I know from personal experience that WLS is a big step, and requires a lot of research and study. I have been overweight all my adult life, and starting considering bariatric surgery in 2006, after my family doctor recommended it to me. He recommended an RNY surgeon in Atlanta. He had several patients that had used him, and they had all done well. I started doing my research in July, 2007, and joined a support group of the Atlanta surgeon, and also several other support groups, including the CLOS group. After a great deal of research, I decided that the MGB was the best for me in September, 2007, and started working on my application package. The package is very intensive in that it requires that you read the 147 page manual, and have and can demonstrate a complete understanding of the MGB procedure, as well as all the other types of WLS. It also goes into great detail about the negatives and positives of WLS. The process requires that you have an evaluation by your PCP, your cardiologist, and other specialists that you may use. You are required to have a psychological evaluation to make sure your emotional condition is as it should be. The CLOS site also has a wealth of information, instructional videos, etc, which make is easier to understand what to expect.
I had my MGB with Dr. Cesare Peraglie in Davenport, Fl on 12/7/07. At that time, my weight was 324, I had type II diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, aching joints, sore back, etc. After seven months, I am down to 221; diabetes has been resolved since immediately post-surgery, my blood pressure is improved, sleep apnea is gone, joints and back pain is gone. My wife had her MGB with Dr. Peraglie on 3/13/08, and she is also doing well. She is down 43 lbs after almost 4 months, and her blood pressure is much improved. Her only other co-morbidity of joint pain is gone. Neither of us have had any problems at all, and we are both grateful to have found out about the MGB, to have made the decision we made, and to have a surgeon of the quality of Dr. Peraglie. Part of our success is due to getting plenty of exercise, and eating a healthier diet too. Again, WLS is an important decision that should not be rushed into. For us, the MGB has been a great solution, and we would not change anything, except we wish we had done this much earlier.

Lynn in GA
12/7/07 - Dr. Peraglie - MGB
Hi: 329
Pre-op: 324
Now - 710/08: 221
Goal: 190

UPDATE: 8/2/09
Still no problems. I am no longer taking any medications for diabetes or high blood pressure. I reached my goal of 190 after 17 months, and have been running about 185 for the past 3 months--down about 140 lbs from my pre-op weight.  My wife is down about 80 lbs after 17 months, and is also doing very well. We are both still extremely happy with out decision to have the MGB with Dr. Peraglie. Our neighbor had the MGB with Dr. Peraglie on 11/20/07, and he is down from 275 to 180, and is also doing great. He says he only regrets not doing this years ago.

Lynn in GA

Hi Darnell,

I'm still fighting for insurance approval. My insurance has only paid for RNY and Lap-Band in the past, but they can't possibly keep saying that DS is "investigational" when it's been established as a safe and effective treatment, and when Medicare even pays for it. I've had all of my pre-op testing, been through the 6-month diet and will hop right up on the operating table just as soon as Blue Cross comes to their senses. ;)

Yep, that's me. I'm not very domestic. I hate hate HATE to take the time to cook, so fast food is my downfall. I doubt that there are very many morbidly obese people who have the discipline necessary to diet, or we probably wouldn't be in this situation to begin with. The thing that really just makes me crazy is the fact that after all the yo-yo dieting, I can't even seem to lose weight when I do become disciplined and stick to a diet. It's like my metabolism is broken. Thank God we have these surgeries to fix it!

Good luck with your surgery, Darnell! I hope you've found the one you can live with, and be healthy! 

Thanks for sharing your experience, Darnell. Do you know if any studies have been done showing average regain? I've chosen the Duodenal Switch for my surgery, but I have a friend who is contemplating the MGB, and I'm just curious how it stacks up. The Duodenal Switch gets much better long term results than any other surgery I'm familiar with, but I just don't know that much about the MGB.

I've lost enormous amounts of weight so many times in my life only to gain it back and I won't risk that again. I'm so grateful that I found out about the DS.

Have any long term studies been done to look at the results of this surgery after 10-15 years? I've seen studies that discuss results after one year, and the %EWL in those studies seems to wildly vary according to who is doing the study. So what about regain? How does this surgery stack up against the other surgery types for long term maintenance of weight loss?