study by Dr in California of 5 year patients?

[Globetrotter 1,340]

This is so depressing, I probably shouldn't have clicked on this thread right now, I've been in a glum funk since yesterday about a lot of things and this is just fuel to the fire ... Let's just say worst case scenario it is 5 years later and although a person has been diligent about changing their lifestyle, the stomach has still stretched out a lot and now the person is pretty much on a severe diet just to maintain. Can they get a "tighten" tune up? Resize the stomach back down to smaller? Is that possible?

[MeMeMEEE 206]

I have seen (maybe in the pages attached) where they talk about a revision of VSG. But if you are diligent about changing your lifestyle you shouldn't stretch your stomach out. I wouldn't think overeating a time or two a year would stretch it too much.

[feedyoureye 3,087]

We have gotten a fairly new stand alone procedure... I'm sure time will tell what needs to be done to get the best results. We are the guinea pigs! I am hoping by the 3rd-6th year there will be something to help those who were early out in getting the best continued results.... like a tighten up or whatever. Until then, i will just do the best I can muster... which will NOT be perfect.... but hopefully good enough!

[Wheetsin 714]

The sleeve doesn't do any funky calorie algebra. A calorie is still a a calorie. It isn't suddenly 1 calorie = 400 calories. It doesn't make your body gain more weight on fewer calories. I would think the worst case scenario is that IF you stretch your stomach and IF you find you can eat more then you just make an effort to eat a normal meal, not a severe diet.

I was the fattest person I knew, and I've still managed to maintain my weight for almost 3 years without really trying. And that's with a tool that does a lot less for me than a VSG does. That's not horn tooting, that's me believing in the power of maintenance.

Have read the study yet, but will need to. If what I've seen in posts is accurate, the validity is not high enough to be concerned about.

[CowgirlJane 14,261]

While I agree that this isn't cause for panic/over reaction, I do think we should "listen" to the bad news too, not just the good stories, to make a more informed decision.

I too was banded and I did NOT get to goal and I did NOT maintain what I lost. There is of course more to the story, but while we are all individuals it is still wise to look at the results that a wider population experienced and learn from it. I think that my results reflect what a whole heck of a lot of people experienced, but of course in 2001 when i was banded, and there was little long term studies, i too thought that the odds of problems were small and odds of permanent sucess were great. I also had a few friends who did really great with the band, at least at first, and so those personal stories encouraged me to listen to the good news and kind of poo-poo the possible bad news. I am trying hard to go in with my eyes wide open.

For me, the regain wasn't what alarmed me. I was more alarmed by some of the longer term complications like serious reflux that shows up 6+ years after surgery. It gave me pause; to wonder how well we really understand the long term consequences of this surgery/.

Anway, I appreciate people finding and posting this info even as incomplete and imperfect as it is.

The sleeve doesn't do any funky calorie algebra. A calorie is still a a calorie. It isn't suddenly 1 calorie = 400 calories. It doesn't make your body gain more weight on fewer calories. I would think the worst case scenario is that IF you stretch your stomach and IF you find you can eat more then you just make an effort to eat a normal meal, not a severe diet.

I was the fattest person I knew, and I've still managed to maintain my weight for almost 3 years without really trying. And that's with a tool that does a lot less for me than a VSG does. That's not horn tooting, that's me believing in the power of maintenance.

Have read the study yet, but will need to. If what I've seen in posts is accurate, the validity is not high enough to be concerned about.

[feedyoureye 3,087]

While I agree that this isn't cause for panic/over reaction, I do think we should "listen" to the bad news too, not just the good stories, to make a more informed decision.

I too was banded and I did NOT get to goal and I did NOT maintain what I lost. There is of course more to the story, but while we are all individuals it is still wise to look at the results that a wider population experienced and learn from it. I think that my results reflect what a whole heck of a lot of people experienced, but of course in 2001 when i was banded, and there was little long term studies, i too thought that the odds of problems were small and odds of permanent sucess were great. I also had a few friends who did really great with the band, at least at first, and so those personal stories encouraged me to listen to the good news and kind of poo-poo the possible bad news. I am trying hard to go in with my eyes wide open.

For me, the regain wasn't what alarmed me. I was more alarmed by some of the longer term complications like serious reflux that shows up 6+ years after surgery. It gave me pause; to wonder how well we really understand the long term consequences of this surgery/.

Anway, I appreciate people finding and posting this info even as incomplete and imperfect as it is.

I agree.