WLS grads 5, 10, 15, 20+ years out

I would do it again without a second thought.

I'll copy your questions & respond under the ***

Specific questions i have are:

One you didn't ask, RNY, very radically distal, 10/5/94, 150# lost

How is your quality of life now?
****** excellent! But I keep getting older!

What do you eat and how much now?
******** I do 6 protein drinks per day, lots of vites, the whole water routine and 4 meals. 2 are more meal like, 2 are more snack like. I avoid milk & sugar, but otherwise, eat normal food. I do not avoid fats

A bfast for me might be 1 egg, 1 bacon, 1 sourdough toast
a recent dinner was: pork roast, inc. potatoes and such or last week: pork chop, cooked in canned tomatoes, peas, potatoes (just simmered all together) (can you tell I wanted pork?)

The other two are likely to be a protein bar (high protein, less than 5g sugar) or my latest craze, honey crisp apple slices with Bariatric Advantage cinnamon calciums crumbled on the slice

Did/do you have any complications now?
******** define complication. I have osteoporosis, what they didn't know then....... ANd probably the most annoying thing is the hypoglycemia.

Did you reach your weight goal and stay there?
********* Hahaha1 My goal was 150, ok, 135, maybe 125, NO, not 120? WOW, 115, then 110? is 104 a real weight? LOLOL So, my first goal was 150, then 135, then my dream was the 120-125 range. But I parked at 112 and stay here unless I jump into bed with sugar. I have had 3 regains, at 5 yrs, 6#; at 8 yrs, 8# (from fruit!) and at 11 yrs (they never promised me smart in the package!), 13# which I refer to as my fudge pounds.

This morning I weighed 110

LOL!! Wow, you are amazing! would you do it all over again, knowing what you know now? That seems like a lot of food. Do you eat normal portions, or smaller than normal?

I would. Heck, I DID. Since I had such an oldie one I had to repeat it, but I couldn't get on that table fast enough. No way did I want to go back to the way I was.

Oh no! small portions. 1 egg, 1 bacon, 1 toast. But I couldn't eat a whole egg til I was 9 months out! But like child sized, not infant sized.

It's been almost 8 yrs since my revision, even.

I'm almost 6-1/2 years out of a Lap-Band. Quality of Life:  OK... better since I don't have much fill in my Band (only 1 cc.)  BUT, I can still PB (Productive Burp...vomit) even when there's nothing in my Band.  That's gotten really tiring.  It's not an every day thing... but when it happens, I regret my Band. What do you eat & how much now:  I eat everything.. although I have a tough time with hot dogs, chunks of beef/lamb, steak, and dry chicken.  They make me PB.  I sometimes can handle bread, pizza (one piece maybe), and pasta... although if I add any more to my Band those things will be out. Did/do you ahve any complications? no. Did you reach your goal weight and stay there?? I lost 95 pounds in the first 18 months and then became preggers.  I was not to goal, but was at a happy point for me.  After three pregnancies in four years (and no fills), I've regained 1/2 of my weight.  I'm now trying to lose the weight... and will probably revise my surgery. 

Thank you for this. Why are you going for the VSG instead of any other?

I think because it works the way the Band was supposed to. I've been hanging out on the VSG board here for two years now.  I've seen people who have only 75 pounds to lose.. and people who have 200 pounds to lose... all lose weight with the VSG.  They don't complain about PBing, sliming, food intolerances, etc.  They don't worry about vitamins.  If you want a restrictive only operation, I truly believe the VSG is the way to go. * No fills, no errosions, etc. (No cost of fills too... which I still pay for... $350/fill... 6 years later.) * Removes 85-90% of your stomach, which significantly reduces the amount of ghrelin produced (hunger hormone) * Pyloric valve in tact...so no dumping * NO food intolerances * Many people report a change in tastes... sugary food no longer tasetes good * No pouch/stoma for things to get stuck in The potential disadvantage is that as a restrictive only operation, regain is more possible.  However, I haven't seen much of that.  It was designed to be the first part of a DS... so you can easily revise it to either an RNY or DS later down the road. There also is not a lot of long-term data... 3 years is max.

I originally wanted the VSG, but my insurance wouldnt pay for it. My doctor recommended RnY for me. So i went with it. I dont have any regrets, but i wanted the VSG for the same reasons.

i will answer for my mom here as she is visiting me right now. She is 31 years out from RNY and is 71 years old. Quality: She says her life is great, she's healthy and knows she wouldn't be able to move if she still weighed around 280. Eats: She eats everything she wants, no food is off-limits. She eats small portions in 3 meals a day. Her meals include meat, veggies, and usually a peice of bread. She doesn't drink with meals still. She enjoys a snack or sweet every day, but doesn't binge on anything. In the past 2 years she is drinking more water, which is always good.

Complications: She never had any, and her bone density test was good last year. She recently started taking some vitamins, but has never had that habit before.

Goal: Mom reached her goal weight, but has regained 16 pounds back over the intervening 31 years. She remains healthy and comfortable. No diabetes, no hypertension, great cholesterol, no medications except an asthma inhaler because she SMOKES! She just corrected me, she takes potassium, which I didn't know. So inhaler and potassium.

That's cool to read! Congrats to your mom!