kesleea1

Height 5'4" Pre-op high 355 5/9/2008 vsg surgery 309 lbs 5/9/2009 panniculectomy 199 6/9/2009 lowest 189 7/30/2013 243 lbs I am not happy but not because my VSG failed. On the contrary it statistically did what it was supposed to do. Five years out 50/60 % weightloss. I recently called a well known Doc on the west coast about the DS who told me I should be happy that the surgery I had was a success. He said the only problem was I had the wrong surgery. Well, I had what I had. I hovered in the 219s for years until I was determined to see a DS surgeon who told me I didn't weigh enough for it so I ate donuts until I gained 30 lbs. I weighed enough then. Then the doc messed up some paperwork and I was denied by the insurance. This was last year. This year I am just thinking about how tired I am of this struggle. I am not looking through rose colored glasses anymore. I need to eat like a bird and cut out the refined sugars and I don't drink enough Water. I know what needs to change and I am slowly. If I can impart anything to heavyweight newbies it would be to maintain an attitude of I can after the honeymoon. Never give up or in. 240 from 250 is going in the right direction but wow it is so much slower and harder. My friend had the revision to DS because she gained from her lowest 236 back up to 355 from 425 prior to the VSG. She is 249 today and her surgery was last Oct. Even her loss is slowing down once again. Don't stop moving for anything. When you do inflammation takes over and will reverse everything you have worked so hard for. It also can kill you. The lightweights don't have as hard a time usually but for the 150 plus group this journey is what we make it.

Well for someone with over 150 lbs to lose the Docs tell me DS seems to get people closer to goal and keep them there longer. The vsg part is done first and the restructuring of the intestines part second. It is the most extreme of all the weightloss surgeries. A few different ones have also told me to revise to the R&Y. My own experience tells me if I did ever do it I would want the DS but I am not totally convinced yet. I need to work again maybe for a year and see if my sleeve will work it all out. I got too tired the last time, to impatient, and stress won over. The caloric/microbe malabsorption is the main difference when they remove a part of the small intestine.

Back in 2008 I started a OH group with a friend called "VSGers with 150 or more lbs to Lose". She is now a DSer who was adamant the VSG could "fix" her issues then. That was before she gained back 120 of the almost 200 she lost with the VSG. I hope the DS is the answer for her as it is a radical change to the anatomy. She will have no other route left after time spent in this one. She seems to be doing well now 9 mos out. I tried but hit road block after road block. I am reviving my life and my OH group with the VSG alone.

There isn't much I can top that with :-)...I have cried, prayed, searched for another fix. What I never did was fix my bad habit of going to food for emotional issues. Granted the VSG kept me from getting back up to over 300 lbs again but no truer words have ever been said than this is only a tool to aid in our own good decisions. Its not doom and gloom to tell the truth as you see it. Not everyone has the same experiences but this is mine.

I am happy to hear your iron is above average. I have heard too many horror stories about anemia after the VSG. You sound grounded and determined which will help you the rest of your life. Thanks for responding.

Watch for anemia. Iron deficiency after the VSG seems to be a rite of passage. I abhored those little pills and recently needed an iron infusion which almost killed me. I feel better but geesh. We all need to continue to get our vitamins and minerals in correctly and go to the doc regularly even if it isn't the vsg doc. The anemia thing will only get worse over the years. Tired doesn't describe the terrible feeling of having no energy at all. I also have serious arthritis now at 46. I had no problems walking before the VSG. Iron is critical.

What she would want for you and what she would do for you and with you. You are ONE person. If you forget to take care of YOU = ONE, you can't help anyone else. Get school DONE. LOVE and care for DAD but that can't consume YOU. SMALL small really small changes and keep them permanent until they are second nature. Its ok if you make mistakes as long as you learn from them. That is something I had a hard time with but I think I get it now. You do not want to undo what you have worked so hard for. You know the program.... you are still doing well... you can continue where your mom left off and believe she will see and share in your success.

My mom died in 2010 and my dad in 2012. I too felt responsible for my Dad after she died. I felt so lost for so long. I also am raising two boys as a single mom. Yes I am strong but stress takes no prisoners. It aims to destroy and does its job well. Don't let it win. Life has a way of achieving balance with or without our help. There is only so much we really can do to help our loved ones. Do your best but you NEED to take time for YOU....***HUGS***

In my five years since vsg...I lost both my parents to heart disease and cancer. I am so so sorry for your loss. Stress = Weight Gain or Weight Stall for most of us. Yoga, therapy, friends, church, love. ..knowing your mother wanted you to be taken care of and happy. You need to continue where she left off. Love yourself like she loved and lived for you. You need to find it in you. I lost my way and am just now trying to find my own way back. I know it's possible.