VSG-ers some thoughts?

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I_HaveWings
I_HaveWings Posts: 3
in Health and Weight Loss
I am too terrified for Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, but am definitely qualified for it and my doctor recommended it as a long term weight loss solution. I assume though that its the very low calorie, restricted diet that allows you to lose so much weight in such a short period of time. I was thinking of just following that.

What are you guy's thoughts?

Is it the low calorie diet that has made you so successful?

Or something else.

Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

Replies

  • farfromthetree
    farfromthetree Posts: 982 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Take it from me. It took me 20 years to figure it out. I tried everything under the sun and it is as simple as calories in/calories out. It takes time, persistence, consistency and educating yourself. MFP is a great place to learn. this link is all you need to get started. copy and paste and go to first page. Read all of the links as you go.

    http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1080242/a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants/p1

    Also try and friend people on here who have been successful, log daily and can offer solid advice. (They are usually the people with thousands of posts!!) These are the people I learned from.
  • mykaylis
    mykaylis Posts: 320 Member
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    i'm waiting in line for the sleeve myself. from what i can tell, the rapid weight loss immediately following surgery is from extreme caloric restriction, which is due in part to the lack of ghrelin that makes us hungry, and part to the meal size restriction. i really do think it's the best thing for me. i've been losing weight on my own but my BMI is still hovering around 40, which it has been for several years (it's been 50 lbs heavier than i am, too). if you have keyhole surgery the risk is fairly minimal - i had that for getting my gallbladder out, and recovery from that was really fast. hardly any scarring either. obviously a gastrectomy is more extensive, but i am really not afraid of it.

    i hope you find all the answers you are looking for :)
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    They're usually encourage you to follow the diet before the surgery, anyway. It helps you see if you're capable of following it and it takes a few pounds off, which is always good before surgery.

    So, check with the doctor and see if it's okay, then go for it!

    Have you tried following a serious diet yet? By serious, I mean a diet that you stick to and has you eating healthy food - have you tried the boring old "eat right and exercise"?
  • I_HaveWings
    I_HaveWings Posts: 3
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    Yes I have and I lost quite a bit until this year when I gained it all back, and then some. My doctor was considering it an option because of my thyroid issue and she talked about the way the surgery affects certain things in the body, insulin and metabolism being a few of them. Thanks for the advice.
  • paul87920
    paul87920 Posts: 165 Member
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    It was the perfect option for me. It was less invasive than the bypass, yet more effective than the lap band. It removes a portion of the stomach that produces a hormone that makes you hungry. I weighed 463 last May. I weigh 336 today. Nearly 130 lbs in 6 months.

    That being said it is a tool. You have to use it correctly. If you don't relearn how to eat, you'll gain it all back. I've met people on my journey that are going through their second surgery because they thought this was a magic cure. It's not. It requires your effort.

    Farfromthetree was right when he said that it's a matter of calories in/calories out. With VSG, it's pretty damn hard to get those 'calories in' because I no longer have stomach stretched to gargantuan size, and I'm no longer hungry all the time.

    As an added bonus, as my body shrinks I find it easier to exercise 'calories out'. I went from breathless and having to take a 10 minute break after climbing one flight of stairs, to hiking the Cliffs of Moher in October which you can see in the background of my profile pic.

    I'm regaining my life back between the work I'm putting into myself (because I do diet and exercise), and the VSG tool gave me the extra boost I needed.
  • paul87920
    paul87920 Posts: 165 Member
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    I'd also like to add that there is a group of us both pre & post op that can answer questions and concerns you might have. community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/1052-vsgers
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
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    It is surgery, so you have to weigh the benefits against the possible dangers of surgery. I had a family friend who passed away a week after the procedure because a clot formed and caused a heart attack (when it broke away from the surgery site). This is definitely something you should put some serious thought into and make sure you understand the risks.
  • fsr402
    fsr402 Posts: 2 Member
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    I had the VSG on 11/19/2014
    I had to do a doctor supervised diet with monthly weigh ins, meetings with a dietition, a behaviorist and support group meetings for 7 months beforehand. During that time I went from 315 to 298 the day of surgery. Today, 17 days later I weigh in at 277. I feel great. But it's not easy. I work all day to get 64oz of water in and 60 grams of protein. My highest calorie day so far was just shy of 600 calories.
    The surgery is NOT the easy way out. It's a life long commitment that you have to work at.

    I used to be the person that said it was cheating. That was 4 years ago when I was running marathons and half ironman races at 250 pounds. I averaged over 50 miles a week running and I was not losing weight. I would lose and gain the same 40 pounds over and over. Then I got hurt running a 25K and I was not able to run for almost a year. I gained 70 pounds in the first 6 months. I have been trying to at least lose that weight for the last 3 years and it was not working for me.
    The surgery for me is a way to get my weight down so that I can get back to doing those races and activities that I loved but can not do at this weight. As stated before. It's a tool and if you don't use it the right way then it's not worth having.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    My personal opinion is...

    If you are going to have to severely adjust your calorie intake regardless... Why not do that in the first place in lieu of possible life threatening and body altering surgery?

    I don't think the surgery is necessary unless it's an extreme case.

    With all the risks, including permanently and irreversibly altering your ability to consume foods in excess of tiny tiny portions, leakingof the stomach, blood clots and infections, secondary revision surgery, damage to the vagus nerve causing constant lifelong nausea, vomiting, gastroparesis delaying food from moving into the small intestine, vitamin deficiencies due to poor absorption rate, etc.

    I mean... It's up to you. But I'd be damned if I altered my body that way and I could have just worked with a dietician for proper nutrition/calorie monitoring, a psychologist/counselor for any food-related addictions or problems, and a trainer who'd keep me accountable. And I'm sure it'd be 1/10th the price of surgery!


    Good luck op!
  • Missjulesdid
    Missjulesdid Posts: 1,444 Member
    edited December 2014
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    I lost 70 pounds prior to surgery following a VLCD for a few months that was prescribed by my doctor. I was only able to stick with it because I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. There is NO WAY I would have been able to stick with eating that few calories for the length of time it would take to lose 200 pounds.. and when I went back to eating "normally" I would have gained it all back for sure without the surgery!

    If you're not sure about the surgery DON'T DO IT!!! It is irreversible and you'd better make sure it's something you can live with for the rest of your life. That said, I had the surgery 20 months ago and I would do it all over again. I LOVE IT and I don't miss large portions of food at all. It was the SINGLE BEST THING I've ever done for myself. I feel normal for the first time ever. I don't constantly obsess about food although am still a total FOODIE and I ENJOY food, I don't obsess over it. I can eat NORMAL sized portions. A banana as a snack. A meal about the size of a lean cuisine.. I get plenty of nutrition and have EXCELLENT vitamin levels. I had zero complications and felt fantastic almost right away after surgery. I still have to work at losing weight. I still have to exercise. I still have to make smart choices about what I'm going to eat. Having the sleeve just helps me eat less because of limited space in my stomach and also because of reduced hunger hormone.

    Having the sleeve does NOT help you lose weight.. EATING FEWER CALORIES helps you to lose weight.. and the sleeve helps you eat fewer calories!!! Now the Bypass is a different story, The bypass has a malabsorptive component so you actually absorb fewer calories, but with the sleeve and the band that's not the case, it's strictly something that helps you eat less..... SOOOOOOOO if you're able to eat less on your own without the surgery then DO IT and your outcome will be the same as with the surgery.. Do not cut into your body and take the risks of surgery if you feel you can do it without.. but if you've tried everything and are mentally and physically prepared for surgery, It can be a wonderful tool to help you along on your journey.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    HaveWings wrote: »
    I am too terrified for Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy, but am definitely qualified for it and my doctor recommended it as a long term weight loss solution. I assume though that its the very low calorie, restricted diet that allows you to lose so much weight in such a short period of time. I was thinking of just following that.

    What are you guy's thoughts?

    Is it the low calorie diet that has made you so successful?

    Or something else.

    Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!


    Yes. You are right.

  • asyrinsgirl
    asyrinsgirl Posts: 55 Member
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    rainbowbow wrote: »
    My personal opinion is...

    If you are going to have to severely adjust your calorie intake regardless... Why not do that in the first place in lieu of possible life threatening and body altering surgery?

    I don't think the surgery is necessary unless it's an extreme case.

    With all the risks, including permanently and irreversibly altering your ability to consume foods in excess of tiny tiny portions, leakingof the stomach, blood clots and infections, secondary revision surgery, damage to the vagus nerve causing constant lifelong nausea, vomiting, gastroparesis delaying food from moving into the small intestine, vitamin deficiencies due to poor absorption rate, etc.

    I mean... It's up to you. But I'd be damned if I altered my body that way and I could have just worked with a dietician for proper nutrition/calorie monitoring, a psychologist/counselor for any food-related addictions or problems, and a trainer who'd keep me accountable. And I'm sure it'd be 1/10th the price of surgery!


    Good luck op!

    To Rainbowbow, I completely respect your opinion, but it doesn't work like that for some of us. I have PCOS, and even working my *kitten* off with a trainer, logging and eating plans with a nutritionist, and counseling, I lost all of 6 pounds in 8 months and couldnt get pregnant even on fertility. I chose the VSG because it was something, the only other thing, *I* could do to get my weight down. Other than weighing in at 350 lbs and having PCOS (which I've had since I was a teen), my health was tip top. I was faced with either spending many thousands on increasingly invasive fertility treatments if I wanted to get and stay pregnant and them maybe not working, or taking that money and spending it on something that would benefit me in the long run for sure.

    We don't make this decision lightly or because we think it's easier. We make this decision because it's the most useful tool out there. The surgery doesn't make you lose weight, you do. The surgery is a tool just like that trainer and that psychologist and nutritionist (all of whom I still see). But it's the tool that turned the tides for me and for MANY others. And yes, there are risks, but there are risks with everything. One way is not any better than any others. The sleeve is the best thing I have ever done for myself.
  • milaortiz30
    milaortiz30 Posts: 25 Member
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    noooo not at all. you still choose what you put in your mouth. but where it does help you is you don't really get hungry anymore. PLUS you can't really over eat. I have once since my sleeve (just trying to get used to everything) and i threw it up. The not getting hungry is the thing that helps but all the decisions are still yours. It's not the easy way out. TRUST ME. It's hard but it's worth it if you are really ready to make a change.

    VSG should be a last resort in my opinion and for me, it was. And i don't regret it one bit. But everyone has their own journey. I don't think eating a super low calorie diet is the way to do it. I would go to a doctor or try to do some supervised diet to make sure you are getting proper nutrition.

    Best of luck to you.
  • milaortiz30
    milaortiz30 Posts: 25 Member
    edited October 2015
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    asyrinsgirl wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    My personal opinion is...

    If you are going to have to severely adjust your calorie intake regardless... Why not do that in the first place in lieu of possible life threatening and body altering surgery?

    I don't think the surgery is necessary unless it's an extreme case.

    With all the risks, including permanently and irreversibly altering your ability to consume foods in excess of tiny tiny portions, leakingof the stomach, blood clots and infections, secondary revision surgery, damage to the vagus nerve causing constant lifelong nausea, vomiting, gastroparesis delaying food from moving into the small intestine, vitamin deficiencies due to poor absorption rate, etc.

    I mean... It's up to you. But I'd be damned if I altered my body that way and I could have just worked with a dietician for proper nutrition/calorie monitoring, a psychologist/counselor for any food-related addictions or problems, and a trainer who'd keep me accountable. And I'm sure it'd be 1/10th the price of surgery!


    Good luck op!

    To Rainbowbow, I completely respect your opinion, but it doesn't work like that for some of us. I have PCOS, and even working my *kitten* off with a trainer, logging and eating plans with a nutritionist, and counseling, I lost all of 6 pounds in 8 months and couldnt get pregnant even on fertility. I chose the VSG because it was something, the only other thing, *I* could do to get my weight down. Other than weighing in at 350 lbs and having PCOS (which I've had since I was a teen), my health was tip top. I was faced with either spending many thousands on increasingly invasive fertility treatments if I wanted to get and stay pregnant and them maybe not working, or taking that money and spending it on something that would benefit me in the long run for sure.

    We don't make this decision lightly or because we think it's easier. We make this decision because it's the most useful tool out there. The surgery doesn't make you lose weight, you do. The surgery is a tool just like that trainer and that psychologist and nutritionist (all of whom I still see). But it's the tool that turned the tides for me and for MANY others. And yes, there are risks, but there are risks with everything. One way is not any better than any others. The sleeve is the best thing I have ever done for myself.

    i agree with you asyrinsgirl. It's not easy and yes there are some complications but this is the safest weight loss surgery out there. If this is someone's opinion it just means they are not in a desperate enough situation to do something like this. We were. She's prolly some 20 year old 130lb girl lol

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