Need guidance. VSG to DS ?

[nagaraj 2]

Friends, in 2010 I went thru a very successful VSG but due to various factors including my own overconfidence I have regained all that I lost.

Am considering DS now or is it resleeve ? Kindly guide me on options. I really want to get back to what I lost and more.

[yazzy 105]

Sorry to hear that ,, I am sure someone here can help you . I am pretty much a newbie but wish you much luck.. I too am scared of this happening so if you can give us some advice please do..

[leeann71 539]

I keep that thought in my head about if I dont succeed with the VSG. I probably will have it done if its meant to be. Have you gone back and start over again like right after you became post op? Did you eat around you sleeve and the bad eating habits came back? I know and understand thislifestyle change has been hard, especially after eating the way you have for so many years. I wish you great success and please keep us up todate on your decision. Like the saying goes you always cant teach dogs new tricks. And some folks are juat stuck in their old ways. Im afraid I might be one of them also.

[MichiganChic 3,262]

You might want to consider RNY as a possible option, as well. DS is pretty drastic with some unpleasant side effects you might want to research.Just curious, does your sleeve not offer you enough restriction to manage your diet and weight? Best of luck.

[Richard Foor 655]

I believe there are benefits and downfalls to both procedures. Have you spoke to the surgeon already, I would be interested to hear what they felt was the best option. It does seem odd to think a sleeve could be stretched enough to be redone in just 3 years but I guess anything is possible. I always say in life it's not the mistakes we make that define us but how we respond and overcome those mistakes. Good luck now and throughout your journey.

[SerendipityHappens 1,594]

I believe the OH board (obesityhelp.com) has a section for DS and a lot of them have had sleeve to DS conversion. They may be able to help you.

[Ms.AntiBand 2,984]

Nope. This is the end of the road for WLS for me. I'm not going to fail on this. Having a back up plan with, "well, if the sleeve doesn't work, I have another option" my dieting life existed on excuses and my life is done with that.

If I don't believe in my self now, I never will. I am going to be and I am going always continue to be successful. PERIOD!

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I considered the DS myself.

When I did plastics consults, i was told by surgeons that the worst complications they had was with DS patients. Take the nutritional deficiencies seriously.

I second the recommendation to join the obesity help forum - there are many happy DSers there.

I have been sleeved awhile and can totally see the potential for regain. I am maintaining fine - so far - but the tool becomes less powerful over time and it is more and more and more on ME.

Good luck on your journey. (good luck to all of us!)

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Do you feel comfortable with sharing what lead to total regain for the benefit of others?

[NtvTxn 1,262]

Please, define 'over confident'!!! You are talking about what we all fear to some extent.

[buplee 556]

Weight regain after being sleeved is definitely for many. Being sleeved is the last stop on my several weight loss journeys throughout my lifetime so far. It would be helpful to know what overconfidence means. Do you mean you started to eat more and exercise less after you reached your weight goal? Please elaborate.

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[Nicolanz 1,484]

I'm wondering if over confident means the OP ate whatever they wanted thinking the sleeve would work no matter what. I too would like to know what you are eating and how much. This is a very scary thought!

[NtvTxn 1,262]

It is alarming. I eat anything I want.....I choose to not eat some things, but nothing aside from carbonated drinks, are off limits. I did not lose weight due to exercise, for this very reason. I DO log my food, weight and/or measure my food and I do weigh every single morning. I know how many calories I need to maintain. There is a fine line between losing and gaining, we have to find where we fall once we reach goal. This week for instance, my caloric intake has been below 1300, MY magic number.....I am a lb less than I was a week ago. It is still a balancing act for me and I'll be three years out in 2.5 weeks.

[Banned member 320]

I've been looking into getting the switch done. I've been losing very slow but I told myself that I would give myself until 18 months post op and then further evaluate if having a 2nd surgery is necessary. The VSG was my first surgery ever! For some people this is their 3rd plus wls attempt. I do feel as if I'm dealing with metabolic issues and that malabsorption will address them. My surgeon would easily convert my VSG to RNY but my main thing is keeping my pyloric valve. I still have about 50 pounds till the high end of my weight goal but my ultimate goal would require me to lose about 80 more pounds. I do understand why people don't post openly about why they want to revise from vsg to a ds or rny. The responses tend to border the line of self gloating about how well the vsg is working for them and how awesome the vsg is. The vsg is great surgery but it doesn't work for everyone and I'm coming to realize that with my very slow weight loss and my own struggles, I may never make it to goal at this rate of weight loss. I haven't given up but I'm also being realistic that this surgery may not work for me in the long run.

ETA: Here's the link to obesityhelp DS board http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/ds/ You will find several vsg to ds people and they are very supportive and understand your struggles. Good Luck with whatever you decide to do.

[mistysj 1,940]

DS is actually not any more drastic than RNY and is favored by more and more surgeons over RNY for extreme obesity now. I posted a link about this a few weeks ago in the Research forum. Please don't scare the OP with prejudice in the same way that people discouraged many of us pre-VSG. OP, talk to your surgical team. Go back and own up and get a plan to go forward. Whether it is a revision or working closely with a dietitian, you can do it. I am proud of you for deciding to take charge of your situation!

Edit: here is the link. http://m.obesityhelp.com/articles/choice-of-bariatric-procedure-a-philosophy-obtained-in-20-years-of-bariatric-practice-2/

That article also talks about a DS technique that lets you keep the pyloric valve.