Is this possible??

Hi everybody!  I'm a newbie.  I just had my evaluation yesterday.  I was on the fence between the ds and the sleeve.  My surgeon and I decided on the sleeve.  He said that since I want to have kids the sleeve would be best because of the malabsorbtion with the ds.  He feels I would be more successful with the the ds though.  I have almost 200lbs to lose.  My question: Is losing that much weight possible with the sleeve?  I know I can convert to a ds later but I would rather not have to have 2 surgeries. I also posted the question in the ds forum about the safety of getting pregnant after ds surgery.  I know the surgery is a tool so I have to do the work but 200lbs is a lot so i want to make sure I'm making the right choice.  Thanks for any comments or opinions!

Yes, it's very possible. Many of us have done it!

Thank you!

Possible? YES!

A lot of work? Yes, but as much as I hear the DS folks screaming they don't work that hard, the side effects and the vitamin requirements immediately put that out as a solution for me, to be frank.

It's an individual thing. I work hard on my mental and physical stuff and I'm down 212 so far. 13 more to go :)

Wow congrats!

As you can see above yes it is possible. People like the DS because you can continue to eat fatty foods and lose a great amount of weight. If you find you are not satisfied with your sleeve you can always revise to the DS

Welcome to OH. As a newbie you should take a look around this forum for older posts and you will see that we have quite a few people that have lost 200 pounds. I do not know why there is a misconception about how much a person can lose with this surgery. There are DS failures out there too (I have seen them on the regrets board and youtube).

The bigger question is the one you need to ask yourself. We can't answer that for you. What is your motivation to lose? Are you at that "fed up" place with your weight? Do you give up easily or lose confidence if you do not lose weight every week? Are you able to comply with some dietary changes and a lifetime of physical activity? How hard are you willing to work to get the weight off?

I was considered a lightweight and i bow down to those that had to really dig in and work at weightloss for over 2 years. You will see many men here that have dropped that kind of weight rapidly. Women really have to push past emotional issues and our bodies just want to store fat. If anything choose your surgeon wisely, make sure you work on the mental issues that led you to morbid obesity, find out what your surgeons success rate is and what the support post-op is like. Make sure that you have a good support system at home and make time to exercise.

You can do it!

I am definitely at the fed up point and I'm ready to put in work.  I'm actually excited about the exercise.  My knees and back have gotten so painful so I haven't been able to do what I want.  I'm just worried about not seeing results or gaining weight after a certain point.

I just had my 6 mo follow-up and the surgeon was pleased with my weight and labs. He said he liked the sleeve because the weight loss is all predominantly due to my hard work. He performed the surgery correctly, but I am the one following the plan/rules, working out, changing habits, getting my mind right, etc.

I know a couple DSers personally who have lost a lot of weight, are about 2 years out, but eat like pigs. Seriously, Waffle House, Arbys, McD's, you name it. No change in behavior, and serious iron and calcium deficiencies that require regular megadose injections. Oh, and they just have a bad appearance: pale, gaunt, thin hair.

I'm thankful I had VSG but it was entirely at the surgeon's recommendation.

I would follow your doctor's recommendation for the reasons you have listed above.  Any of the surgeries can turn to a failure if you do not work the plan.  You can be very successful with the sleeve but you are the only one that can make that happen.  It is a tool and is definitely not the easy way out.  Having the surgery will give you a tool to change your life.  A lot of those that have been successful will eat around 600-800 cal, less than 40 carbs, 80-100 grams of protein and some fat.  Also drink your water everyday starting today!  You can do this.  You also may need to double up on your birth control devices to keep from getting pregnant too quickly.  There have been several on here that have gotten pregnant without trying once they start losing the weight.

Welcome and you can do this if you put in the work but it is worth it!