Revisions & Thoughts

Yes, I totally agree, Lee. It's a very different path for all of us. And honestly, while I think hard work is vitally important with the vsg, there is some luck involved as well. I've been thinking about long term maintenance a lot lately, as I approach my five year mark next month. And, in the end, my conclusion is: It's Complicated.

I think maintenance HAS to be just that--something you can maintain. And if people are lucky enough or work hard enough to create new eating and/or exercise habits (or have fewer awful habits to begin with) during the first years, then I think maintenance will be successful. But, in general, I don't think people can maintain for the very long term when they are feeling miserably deprived or having to watch every single bite. And we know that, as you say, many of our challenges come back the further out we are.  I really feel for the folks who start of with very high BMIs, have strong attachments to fast food, salty chips and other carbs and hate to exercise--that is a LOT for them to overcome long term, even with the best of intentions. For example, I started out a relative lightweight, have never eaten fast food and love protein. My problem areas are sweets and grazing--a much more manageable set of problems than some other people have.  And that's why I think some of those people should consider a more drastic approach.

I remember a long time ago when I was researching and spent time on the DS board, back when Diane Cox was still around. She helped a lot of Kaiser patients get referrals to have the DS done. In my case, my insurance would have actually paid for the DS but I had to self pay for the vsg. So I thought about it a LOT!

Here's to a 10 year meet up!

Lizanne

 Lizanne, I completely agree with everything you've said.  You are one of our "wise" ones!  I feel very lucky to share this journey with you.

  I too share your problem area of sweets and grazing.  I hope that I can manage them long term.  For me logging is critical because it makes me that much more aware of what I am eating.  When I don't log for a few days, I know my sneaky side is trying to bite me.  Daily weighing keeps me honest with myself.  

I'm happy there are more drastic means for the people that can benefit from it.

I find this very interesting.  When I was pre-op, considering the VSG, I tried to find failed VSG patients to see what went wrong... and could find very few.  But, I also went into this with the mindset that I tried everything else, this was my last shot, and it was this or nothing.  Due to other health problems, I was excluded from having any sort of malabsorption surgery and no way, no how was I getting a band...

Not quite sure most people have this mentality... just as a few other posters said. 

I think some people think going into this that it is a quick fix... that they can have surgery and then eat whatever they want.  I admit, I thought this pre-op... before starting the surgery process... however, after my first appointment, I realized that this was a long, involved process... and that in order to be successful, life long changes were needed.

I went into this, with the same mindset that you mentioned. It was my last chance to lose the weight and that I would do anything and everything that it took, to be successful. I decided that I would follow medical advice, since doing things "my way" obviously didn't work, since I was a candidate for bariatric surgery. The RNY wasn't acceptable due to the malabsorption component and the lap band was dead in the water at the beginning. When I started looking into the VSG, it seemed like the right surgery for me.

I never thought that it was a "quick fix" but I don't think I truly understood the impact that the VSG would have upon my life. It has truly involved a complete change of lifestyle and habits to lose the weight and to maintain. I am still early out, so the real proof will be, where I am at, in 5 years.

Pre-op, when I read about failed surgeries, common threads included: life happening, going back to eating carbs, failing to exercise, not weighing frequently, lack of support, not logging food, etc. I like to think that I have learned from that, and will do my best to keep up with the good habits and behaviors that I have been practicing for the past 2 years.

I do believe that despite best intentions, some people do need the power of the DS for successful weight loss. Many people are metabolically challenged and need the extra help that the DS can give to them.

Any of the surgeries can be eaten around, and ultimately, it does come down to healthy lifestyle changes.