Then and now

I lost about 70 pounds pre-op and I know I could have kept going.  Would I have been able to maintain it long term?  I know the answer to that question is a big fat no.  Eventually, something would give and I would fo back to my old ways, history has proven that.

I am only 5 1/2 weeks into this new life and I am still adjusting/learning.  It has not been easy or fun and I have questioned my decision.  This morning I weighed in at 99 pounds lost so I know I made the right decision for me and my family.

The only regret I have is all the hair I've lost.   I certainly wish I could have lost all this weight without the surgery but "the best indicator of future behavior is past behavior".  And for 30 years I proved that I couldn't get to goal weight or maintain any amount of loss.  

The benefits are FAR outweighing any of the drawbacks.  By leaps and bounds!  

Chin up!  If that's your only regret, then you are in luck!  The hair does come back.  My hair was at its worst right around 1 year after surgery.  I have a full head of hair now and have so for quite some time.

Good to know!  I have been so bummed with all the stories people tell of their hair being back to "normal" after 9-12 months and mine still looks like crap...maybe even worse than crap :-(   Glad to hear there's still hope for me! 

I did everything they said to do- zinc, vitamins, protein- but still lost soooo much hair.  Finally after a year, I cut it short, and stopped lightening/highlighting per my hairstylist recommendation.  That worked better than any supplement!

These questions come up from time to time:

(1) The only regrets are not doing it sooner and all the years lost to obesity

(2) Not only is it "no" it couldn't be done without the sleeve, but "hell no!"

(3) Benefits are astronomical, the payback is off the charts.  There is literally nothing in life where the benefits so vastly outweigh the effort as much as this process.

I not only changed physically, but mentally and emotionally as well.  There's no way to fully describe the complete turn around this makes in your life.  When facing this process, at the beginning, you'll likely think in very small terms what you'd like to achieve to be happier and healthier.  However, you'll vastly exceed those limits and expectations.  All it takes is a little patience and consistency.

I'm still on the fence.  I love my new body and being able to comfortably fit anywhere.  The surgery did exactly what I was told it would do as far as losing weight is concerned.  I'm pretty confident that once I reach goal I will be able to maintain it.

I doubt very much I would have maintained any loss I've done on my own.  Too many obese family members to watch and my own failures tell me that.

I've had complications though and after 4 months still struggle to get food and drink in.  It's not a matter of not wanting to but it causes me pain and I dehydrate easily.  Luckily I'm not the norm. I'm confident that this won't last forever but until it goes away I will probably have mixed feelings about MY surgery.

I went on my first doctor-supervised diet at age NINE, got my first diet pills at age ELEVEN. Before I chose WLS at age 45, I'd been on one diet or another nearly all my life. Sure, I'd lose weight, but then I'd regain it, plus some extra.

When I decided to get off the diet merry-go-round, I wanted to 1) stop dieting, and 2) stop fearing regain. All the dieting I had done over the years had honed my already highly efficient metabolism into a wickedly super-absorbing, fat-storing machine. I was one of those people who cold store 4 out of every 5 calories I ate.

The RNY scared me, and when I thought it was my only option, I put off WLS for several years. Eventually, however, it was lose weight or die, so in comparison the RNY didn't look so bad.

During the process of getting scheduled for the RNY, I learned about a little-known procedure called the Duodenal Switch. The DS has the same stomach as the VSG/Sleeve, plus an intestinal bypass similar to, but more effective than, that of the RNY. I was immediately sold on the DS---I could keep a fully-functional stomach! (It was the pouch/stoma thing that so frightened me about the RNY.)

10+ years ago, very few people were doing the Sleeve as a stand-alone WLS, so I never really considered it. Probably a good thing, because I now know that restriction alone would NOT have done the trick FOR ME. Yes, I do have to toss back a handful of supplements 4 times a day, but the many, many benefits of the DS hugely outweigh the minor inconvenience of taking vitamins.

For people with a normally-functioning metabolism, the Sleeve is a wonderful WLS. My Sleeve has given me wonderful things---it's changed my hunger dramatically, and it's given me the ability to eat in moderation without feeling deprived or like I'm 'dieting'. I get full and satisfied on small-normal portions, even 10+ years after surgery.

But *I* needed more---I needed the life-long malabsorption of a significant per centage of the calories I eat that the full DS gave me. I'm effortlessly maintaining a loss of 170 pounds, all without counting calories or forbidding myself certain foods. (The DS has the very BEST long-term, maintained weight-loss stats, especially for those of us with a BMI greater than 50. It's also got the best stats for resolving or preventing things like diabetes and high cholesterol, and like the Sleeve, it allows NSAIDs.)

I've had zero complications, and have never had one moment's regret. Think long and hard about what YOU body needs, and if you need only restriction, go with the Sleeve. If you do need restriction, go with the full DS.

Good luck!

Is there anything that you really regret about wls specifically vsg?

There is nothing I regret at all about my surgery, let alone "really regret."

Do you ever wish you would of just did it without it?

No, this is the best health-related decision I have ever made in my life. I never even had buyer's remorse immediately after surgery. I look back on my surgery and the only thing that freaks me out is imagining . . . what if I never got motivated to do this? What if I never learned about vsg or considered wls? I would still be living the same horrible life as I was before!

Could you of done it without it?

Lost 170+ lbs? My past history of obesity since toddlerhood pretty much shows the answer to that is absolutely not.

Are the benefits outweighing everything else?

For me there is no "everything else" to be outweighed. All the ways my life has changed since surgery are positive.

There is absolutely nothing that I regret about having VSG.  I would do it again in a heartbeat if necessary to have what I have now.  

Sure, if I could do it without surgery and MAINTAIN the loss, that would be best, but I lost weight six times in my life only to gain it all back, so I knew that maintaining weight loss was not something I could do without the surgery.  I am almost five years out, and I eat about the same as most of my skinny friends eat.  I have maintained my weight loss and am 108 lbs. as of this morning.  ( I am 5'1 3/4", the 3/4 makes a HUGE difference :)  ).