and be very successful. You will drop weight quick with the changes VSG will bring you. In my opinion, your biggest challenge will be when your weight loss slows down. You have to form good habits from the beginning and stick to your plan. I believe you can be successful with either choice. RNY has several benefits too but for me, the VSG was/is the right choice.
Have you researched the DS? This is a very successful surgery too.

my husband was 389 and had vsg and now weighs 193. my brother was 355 and had vsg and now weighs 185. vsg can work just as well as rny with the right surgeon and following instructions. i chose vsg because i didn't want malabsorbtion and restrictions on medications in the future. i have lost i25 lbs and weigh 121. keep researching and good luck with your journey. i like the idea of vsg because they don't rearrange normal anatomy. diane

I started at 375 (5'6") and am now at 160 with 10 more to go. It's hard work and slow going, but totally doable. Many people here have lost.

It really depends on you. Do your research and choose the surgery that will best fit with who you are and what you want. xoxo

you can switch to the DS later if the VSG wasnt successful.  RNY is good also, but i was hesitant to jump right to a surgery that involved malabsorption of food and nutriet.  if you are good with that or fee it will work better for you considering your habits ... then go with it!  I'm 366 now and i was a bit on the fence also, I chose the VSG because i take meds for unrelated issues and didnt want to have to mess them them too much.

Actually, those numbers are wrong. The 5-year average maintained % of excess weight lost for the VSG is 65%, and 65-70% for the RNY. However, those numbers tend to go down over the following five years.

You really need to be looking at the DS. It has a TEN-YEAR post-op average maintained excess weight loss of 78%.

I started at 370 (6'1), with a BMI of 50 and had thought RNY for myself. My surgeon suggested VSG because of my age (39 at the time) and the fact that I was still physically active. Like you, I was worried that I wouldn't lose enough in comparison to VSG, but my surgeons stats showed that while the RNY people tend to lose faster, both surgeries end up with the same numbers in terms of total lose by 24 months. I was more comfortable with VSG as I liked the fact that my digestive system was still intact, so less chance of long term complications.

Im now 6 months and 1 week out from surgery and have lost 143lbs. This is well above both his average VSG and RNY patients at this stage.

Im 8lbs away from his goal, and 20lbs away from my personal goal in just over 6 months and I feel great. So for me, VSG was totally the right way to go.

I started at 420 (maybe even more really). Lost 51 before surgery and I'm 184 today. It really works if you put in the effort. Good luck to you.