Just doing my homework...

Hi Lizanne,

Thanks for chiming in again. I had to laugh when I read your post. I never really thought much about it, but I think that having to fart whenever I eat carbs, might actually keep somone like me honest! The more I read other peoples stories here on OH, the more I'm starting to discover some of my issues. The carb thing you mention, yeah, there are times where it's completely out of control and times when I can completely walk away from them. I'm not sure why these times are different yet, but I do know that the more of them I eat, the more of them I crave. I remember one time where someone brought in a tray of pastries and I wasn't going to have one but there was one that looked just too good to pass up. Before I knew it I'd had 3 more. Then I went back to the kitchen for water and there were more sitting there and at that point I was full and went to walk out of the kitchen but was strangely compelled to eat another. I didn't even enjoy it! It was the wierdest thing. Hmmm... some food for thought (pun intended!) I'm glad to know that the DS has a weakness. I once heard that you couldn't out-eat that thing and that made it attractive to me. So this gives me even more to think about.

Thanks again for your pearls of wisdom. I truely appreciate them.

Hmmm.... at first I thought it was very odd that only LapSF patients were responding to this thread.  Then I realized that Cirangle/Jossart have been doing the VSG a longer time than many Dr.s, so I guess it makes sense.

I had surgery about 3.5 yrs ago and had 90 lbs to lose to have a "normal" BMI.  I lost 114 but have since gained back about 14 lbs  (but about 5 of that I gained back on purpose because my weight had dipped a little too low for my comfort).

I was a volume eater so this procedure has worked VERY well for me.  I can pretty much guarentee that I never would have lost anything close to this amout of weight without surgery, and I can guarentee that I would have gained it all back by now.  I do still have to watch what I eat.  I've had a LOT of sweets over this last week and therefore have gained about 2 or 3 lbs.  So now I need to go back to focusing on nutrition and exercise and take that 3 lbs off.  And yes, over time it does get a little easier to gain and a little harder to lose.  Old habits can creep back all too easily even after several years!

Best of luck to you, on which ever procedure you choose!

Blessings,
Rana

Hey Rana!  doncha know this is a LapSF ONLY thread?   What the heck are YOU replying for ?  Oh,  wait a minute.....I guess you're one of us.....well alrighty  then.     Shouldn't we get some sort of "kick back"  from LapSF for being good little patients and FREE advertising for them ? 

Rana,

Thanks for sharing. I'm really glad to hear from vets like you. I think that for this procedure, I can call you a vet, right? I think what I'm gathering is that even though there's still a battle to be fought with food even with a VSG, it seems that the battle is easier to win and that you can modify your diet enough to gain or loose, whatever the case may be. Sort of like a thermostat wherein if your too cold, make a slight adjustment, or if your too hot, make a slight adjustment. This seems more controllable than not having it at all. Without it I've made many adjustments but the adjustments never stick or they are simply too difficult to reach. I may need to back up a bit and try to see if I fit into any particular category with my eating issues. Knowing what they truely are, I think will help me know that I'm choosing the right tool. You're absolutely right, those habits do manage to creep back in.

Thanks so much!

Wendy

You mentioned worrying that regain with VSG might be as bad as with RnY. As far as I can tell, it's not. Dr. C says in our support group meetings that both surgeries (DS & VSG) have regains of around 10% while RnY is more like 20-25%. I have since found at least two studies that show something similar and one study actually directly concluded that it was the restriction of the VSG and DS that are responsible

There are lots of reasons for why RnY has such a bad track record with regain, but mostly they are mechanical and the sleeve is a very different procedure than a RnY.

As for how hard the journey and is how much you have to diet, I think that varies from person to person. I am 2.5 years out and have been at goal since 10.5 months and I don't feel like I have to diet at all. I treat myself on a regular basis, eat nuts every day, don't eat fat-free products or other "diet" foods.

I do watch my weight but no more than the normal people I know who don't seem to have any issues with maintaining but want to stay slim. I weight myself most days and, if I go above a spot I am comfortable with, I just don't eat junk for a few days or make sure I get in all my exercise and it falls off. I rarely have to do this though.

The only exception is that during the off-season when I am not working out very much, I gain about 3 pounds. This is pretty typical of endurance athletes. Heck, the current Ironman World Champion was complaining about gaining 5 pounds during the off season recently. It falls off in Jan or Feb when the weather gets better and I'm back to more intense workouts than water aerobics at the gym (which I love but it's not like running for an hour in terms of calorie burn). Again, I don't really have to do anything to make this happen; it just kind of does.

For me, my main issue pre-op was that I had a ravenous appetite and I never felt full or satisfied no matter how much I ate. The VSG cured that. It makes weight loss and weight maintenance completely possible in a way that it never was before surgery!

MacMadame,

Thanks for posting. It seems to be a very useful tool.

I was referred several times to your page and there was such a plethora of useful inforamtion there! As some one in the "consideration" phase, I truely appreciate folks like you to take so much of your personal time to catalog this type of info to help out others.

Thanks again.