Vertical Sleeve or Lap-Band regrets
I'm going to suggest you also research the DS (duodenal switch). It has the same stomach as the Sleeve, and allows you to still take NSAIDs. But it also has a malabsorption factor, which makes KEEPING your weight of much easier, and allows a much more liberal diet. (DSers eat a high-protein, high-FAT diet, without worrying about calories or cholesterol.)
I chose the DS five years ago, and I've never had one regret. I'm also at my all-time lowest adult weight, and I take NSAIDs nearly ever day. My arthritis has gottem MUCH better, but the damage isn't going to reverse itself. Just before I had my DS five years ago, my arthritis doc told me I needed both knees replaced. I still haven't had them done, and I won't as long as I'm having this little pain!
I chose the DS five years ago, and I've never had one regret. I'm also at my all-time lowest adult weight, and I take NSAIDs nearly ever day. My arthritis has gottem MUCH better, but the damage isn't going to reverse itself. Just before I had my DS five years ago, my arthritis doc told me I needed both knees replaced. I still haven't had them done, and I won't as long as I'm having this little pain!
From your profile:
"I do like my sweets and like to eat. I want a surgery that I will lose weight and KEEP IT OFF. I am tired of being OBESE. Please give me feedback pro/cons of your surgery."
Malabsorption is the key to keeping your weight off. Malabsorption does NOT equal malnutrition, but it does mean that you must commit yourself to taking supplements daily and having regular bloodwork.
The pros of my surgery, the DS, are many. I still have a fully-functional stomach, that does everything it did back when it was huge. I have no remanent stomach, like in the RNY, so I can still take NSAIDs---or any other medication, for that matter. I eat a high-protein, full-fat diet, and about 2500 calories a day. I only absorb about 20% of the fat I eat, so my cholesterol numbers are fantastic. I have never had any food tolerance issues, and I no longer have the insatiable appetite I did pre-op---I get hungry 3-4 times a day, and I eat and am satisfied with small-but-normal-sized portions of pretty much anything I want.
Cons---can't really think of any, unless you count the supplements and bloodwork. The supplements are a habit now---I take a multi-vitamin and iron at breakfast, and calcium at lunch, dinner, and bedtime. I get bloodwork once a year. I eat protein first.
"I do like my sweets and like to eat. I want a surgery that I will lose weight and KEEP IT OFF. I am tired of being OBESE. Please give me feedback pro/cons of your surgery."
Malabsorption is the key to keeping your weight off. Malabsorption does NOT equal malnutrition, but it does mean that you must commit yourself to taking supplements daily and having regular bloodwork.
The pros of my surgery, the DS, are many. I still have a fully-functional stomach, that does everything it did back when it was huge. I have no remanent stomach, like in the RNY, so I can still take NSAIDs---or any other medication, for that matter. I eat a high-protein, full-fat diet, and about 2500 calories a day. I only absorb about 20% of the fat I eat, so my cholesterol numbers are fantastic. I have never had any food tolerance issues, and I no longer have the insatiable appetite I did pre-op---I get hungry 3-4 times a day, and I eat and am satisfied with small-but-normal-sized portions of pretty much anything I want.
Cons---can't really think of any, unless you count the supplements and bloodwork. The supplements are a habit now---I take a multi-vitamin and iron at breakfast, and calcium at lunch, dinner, and bedtime. I get bloodwork once a year. I eat protein first.
If you qualify for WLS, you qualify for the DS. I see you have a BMI of 36---do you have any co-morbidities? Most insurance companies require a BMI of 40 or greater, or 35 or greater with comorbidities. Price-wise, yes, I'm sure it's more expensive than LapBand, but prices vary greatly from surgeon to surgeon and country to country.
The DS can be done laproscopically. I had mine done open, but it wasn't much more painful than the lap hernia repair I had, and nothing like as painful as I'd prepared myself for.
How fast you will lose depends in part on how much you have to lose. What I mean is, if you need to lose 100 pounds, and I need to lose 200 pounds, and we both lose 20% of our excess weight in a month, you'd have lost 20 pounds and I'd have lost 40 pounds, but we'd have lost at the same rate.
But yes, you'll lose much faster with the DS than with the LapBand. About the same as with the Sleeve or the RNY, or perhaps a little faster. And it's a very easily maintained weight loss.
The DS can be done laproscopically. I had mine done open, but it wasn't much more painful than the lap hernia repair I had, and nothing like as painful as I'd prepared myself for.
How fast you will lose depends in part on how much you have to lose. What I mean is, if you need to lose 100 pounds, and I need to lose 200 pounds, and we both lose 20% of our excess weight in a month, you'd have lost 20 pounds and I'd have lost 40 pounds, but we'd have lost at the same rate.
But yes, you'll lose much faster with the DS than with the LapBand. About the same as with the Sleeve or the RNY, or perhaps a little faster. And it's a very easily maintained weight loss.
You have been a great help to me. I am going to go the 29th to a seminar and try to go from there. I am tired of being overweight and dieting and regaining it back.
I have degenerate rheumatoid arthritis and high blood pressure, so I am hoping to qualify for this surgery.
The DS sounds like a sure thing to me. Thanks for your reply.
I have degenerate rheumatoid arthritis and high blood pressure, so I am hoping to qualify for this surgery.
The DS sounds like a sure thing to me. Thanks for your reply.
kenworthlady 
Hey There:
I know your WLS and eating habits may be working for you, but I have a question. Why have major surgery and continue to eat basically the same way you did before the surgery? 2500 calories and a full fat diet, isn't that a prescription for wt gain in the future, because any WLS CAN be defeated. Aren't you willing to change bad habits for good health. If you eat lots of sugar/desserts/oils/high carbs...even if you are only absorbing only 20% now, that will change in the future as you retrain your new stomach to be just like the old one.
Al Roker and others found out that WLS is not a permission slip to eat anything...he gained over 50 lbs. back after several years of his WLS. Not developing good eating and exercise habits is a sure way to regain wt; that is why they have the new procedure for those who had WLS and regained wt...they lost wt because the calories were not INITIALLY absorbed, but after several years that new stomach/intestines WILL begin to absorb all that fat/sugar...that's the great thing about the Human Body, It WILL ADJUST whether the habits are good or bad!
Take Care
I know your WLS and eating habits may be working for you, but I have a question. Why have major surgery and continue to eat basically the same way you did before the surgery? 2500 calories and a full fat diet, isn't that a prescription for wt gain in the future, because any WLS CAN be defeated. Aren't you willing to change bad habits for good health. If you eat lots of sugar/desserts/oils/high carbs...even if you are only absorbing only 20% now, that will change in the future as you retrain your new stomach to be just like the old one.
Al Roker and others found out that WLS is not a permission slip to eat anything...he gained over 50 lbs. back after several years of his WLS. Not developing good eating and exercise habits is a sure way to regain wt; that is why they have the new procedure for those who had WLS and regained wt...they lost wt because the calories were not INITIALLY absorbed, but after several years that new stomach/intestines WILL begin to absorb all that fat/sugar...that's the great thing about the Human Body, It WILL ADJUST whether the habits are good or bad!
Take Care
On December 24, 2008 at 10:12 AM Pacific Time, ValueMe wrote:
Hey There:I know your WLS and eating habits may be working for you, but I have a question. Why have major surgery and continue to eat basically the same way you did before the surgery? 2500 calories and a full fat diet, isn't that a prescription for wt gain in the future, because any WLS CAN be defeated. Aren't you willing to change bad habits for good health. If you eat lots of sugar/desserts/oils/high carbs...even if you are only absorbing only 20% now, that will change in the future as you retrain your new stomach to be just like the old one.
Al Roker and others found out that WLS is not a permission slip to eat anything...he gained over 50 lbs. back after several years of his WLS. Not developing good eating and exercise habits is a sure way to regain wt; that is why they have the new procedure for those who had WLS and regained wt...they lost wt because the calories were not INITIALLY absorbed, but after several years that new stomach/intestines WILL begin to absorb all that fat/sugar...that's the great thing about the Human Body, It WILL ADJUST whether the habits are good or bad!
Take Care
Why did I have major surgery to continue to eat basically the same way I did before? Well, I LIKE the way I ate before, and with the DS, that's now a healthy way to eat. (Protein first, then veggies and fruits, then grains.) And I knew from experience that I was no good at dieting, and I was tired of trying. Denying myself always led me to falling off the wagon and pigging out. Now I eat whatever I want, and I am ABLE to eat it in moderation and feel fully satisfied---and I don't go on binges any more, because I don't feel deprived. (*grin*)
The DS is designed to slightly limit intake, and greatly limit absorption. It's long-tern effects have little to do with the stomach, and no, I'm not 'training' my stomach to do or be anything. It's simply an organ that churns food, and lets it out to the intestines a little bit at a time.
Will my malabsorption go away? Nope. It WILL decrease a bit, but the big difference between the RNY snd the DS is the degree of malabsorption. The DS has so much that's it's virtually impossible for the body to over come it.
Yes, any form of WLS can be out-eaten---but it's a LOT harder with the DS. Basically, you have to be a big-time sweet eater, and I'm not. The DS pretty much pulled my sweet tooth. I enjoy sweets, but not like I used to, and they no longer 'call my name'. I can eat A cookie, ONE chocolate-covered cherry, etc.
It's clear that you don't understand how the DS works. You can learn more here:
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/DS/
As for your second paragraph---I'm not certain what form of WLS Al Roker had, but it wasn't the DS. (Fobi pouch, I *think*.) I'm not certain what you're talking about re the "new procedure"---do you mean the Stomaphyx? (sp?) That doesn't affect absorption at all, it just tightens up a stretched stoma.
If you mean a revision---well, there are a lot of different ways to do those, and a lot of the people who get revisions go from the LapBand or the RNY to the DS. Check out the Revisions board, and you'll see what I mean.
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