Worried I won't lose enough

[Nyxienoodles 5]

Hi. I had VSG on 3/27. I weighed 335 at my first doctor visit and lost 19 pounds presurgery. Anyways, I have been reading on here and I'm worried that my doctor should have recommended bypass vs. sleeve since I have so much weight to lose. He set my goal at 170. That's nearly 150 pounds. I haven't found anyone in here that has lost that much with sleeve. Am I worrying needlessly?

[pintsizedmallrat 473]

I have lost nearly 60% of my body weight since 8/2021 with a sleeve, a total loss of 132 pounds on a 4'10" frame, and I could lose more if I had it to lose. It can be done. To be completely honest, my biggest problem at this point is keeping what I've got left ON.

Additionally, I would focus on reaching a weight where you are happy and your health metrics have improved. That may be more or less than your doctor said. For whatever it's worth, my doctor said I should expect to land between 135 and 145 and here I am in "none-derland" at 99.

Edited April 4, 2023 by pintsizedmallrat

[xoxoMeli 47]

If you follow your plan, you will lose weight. You will get out of it what you put into it.

[BigSue 1,371]

There is a lot of variation in amount of weight loss for all types of weight loss surgeries. The outcomes are not that different between sleeve and bypass, but it is true that on average, bypass patients lose more than sleeve patients. But again, that is an average and doesn’t mean that an individual patient will be better off with bypass than with sleeve.

There are pros and cons to both surgeries, and your surgeon may have had specific reasons for recommending sleeve to you. This would have been a good thing to ask before you went through with the surgery. I guess the good news is that you can get a revision to bypass if necessary, but that is a long way off. If you follow your clinic’s instructions (which is the most important factor in your weight loss), you will achieve significant weight loss with the sleeve.

[Recidivist 1,141]

3 hours ago, BigSue said:

There is a lot of variation in amount of weight loss for all types of weight loss surgeries. The outcomes are not that different between sleeve and bypass, but it is true that on average, bypass patients lose more than sleeve patients. But again, that is an average and doesn’t mean that an individual patient will be better off with bypass than with sleeve.

There are pros and cons to both surgeries, and your surgeon may have had specific reasons for recommending sleeve to you.

Big Sue took the words out of my mouth. In general, I don't think the amount of weight you will lose is a major factor in determining which surgery to have. For me, it was gastric bypass because of GERD, which was already an issue for me before surgery.

The bottom line is that you are going to lose a significant amount of weight with the sleeve, which will vastly improve your health and your quality of life. At this point, that's what you should focus on and not the fact that you "might" have lost more weight with a different surgery. People have very successful long-term outcomes with both sleeve and bypass.

Edited April 5, 2023 by Recidivist

[summerseeker 2,139]

I am a old'ish woman who has managed 141pounds so far with the sleeve. I can do very minimal exercise beyond walking and housework and one day a week working in a charity shop. I have dodgy knees. Anything I have done then you can too. I was not given a weight goal but my team were overjoyed in January when I weighed in and they did the math. I was way over the 60% expected weight loss

Its your journey to better health, don't take too much notice of others. That route can be unsettling. I keep changing my goal, just to see if its possible. I dont know if I can reach 180 but to be honest, I am super happy at 199. I look fabulous now in the mirror [without my glasses on]

I am amazed how good my sleeve has worked for me.

[Spinoza 1,376]

I hope you will find that the sleeve is an extremely effective weight loss tool. I had my surgery at almost the same time as summerseeker and I have also lost well over 130lbs. Beyond my wildest dreams. I wish you all the luck in the world with your sleeve.

Edited April 5, 2023 by Spinoza

[Nyxienoodles 5]

Thanks for all the words of encouragement. 🤗. I am going to try my hardest to stick to my plan and hopefully in a year I will be able to say the same as some of y'all.

[BriarRose 432]

I had a VSG 12 years ago. I have lost 159 Pounds. I did gain some back, and had a couple years when I gained weight following an emotional year or two of huge loss. But I got back on the wagon and lost it all again. I started at 320 pounds and now live between 160 and 163 pounds. I eat well, I feel great at 67 years old, have more energy then I did at 40 !!! Your sleeve will help you to lose the weight.