Hey guys,

Was doing some research and ran across this article. Thought y'all may be interested as I've seen some posts asking about long-term results.

VSG 5-year results for weight loss

Can hardly wait for a surgery date!!

Hey guys,

Was doing some research and ran across this article. Thought y'all may be interested as I've seen some posts asking about long-term results.

VSG 5-year results for weight loss

Can hardly wait for a surgery date!!

I was amazed the Ghrelin levels dropped in half and stayed low after 5 years. I was sadded by the three who did not lose

Kinda makes me nervous about the severe reflux.... I'm scheduled for the sleeve in April. Has anyone else had acid reflux that bad?

>20 lbs regain in 20% of pts is kind of a lot....yikes. But I guess if I gained 20 lbs back, I'd still be much better off than I was pre-sleeve!

Wow! I'm excited that the ghrelin levels stayed so low for such a long time!!! I was worried it might come back . . . . whoot! I think the regain is to be expected if you're not vigilant about what you're putting in your mouth -- I'm not saying we all have to be nuns, but we do have to realize that the reason we got the surgery is because of our obesity and our poor food choices -- we can make better choices or fall back on old habits. And as far as the reflux, I don't plan to not use a PPI -- I figure I'm doing good with with now, why tempt fate?? Interesting research!

Kinda makes me nervous about the severe reflux.... I'm scheduled for the sleeve in April. Has anyone else had acid reflux that bad?

I notice alot of sleeve peeps use a PPI for their reflux, but I have never had reflux and have never used any PPIs. Not ALL sleevers get reflux.

Deb

I notice alot of sleeve peeps use a PPI for their reflux, but I have never had reflux and have never used any PPIs. Not ALL sleevers get reflux.

Deb

I was sleeved a week ago and I do not use a PPI because I don't have any reflux and if I take some, I get tummy aches and such.

I notice alot of sleeve peeps use a PPI for their reflux, but I have never had reflux and have never used any PPIs. Not ALL sleevers get reflux.

Deb

Ditto!

That is good news. When it said 55, does not mean 55 kg and what is that in lbs. Sounds good though.

I sometimes have reflux, but mostly have learned it is certain foods that trigger it (chocolate comes to mind) so I tend to not eat a lot of chocolate. It sort of doesn't appeal to me anymore bc I hate that feeling of reflux and it makes it not worth it. Things that sweet are not so appealing anyway. Sometimes if I eat really sweet things I just feel kinda gross inside. I prefer sweets that are bland now. Also I know to take Prilosec if I'm eating spaghetti sauce from a jar instead of homemade, which I do rarely. I had reflux occasionally before, so I don't think it is a lot different.

I also don't eat at all or drink very much before I go to bed bc if I lay down sometimes the food will want to come up which I guess is kind of a reflux. So I don't do that either bc that is an awful feeling and ruins my sleep.

Like anything else you learn to adjust. Yesterday I had to eat a Whataburger chicken sandwich, just a lil of it. I just felt like my body hated it, kind of a reflux feeling for a while I guess you'd say. I ate it out of necessity bc I couldn't get a good meal and I didn't have much with me to eat. YUCK. You just learn not to eat those things often. It is more of a feeling like crap, I have to eat fast food. Nothing appealing about it to me. Low nutrition in it, chance of getting reflux, etc. I'd rather eat good food than that.

I have heard of doctors using a 40 boughie to give more room to help prevent reflux symptoms, but my doctor would not give me any bigger than a 34 and I would say I have mild reflux. It is not a huge problem and I wind up taking a PPI rarely, like twice a month. I probably took it that often before surgery too, but I ate much worse and much more then.

Here is the breakdown:

Weight loss results of 26 patients with a complete follow-up of 5 years.

RESULTS: Weight loss defined as mean percent excess weight loss (%EWL) for the first 5 years was found as:

57.5 +/- 4.5,

60.3 +/- 5.0,

60.0 +/- 5.7,

58.4 +/- 5.4, and

55.0 +/- 6.8

-Weight regain of more than 10 kg (22lbs) from nadir was observed in five (19.2%) of the 26 patients.

-Four of the patients (15.4%) were converted to gastric bypass due to severe reflux (n = 1, 3.8%) and weight loss failure (n = 3, 11.5%).

-A total of eight patients (30.8%) were at chronic need for proton pump inhibitor medication due to severe reflux.

-Plasma ghrelin levels were reduced from 593 +/- 52 to 219 +/- 23 pg/ml 12 months postoperatively, with a slightly, non-significant increase toward the 5-years values of mean 257 +/- 23 pg/ml.

CONCLUSIONS: At 5-year follow-up, a mean EWL of 55.0 +/- 6.8% was achieved, indicating that VSG leads to stable weight loss. Beside significant weight regain, severe reflux might necessitate conversion to gastric bypass or duodenal switch. After an immediate reduction postoperatively, plasma ghrelin levels remained low for the first 5 years postoperatively.

full study here;

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20094819?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum&ordinalpos=1

I think we have a better chance at keeping it off now vs. the people 5 yrs ago. There was so little information and support out there 5 yrs ago.

The stats don't mention starting weight or hight, exercise or eating habits...other factors....

I do try to accept the very real possibility that I will only lose and keep off 55% of my excess weight.

And the old ever used "fact" quoted here.."lost for good" is not a fact for many people. I don't think it is

impossible for me to lose it all, or most... but even with my best effort, its not a given. With that said, I think

getting support like we get here, and changing eating and exercise habits can give me more of a chance at

a satisfactory success. Even more than losing all my excess weight, I don't want to feel like a failure. I have

felt like this with my weight a lot in the past. I don't feel like a failure in most other areas of my life... I still don't

want to feel like this no mater if I lose 30% or 110%. When I was being interviewed by my Dr. he asked me if I

would be happy losing 50 pounds (50%). I said yes... but really want to lose 100%. Time and behavior and

the X factor will tell...

I may be mistaken but the size of the stomach has been reduced from %50 to only %25 - %15 in the last 5 years

I may be mistaken but the size of the stomach has been reduced from %50 to only %25 - %15 in the last 5 years

It sure would be helpful to know this kind of statistic in regards to these studies... My Dr told me that bougie size has nothing to do with the success of weight loss... I'm not convinced...

The stats don't mention starting weight or hight, exercise or eating habits...other factors....Time and behavior and the X factor will tell...

I think you're absolutely right --- the thing is, how many of those people really took their new lifestyle seriously -- I think that many people think they can continue to eat in the same way they were eating (and I think a handful can, but the majority cannot). I think along with the surgery, one has to accept the fact that one signed up for a "change." And that includes eating, exercising, etc.

I'm exactly like you in the sense that my dr. told me (well, in Spanish, so it's not word for word), "You will probably only get to 100 kg." (That's 220 lbs.) I was devastated when I heard that because I really, really, REALLY want to get to a normal BMI (which is 165 for me) -- and guess what?? so far, I've beat his 100 kg -- I'm going past it and losing as much as I can get this ol' bod to lose (within reason of course).

Hell if I'm giving up!!

What is PPI?