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i am in the middle of obtaining approval. hoping to have insurance approval with surgery in december 2010.

it's taken me a little more than a year to finally decide this is my best option to good health. i am a nurse and the biggest hurdle was facing the fact that i was not going to be able to "fix" this myself. in fact, it was a horrible admission to myself that i am this broken.

but, now i have made the decision and am excited, anxious, weary, and hopeful. that list is not all inclusive of the multitude of emotions i am having every single moment i breathe right now.

questions that i need to hear answered from women who've had the surgery. (please!!) i'm not finding any research to the answers.

1. with vsg is the loss of weight 'all over' or mostly abdominal fat first?

2. what is the incidence of Hair loss? (vanity)

3. i'm reading that vsg has a slower weight loss than r&y; does this mean that there is less excess skin since in theory the skin will have more time to shrink?

4. for those that did not have the gallbladder removed, have you had problems and how many had to have another surgery later to remove it?

5. what is the loss to breast tissue, meaning, will they significantly be diminished in size? (this is the other thing that vanity is giving me fits about)

thank you for your help in advance.

deb :)

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I hope people who have had the surgery answer, but if not I know there are posts on here about Hair loss from 2-6 months out. I also have read some posts about deflated breasts and others not so much. Finally there seems to be a wide range of losing, but most experience stalls several times as their bodies adjust. Again I hope some give their firsthand experience.

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Welcome to VST seafood! I am happy to answer your questions. I set up a group of questions when I began to seriously consider the sleeve... so I'm glad to give a little back. :001_smile:

1. with vsg is the loss of weight 'all over' or mostly abdominal fat first?

2. what is the incidence of hair loss? (vanity)

3. i'm reading that vsg has a slower weight loss than r&y; does this mean that there is less excess skin since in theory the skin will have more time to shrink?

4. for those that did not have the gallbladder removed, have you had problems and how many had to have another surgery later to remove it?

5. what is the loss to breast tissue, meaning, will they significantly be diminished in size? (this is the other thing that vanity is giving me fits about)

1. Well I think this is going to be only true to each individual... however for me, I've noticed I am losing "all over". Though to be honest I've always lost and gained like this in the past. I'm not positive this is due to the type of surgery I've had.

2. I have not lost any hair yet but I'm only a few weeks out of surgery. I did have lap-band too though and did not lose any hair then either.

3. Actually quite the contrary, all the reports I've seen is that the VSG loses as fast as the RNY. Not only that, some studies show better losses toward the end of the first year, and better maintenance as well.

4. This is my second WLS and still have my gallbladder. I also lost quickly with my band and went from 283 to 227 in 4 months time. I do not know what the future holds though!

5. I personally have not lost a whole lot in the breast area. Neither did with my other WLS. I continue to be a D size so matter how big or how small I am... except many years ago I used to be a C. However I was still a teenager so I'm not sure it was just more growth due to growing up.

I hope this helps! Let us know if you have anymore questions. :(

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Thanks so much for the response. These do help!

Welcome to VST seafood! I am happy to answer your questions. I set up a group of questions when I began to seriously consider the sleeve... so I'm glad to give a little back. :thumbup:

1. Well I think this is going to be only true to each individual... however for me, I've noticed I am losing "all over". Though to be honest I've always lost and gained like this in the past. I'm not positive this is due to the type of surgery I've had.

2. I have not lost any hair yet but I'm only a few weeks out of surgery. I did have lap-band too though and did not lose any hair then either.

3. Actually quite the contrary, all the reports I've seen is that the VSG loses as fast as the RNY. Not only that, some studies show better losses toward the end of the first year, and better maintenance as well.

4. This is my second WLS and still have my gallbladder. I also lost quickly with my band and went from 283 to 227 in 4 months time. I do not know what the future holds though!

5. I personally have not lost a whole lot in the breast area. Neither did with my other WLS. I continue to be a D size so matter how big or how small I am... except many years ago I used to be a C. However I was still a teenager so I'm not sure it was just more growth due to growing up.

I hope this helps! Let us know if you have anymore questions. :)

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i am in the middle of obtaining approval. hoping to have insurance approval with surgery in december 2010.

it's taken me a little more than a year to finally decide this is my best option to good health. i am a nurse and the biggest hurdle was facing the fact that i was not going to be able to "fix" this myself. in fact, it was a horrible admission to myself that i am this broken.

but, now i have made the decision and am excited, anxious, weary, and hopeful. that list is not all inclusive of the multitude of emotions i am having every single moment i breathe right now.

questions that i need to hear answered from women who've had the surgery. (please!!) i'm not finding any research to the answers.

1. with vsg is the loss of weight 'all over' or mostly abdominal fat first?

2. what is the incidence of hair loss? (vanity)

3. i'm reading that vsg has a slower weight loss than r&y; does this mean that there is less excess skin since in theory the skin will have more time to shrink?

4. for those that did not have the gallbladder removed, have you had problems and how many had to have another surgery later to remove it?

5. what is the loss to breast tissue, meaning, will they significantly be diminished in size? (this is the other thing that vanity is giving me fits about)

thank you for your help in advance.

deb :)

Hi Deb,

Welcome to the world of other broken people.

1 the weight seems to come of in the inverse order that it went on.

2 everyone loses hair but it comes back.

3 Don't know if it's slower but I think it's healthier.

4 I had my gallbladder tested and it was OK and its still with me 17 months out

5 They will be the size they were when you were last that weght, they may be hanging several inches lower however, depending on age :thumbup:

Jane x

Edited by Jane_J

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thanks Jane J! that was a good laugh! since they already hang down several inches lower... gonna really test the victoria's secret! hahaha:thumbup1:

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thanks Jane J! that was a good laugh! since they already hang down several inches lower... gonna really test the victoria's secret! hahaha:thumbup1:

My husband and i were making jokes about the tube sock boobs last night... he said make sure to roll them up with the crease side down so you don't have strange horizontal cleavage! :thumbup:

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
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      1. LeighaTR

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

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        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

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