Is 300 lbs possible to lose with VSG?

I think it is about what you do after the surgery that is far more important than which surgery. Whichever surgery you choose you have to think of it as a tool NOT a solution. You don't get to have the surgery and kick back and wait for the weight to drip off. You have to use it as a tool for changing your mindset, changing your relationship with food, dealing with your emotional problems, and preventing you from overeating. In addition you have to adopt forms of activity and exercise to help it come off.

I don't think your psych knows any more about losing weight than you do, in fact I am going to assume you've been on every diet in the book and you probably know more about it. Its not about how fast you lose the weight, its about losing the weight period. Again it is a tool and how you use it effects how much weight you loose. In 11 weeks I have lost almost 80 lbs. I personally know a person who was over 500lbs and he had RNY. He lost about 100 lbs initially and decided that he could handle eating chips and crackers for his snacks which he eats 5 or 6 times per day. Then pasta for dinner. Basically the same diet he had before surgery and because he eats so often he is cheating his tool. He gets to eat whatever he wants a little bit at a time. Oh yeah and the ice cream "feels good on his stomach". Do you see any problems with his RNY? Nope it is doing exactly what it is supposed to. Do you see any problem with him using a screwdriver for a hammer? Yep, its not going to work. Does he exercise? nope sits in a lazy boy all day watching TV. Guess what? I is getting closer to 500 than 300.

I have another friend who got the lap band. He lost a bunch of weight, was looking good and decided to stop getting it filled. Guess what 2 years later he weighs more than he did before the original surgery. That is not using the tool at all.

Now. What are YOU going to do?

Thank you, Keith!  I think you hit the nail on the head!  It's all about how you work your tool!  :)

i went to the surgeon thinking bye pass but he recommended the sleeve to me  , he said the weight lose would be slower and slightly less( the newest reports he says show about a 5-10% less loss) im a bmi 72 and he said the sleeve would be much safer surgery for me but he would do the ryn if I wanted it , said the band would not be right for me , he does not do the ds, but has done thousands of ryn and sleeves, he thinks the side effects of the bypass are not worth it and in the future most people will get the sleeve my surgun is

Colin MacColl, MD  at the Oregon Bariatric center in Springfield ,Oregon

My surgeon doesn't think the RNY would be safe for me, either, unless I was to lose the 77 pounds.  He was the one who suggested the sleeve to me because it would be safer and I'd only have to lose 27 pounds.  I am not a candidate for the lapband.  Thank you!  :)

If I were you, I would really consider the sleeve with duodenal switch  - the DS.  I am going to be shot down for this, but there are a handful of amazing people here who start with really high BMI's have the sleeve and do well long term.  Then there are those who lose great with the sleeve because basically they are early post-op and they really can't eat much THEN when the surgery stops doing for them a year or so down the line or they learn how to out eat or sly eat the sleeve they are right back where they started and worse because the first remedy is gone.  The DS works better when it is done as a 1 step procedure or the intestinal portion done shortly after the sleeve.  RNY is not a good option for you unless you had no other option like some anatomical issues that would not allow you to have a sleeved stomach.

420lbs and 5ft tall is really severe.  If you just got a sleeve, you'd have to be super committed to a complete lifestyle change for life!  That means you've got to watch what you eat and exercise every single day, every single day because the moment you let up is the moment you gain.

I love being sleeved but I've got to tell you, I struggle every single day and I still have not reached my WL goal.

All best.  If you are set on a sleeve, get a sleeve and not a RNY. Just go in with the promise that you will work your buns off.  Also my mind does not believe that having the DS could be more harmful than being a petite woman and 420lbs.  DSers used to be the smartest WLS group of people I knew (unfortunately now less informed people are having that surgery and not abiding by post-op rules and giving it a bad name).  If you are diligent about taking your supplements and eating for the DS you can be very healthy long-term.

Good Luck

Thank you, Zee!  :)

I will be very honest with you.  Not many have a VSG at your weight and if they do they may have to have a revision to a full DS to reach goal. Your journey will be much easier and you will be much more successful if you chose a DS.  You have no way to know whether you will need a revision nor if you can even qualify for a second surgery and your insurance may not cover it.  Unless you cannot have a DS for some reason I would go with that surgery for your best chance at losing all of your weight.

Research, research, research.  Only do one surgery, one recovery, etc. Choose what will work best for you and your lifestyle and habits.  See a doctor *****ally does all three surgeries not someone who says he does DS but really doesn't.  I doubt that a reputable surgeon who does all surgeries would recommend only a VSG for you. Check the DS Facts website and the DS boards here to find a surgeon to have a consult with.  You do have to be vigilant with a DS in terms of taking vitamin supplements.  

I planned on doing a DS when I was 312 pounds and spent several years on the DS board while I waited for approval.  Only because I lost 60 pounds on my own did my surgeon then think I could get to goal using a VSG.  I know people who did DS with only 100 pounds to lose because they needed malabsorption to keep the weight off.

If you are diabetic,or borderline the DS will cure you immediately after surgery and give you the best chance for no re-occurence .

Be very honest with yourself and your eating habits.  Getting the weight off is one battle, maintaining it is another. If you don't think you can lose enough weight before surgery, how do you think you will do it after surgery? Yes for the first few months you can't eat a lot but that changes and  very bad things go down very easily with a sleeve if you want to eat them. It will take extraordinary perseverance to get this weight off and imho the DS is really the only surgery that will give you a more than good chance at losing most of your weight if not all. 

I did not have that much to lose, but I did have a great conversation with my surgeon about vsg versus rny.  He wanted me to have rny, and I was firm with vsg.  At the end of the conversation he said that if vsg didn't work well enough, it could just be revised to rny.  Not that I am advocating multiple surgeries or anything, but in the end if you needed to two-step it you could.  At the time I  had my surgery my surgeon said rny was a bit more effective and a bit faster.  At my follow-up appointment around 11 months later he said that now it is comparable.  If it is the vsg that you want, then get that one.  With either one you will have to make it work, and you will be surprised at how much easier it is to stay on plan.  Just be sure to take advantage of the whole program- go to the support meetings, listen to the NUT, get your exercise in as recommended, etc.  

Being at goal is a beautiful thing, and it can happen for you too!