I have been doing a lot of research lately about healthy living. Plant based foods etc. I am worrying myself sick about the what if's. I just wish there was more data out there about your health 10-20 years down the road with VSG. I don't want to trade my current health issues for a different set of health issues. I currently have sleep apnea, diabetes and high cholesterol. Just so confused if i could turn all these health issues around with plant based foods etc. I guess what i'm searching for is people that have tried these options and decided on VSG anyway. Regrets? Any thoughts would be helpful. Thanks.

My thoughts about results 10- 20 years later are that...at least I will be alive that long in the future. The road I was headed down led to a casket by the time I was 40! Now I know that I will be around for weddings of my children and to see the birth of my grandchildren. Before I had this surgery I was buying life insurance for me for when I died....because I had no doubt that I would be dead within a few years. My only regret=not doing this surgery sooner!

My thoughts about results 10- 20 years later are that...at least I will be alive that long in the future. The road I was headed down led to a casket by the time I was 40! Now I know that I will be around for weddings of my children and to see the birth of my grandchildren. Before I had this surgery I was buying life insurance for me for when I died....because I had no doubt that I would be dead within a few years. My only regret=not doing this surgery sooner!

Sassy, I agree!

My only regret is that I didn't do it sooner. I had all the issues that you list and I was probably going to die, go blind or have a major body part lopped off due to the diabetes. I didn't have 20 years left in my life to figure out if the surgery was going to work or not. I've done every diet you could think of. I've taken the pills and the shots. I even did it the old fashioned way and ate less and worked out more. In the end the weight always came back. A plant based only diet comes with its own set of issues, lack of proteins, iron and vitamins, for instance. They can be handled of course, but I'm not sure that you end up any more healthy than going the sleeve route. There's a fair amount of empirical data that supports VSG surgery being a good avenue to take. Realistically, there's a pretty good chance that some weight will return, IF you don't work the plan. What the surgery gives you in the short term, is the opportunity to rebuild your eating habits and reconcile your relationship with food in general. Some folks take advantage of that, and lose their desired amount of weight. Some think that the surgery alone is the magic star that will get them to their goal weight. It's mainly just a tool that will help you achieve a healthy lifestyle, if you pay attention to what your Dr. and nutritionist tell you. Good luck with your journey, I hope that you find what you are looking for.

My thoughts exactly.... don't think I would have had 20 years to worry about it without the surgery.

Besides there is documentation for gastric bypass.

the sleeve is not as drastic as it is

I have researched VSG thouroughly especially doctors opinions on the procedure and what the future holds. There is a video on YouTube with two of the worlds most famous bariatric surgeons and they are asked what the future holds in regards to WLS. There response was that the band will be obsolete because it is not meant for long term and Sleeve will increase by 40% along with 30% of RNY.. They go into detail about why they think this is the case and I tend to agree with this concept.. As long as you take your supplements and get in your protein then 10-20 years from now we will be here to see the latest WLS gatchet... they are always pioneering old procedures with more advanced. Soon the sleeve will be just as common as insulin, as treatment for obesity.. i'm glad to get in on it now.

I have been doing a lot of research lately about healthy living. Plant based foods etc. I am worrying myself sick about the what if's. I just wish there was more data out there about your health 10-20 years down the road with VSG. I don't want to trade my current health issues for a different set of health issues. I currently have sleep apnea, diabetes and high cholesterol. Just so confused if i could turn all these health issues around with plant based foods etc. I guess what i'm searching for is people that have tried these options and decided on VSG anyway. Regrets? Any thoughts would be helpful. Thanks.

I'm gonna chime in with something that brought me comfort as I was "battling" out this decision myself...I, like you, was freaking out because its so new and whats the future look like of those patients, etc. Then I had a conversation with a friend of mine about my fears, she told me that her mother had to have about half of her stomach removed due to an ulcer that ruptured and that she never had any problems, she even lost weight as a result. So that got me thinking...true enough they haven't been doing the VSG for long, but they have been removing portions of peoples stomachs for other reasons for YEARS. I asked my surgeon if it was fair to compare the two, he said "absolutely, thats how we learned about the VSG was by seeing other patients lose weight as a result of having portions of their stomachs removed for other reasons ie ulcers, phase one of bypass for patients who weren't healthy enough to undergo the bypass all at once" this knowledge brought me great peace in it...knowing that the procedure indeed has been done for alot longer than 10-15 years just with different purposes Hope this helps ya think about it differently maybe

I would say that you have to do what's best for you. The sleeve was the way to go for me because, going back and forth on different fad diets, etc. was not for me. I would lose, but it would come back. This is a way to help me ensure that I could lessen the opportunities drastically that the weight would not come back. And as my surgeon told me: "We know everything there is to know about the stomach! We've been removing it for years! Just this time, its to lose weight, its for your health." That really put me at ease. I was just sleeved on 02/01, and 14 days in, I've lost -19lbs! So excited about the future!

Not one single regret. The procedure has been done for years, just not as a 'stand alone' procedure. I love how my future looks - it looks long & healthy.

Thank you Ladies for your responses. Tomorrow I have my 4th appointment at the surgeons office. 2 more then the big submit! Looking forward to the future and god willing see my 2 yr. old daughter have kids of her own.

I feel at peace with my decision to have the surgery. Thank you all again.