hi, i know you asked mark for advice, but i would like to asked, have you been doing alot of excersize?   alot of my weight lose i know is from going to the gym 4x a week, i do spinning classes 2x a week, kickboxing 2x aweek and inbetween i do the treadmil.  i went from a size 32 to a size 16 in 7months.   if you have any questions please feel free to asked me, my e-mail is [email protected]

I actually had VBG twice - the first one wasn't vertical, but basically the same.  The first time my staple line came open, and the second time, like you, I didn't bother to check what went wrong.  I had the surgeries done in different towns by different doctors - I just knew I wasn't having it done again, so what did it matter why it didn't work!  My last one was done in the mid 80's.  I never lost more than 20 lbs from either surgery, but I still have some issues with the band and/or staple line.  It all depends on what I eat, how fast I eat, what I've had to drink while I eat . . . but I still really can't eat a serving size of 'regular' people.  Why do you think it's the band?  I sometimes think that my staple line has 'fused' or scarred closed like it was supposed to, or something like that.  Maybe the 19lbs is a result of the detox helping your system and has nothing to do with the surgery?

Hi Mark, I am glad you are doing well with your vbg. I had the same surgery 15 months. I have only lost 70 pounds. I am a vegetarian. I was wondering if you could please tell me what you are exactly doing to have lost so much weight because my doctor told me I would loose around 100 pounds with this surgery. At the time of sugery I weighed 300 pounds. I am feeling a little discouraged. Please help me. Thank you,

I have had no complaints either Mark... best decision I have ever made. Take care, Melanie

tj, vbg w/sleeve is pretty much a VBG... with a twist. In this procedure, 1/2 the stomach is removed, sorta like the DS, but without the actual intestinal bypass. Your stomach is reduced to about 8 oz. To further help restriction, a mesh band is place around the remaining stomach, much like an "hourglass" shape. You're able to hold about 6-8 oz, but can only eat about 2 oz at a time. I really hope I explained that well, lol. I've been post op for about 2 1/2 years. I started out 310#, I'm now 177. Couldn't be happier. I've been blessed complication free! Dr. Elariny in Vienna, Va performed my surgery. He's great!!!