General Questions

[amberlea 0]

I finally made the decision to have a consult. I cried the way home! He recommended the sleeve. I have never heard of this before which makes me nervous. I have a few questions Im hoping someone will help me with

1) Why do people choose the gastric bypass verses sleeve? This seems like a better way to go

2) Was the surgery painful?

3) How long were you down? (I have two small kids so Im wondering how long till I could pick them up?

4) Did your spouse benefit from your surgery( did your family also lose weight?

5) How much can you eat REALLY?? about 6 months to a year out

6) I cant find any statistics on long term weight loss. Im terrified to gain back. Anyone know what success is like after a year or two out??

7) Do you know anyone who has gained weight back from sleeve?

8) Any regrets?

9) If you had to self pay would you?

Thanks so much in advance. I hope I dont chicken out.

[Nancy Rivers 24]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Check out the different areas of these forums - you'll find lots of information. Another place that I have found lots of of information is http://vsgfaq.wordpress.com/

I chose to have the sleeve instead of the bypass mainly because there are a lot fewer potential complications from the sleeve as well as no mal-absorption issues like there are with the bypass.

As far as how long down - it varies depending on the person, but generally a couple of weeks off of work - depending on the type of work you do. I would be sure to ask your surgeon about it though since you are concerned about it.

I am self pay, as well as several others on the boards. My insurance specifically excludes any form of weight loss. I haven't had the surgery yet, but I am definitely going to get it done. I am tired of being tired and watching my health go downhill. I'm just 38 years old and can barely stand for 5-10 minutes before breaking out in a sweat and can hardly walk 10 minutes. I've already had back surgery once and my knees are killing me. I know that loosing weight will help all of these things. I have tried loosing weight using a number of different diets over the years and none have worked. I know this surgery will work long term - having a smaller stomach will force me to make the lifestyle changes that I can't seem to make on my own.

[lsereno 2,525]

1) Why do people choose the gastric bypass verses sleeve? This seems like a better way to go

I chose VSG because it is restrictive only. Bypass also causes malabsorption. And with VSG you can take anti inflammatory drugs, there are no food restrictions after you heal up from the surgery, and you can enjoy a drink or two here and there.

2) Was the surgery painful?

Not for me. I was sore afterwards, but the pain meds kept it well under control if I didn't do anything crazy like pick stuff up off the ground or sleep on my side. Still a little sore if I hunch over when sitting down.

3) How long were you down? (I have two small kids so Im wondering how long till I could pick them up?

My doc has me on lifting restriction: no more than 10 lbs. But I'm only two weeks out. If you don't get an answer here and you can't find one when searching through previous posts, then I would re-ask this question on another board. This one is a bit more "buried" so people may not have seen your question.

4) Did your spouse benefit from your surgery( did your family also lose weight?

Yes, my hubby began losing weight as soon as I started the pre-op diet.

5) How much can you eat REALLY?? about 6 months to a year out

Can't answer this one cuz I am only two weeks out, but I know there are plenty of answers to this if you search the previous posts. Also look at Eggfaces site. She often posts what she eats during the day: http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/

6) I cant find any statistics on long term weight loss. Im terrified to gain back. Anyone know what success is like after a year or two out??

First year is still considered the "honeymoon" period so most people are close to their lowest weights then. Two years out and beyond: I'm not sure what the statistics are.

7) Do you know anyone who has gained weight back from sleeve?

8) Any regrets?

No.

9) If you had to self pay would you?

I thought about it, but can't say for sure. I was terrified that as self-pay, I would have a complication that would not be covered under my insurance. But at the same time, I know that if I didn't have the operation, I was looking at a shortened life span. So I think I would have done it even if my insurance didn't cover it.

Lynda

[Foxbins 625]

I finally made the decision to have a consult. I cried the way home! He recommended the sleeve. I have never heard of this before which makes me nervous. I have a few questions Im hoping someone will help me with

1) Why do people choose the gastric bypass verses sleeve? This seems like a better way to go I didn't want a surgery with malabsorption, and I figured my stomach could hold so much that I could stand to lose most of it.

2) Was the surgery painful? I wouldn't call it painful. I had my tonsils out and that was much worse. The CO2 gas made my shoulders and neck ache--everything else seemed to be okay. I had a drain and it was annoying rather than painful.

3) How long were you down? (I have two small kids so Im wondering how long till I could pick them up? I took two weeks off work but I have a sedentary job. I had a lifting restriction of no more than 10 lbs for a month post-op.

4) Did your spouse benefit from your surgery( did your family also lose weight? No spouse or kids.

5) How much can you eat REALLY?? about 6 months to a year out I am almost five months out and I don't know how much I can eat. More than at one or two months, certainly, but I still measure my food. I have eaten on occasion a large Wendy's chili but it took a couple of hours.

6) I cant find any statistics on long term weight loss. Im terrified to gain back. Anyone know what success is like after a year or two out?? People who stick to the "Protein first" rule and avoid trigger foods tend to maintain their loss from what I have read.

7) Do you know anyone who has gained weight back from sleeve? No but I know that you can "cheat" any weight loss surgery and gain.

8) Any regrets? Only that this surgery was not available fifteen years ago.

9) If you had to self pay would you? I did self-pay. Best 9K I've ever spent!

Thanks so much in advance. I hope I dont chicken out.