Which should I choose! So confused!!
Gigi - The DS was never an option for me because I didn't want my insides re-routed. However, if for some reason the VSG hadn't been successful in putting my Type 2 diabetes in remission (I went off all meds the day after surgery and have maintained an A1c for the last 2 years between 5.1 and 5.5) then I would have considered a revision to a DS.
The VSG is the first step in a DS. So if you do the VSG and then determine after a couple years that it's not creating all the health benefits you wanted, you could do the second step to have it converted to a DS.
Nobody wants to think about two surgeries but it's an option.
The VSG was the option I chose for myself for a couple of reasons. I wasn't comfortable with my intestines being rerouted and the vitamin deficiencies that can go along with RNY and DS, especially since I'm prone to iron deficiency anyway. One of my main motivations or WLS was fertility, and I felt better about getting pregnant without having my intestines rerouted.
My BMI was 52 when I scheduled surgery, 49 the day of, and currently sits at 36.8. I'm working on getting at least to the lower Obese Class I place before we try and get pregnant.
I asked my surgeon if they'd ever lost a patient from a surgery. He said never from the sleeve but from the bypass. He quantified it by saying they had other health issues but that was enough for me to decide on the sleeve. I have a family to think of-can't be taking chances I don't need to. Just my two cents.
I'm going to piggy back off this response.. my surgeon also told me he had never lost a patient from VSG but lost 2 from RNY (one was extremely poor health and the other flew like 2 weeks after surgery when he was told not to especially since he already had a blood clot condition.) This surgery is the safest, shortest surgery time and it has been done for a very long time-- patients with stomach cancer mostly before they discovered how effective it is for weight loss. For me it was a no brainer.
It depends on how severe your diabetes is. Has your PCP/endocrinologist told you that simply losing weight will help it? If so, then the sleeve should be enough. If you've had diabetes for a very long time and are on insulin, you stand a greater chance of resolving the diabetes with the DS. BUT, you have to be committed to a pretty strict regimen of supplements for the rest of your life.
My BMI was right at 50 and I had diabetes for around 5 years, on actos and byetta. I took no medication for diabetes as of the date of surgery. My PCP removed the diagnosis from my chart 2 years ago.
that actos is a killer I gained 100 lb on it when persribed by my old pcp then I went to a endocriologist and he said it was crazy to put me on it every one gains a ton on It he took me off it and put me on insulin and byetta and I lost 75 lb preop with the help of byetta that helps you lose weight for a short period of time
I just got off the last of my diabetes meds metiformin after 1 1/2 years ,was off insulin and byetta since surgery and my new pcp said that my a1c has so goo (5.6 that we will try without metiform < have not had a1c yet but my fasting blood sugar runs 110- 120 ans doctor said all is good as long as it stays under 130
Yeah. My doc didn't mention the weight gaining that comes with Actos until AFTER I had gained 15 pounds. She started me on Actos and Metformin. Metformin did nothing for me except upset my gut. The Byetta was a good counteragent with the Actos, and I dropped the weight I had gained from it and it stabilized my blood sugars.
I know that I've heard that the DS resolves diabetes, probably due to the rerouting of the intestines, but that doesn't mean that the VSG or the other wls can't resolve it either. Type 2 diabetes for the most part is diet related.
I had the VSG & am now on the lowest dose of diabetes medication available & I hope to be off all meds sometime this year. But it was the combination of losing the excess weight & diet changes that got me to the level I'm at.
You have to weigh all the pros & cons of each surgery. I've even heard some people taken off the diabetes meds after VSG surgery, so it varies from person to person. Good luck in whichever surgery you choose!
No one surgery is better than the other, what works for one may not work for another. T-Rebel