Give me 10 truths about VSG

1) Does everyone get reflux? I have no history of it. None, never had before nor after surgery

2) Do you get dumping with VSG? No, you do however can get insane cramps when you don't chew your food properly

3) I have read that some people cannot eat  months after surgery or they will vomit. Not in my experience, I was able to start eating solids a week after my surgery and have had no problems. I think you're hearing about very extreme cases

4)Hair loss? Even if I eat all my required protein will I lose my hair? Does it grow back? No hairloss here, took biotin pills for a while and once I stopped those my hair got a bit thinner but I take good supplements and use essential oils and no problems in that area

5)Did your mobility improve? Yes, yes and yes!

6)How long before your co-morbidities went into remission? No experience with that

7)After surgery you can only eat or drink a little at a time. If a protein shake has 11 oz how long did it take you to drink it? Hours? Right after the surgery it took me a day to get 1 in and that slowly improves. Don't pu**** do what you can.

8)Any complications? Zero

9) What pre-op testing was required? Blood test, psych test and upper GI test

10) Any regrets? either having WLS or the type you chose? None, best thing I ever did for myself!

1) Does everyone get reflux? I have no history of it. No. And some of us who went into surgery with bad reflux find it resolved IF a hiatel hernia was reparied at the same time. This was my case. Then 4 years after surgery more reflux to the point I couldn't keep food down, and found out another large hiatel hernia. 

2) Do you get dumping with VSG? I do. Not as bad as a Rny patient, but enough that I need to be mindful.

3) I have read that some people cannot eat  months after surgery or they will vomit. Yep. We call it the "foamies" and you are going to want to avoid that. Trust me on this. 

4)Hair loss? Even if I eat all my required protein will I lose my hair? Does it grow back? I lost about a third of my hair, but also was dealing with some cander treatment at the same time. It did grow back. 

5)Did your mobility improve? Oh goodness yes!!

6)How long before your co-morbidities went into remission? No longer diabetic almost immediately. Some problems with low blood sugar early out, but once I figured out how to eat then it was not a problem. Cholesterol actually went up quite a bit due to surgery and caused me to have to start taking meds for it. Blew out the gallbladder, as I was allergic to the meds they gave me to protect the gallbladder. Mood improved greatly, as there was a tremendous increase in the quality of life. I was not clinically depressed prior to surgery, but in a dark place nonetheless.

7)After surgery you can only eat or drink a little at a time. If a protein shake has 11 oz how long did it take you to drink it? Hours? First couple of weeks I actually opted for an option that drank more like Koolaid. Isopure. I found the shakes to be too heavy at first. This resolved by a month out. I did not have issues in general with getting liquids in, but was always careful to have them with me to sip on.

8)Any complications? Directly out of surgery, none. A couple years later a gallbladder was lost and a second large hiatel hernia repaired. Both might have happened anyway without the sleeve surgery.

9) What pre-op testing was required? Shrink, blood work, meeting with nutritionists, sleep center was waived due to being married to a guy that worked at one and also working in one so we know what it looks/sounds like to have apnea and we don't have issues, stress test for the heart. Probably missing something, as there was a slew. Took me a couple  months to get through them all.

10) Any regrets? either having WLS or the type you chose. None. Unless the hiatel hernia comes back again, because then I will have to revise to Rny. If that were to occur than I would likely regret not going RNy in the first place.

1. Does everyone get reflux?  No, I have not developed reflux
2. Do you get dumping?  No, haven't had a problem with that, either
3. I have read that some people cannot eat months after surgery.  I have always been able to eat, but immediately after surgery the volume of what I could tolerate was very small.  About an eighth of a cup.  I had surgery on 10/3/16, and I can eat between one third and one half of a cup now, depending on what it is.  As someone else stated, it is critical to pay attention to your body cues.  If I am not paying close attention when I am eating, it is easy to miss the "point of no return mark" without realizing it.  Nausea, bloating, and rarely vomiting, is the result. Unpleasant for sure, but aversion therapy certainly makes an impression upon one!
4. Hair loss?  Yes, and I don't recall being told about it or even knowing that it was a side effect.  I am taking solace from all the answers on this thread assuring us that it does grow back. 
5. Mobility?  Getter better every day
6. Comorbidities?  I did not have any
7. How long does drinking fluids take?  This was really tough for me.  Post-surgery, i could take two sips.  Not gulps. SIPS. I could do this about every two minutes.  I underestimated how much sheer work it was to get food and water into my body.  It was a full-time job for the first month.  I bought a timer to help me. 
8. Any complications?  Yes. I bled about two liters into my abdominal cavity from the posterior staple line. I required a blood transfusion and a two-day stay in the ICU.  I have been told that this is a very rare complication, and that I was the only one at the medical center to have had this complication in the past year.
9. Pre-op Testing? Blood work, anesthesia consult
10. Regrets?  No, though I would say that I underestimated the fact that WLS is a major abdominal surgery whether open or laparoscopic.  I saw my surgeon last week for my 6w check and told him my current energy level is less than I expected.  He said it can take months to fully recover from an operation.  I am back to work full-time after taking 4 weeks of leave. Fatigue is still an issue for me. 

I'm 15 months post-op and have had a wonderful result from surgery.  I made my goal of 140 pounds on June 12th and I've never looked back.  

1. I had never had reflux before surgery, but did have it for about a month after surgery.  I took a reflux med and did fine with it.  I also used Tums once in a while, if the acid was annoying.  
2. Never had dumping, but did get the "foamies" a couple of times.  My mouth filled with saliva and I felt a little nauseated, but no vomiting.
3. See above
4. I had no hair loss.  There is nothing you can do to prevent it, if it is going to happen to you.  Biotin, protein, gelatin and all the other suggestions won't help with hair loss.  The hair loss happens because of the anesthesia, not from the protein you are eating.
5. I went from barely walking a mile a day to walking up to 10 miles a day.  I'm not just walking, I'm hiking!
6. Before surgery, I was on cholesterol and blood pressure meds.  I was also pre-diabetic.  Within 2 months I was taken off of the BP med and was taken off the cholesterol med at 6 month out.  My pre-diabetes was resolved within 3 months.
7. I never had a problem drinking my liquids.  I drank my protein shakes in less than 10 minutes each.  My water levels were up to 64 ounces within a week after surgery.
8. Absolutely no complications.
9. Regular lab tests, psychiatric testing, and a treadmill stress test were required for surgery.
10. No regrets other than waiting so long to make the decision to have surgery.

Good luck!!!!!  Let us know what you decide to do.

.

1) Does everyone get reflux? I have no history of it.

No. In the old style DS, the sleeve was a bit larger. But I don't get reflux. I do get occasional heart burn, especially when I take vitamin C tablets. But generally I don't have any.

2) Do you get dumping with VSG?

Dumping is a RNY thing, however, if you eat a very low carb diet, and have are eating very low calories...eating processed sugar just messes with your system. It will make you sick. People with a pyloric valve cannot technically dump.


3) I have read that some people cannot eat months after surgery or they will vomit.

I had to eat very little-otherwise I'd get the foamies. I did notice that if I drank soda just after I ate, I'd feel terrible! For the first year, it was a learning curve. I had to "force" myself to throw up occassionally because I overestimated my ability to eat a certain amount of food...etc.


4)Hair loss? Even if I eat all my required protein will I lose my hair? Does it grow back?

Hair loss is a typical part of WLS. There isn't much you can do about it. Just plan for it

5)Did your mobility improve?

YES! I use to be able to walk about 10 ft at 500 lbs..and then my legs would start to cramp, i'd get all sweaty. WLS was a life changing decision...the best one I ever made.



6)How long before your co-morbidities went into remission?

I didn't have any comorbidities...other than sleep apnea. It went away after I lost about 30 or 40 lbs.

7)After surgery you can only eat or drink a little at a time. If a protein shake has 11 oz how long did it take you to drink it? Hours?

You wont be able to get in the protein you need the first few weeks. Push yourself to stay hydrated. Water, water, water...sip sip sip. It does take a long time to get the hand of eating. You have to learn how to eat again...it takes time. Again, I've never heard of anyone getting rushed to the hospital because they didn't get enough protein the first few weeks, but they have been rushed to the hospital for dehydration.


8)Any complications?

None.

9) What pre-op testing was required?

Blood work, EKG. Because of my weight, my doctor wouldn't let me have the surgery without clearance from a cardiologist (echocardiogram). I had to have an endoscopy as well.

10) Any regrets? either having WLS or the type you chose?

Nope. None. I had the VSG with the DS-BPD (that is the full name of the DS...vertical sleeve gastrectomy, with a duodenal switch and biliopancreatic diversion). The VSG helped restrict my eating for the first year....and after that the malabsorbtion helped me keep the weight off. I think it's mater of your weight history...I was always fat, I have a history of overeating.....the VSG alone would not have been enough but the combo with the VSG and the DS-BPD has been enough to help me keep the weight off for the last 10 years.

Scott