HI,

I have one more month of support groups before I can apply for insurance for my surgery. I have wanted VSG from the start. At the support groups, all of the people who have lost tons of weight fast are RNY patients. The ONE lady I met who had VSG went from 270 to 175 but is 5'1", so she is still considered obese. I've been looking at befores and afters on here and while the results are great, does anyone get to a NORMAL BMI?

I spoke to my surgeon and he says he will be happy to do either the RNY or the VSG, but seems to be trying to lead me to the RNY, by saying things such as my sweet craving and lack of exercise make me a better candidate for RNY. Then he gave me weights I will be in 1 year (approximate) for each surgery and the RNY was in a NORMAL BMI and the VSG was not.

So, I'm just asking if anyone reaches a normal BMI with VSG?

Thank you for your help!

deerpark

(sorry I don't want to put my real name on here, but please help if you have the info).

I am 1.8 lbs. from my normal BMI...I am 8 months out. I really believe I will get there

Here is where I am at. I had the VSG on January 10th. I am 16 weeks post op tomorrow. I started at 216.8 with a BMI of 35.5. Today I am 164.1 and at 26.9 on my BMI. I am still loosing and only have ten pounds before I hit the top of my Normal BMI range. I can totally see me getting there. I would like to actually hit about mid range on my BMI so I have a little breathing room once I have to maintain. Good luck on making your decision - I think most of us have had to decide between more than one procedure. It is hard to do because it is something you have to learn to live with.

I was sleeved in December with a BMI of 40. My BMI is currently 29, which makes me no longer obese, but overweight . I am only four months out so I totally expect to get to a normal BMI.

It seems most people here who are close to a year out are at a normal BMI range. Of course, not everyone will get there, for a variety of reasons - 1) low metabolism - could be because of older age, not exercising, physiological reasons, medical problems 2) not using the sleeve to the best of its ability (eating too much junk/too much, period) 3) excess skin - if you used to be very big, you could easily end up with an extra 20+ lbs of skin, which would push you over into the overweight/obese category even if you don't have that much fat on you. Etc etc.

I hit a normal BMI within 8 months of having VSG. My BMI was 50 when I started, and I maintained that weight for a year before pregnancy. I was 263lbs the day of my revision, standing 5'2" and before pregnancy, my weight was 125lbs.

So, yes, I'm in a normal BMI for my height. Before going off just getting to a normal BMI, please investigate and research, the regain stats and long term complications on RNY. Also, check out the Revision forum on obesityhelp.com and see just how many RNY patients are looking at revisions because of complications with their pouch/stoma or with significant regain.

Think of all the pros and cons of each surgery type. Not just getting to your goal. Maintenance with any of the surgeries is the tough part. Losing was/is disgustingly easy for me, maintaining that's where the work comes in. With RNY, there is no guarantee that you will dump on sugars, only 30% of RNY'ers dump on sugar/fats. You'll only get 2 years on malabsorption of calories/fat/carbs, then after that you have to rely on dieting and your pouch to keep your portions small.

I'm not trying to convice (ok maybe I am), but please research every aspect of both surgeries, and go with what is best for you long term.

Hi Deerpark - I got to a normal/healthy BMI at just under 5 months. I started out at 36.6 and am now my BMI is just over 21. I'll be 11 months out on May 10th. I needed portion control and with this surgery you get forced portion control. Do extensive research, I know many people who had RNY, all but one either never reached goal or have started regaining their weight! They do not have the forced portion control. Theirs is malabsorbtion, not restriction. That was a big deal to me. Good luck in your decision!!

HI,

I have one more month of support groups before I can apply for insurance for my surgery. I have wanted VSG from the start. At the support groups, all of the people who have lost tons of weight fast are RNY patients. The ONE lady I met who had VSG went from 270 to 175 but is 5'1", so she is still considered obese. I've been looking at befores and afters on here and while the results are great, does anyone get to a NORMAL BMI?

I spoke to my surgeon and he says he will be happy to do either the RNY or the VSG, but seems to be trying to lead me to the RNY, by saying things such as my sweet craving and lack of exercise make me a better candidate for RNY. Then he gave me weights I will be in 1 year (approximate) for each surgery and the RNY was in a NORMAL BMI and the VSG was not.

So, I'm just asking if anyone reaches a normal BMI with VSG?

Thank you for your help!

deerpark

(sorry I don't want to put my real name on here, but please help if you have the info).

At my highest weight my BMI was 40. When I was revised from the band to the sleeve it was 31. Now it's 23, which is in the normal range. So absolutely it IS doable.

YES. Normal BMI in less than 5 months. For those of us who have struggled with weight for years - the sleeve is a dream come true.