Tons of questions about VSG -- looking for thoughts and help!

Hi! I'm considering VSG but I'm torn. I'm hoping to hear about people's experiences, if you'd be willing to share. (I'm also looking to read other forum threads on this same topic -- I can't seem to find any, but my search skills are not amazing!)

So the deal is -- I've been fat all my life. I was at 283 out of high school and went on phen-fen, which helped to to lose about 150 pounds. When phen-fen was made illegal, I stayed on phentermine and kept the weight off for about 10 years. Then, I fell in love and got lax, stopped taking the pills as regularly, and the weight just piled on. I'm now up to 350, which is much more than I think I'd weigh now if I never messed with phen-fen to begin with. I got up to 400 pounds, but started taking phentermine regularly which has helped me lose 50 pounds, but it is legit like pulling teeth. SO HARD and SO SLOW.

I am interested in VSG, but I am scared. I am scared of the danger of the surgery, I am scared of the pain, I am scared about never feeling normal again and being constantly nauseous. I am also nervous about losing my hair and having to pee constantly and not sleeping well. (I'm a great sleeper now!)

I am also, and this is the most important thing, very scared about it shortening my lifespan. I do think that people naturally weigh all sorts of different amounts, and that being fat isn't a death sentence. I don't have any health related issues to being fat, other than it's very annoying to navigate this world as a fat person! It would be nice to fit comfortably in airplane seats and be able to hike more comfortably, but is that enough? I haven't found any studies that show me the long-term longevity of people who get VSG. Do you think it could have potential to shorten your life span? I am very nervous that major traumatic surgery would do my health more harm than good. Any thoughts on this?

I know this is a lot to dump in here, but I have lots of complicated feelings and am looking for some guidance from people who have been down this path. Any help would be so appreciated, and thank you for your time.

Hi! I'm only 1 week post-op so I don't have a lot of anecdotes of advice BUT I do understand all your concerns. There are so many health and social benefits from surgery but is it worth everything you give up? I get it. I am in week 1. In the middle of the most painful, most psychologically frustrating phase where buyer's remorse is common and I still do NOT regret my decision. I know the benefits outweigh anything that I will give up. The things lost will be replaced by awesome gains. My mother had Lap-Band years ago and the increase in her happiness was immeasurable. I know about 5 close people who have had WLS and so many nurses at the surgeons office and hospital who had the procedure and everyone says the same thing- their only regret is that they didn't have it done sooner. Only you and your family can make this decision, but I hope fear doesn't keep you from being the healthiest you can be. Good luck!

First to deal with your fears. It's far more dangerous to weigh what you weigh than to undergo VSG surgery. For me, the pain was minimal and short-lived. I didn't take any pain meds once I got home because I didn't need them. You will feel a new normal that is far more pleasant than being able to eat incredible amounts and then feel guilty about it. I have never felt nauseous since my VSG. I lost some hair, but it was never noticeable to anyone but me and my hairdresser and it's all growing back. I sleep like a log.

Second, the VSG isn't a miracle and will not do the work for you. You still need to work at choosing the right foods and several months in, you'll feel more capacity and need to lean on your newfound healthy skills to not overeat things you shouldn't, which is how people regain with WLS. You can regain or never get to goal if you rely on the sleeve to do all the work!

Lastly, you're fooling yourself if you think the only ramifications of being 300-400 pounds is airline seats and limited stamina. Being that heavy is a death sentence in the long run. I really mean that in the kindest possible way. Just because you aren't experiencing major health issues now, doesn't mean that will be the case in 5 or 10 years.

I am so glad I got the sleeve! It's not a miracle cure, but it will help you improve your health for the better. I sincerely wish you all the best, no matter what you choose!

Hi and welcome.

I understand your fears.

My surgery was a breeze. It's got a very low complication rate - ask your surgeon about their history with complications.

I had very little pain that was easily managed. I was tired for a while, but "a while" at the time was really only 2-3 weeks.

I'm four years post-op and I feel totally normal. It's a new normal. It's a different normal. It's a normal I LOVE :) My new normal involves running! And climbing walls! And never being afraid of being able to fit in a seat or a booth or just into a world that hates fat people. It's pretty awesome.

The only times I've been nauseated post-op were immediately post-op, and zofran took care of that. I've felt nauseated immediately post-other operations, but that wasn't related to VSG at all. And I've felt nauseated when I've been in severe pain from kidney stones. Again, not VSG related. Being nauseated all the time would be weird.

Hair loss (telogen effluvium) isn't uncommon after surgery, but it grows back. It's not something I experienced, but I shaved my head for St. Baldricks 6 weeks post-op. Heh.

I don't have to pee constantly. The only times I've slept poorly are immediately after surgery, when it's just hard to get comfortable regardless. But that passes.

I haven't seen studies that WLS shortens a person's lifespan? I think that being obese has a much greater chance of shortening your lifespan than VSG does. You might be a healthy fat person now, but it seems unlikely this will continue and longterm phentermine usage might not be super healthy either.

These sound like good questions to ask your surgeon about, though!

Thank you so much for all of these responses -- I so appreciate your honesty and opinions!

Having a VSG is the best thing I ever did and I believe I lengthened my lifespan as a result. Obesity can be tolerated by some people during their younger years but inevitably there is a high toll to pay. In my case ultimately my blood pressure was too high to normalize with medications, I had become pre-diabetic, had high cholesterol, sleep apnea and various aches and pains as a result of my weight at 61. Essentially all resolved now. I'm healthier now than I've been in 15 years.

As to your fears:

• Safety: Your surgeon can supply their statistics but generally it is as safe or safer than a gallbladder operation
• Pain: I personally was surprised at how much less painful it was than expected. The medication in the hospital kept me comfortable and I didn't need any pain medication from the time I went home 1.5 days Post-op
• Nausea: I never had any. I know some do, but it seems short-lived and medication can help if necessary
• Hair: I didn't lose any. Some do, but there is no way to predict.
• Peeing: I pee less often now probably because I don't have as much internal fat pressing on my bladder
• Lifespan: gastrectomies have been around for a long time for things like ulcers. Here is a 1991 article I found which says there is no risk of reduced lifespan for women (and in men it seemed it wasn't related to the gastrectomy itself). http://www.gastrojournal.org/article/0016-5085(91)90471-V/pd f

Best of luck in your research and decision making. It was truly the best and most healthy thing I ever did for myself.

Hello and welcome!

I was crippled with fear over the VSG. I'm a nurse and I've seen the worst of the worst, which I believe contributed to my anxiety. However, I was finally was able to put things in perspective. The risk of dying from surgical complications are so slim they are not worth worrying about. Sure there is a slim chance there could be complications, but there is a slim chance you could get in a car accident. The weight is far more dangerous and just gets worse with time.

The long term effects of phentermine are probably far worse than surgery as well. Phentermine is a stimulant acting very much like an amphetamine, which could potentially put a strain on your heart. As a matter of fact, most docs will only prescribe it for 3 mnths at a time with rest periods in between because it can be damaging with prolonged use. Make sure to be open with your surgeon about your medication history because your surgeon will likely do a more thorough cardiac work up just because of your history with this drug.

With that being said, I had VSG, I'm very happy with my results so far. I have had no complications so far, and feel very stable and healthy. I try to follow the rules to the best of my ability, take vitamins, and drink water which I feel have helped. You can still eat, and tolerate sweets, so just know that you will have to work your tool. It won't do everything.

Hope this helps, and wishing you the best in your decision making process.

So, at my heaviest, I was probably over 300. (I didn't get on a scale for a long time.) When I finally weighed in and started the process I was about 271. I'm 161 now. I was 55 when I had surgery. It was easier than having a c-section (which I did with both my girls). The only times I'm nauseous is when I overeat. I eat normally. I went from a size 24 to a size 8. After the tummy tuck, I'll be a 6 or a 4. I haven't slept well since my kids were born 18 years ago, so I can't speak to that.

I'm almost 2 years out. I'm smaller than my two teen daughters. I'm smaller than I was when I married my first husband more than 30 years ago.

As to the numbers on longevity - talk to a surgeon. All I can tell you is that my A1c is perfect my blood pressure and glucose are great and I fell 30 years younger.

My only regret is not having done this in my 30s or early 40s.

Ok, so going through your post...

I was on phenteremine for a short period of time, and I loved it. But it's not sustainable, and it has a high risk profile. Not the greatest way to keep weight under control.

I also was always heavy, but it got significantly worse over the last decade or so. I topped out a little over 300. I'm now about 195. The bigger you get, the harder it is to lose, I know that.

As far as the danger of the surgery, I'm a nurse and so I looked very hard at this. It's as safe as a number of other surgeries that are considered routine like gall bladder removal or a non-burst appendectomy.

Pain was very mild for me. Pain and surgery recovery is different for every person, but most people I talk to didn't have anywhere near the pain they expected. I don't know about the peeing constantly, I've not heard anyone complaining about that. I sleep through the night. Early on for a few weeks, it can be hard to get comfortable, but once you're fully recovered, your sleep should be fine.

I'm not sure where your information about surgery shortening your lifespan came from. The opposite is true based on the research. While a small amount of extra weight (in the overweight BMI not the obese BMI) has been shown to be protective in some studies, it's pretty clear in all of the research that obesity, especially morbid obesity, shortens lifespans considerably. My experience was that being fat didn't affect my health, until suddenly it did in spades. I believe our bodies have extraordinary ability to compensate, but at some point the compensatory mechanism fails, and our bodies fall apart. WLS has been shown to improve a number of chronic conditions and the data is showing that it increases lifespan vs. remaining obese. The trauma of surgery is recovered from relatively quickly, and the long-term effects are positive rather than negative. You won't find as much research on VSG specifically because it's newer and doesn't have a big enough population for the longer term studies yet, but the same long-term results as RNY are starting to prove out. RNY seems to be a little better at mitigating diabetes, but otherwise the surgeries have very similar long-term profiles health-wise.

In my case, VSG was the best thing hands down I've done for my health, ever. I had sleep apnea, very high cholesterol, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, psoriatic (auto immune) arthritis, asthma, and chronic migraine. My sleep apnea is now gone. My cholesterol is still high (runs in the family) but it's improving. My blood pressure is textbook normal with no meds at this point. My osteo won't get any better, but my joints are INCREDIBLY happier carrying 115 lbs less. My psoriatic arthritis is in remission. My asthma is completely controlled with one pill a day. My chonic migraine fluctuates with a lot of things other than my weight, so it's not really been impacted by the WLS, but we're doing other treatments now and it's getting better. I also was diagnosed during this process with fibromyalgia, and it's not going away but the meds are working well. Before WLS it was hard to tell what was the auto-immune arthritis and what was fibro, but the meds weren't working very well for any of it.

My life is so much better now. All of the things that make it hard to navigate the world as a fat person are no longer an issue. Clothing is a lot easier to find in straight sizes, and shopping isn't a nightmare anymore. I'm just flat out more mobile and more active than I was before.

My only regret (and I've said this repeatedly) is that I didn't do this years earlier.

I will also say that if you have any food issues like bingeing or emotional eating, therapy needs to happen. I don't think I'd have been as successful as I have so far without my therapist and the work we started months before the surgery. I credit therapy as much as WLS with my success.

For me surgery was the best thing I ever did. I am a year out and have lost a total of 140# since I started and 100# since my day of surgery. I am 5'4, 37, and was over 300 at my highest. I thought my weight didn't hold me back from doing anything until I lost weight and started doing more. I even was a scuba diver before the weight loss. I had no health issues from being obese but I was doing less and less as I added weight. I took a week off of work and went back with the understanding that if I was tired/drained I could leave early (I didn't but I did take a nap when I got home). I had no complications and was feeling better than ever from the beginning. Not everyone is like that but from what I've read many people have had a recovery like mine. Now I bike 75-100 miles a week (in warmer weather), go to the gym, hike with friends, and do just about everything people ask me to do because I'm not tired after work (I sit at a desk all day).

Hair loss is no joke. I started losing my hair at about 6 months and for about 4 months it just seemed to keep coming. Now its growing in, healthy if not a bit frizzy since its so long. I have a good relationship with my hairdresser and she cut it as needed and answered any of my questions when I freaked out about it coming out. Now at a year out I have about 6 inches of new growth coming in and shoulder length hair. I have had to cut about 5 inches off my length, but that is because now that my face isn't round its quite long and the shoulder length is more flattering.

Peeing all the time...well I drank lots of coffee and water pre-surgery so I was already doing that. I don't think I pee anymore than before.

Its also not a magic cure. I log my food and eat low carb and if I eat poorly I see it on the scale.

Andrea