New Guy on the Block. Questions and Confusion.

Hello All, my name is John. 54 year old guy. BMI of 37. Saw a doctor here in South Florida the other day and was torn between the lap band and the VSG. Ideally, I'd like to lose 64 pounds. I'm 284 and I'd like to be 220. Long story short, after doing some more research, I THINK I've decided on the VSG over the band.

My biggest fear is doing something irreversible to my body. But, I also like the success rate of the VSG.

Can some of you nice folks give me some ideas of how your journey was, how has your life changed? What can you eat and drink? I love going out to dinner and often entertain clients by doing that. Will that be completely turned upside down? Can I still drink beer and/or wine? I'm just clueless about what to expect. From being a guy that loves to cook and to eat from maybe a guy that can't really eat for the rest of my life, I'm a bit afraid about it.

Any and all advice is welcome. Any men out there with similar stories?

Thanks,

John

Whatever you decide, DO NOT to get the lap band.

Many surgeons no longer perform them due to the long term complications. Many people require revision surgery after the lap band.

There is a lap band forum that you can read which will give you some insight as to what happens down the road. There are some people who have not had complications, but they are rare.

Good luck

Thanks so much, I'm pretty sure I won't do the band. Doesn't look good. Thanks again.

Definitely do NOT get the band. It's a travesty that surgeons are still willing to put them in, most only take them out. While the band itself might be "reversible," the damage it can do to your body is often permanent. Like esophageal erosion. And then there's the issue of always having to find a surgeon willing to do fills, which can be costly. The device itself tends to only last about 10 years before needing to be removed. It's not worth it.

My life is amazing since VSG. Well, that's not true. I mean, my life is crazy busy and my dad still had cancer and died, so I can't say that my life is 100% perfect, but it's infinitely better physically than it was and I don't think I would have survived my dad's cancer battle and death without all of the changes I've made. It's daily hard work to lose and maintain weight loss - but the main change is that I care about myself enough to work at it now. That's pretty amazing to me. People will ask if I'm living dreams I had and I tell them no - I'm living dreams I hadn't even dreamt of having! I never thought I'd go back to school and get a degree in Exercise and Sport Science. I never thought I'd become a runner and run a half marathon without being chased by a bear. I never thought I'd fall in love with yoga and pilates. It's pretty amazing. I love this life.

I -can- eat and drink anything I want to. I stick mainly to protein and calorie-free liquids though. The only thing I can't really eat anymore is falafel because it hits my stomach like a lead brick. Sigh. Check out the daily menu posts here to get a feel for how we eat. My plan is big on three meals a day, no snacks, lots of protein and liquid. I avoid processed and refined carbs. I don't worry about fat. I weigh everything I eat and keep my meals to 4-6 ounces.

Your entertaining might change, yes. I still eat out, but I eat a lot less and often just order an appetizer that's meat-based. I feel that a lot of us worry about how others will view out eating habits but I've found that people tend to be too self-absorbed to notice/care.

Can you still drink alcohol? Again, you -can-. Should you? Probably not unless you don't want to lose weight.

I love to cook and did pre-op. I've always loved to eat. Those things haven't changed. I still cook and I enjoy cooking for my family. I just eat a whole lot less and I primarily cook protein based meals. I still enjoy cooking and I've looked at "cooking for VSG" as a new adventure to conquer. It's been enjoyable. And I do still enjoy food. In fact, I might even enjoy it more because quality matters so much more than quantity. Since I can't eat a lot, I get to be really picky about what I put into my body. I try to make sure that every bite is awesome. :)

It is scary. Yes, your eating habits and your food-based socialization habits are all likely to require change. But without change you'll be stuck where you are for forever. For me, it was worth learning a new lifestyle and figuring out how to deal with these changes because I was tired of being stuck where I was.

Thank you so much, great post. I really appreciate it.

I just had a revision surgery 3 weeks ago. I had my Lap Band removed and had the VSG done. I did not have much success with the Band. I did have some complications. I had horrible reflux with it. We could never get to a point where I got the restriction that I needed. My Band seemed to be too relaxed where anything would go down or I would be too tight where the smallest bit of food would get stuck and cause me to vomit. I'm so glad I had it removed. Since the pre-op liquid diet, two weeks before surgery, I have already lost more weight than I did with the Band. I'm so glad that I had the VSG done. I'm down 20lbs and am so much happier. My food intake is much less which I think is kind of cool. In the beginning, the going out to dinner will be turned upside down because you will most likely be on a liquid diet before surgery and after surgery. Your focus will be on drinking/eating a high protein diet. All of your concerns about diet will be addressed by the doctor and or nurse/dietician. I am so happy I made the choice that I did to have the VSG. I hope this helps.

Thank you so much, I really appreciate it.

Read through the forums. There are TONS of great success stories here, and you'll find oodles of information.

A few miscellaneous points for you:

• Technically, the VSG is not irreversible. My surgeon told me that in the (extremely rare) case of catastrophic failure, a VSG can be converted to an RNY, so you're not out of options.
  
  
• After surgery, expect to eat a VERY protein-forward diet with very few carbs. There's a "what's on your menu" thread each day, check it out to get a better idea of what post-op food is like for the average person.
  
  
• It's absolutely possible to eat out after surgery, you just need to know what to order off the menu. I can eat at any restaurant, I usually get something like baked chicken or fish with a bite or two of veggies on the side.
  
  
• Alcohol is No Bueno. In addition to it being empty carbs and calories, plus an additional strain on our working-overtime livers, there's a very real risk of "transfer addiction." Because we can't self-medicate with food, it's common for people to turn to booze after surgery. You're best avoiding it completely during the entire weight-loss phase, and drinking very seldom after that.
  
  
• You can absolutely cook and eat. You'll just be eating in smaller portions! That said, many/most of us need to do a LOT of mental work to readjust our relationships with food. Surgery fixes your stomach, not your head, and we need to change our expectations quite a bit.

Can I ask how tall you are? Your "ideal" weight may be quite a bit below 220, and it's absolutely possible to lose that much. At a BMI of 37, you may need comorbidities to qualify (either with the surgeon or with insurance), so that's something to be aware of.

Thank you. I'm 6'2" so many people say "you don't really need it." Trust me, I've tried everything. I lose 40 and gain half back in a month. I do have high BP, gout and arthritis in my knees so this doctor did qualify me.

Normal BMI range for someone 6'2" is 145-194 lbs. So your new weight set point could end up lower than 220 lbs with a healthy long term post-VSG eating plan, assuming you lose more than the average amount of excess weight lost.