Failed VSG???

I'm am getting ready to have the VSG I just wanted to know if anyone has failed with this surgery.  I have researched and researched and heard such great things but I thought Id post on this forum to see if anyone has NOT succeeded with the VSG and if so why do you think you failed.

Thanks!!!

 In my opinion there is no magic solution to weight loss, only tools to help us get there.  I had my VSG in March 2009.  I did great in the beginning until I got pregnant in November of that year... then the hormones kicked in and I had a total disregard for what I was supposed to be doing.  Now that the baby has come and he is healthy and doing well, I have to get back on track.  

I dont consider myself a failure, just distracted.  I have to stop making excuses for eating the wrong things and get back to eating properly.  Yes, the sleeve makes it easier to lose and in a safe way, but YOU still have to be the responsible one and put that sleeve to work.  Eating candy, drinking high calorie things (soda, iced tea, etc...) will sabotage your weight loss.  Some will argue that you should never indulge in treats, some say once in a while its ok... thats totally your choice.  You know your body best and how it will react to certain foods.  For me, sugar is highly addictive and where I got in trouble was eating it during the pregnancy and then after, oh say once a month (thanks mother nature)... so even though my sleeve still works as far as restricting volume, I have to break my sugar habit again.  Now that my hormones have gotten back to normal, it should be much easier to control myself.  Other than that I fully believe in this surgery and am glad I had it done. 

Wishing you the best!

I  know of several people that did not do well with a sleeve however, all but one went to a really horrible surgeon that did such a butcher job they never even had a real sleeve to begin with.  After they had revision surgery they were fine and lost well but they had to have a proper sleeve to begin with.

The one person that had a good sleeve, did all the right things, kept her calories low and still didn't lose has a pretty serious metabolic issue.  She revised to DS and even that isn't helping.

This really is allllll about a lifestyle change and no surgery fixes eating crap filled sugar products while you lose anyway.  If you can change your eating habits, odds are you will do well.

I think it's important for each person to define success for herself/himself, in specific detail; and to choose the surgery that is most likely to help them reach and maintain their personal success goals.

For myself personally, success is:

*Staying healthy (no severe or unmanageable side effects of surgery; feeling great)
* Losing 100% or more of my excess body weight (for me that's 100 lbs or more)
* Keeping at least 95% of my excess body weight off long term (long term = forever)

I chose the DS because, statistically, it has the greatest chance of helping patients get the most amount of excess weight off, and to keep that weight of long term.

Most often, I don't think people fail; I believe that surgeries fail people by not being able to offer as much support as the person needs long term to be able to get the weight off and keep it off.  For folks whose surgeries are successful for them, it's great!  They've done what it takes to get them and keep them at goal, and they feel good about it (as well they should!).  On the other hand, when people don't have the success they desire, they tend to beat themselves up rather than looking at the mechanics of the surgery and post-op requirements and why those may not have been the best fit for their specific needs.

My Dr. only does DS for patients that have a BMI over 50 so the DS wasn't an option for me.  But I think the sleeve will do me justice as long as I use it as a tool and know that its not going to do ALL THE WORK for me.

I had a BMI of 53, and the DS was never even considered for me.
I researched ALL forms of weight loss surgery between 2001 and 2006.  I did extensive research in the medical libraries of two Universities that had Medical Schools; on-line research, etc.

I chose NOT to have either the gastric bypass, or the DS, because long term studies are showing more and more problems with any surgery that rearranges the intestines.  The DS does not have anything like the number of years of research that the Bypass does, but even it is beginning to show intestinal erosion, intestinal ulcerations, etc.

You can easily do your own research by going to Google and typing in:  Problems with (and then type in the name of the surgery you are considering)  In the case of the DS, type in:  Problems with the Duodenal Switch

You will find thousands of articles, many by surgeons that have done the DS, concerning a myriad of significant problems with that surgery, including but not limited to:

Horrible gas problems; weight regain, inability to tolerate NSAIDS and other medications, erosion of the intestines, ability to eat as much at one year post-op as the patient could pre-op, etc.

I had a Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy myself.  Slightly less than 80% of my stomach was removed.  I can eat no more now, than I could at 6 months post-op (slightly over 1 cup of soft foods, less than that as food becomes more solid).

I have had two "complications" because of this surgery:  I have to take a good multi-vitamin with minerals, and Calcium Citrate (1,000mg) every day, or I develop deficiencies in several vitamins and in my calcium intake (this is true of MOST forms of weight loss surgery, by the way).  I also have to take a large amount of iron daily, because I became severely anemic post-op (this is also not uncommon with any wls that restricts the amount of food you can eat).

I lost 195.5 pounds over 16 months (so much for the claim that this only really works well for the 1st 6 months, and you won't lose anything after 12 months).

I have maintained my weight loss, within 5 pounds, ever since January 2010, without any problem at all.  I weigh myself weekly (just as i did during my weight loss phase), and if I regain 5 pounds, I go back on program till its gone.

No form of weight loss surgery is magic, as another person pointed out.

YOU have to change your lifestyle, PERMANENTLY. 

YOU have to choose to eat a healthy diet.

YOU have to choose to exercise moderately, on a regular basis.

I HATE exercise (I got enough of that in my 10 years in the Army to last a lifetime), I LOVE to cook and I'm a VERY good cook and baker), I love to eat (Oh how I LOVE to eat).

In addition, I was 65 years, 1 month old when I had my surgery.  I an 67 years and 10 months now.  I was a confirmed "Couch Potato", I am lazy by nature, and frankly if someone like me could peel of 100% of their excess weight, then anyone CAN.

Whether or not you will, is up to you.  You have to make the commitment to do it, and you have to stick to that commitment for the rest of your life.  That does NOT mean you will never cheat (we all cheat, even me, but some people won't admit that they do).  But, when you do cheat, you do NOT make a habit of doing that.  You eat you cake (or ice cream or candy), and STOP.  Don't beat yourself up, just get back on program.

Your surgery is merely a tool to HELP you get the weight off.  Whether or not you actually use that tool is strictly up to you.

I thought with the DS taking NSAIDS was not an issue, also seemed to have a better long term rate than the other wls options...I also wanted to comment on your success how much weight do u think having a healthy metabolism play? I want to go with the sleeve but fear that my metabolisms is so out of wack that I will not be successful.

 
Yes, DS most certainly IS an option for you.  If the only reason you aren't getting DS is because your doctor does not do it, go to another doctor.  One skilled enough to do the procedure.