I had my VBG in 2003 best decision of my life. Started at 280lbs lost 135lbs so I can't complain.  Although I do a lot of vomiting if i'm not careful I'm very happy with the results.

Good luck and remember choose whatever you feel is going to work for you.

Marisol

Hi Susan, first off I have to commend you for your honesty stating that you learned how to eat around your pouch.  

I had my vbg in 2003 started at 280lbs lost 50 first three months, lost 70 by the end of the first year. platued for a long time.. started to lose again.. and now i'm at 145lbs and so far have been able to keep it off but your right it's easy to figure out how to eat around it.

But I wanted to say that I have a friend who had a gastric bypass and she gained the weight back also? actually have had a few people I know gain the weight back.  So I would research really good before you do a revision have you looked into the Lapband???

Good Luck to you..

hi!  i'm from arlington, va and going to a seeminly endless round of wls seminars in the area.  i decided this week to give the program at fairfax hosp a try -- dr. elariny.  i know he does the vbg, but i'm really apprehensive about the procedure (and not sure my ins covers it) and wanted input from people who've had it.

are you glad you went with the vbg and not the vsg?  any drawbacks?  any info is appreciated!

thanks so much for your help!

I have had both surgeries. The VBG in 1985 with a 213 lb. weight loss and kept it off for 17 yrs. I threw up several times daily during this time. Two of my sisters also had it done within a month of me. One lost about 90 lbs. and never lost anymore. to this day she still can't eat and throws up daily. And still needs to lose another 75 lbs. The other sister lost so much so fast they had to undo hers at the time she weighed 88lbs. She had permanent nerve damage in her legs. I had mine undone in 2003 due to staples falling out into my stomach and causing an infection. I could never find things to eat that didn't make me sick, other than a bowl of cereal or a cookie.I regained to 244lbs and had VSG on august 11th. It's AWESOME !!!!! i've lost 24lbs. and no longer take insulin shots for my type 2 diabeties. So far nothing I've ate has made me sick. Everyone in my family thought I was crazy to even consider surgery again but I did alot of research and knew they had improved drastically since 1985. I LOVE MY SLEEVE!!!!

Like most of us, I have times when I just don't take as care of myself as I should. I have started to do something that seems to be helping me focus on doing the things that I need to do and I thought I'd share it with you. I now start my day thinking about something I appreciate in each of the following categories: appearance, health and quality of life. I started doing this because I had started focusing on negative things, such as my turkey neck or that I wasn't doing something I should be doing. This little morning exercise makes me take a moment to focus on why I did this and then what I 'WANT' to do to keep the those things in place... The things I like vary, but the impact of this has been huge. I can get a little too focused on my excess skin and that's why I decided to find something I like about my appearance. I try to find something that I appreciate about my health and quality of life because it makes me focus on why I want to make choices that will allow me to continue to enjoy my improved health and quality of life.