When the time comes, I'll have the VSG
Wow, I am overwhelmed by all the kindness, support, and understanding that I have been met with at OH. My only regret is that I did not come here earlier, because I would have come to conclusion A LOT faster about what I want.
After carefully looking I have decided against my initially wanting the band. There are way too many complications and its just too many trips to the doctors office, fillings, slipping, erosion. I'm not saying its a bad surgery for people who undergo it or want to have it. However it would not suit the lifestyle that I lead. I'm at universities five days a week, then in the summer I leave for internships, usually corporate stuff and my schedule is ALWAYS so hectic around work and exam time. I don't really have the time to be running back and forth to the doctor's office. Also if I travel i would have to find a new doctor for maintenance etc. Its just not the surgery for me, and I've read way too many stories of revision and failure on this very site to decide to go through with it.
I decided that when I do go in for a consult, I will request the vertical gastric sleeve- vsg. Why not RNY? Probably because I'm too afraid of the whole malabsorbtion thing. I've always been the kind to forget to take my medicine, or forget to put on my retainer for a few weeks, etc. I would probably become vitamin deficient. That possible reality make DS a complete no go on my part because the malabsorbtion is much worse.
I think the sleeve would be great because of the accelerated weight loss, the absence of the chemical grehlin, the changed view of food itself. You can eat whatever you want in moderation eventually and the secret seems to be to just keep up your protein intake and you water intake and the weight melts of as long as you are diligent.
I'd love to hear in detail experiences from those of you that have had the surgery. Im nervous about things like excess skin, i am 18 though so i hope it won't be that bad. I'm nervous about the surgery itself, recovery time. So any advice would be good advice. If everything goes okay and i get my consult in october and the rumours about rockland md or day surgery hold true, I could have this surgery as soon as next year so I want to start accumulating knowledge and preparing now.
Thanks all,
Omar Badawi
After carefully looking I have decided against my initially wanting the band. There are way too many complications and its just too many trips to the doctors office, fillings, slipping, erosion. I'm not saying its a bad surgery for people who undergo it or want to have it. However it would not suit the lifestyle that I lead. I'm at universities five days a week, then in the summer I leave for internships, usually corporate stuff and my schedule is ALWAYS so hectic around work and exam time. I don't really have the time to be running back and forth to the doctor's office. Also if I travel i would have to find a new doctor for maintenance etc. Its just not the surgery for me, and I've read way too many stories of revision and failure on this very site to decide to go through with it.
I decided that when I do go in for a consult, I will request the vertical gastric sleeve- vsg. Why not RNY? Probably because I'm too afraid of the whole malabsorbtion thing. I've always been the kind to forget to take my medicine, or forget to put on my retainer for a few weeks, etc. I would probably become vitamin deficient. That possible reality make DS a complete no go on my part because the malabsorbtion is much worse.
I think the sleeve would be great because of the accelerated weight loss, the absence of the chemical grehlin, the changed view of food itself. You can eat whatever you want in moderation eventually and the secret seems to be to just keep up your protein intake and you water intake and the weight melts of as long as you are diligent.
I'd love to hear in detail experiences from those of you that have had the surgery. Im nervous about things like excess skin, i am 18 though so i hope it won't be that bad. I'm nervous about the surgery itself, recovery time. So any advice would be good advice. If everything goes okay and i get my consult in october and the rumours about rockland md or day surgery hold true, I could have this surgery as soon as next year so I want to start accumulating knowledge and preparing now.
Thanks all,
Omar Badawi
Hi Omar, I'm glad that you have chosen a surgery type that can fit your lifestyle and still meet your criteria for wl. I wanted to respond to your post with regards to excess skin and such. I have done up to now really well with the weight loss. I have always lost weight every week since the past 11 months with the exception of a couple of weeks;so I won't call those plateaus. In my opinion I don't think I have yet hit a plateau. I lost slowly but steadily and my body has come out of it quite well for a mature women. LOL! I lost for many many weeks two pounds a week. It has only been in the last three months where I had dips of 5-6pounders. With those big losses I wouldn't lose until the next two weeks. Hence, what I am trying to say is that don,t get caught up with the number per say. Allow the surgery to work for you and have confidence in the process. In the beginning we all freak out when we don,t lose weight quickly but with the reassurance of people who have gone through it you get through all the anxieties of a newbie. As for excess skin, well being young will definately help as well as being a man. It's a hormone thing.....It also depends on your fat distribution. I have no excess skin on my upper body. My tummy neither. I do have some on my upper thighs and a little on my upper arms. I have always carried most of my excess weight on my lower body and it was also the fat that took the longest to go. Be prepared to have excess skin and if you don,t well it will be easier on your psyche. It is hard to accept excess skin as we all want to look good naked but being healthier and thinner is the main goal. I am not even contemplating plastic surgery. I can camouflage my problem areas quite easily and I am at a point in my life that I really don,t care anymore about how people perceive me. This issue can be very difficult for some so prepare yourself and give yourself time to adjust as well as your body. The one thing that I did do and maybe it has helped is to moisterize my skin daily and I mean head to toe and I also added an safflower oil to my shower regiment ( a dermatologist recommended this). Safflower oil is full of nutrients and is odorless. I don,t know if it is the reason my skin stayed nice but who knows. So there you have my experience and hopefully others will post and you'll get an idea of what to expect. Cheers!
Brenda B, HW 328 PreSW 298 CW 156 Goal 165
AT GOAL..................NORMAL BMI! DOING THE HAPPY DANCE
Hi Omar, I am glad you are setting your mind on a surgery, like Brenda said, that suits your life style. I choose the VSG for the same reason... no time to go for lapband adjustments, and I always forget to take even multivits, so malabsorption might be a problem for me. And there is always a possibility of transforming this surgery in a bypass or ds if there is not enough weight loss. As no surgery is perfect, 2 things were bothering me... the fact that they completely remove the part of the stomach so it is not reversible ( not that I want it reversed, but if something is wrong, like stomach cancer or something, it might be difficult to remove it...) and the fact that we are missing info about the long time results as it is a kind of new surgery as a stand-alone... Just to make you think about it... so you'll be prepared... The night before surgery, I was so afraid to lose my stomach, " the one that I lived with for 44 years!!" But for me the benefits were much more than those 2 unanswered questions...
I don't regret it at all!
Like Brenda said, everyone weight loss is different, some will lose faster, some slower, but in the long run, it will be the same. At first I was very anxious, because I lost only 10 pounds in the first month, in a week, with 3 weeks, nothing... And I was eating almost nothing, had a problem with a yeast infection in my esophagus... I started losing more after 3 months! Some people lose 30 pounds in the first month... Now I lose approximatively 4 lbs per week, but only 2 weeks a month, the other 2 weeks almost nothing...Maybe some hormonal thing...
As for the surgery it self, it went easy for me. They do it by laparoscopy and I had 6 littles holes. Went home 2 days after surgery. I had it at the hospital because of HBP and sleep apnea. The pain is not so bad, I took pain killer for 2 days, mostly because of the air they inject in the belly for the surgery. It is difficult at first to drink and eat, but if you follow the program and eat gradually, it will be ok. You have to drink in the first days, then eat purees, than soft food, etc... After a month or so, you can eat more easily and about normal. The quantities are very small at first, but after a few months, you can eat more and after 6 months, even more, but it is always less than a normal person. ( like a big plate at a restaurant can give me 3 meals) or a subway sandwich I can eat a 6 in. but with no bread...
My doctor finds I am losing very fast...I am working hard for it, I work out 1 to 1 1/2 hours at the gym 3 times a week, since a month after surgery, and I watch closely what I eat. Mainly proteins and vegetables, fruits, and not too much carbohydrates. It is easy for me, as bread and pasta are difficult for me to digest, it feels like a lump in my stomach when I eat that. But I indulge, like maybe 1-2 times a month in dessert that I love ( sugar is my passion!) but I can stop after a small piece of cake, or a small bowl of chips, or popcorn at the movies... I go to restaurants, but choose almost everytime chicken or fish, and bring back the rest for lunches... I eat chicken very very very often as it is lean and very filling to me... But some people digest well bread, and not other things, it depends on every person.
As for the excess skin, it depends also... Like Brenda said, I am too a " mature" woman, 45 yo, and I had 2 children... But my excess skin is not at all as bad as I thought it would be. I always had big arms and thighs, and the excess of skin there is quite important. But I had also a big belly that went down between my legs, and I thought it would be disastrous, but it is ok now, I don't even think I will need surgery there. Maybe because I worked very hard on my abdos... I can also camouflage everything very well, but I will go for surgery for the arms, because I cannot even wear short sleeves, the excess skin is too important. But you are a guy, and you are young, so the chances will be that you won't need any plastic surgery...
Hope that answered some of your questions, and feel free to ask anything else!
Bye
Diane
I don't regret it at all!
Like Brenda said, everyone weight loss is different, some will lose faster, some slower, but in the long run, it will be the same. At first I was very anxious, because I lost only 10 pounds in the first month, in a week, with 3 weeks, nothing... And I was eating almost nothing, had a problem with a yeast infection in my esophagus... I started losing more after 3 months! Some people lose 30 pounds in the first month... Now I lose approximatively 4 lbs per week, but only 2 weeks a month, the other 2 weeks almost nothing...Maybe some hormonal thing...
As for the surgery it self, it went easy for me. They do it by laparoscopy and I had 6 littles holes. Went home 2 days after surgery. I had it at the hospital because of HBP and sleep apnea. The pain is not so bad, I took pain killer for 2 days, mostly because of the air they inject in the belly for the surgery. It is difficult at first to drink and eat, but if you follow the program and eat gradually, it will be ok. You have to drink in the first days, then eat purees, than soft food, etc... After a month or so, you can eat more easily and about normal. The quantities are very small at first, but after a few months, you can eat more and after 6 months, even more, but it is always less than a normal person. ( like a big plate at a restaurant can give me 3 meals) or a subway sandwich I can eat a 6 in. but with no bread...
My doctor finds I am losing very fast...I am working hard for it, I work out 1 to 1 1/2 hours at the gym 3 times a week, since a month after surgery, and I watch closely what I eat. Mainly proteins and vegetables, fruits, and not too much carbohydrates. It is easy for me, as bread and pasta are difficult for me to digest, it feels like a lump in my stomach when I eat that. But I indulge, like maybe 1-2 times a month in dessert that I love ( sugar is my passion!) but I can stop after a small piece of cake, or a small bowl of chips, or popcorn at the movies... I go to restaurants, but choose almost everytime chicken or fish, and bring back the rest for lunches... I eat chicken very very very often as it is lean and very filling to me... But some people digest well bread, and not other things, it depends on every person.
As for the excess skin, it depends also... Like Brenda said, I am too a " mature" woman, 45 yo, and I had 2 children... But my excess skin is not at all as bad as I thought it would be. I always had big arms and thighs, and the excess of skin there is quite important. But I had also a big belly that went down between my legs, and I thought it would be disastrous, but it is ok now, I don't even think I will need surgery there. Maybe because I worked very hard on my abdos... I can also camouflage everything very well, but I will go for surgery for the arms, because I cannot even wear short sleeves, the excess skin is too important. But you are a guy, and you are young, so the chances will be that you won't need any plastic surgery...
Hope that answered some of your questions, and feel free to ask anything else!
Bye
Diane
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