Grrr..get it straight! Its Vertical Gastrectomy NOT bypass!

[Heather Meyer 103]

I dont know what the deal is but ever since i returned home from vsg surgery in Tijuana, all the Drs ive dealt with so far here in Canada, dont have a flipping idea what VSG is. They keep lumping me together with Bypass. I saw my PCP for post op bloodwork and he asked how i was doing and i told him eating was a challenge and getting calories in for the day and he said " thats to be expected with bypass, we knew this would be a challenge for you" and i corrected him for the millionth time and said "sleeve gastrectomy" and he said.."well..bariatric surgery..whatever".

Because i had an incision infection I needed to go see a medical clinic GP and the DR was like " sorry..what did you have? "What is that??". When i said i had a infection in my incision, he got me to lift my shirt so he could see and said "oh..it was done laprascopically!" "I thought they sliced your stomach right across"

Seriously!!! What is the deal!!! How come I know more about the sleeve than any of the DRS that ive seen since i got back?? I mean i have seen 5 different Drs and they had no clue. I had to explain the procedure and how it works.

And another thing...i am sooo sick of people lumping me in with bypass patients. People keep asking me how my intestines are healing and im like "theyre great! They wernt even touched!"

One friend of mine looked at me and said " how much have you lost?" And i said im 2 pounds away from being 40 pounds lost in a month and one week out..and she said "i thought weight loss would be faster"...... and im thinking.. "for real?? " um...i think 40 pounds in 1 month and 1 week is pretty fast... Again...being lumped into the bypass world..people thinking im going to lose an instant amount of weight...

-end of rant

[Heather Meyer 103]

I dont know what the deal is but ever since i returned home from vsg surgery in Tijuana, all the Drs ive dealt with so far here in Canada, dont have a flipping idea what VSG is. They keep lumping me together with Bypass. I saw my PCP for post op bloodwork and he asked how i was doing and i told him eating was a challenge and getting calories in for the day and he said " thats to be expected with bypass, we knew this would be a challenge for you" and i corrected him for the millionth time and said "sleeve gastrectomy" and he said.."well..bariatric surgery..whatever".

Because i had an incision infection I needed to go see a medical clinic GP and the DR was like " sorry..what did you have? "What is that??". When i said i had a infection in my incision, he got me to lift my shirt so he could see and said "oh..it was done laprascopically!" "I thought they sliced your stomach right across"

Seriously!!! What is the deal!!! How come I know more about the sleeve than any of the DRS that ive seen since i got back?? I mean i have seen 5 different Drs and they had no clue. I had to explain the procedure and how it works.

And another thing...i am sooo sick of people lumping me in with bypass patients. People keep asking me how my intestines are healing and im like "theyre great! They wernt even touched!"

One friend of mine looked at me and said " how much have you lost?" And i said im 2 pounds away from being 40 pounds lost in a month and one week out..and she said "i thought weight loss would be faster"...... and im thinking.. "for real?? " um...i think 40 pounds in 1 month and 1 week is pretty fast... Again...being lumped into the bypass world..people thinking im going to lose an instant amount of weight...

-end of rant

[kimbernada 190]

I hear ya! All of the documentation that I received from my doctor talks about the needs of a bypass patient, not a sleeve patient. Well, they must have done a "find and replace" for the first few pages so that the word "sleeve" was used.

[kimbernada 190]

I hear ya! All of the documentation that I received from my doctor talks about the needs of a bypass patient, not a sleeve patient. Well, they must have done a "find and replace" for the first few pages so that the word "sleeve" was used.

[DangerousD 77]

You are doing great! Congrats on the weight loss.

Your doctors not knowing about the surgery would concern me. However, others are idiots at times. It sounds like your friend was trying to make you feel inferior. It is hard being surrounded by people who do not want you to succeed. Mentally, put her face on a dartboard and thrown darts at it. Then, go on and smile knowing you are doing great and will soon reach your goal and she can be even more jealous of you!

Seriously, grats on doing great! You rock!

[DangerousD 77]

You are doing great! Congrats on the weight loss.

Your doctors not knowing about the surgery would concern me. However, others are idiots at times. It sounds like your friend was trying to make you feel inferior. It is hard being surrounded by people who do not want you to succeed. Mentally, put her face on a dartboard and thrown darts at it. Then, go on and smile knowing you are doing great and will soon reach your goal and she can be even more jealous of you!

Seriously, grats on doing great! You rock!

[gmanbat 5,889]

I will join your rant. Being awash in ignorance is semi-understandable in common yokels but in a doctor it is inexcusable.

We have an illusionary vision of doctors keeping up with research and reading journals. In truth some get diplomas and slide just like in other professions. That certificate on the wall in the fancy frame would find more purpose at the bottom of a canary cage. In fact, due to the seriousness of the situation some are a danger to society.

A recent experience with my aged brother-in-law is a case in point. I took him to his doctor because he was falling and dragging his foot. The doctor told him he was just getting old and sent him out after collecting his money. We later took him to an emergency room which immediately ordered a helicopter to take him to a good hospital. He, just in time, received brain surgery for a dangerous buildup of blood. He is slowly recovering.

Many doctors are the real thing. Some are jerks. Look through the myths. If they don't even know the difference between the bypass and VSG you don't need their advice.

[gmanbat 5,889]

I will join your rant. Being awash in ignorance is semi-understandable in common yokels but in a doctor it is inexcusable.

We have an illusionary vision of doctors keeping up with research and reading journals. In truth some get diplomas and slide just like in other professions. That certificate on the wall in the fancy frame would find more purpose at the bottom of a canary cage. In fact, due to the seriousness of the situation some are a danger to society.

A recent experience with my aged brother-in-law is a case in point. I took him to his doctor because he was falling and dragging his foot. The doctor told him he was just getting old and sent him out after collecting his money. We later took him to an emergency room which immediately ordered a helicopter to take him to a good hospital. He, just in time, received brain surgery for a dangerous buildup of blood. He is slowly recovering.

Many doctors are the real thing. Some are jerks. Look through the myths. If they don't even know the difference between the bypass and VSG you don't need their advice.

[RJ'S/beginning 5,358]

What part of Canada are you from?

[RJ'S/beginning 5,358]

What part of Canada are you from?

[M2G 1,836]

Well, it IS frustrating to be more educated on this than your doctor. Heck 3 years ago my own surgeon basically was new to sleeves (I was his 15th sleeve!!) and they weren't sure how things were all going to go down, so they did the "search and replace" for their big book of pre- and post-op info and "modified" the bypass bible and turned it into the sleeve bible. BUT they have made great improvements since then, but it was a process.

Doctors are also human, though, and just because they have the certificate hanging on the wall, as Gmanbat so eloquently pointed out, the certificate does not show strength of character or brilliance.

So even though it is frustrating to have to "educate" your doctors, I would basically calmly explain how the VSG works, how it is DIFFERENT from the bypass, and then hope that they can follow along enough to give you good medical care. The ones that I would be mostly worried about are the ones who AFTER explaining the basics still continue to call it a bypass or act as if your intestines have been re-routed.

Good luck...hopefully the worst of any of your complications are over and you can take a break from having to explain the VSG for the millionth time.

[M2G 1,836]

Well, it IS frustrating to be more educated on this than your doctor. Heck 3 years ago my own surgeon basically was new to sleeves (I was his 15th sleeve!!) and they weren't sure how things were all going to go down, so they did the "search and replace" for their big book of pre- and post-op info and "modified" the bypass bible and turned it into the sleeve bible. BUT they have made great improvements since then, but it was a process.

Doctors are also human, though, and just because they have the certificate hanging on the wall, as Gmanbat so eloquently pointed out, the certificate does not show strength of character or brilliance.

So even though it is frustrating to have to "educate" your doctors, I would basically calmly explain how the VSG works, how it is DIFFERENT from the bypass, and then hope that they can follow along enough to give you good medical care. The ones that I would be mostly worried about are the ones who AFTER explaining the basics still continue to call it a bypass or act as if your intestines have been re-routed.

Good luck...hopefully the worst of any of your complications are over and you can take a break from having to explain the VSG for the millionth time.

[Justinh125 472]

I think part of it is that this is a much newer procedure, and while we've gotten to a point where the general public has usually heard of gastric bypass, I have yet to encounter anyone that knows what VSG is when I tell them I had it. (I don't tell everyone but that's another topic.)

I can tell you that the book my doctor gave me, while extremely helpful, was clearly adopted from the gastric bypass book. He even admitted as much when I asked him about drinking coffee, which is not recommended for bypass patients but not as serious for us.

[Justinh125 472]

I think part of it is that this is a much newer procedure, and while we've gotten to a point where the general public has usually heard of gastric bypass, I have yet to encounter anyone that knows what VSG is when I tell them I had it. (I don't tell everyone but that's another topic.)

I can tell you that the book my doctor gave me, while extremely helpful, was clearly adopted from the gastric bypass book. He even admitted as much when I asked him about drinking coffee, which is not recommended for bypass patients but not as serious for us.

[ItsMe2033 143]

There's this Jamaican man that I have known for a very long time. One time about 5 years after he had moved to the USA, he asked me a question. He wanted to know why in Jamaica they talk about the USA every night on the TV news, but in the USA, Jamaica was only mentioned in news programs a couple of times a year. He just didn't think it was fair.

To everyone who has been sleeved, or who is considering being sleeved, finding out everything we can about the procedure, restrictions, pitfalls, benefits, success factors, etc is life or death important. If you didn't find out all those things you are lowering your chances of success. To those of us on this forum, relentlessly seeking out information becomes something that drives us, and for some of us even an obsession. And because of the pursuit of knowledge, we increase our chances of successfully losing more weight and preventing regain. It's rational for us to become experts on the sleeve.

There are thousands of different surgical procedures. Every year there are thousands of advances across all medical fields. Doctors are only human and they can't possibly become an expert in every area, and it's unrealistic to expect them to unless this is their area of expertise.

By acknowledging this, you can take ownership of it and get the best possible outcome. Every time you talk to your doctor other than your surgeon, don't presume that he is an expert about this. Take the time to gently educate him about it. Patiently answer any questions without putting him down that he doesn't know. And don't be disappointed if he makes some incorrect assumptions. Instead gently educate.

As VSG becomes more common, doctors will learn more about it, and this will be less of a problem in the future.