Weight regain with VSG?

[kromrider 3]

Weight regain is something that i worry about as like most of us I have gained and lost this weight many times. In the past when I have dieted I have always felt deprived. I really do not feel deprived with the sleeve. I remember how bad i felt when I was 400 pounds and I never want to go back. I had most of my stomach surgically removed to assist me in losing weight. I watch what I eat every day but i am much less obsessed with food. Sometimes I make bad choices but most of the time I make good choices. I do not beat myself up oer the bad choices. I never eat and drink at the same time. I exercise regularly. I am very active in my daily life. I weigh myself a couple of times a week. If I ever begin to gain weight I want to know about it right away. I dont think I can do much more right now. Worring about it will not help.

[educationrulz 18]

Weight regain is something that i worry about as like most of us I have gained and lost this weight many times. In the past when I have dieted I have always felt deprived. I really do not feel deprived with the sleeve. I remember how bad i felt when I was 400 pounds and I never want to go back. I had most of my stomach surgically removed to assist me in losing weight. I watch what I eat every day but i am much less obsessed with food. Sometimes I make bad choices but most of the time I make good choices. I do not beat myself up oer the bad choices. I never eat and drink at the same time. I exercise regularly. I am very active in my daily life. I weigh myself a couple of times a week. If I ever begin to gain weight I want to know about it right away. I dont think I can do much more right now. Worring about it will not help.

This is definitely a learning process and sometimes very day by day. Yesterday, my schedule was a little off and I went a long time between meals early in the day. Then, I ate a larger than normal dinner and grazed all night. Uuugghh! But, I'm totally back on track today and have no desire to graze or eat anything off-program. Sometimes, you just have to start over and go from there.

[Donna4545 13]

You can be sloppy for the first 2 years, but after that you really have to keep up the low carb, low fat diet and exercise to keep it off, from everything I've read.

[MINI-Me 196]

You can be sloppy for the first 2 years, but after that you really have to keep up the low carb, low fat diet and exercise to keep it off, from everything I've read.

Interesting ... What is that based on? Why should year 3 be so different than year 2?

[Donna4545 13]

I googled to find the research, you could do that to find it. I don't remember the specific medical journals, but like I said if you google "vertical sleeve gastrectomy weight regain" you will find it. I think it has to do with increased stomach size/capacity at that point, from what I remember. Since people are less restricted, they start to eat more. The same thing happens to RNYers. With time, the sleeve can stretch, even though it is the least stretchy part of the stomach.

[sweetie333 3]

Please send me your email. I have a very interesting article for you. It talks about the strategies of weight regain after sleeve gastrectomy. learn it by heart so that you will avoid any weight regain in the future. Best wishes.

[Tiffykins 673]

Please send me your email. I have a very interesting article for you. It talks about the strategies of weight regain after sleeve gastrectomy. learn it by heart so that you will avoid any weight regain in the future. Best wishes.

Can you just share it here for everyone to enjoy? Would it be possible to just copy and paste the article here?

If not, can you at least post the link?

[Tiffykins 673]

I've read that there is about a 10% rebound regain even with some patients that are over 5 years out. If a study doesn't include bougie used, surgeon experience, more than 20 to 30 patients and other contributing factors such as patient's medical conditions such as PCOS, and insulin resistance, the results can be really skewed. I love studies and stats as much as the next person, and relied on them heavily for my decision on VSG for my revision, but I didn't let a 10% rebound regain deter me from having surgery.

Here's a recent study on VSG with 5 year results of a mere 26 patients.

Sleeve gastrectomy as sole and definitive bariatri... [Obes Surg. 2010] - PubMed result

Also, if you talk to some DS patients from several years ago, they'll even share that they can not eat nearly the same amounts that they could pre-op. Their stomachs were left larger because of the "switch" being done, but I've never read from any VSG or DS patient that they can eat more 1-1.5 cups of food per meal, and that is 1-1.5 cup of mushy/slider foods.

The DS has been performed for over 20 years, and the VSG has been performed around 10 as a stand alone procedure. Within the last 5-8 years, the technique and standard of procedure has been tweaked, honed, and has been perfected. We'll see better long term results once the studies are released with the smaller bougie sizes that have been used in the last few years.

I think sometimes we forget that natural thin people, especially women, have to still watch what they eat, and include exercise to remain at a healthy weight. The sleeve is only going to do so much. The rest of it is on us to maintain those healthy choices, and keep moving. I honestly do not know 1 single naturally skinny woman that can eat like I could pre-op, and not have a huge ass. I mean, let's be real here. If naturally skinny people could eat like I could pre-op, they wouldn't be naturally skinny. We can't expect to just skate through life post-op, and not have a consequence by making horrible food choices. The sleeve isn't going to keep you from gaining weight. Not shoving craptastic food in your mouth and staying healthy is going to keep your weight in check.

*Disclaimer* You used in this reply is the "general you" so no one gets offended or feel that I'm pointing a finger at any one specific member.

Edited July 29, 2010 by Tiffykins

[determined1 3]

I've read that there is about a 10% rebound regain even with some patients that are over 5 years out. If a study doesn't include bougie used, surgeon experience, more than 20 to 30 patients and other contributing factors such as patient's medical conditions such as PCOS, and insulin resistance, the results can be really skewed. I love studies and stats as much as the next person, and relied on them heavily for my decision on VSG for my revision, but I didn't let a 10% rebound regain deter me from having surgery.

Here's a recent study on VSG with 5 year results of a mere 26 patients.

Sleeve gastrectomy as sole and definitive bariatri... [Obes Surg. 2010] - PubMed result

Also, if you talk to some DS patients from several years ago, they'll even share that they can not eat nearly the same amounts that they could pre-op. Their stomachs were left larger because of the "switch" being done, but I've never read from any VSG or DS patient that they can eat more 1-1.5 cups of food per meal, and that is 1-1.5 cup of mushy/slider foods.

The DS has been performed for over 20 years, and the VSG has been performed around 10 as a stand alone procedure. Within the last 5-8 years, the technique and standard of procedure has been tweaked, honed, and has been perfected. We'll see better long term results once the studies are released with the smaller bougie sizes that have been used in the last few years.

Tiff, Are you now thinking that the bougie size has something to do with long term loss?? If you take 2 people one bougie size 40 and the other person 32fr. Lets say, they eat/exercise the same, have to same amt of weight to lose and have no medical problems. Do you think the person with the 40fr is going to have harder time losing weight, and easier to regain??? Just thought I'd get your input on this. Thanks~

[BlackBerryJuice 349]

I think sometimes we forget that natural thin people, especially women, have to still watch what they eat, and include exercise to remain at a healthy weight. The sleeve is only going to do so much. The rest of it is on us to maintain those healthy choices, and keep moving. I honestly do not know 1 single naturally skinny woman that can eat like I could pre-op, and not have a huge ass. I mean, let's be real here. If naturally skinny people could eat like I could pre-op, they wouldn't be naturally skinny. We can't expect to just skate through life post-op, and not have a consequence by making horrible food choices.

Indeed! Most people I know who've always been slim pay at least some attention to their diet - don't know if all of them have to do the whole carb-counting thing or adhere to other strict diets, but they definitely avoid having a dessert every day or fries for days on end, etc. And the few people who seem to eat whatever the hell they want and stay slim definitely exercise on a regular basis. Unfortunately, I think a lot of us also haven't been blessed with the same metabolisms as these folks, so the amount of food that keeps their weight stable would make a lot of us actually gain. What I like about this surgery is that the lack of ghrelin seems to make it easier to make these healthier choices. I can't tell you how many times in the past I've tried to deal with an intense chocolate craving by 1) getting a granola bar 2) still feeling dissatisfied 3) getting another granola bar 4) still feeling dissatisfied 5) getting a hot chocolate 6) STILL wanting chocolate and, eventually, 7) breaking down and getting that chocolate bar I wanted to begin with - but now I haven't just eaten the chocolate bar, I've put away a good 600 calories of other stuff in an effort to subdue the craving. I really hope that after the VSG, that granola bar will actually calm me down and stop that chain of events from happening.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Did you know that having a low level of Vit D can cause cravings for sweets? Mine was very low and I always craved sweets. I got it to go from 30 to 80 and now my cravings for sweets is much easier to deal with. I don't have nearly the cravings I used to.

I take 50,000 once a week. I was taking 2,000 every day, and it didn't go up at all. Above 80 is in the normal range.

[MINI-Me 196]

I wonder if that is what helped me??? Both of us live in the Pacific Northwest where sunshine can be hard to find. I was put on Vitamin D and looking back, my sugar cravings have decreased. Hmmmmmm

[thinoneday 445]

Hi Tiffy! I'm so glad we have you on this forum. . . you always have backups to what you say. . I love that . . I don't like it when someone asks where they got their info and they come back with "I don't remember, but if you google it you'll find it" You've got it so together and i love it. . . thank god for you Tiffy. . . the article was very interesting. . . by the way you look fantastic! I'm going to be posting more pictures in about 1 month or so. . . love ya

[pcos_chick 23]

Did you know that having a low level of Vit D can cause cravings for sweets? Mine was very low and I always craved sweets. I got it to go from 30 to 80 and now my cravings for sweets is much easier to deal with. I don't have nearly the cravings I used to.

I take 50,000 once a week. I was taking 2,000 every day, and it didn't go up at all. Above 80 is in the normal range.

At my last endo appt. I was diagnosed with a Vitamin D deficiency. They gave me supplements but never explained why this might be important. I just assumed it was the usual Calcium related issue. :cursing: Wouldn't it be great if doctors actually tried to help connect all the dots?

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Yes, doctors don't really know all that much about nutrition.

I can tell you though that if you contact Vitalady.com you can order the 50,000 capsules that you take once a week. This will bring it up where taking a small amount every day does not seem to bring it up much. It's helped me a lot.