MSG0310

I have hit a snag with financing my VSG surgery and I’m now rethinking the surgery as well. My nurse for my endoscopy the other day told me not to do it! She said the lifelong Vitamin deficiencies, potential for bowel obstructions, gallbladder issues, brittle bones, etc. were all things she’s seen in her Bariatric patients long term. She didn’t say it in a bad way and I did ask her to be honest but once she realized she was discouraging me she felt bad. She told me that since I have no other comorbidities to just try losing it on my own again one more time and do it for a full year at 100% effort especially because I’m young (26). I am seriously on the fence especially now that my loan didn’t go through. I know so many people are happy with it and we hear from these people all the time saying the only thing they regret is not getting it done sooner, but does anyone wish they had given it one last go before surgery? Especially those who are otherwise relatively healthy. I don’t even have high cholesterol, sugars, or blood pressure! My bp is always around 125/83, sometimes a little bit higher but not by a huge amount. I hope people do not think I am attacking their choices or their way of life because VSG and the Bariatric community is something I have been researching for a long time and I’ve found lots of great info here, but this is a huge, major, life changing decision and it’s best to get everyone’s opinion and to be very thorough! I have had one friend who’s best friend was put in a coma, and another who had lost her life due to a bowel obstruction post WLS. I am terrible at even taking my birth control pills, so I just don’t want to set myself up for failure 5 years down the road if I’m too absent minded to take my Vitamins. Any advice would be helpful. I lost about 48lbs in 5 months on phentermine but would not do it again due to heart issues it caused.

On 12/04/2018 at 21:57, VSGDavid said:

So man. What a day! Surgery went text book according to surgeon. I was on the table for 55min. He told me it was obvious that I had rocked the preop diet, as he could have likely done the surgery without a liver retractor.



I was in recover for about 2 hours because I kept going apneic on the pain meds, so they had to keep the doses low, which sucked.



Once I got back to the room, and got on my personal CPAP machine things progressed much better. I’m on icechips only until tomorrow morning. Let me tell yah. The dry mouth is no joke! I did 10 laps around the floor I’m on 1 hour after arriving to my room. Since then I’ve done between 8-15 laps every hour I was awake. (I slept for a few hours) All the people that told you walking is the only thing that helps gas pain? Listen to them!



I’ve attached a pic of my ugly mug after walking the floor for 15 laps.



Best wishes to everyone! I’ll update when They advance my diet.

On 11/21/2018 at 17:39, elcee said:

For some reason and I'm not sure what it is there is a perception out there that a sleeve is an easy or minor surgery compared to a bypass.

Let's think about that. With a VSG your surgeon takes a large portion of your stomach cuts it off and throws it away.

With an RNY your surgeon rearranges the way your stomach is connected but doesn't throw anything away.

So they are both MAJOR surgeries.

A VSG is a restrictive only procedure. An RNY is both restrictive and malabsorptive. For me after having had one procedure that only gave " restriction" I am quite happy to consider a procedure that gives both. I don't see taking daily Multivitamins as an issue.

There is a high risk of reflux with a VSG.

Dumping - it's not something I'm looking forward to but it may just be what I need. If eating chocolate or sugary foods causes me to feel like crap then I am a lot more likely to not eat them. Not all bypass patients get dumping but for the ones that do it may be just the thing that they need to help them stay on track.

So my advice would be LISTEN TO YOUR SURGEON. If he advises 1 procedure over the other keep an open mind and ask lots of questions as to why he thinks it would be better. If you are willing to trust him with your life then you need to be able to trust his judgement .

Hi everyone,

I am scheduled for VSG on December 26th. Last week I went to do my upper GI with contrast. The nasty barium swallow. Well apparently in my report they found some abnormalities of my esophagus and some reflux. My surgeon said in my report that usually the liquid just goes down, but with me it shot up almost to my clavicles and then back down. I don’t notice this at all while I’m eating or drinking.

As a result my doctor wants me to do an endoscopy and a motility test to check the function of my esophagus and how I swallow. He said depending on the results he could switch me to the bypass. I really do not want to do the bypass due to malabsorption, dumping syndrome, and cost because I am self pay. I have been waiting to get VSG for years and I’m afraid this test will come back abnormal as well. Has anyone had these tests done and still gotten the VSG even with abnormalities? What is the motility test like? Any information would be helpful.

Yeah Ive researches what the ideal body type looks like I was more just wondering what real people who have been through the surgery look like and if they have loose skin around the belly area, weight evenly distributed, etc! It’s tough finding VSG people my height on instagram!

Wow! I’m excited!! I’m really worried about loose skin because most of my weight is in my belly but hopefully it won’t be too bad! You both look amazing

Hey everyone! I’m finding it hard to find someone who looks like me anywhere online, just to see what I may look like without all this fluff on me! I’m 5’1 and 246 right now. I have a really long torso and very short legs and I hold most of weight right in my belly area. My thighs, calves, arms, are pretty thin, but I also have a rather large chest, lol. Anyone have any progress photos along with how long it’s been since your surgery so I can have an idea of what to look forward to?! Thanks! I’ve made an Instagram for my weight loss journey @LookStraightVSG but haven’t posted anything yet! Would love to follow you guys too!

On 11/12/2018 at 13:30, Myhorseisfattoo said:

Au contraire, mon ami! My liquid diet is 8 days prior to surgery - mostly milk and yogurt and clears, then clears only 24 hours before. I might be ready to perish at that point!

On 11/12/2018 at 12:59, CWhip said:

Does anyone know how I can get my rings off of my fat fingers??? I am pretty sure I have to take them off for surgery. They have been on for almost 30 years and getting them off is going to be a chore. Thoughts?? Thanks!!

On 11/12/2018 at 12:51, CWhip said:

From what I understand, the liquid diet is really only for the 72-48 hours before your surgery. The pre-surgery diet (2 weeks prior) usually consists of low calories and clean eating. Nothing of what I call the "white death"... no dairy, no sugar, no wheat

On 11/12/2018 at 10:35, LZN2512 said:

I’m curious what everyone else’s pre op diet looks like? Mine is only Protein Shakes, I’m so nervous about it!!!

I am scheduled for December 26th! Day after Christmas. Will be spending Christmas Eve on a liquid diet, lol. I’m very nervous

Thanks everyone. The word “death” on the packet just really really scares me to the point where I panic about this decision. I don’t know how to rationalize it!

Hi everyone,

I just scheduled my surgery for December 26th and I’m a self pay patient. After I scheduled surgery I was bombarded with all the things I need to do in the next 7 weeks to prepare for surgery, including dividing my time and a full school schedule with my surgery requirements. I feel completely overwhelmed and was on the verge of a panic attack on the drive home! All of the appointments, nutrition visits, etc. as well as dealing with the reality that this is now a tangible thing in the very very near future that I’m investing a lot of money in. Did anyone have this feeling of dread and panic right after scheduling surgery? Luckily I was able to get into my local hospital rather than going out of the country, which eases my anxiety. Any words of advice to deal with this panic and severe anxiety? Thanks so much.

Like you I have been battling back and forth between getting VSG. I’m 26 and my primary care suggested it at 24. Honestly, when I think of all of the things I’m going to be missing out on, it does bother me for a little while. But then I realize that it is simply my food addiction talking to me. I have spent the past few months trying to really come to terms with my food addiction and mentally prepare myself for surgery. Food is currently a coping mechanism, a comfort, a means of control in a life where I do not feel in control in many other avenues. My advice to you would be to please, please, try to tackle the very debilitating issue of food addiction first before surgery. Therapy is a HUGE step in this. Additionally, Identifying thoughts and actions that are coming from your addiction rather than your better self is another step. Even if you are still currently going through the motions that your addiction dictates, just having that presence of mind to understand that you are buying this meal or drinking this soda etc because of your addiction is an important part of overcoming it. I am slowly trying to do this before I go in for surgery. If you are not mentally prepared, it will be a difficult ride. I can say though that your health is the most important thing in your life. More important than any of these doubts.

I will say that everyone I know who has had surgery in the past does not have a problem with consuming nicotine, caffeine, or any of that. I’m sure in the beginning it will be tough, as you cannot have these things. But hopefully spending that time learning about yourself and coming up with healthier coping mechanisms will allow you to treat yourself on occasion. You can do it!

Hi everyone, I hope I can get some support from this page because I’m lacking in it everywhere else. I have a HUGE family (both physically and quantitatively, lol) and it seems that no one is 100% supportive about my surgery. It’s making me question my decision.

A little about me, I am about to turn 27 and I am 5’1, 247 lbs. I have PCOS and a history of diabetes and heart attacks in my family. Every day I fear I’m closer to death with my lifestyle. I have tried everything under the sun: specialized obesity clinics, endocrinologists, low carb diets, ketogenic diets, juicing, and even physician-supervised phentermine plan (I got heart palpitations as a result of the phentermine drug and never went back).

All my family keeps telling me is that I can do it naturally, and I shouldn’t take such a drastic step. They are also extremely worried about me going to Tijuana, Mexico, even though my own family OB-GYN referred me to this surgeon because she got the surgery herself with the same doctor. I figured if my own family surgeon is comfortable enough with this doctor then why shouldn’t I be?

2 years ago when I first started researching I had a different insurance which would cover the surgery here in the US. I got all the preliminary appointments out of the way except for the endoscopy. My current plan won’t cover it, and I have the money for the surgery and I would like to get it done. But- They keep putting doubts in my mind, to the point where I’m fearful of a few things:

1) I’m afraid of dying on the table. I know the surgery is laparoscopic and has a high success rate, but my family is so afraid of surgery that I’ve gotten extremely bad anxiety about this. They think that because I’m going to Mexico, the level of care will be low. The fear of this wakes me up at night.

2) Fear of depression because of lifestyle changes. They tell me I can’t handle not being able to eat and drink at the same time, or not being able to gorge on food, or use food as a crutch. I personally believe I could deal with all of this, if it meant I could be happy and healthy in my body for once in my life.

I have been researching this for 2.5 years since 2016, and I still don’t know what to do.

Has anyone dealt with this kind of problem? And if so, how did you deal with all of the doubts, fears, worries, and risk of going out of the country?