Thinking of a VSG

Hi all,

I'm pretty darn new on here. My mom has a VSG in Mexico in March and has since lost 80 lbs. It seems amazing to me and now I am looking into the surgery having personally seen her through most of the journey.

I'm hoping to get some opinions from some younger people (not that I don't want older ones too). She is 55 and took probably 3 weeks to be good enough to sit through work all day without being exhausted just getting there. I'm 24 and she thinks because I am much younger I won't need that much time off... what do you all think? Just trying to be prepared!

Also wondering about how younger skin handled the weight loss (I know everyone is different, but I've heard age makes a big difference).

Any and all advice, tips, experiences and encouragement from anyone is appreciated! I gained my weight extremely quickly (hello 100 lbs in a year) due to some emotional trauma going on with family and a love of cinnamon buns... now looking to get back to my old self quickly too as regular dieting just isn't working.

I am 26 and just had my surgery on July 30th.  I was hoping to be back at work within 2 weeks but my surgeon won't clear me to go bac****il he sees me at my 1 month post op appointment on the 28th.  Since I'm on FMLA, my work requires me to have doctor clearance in order to return to work.  I was kind of shocked at first that I couldn't go back but I'm actually glad that I didn't go back at 2 weeks out and here's why:

Weeks 1 and 2 I was in quite a bit of pain and had to hold my stomach whenever I walked.  I was still taking my pain meds at this point to deal with the pain.  Some others tolerate pain better than others and this may not be your experience, but for me this was my first surgery ever and it is a major surgery so I wasn't prepared for the pain associated with the surgery and the gas pains as well.

Also, the day before I thought I was going to go back to work I had horrible constipation issues and was in pain the entire day.  I still wasn't as active as I would have liked to be and spent most of my time focusing on drinking my liquids and scheduling my meals.  I am now taking stool softeners daily and lactulose as needed.  My BM's are still not back to normal.

These last few weeks off have been great and I'm glad that I took this time to get myself used to this new lifestyle and to allow my body to heal.  I'm expecting to be back at work on Tuesday and I feel now that I'll be ready to return by then.  Since I'm still at the beginning of my post op journey I can't comment on the question of loose skin.  I can tell you that this is also a concern of mine and I've been using cocoa butter daily to reduce stretch marks.  I'm also going to introduce a fierce weight training fitness plan into my life as that will help to tighten the skin as I build muscle.  Being young will help, but you can't rely on that alone.  

Keep in mind that there is also a risk of hair thinning associated with rapid weight loss and is very common among bariatric patients.  There is no proven way to prevent this but I take biotin once a day and if you keep your protein levels high (between 60-80g per day) it can help to reduce the amount of hair loss.

I'm happy to hear that your mom had great success with her sleeve! Remember that everyone is different and you gotta make the decision that is best for you and your health.  I do not regret getting this surgery and even with the pain I went through, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.   Good luck and I wish you success with whatever you decide to do!

Thanks for the information! I might come back to you when your a bit further out to check in again as you are pretty darn close to my age. I know every body is different, but it's nice to see that a younger person has gone for this as well. I watched my mom struggle my whole life with her weight and dieting to no avail, she never had success until VSG. I don't want to make the same mistake, so I thought getting it done while I was young  would save all the Jenny Craig fees and time at weigh****chers meetings. I'm booking my surgery today for early January, but I would love to keep in touch with you to get some tips from a youngster like me!

Just wondering how your friends reacted? All except one of my friends are tiny little yogi's who are in the best shape. They always bug me about just eating right and exercising (which I do) to lose weight and tell me I'm not going extreme enough because I don't live on egg whites and spinach (just not realistic in the long term in my opinion). I'm scared they won't be supportive of this... especially since I'm having it done in Mexico, not Canada.

My friends, while at first were very skeptical, are being very supportive. I only told my closest handful of friends and family.  My friends at work don't know as I only told my boss about it.  A couple of my friends were skeptical because they feared for me health wise, curious about how the surgery would affect me and fearful of complications.  They didn't judge me or try to lecture me though.  Honestly it was harder to convince my parents that this was right for me.  They had the "Isn't it easier to just diet?" mentality.  Luckily for you it'll be easier for your family to understand since your mom has had success with the VSG.  

You can feel free to keep in touch and message me anytime.

I'm 31 and just had my sleeve on 8/13. I was back to work in 9 days. I had absolutely no pain. Even in the hospital, I only took Tylenol. I only had to stay 1 night. Then, I took it my first night home, just so I could sleep. But, I haven't needed anything since then. 

Constipation is also an issue for me. I'm on stool softeners and Miralax, and I'm still not regular. But, beng on only liquids since surgery, I'm not uncomfortable or concerned at all. 

Wow that is encouraging news! Glad to hear you were back to work in 9 days! I am hoping to be back that quickly too, especially since I sit at a desk all day and drive door to door pretty much. I'm hoping to book my surgery today and have it done in early January! Keep me posted on your progress!

32yo, mom of a 2yo & 4yo, surgery on a Friday, running errands and car shopping at 6 days post op, back to work (desk job) at 10 days post op.

good luck!

Wow! I'm in awe! I have a 2yo and 4yo neice and nephew right now and have trouble running after them now, let alone 6 days post op! It's nice to hear of the good stories like this instead of all of the vocal people talking about the pain and complications!

I'm 32 and today I am 8 weeks out from my surgery (Tuesday, July 1).  I teleworked the following Monday after surgery and was back in the office the next day full time.  My only "complications" following surgery and going back to work in a week were that sometimes after my morning shower I would have to lie down for about 10 minutes.  Not sure if it was the steam or the rigor of washing my hair, but I would sometimes feel a bit off but was always better after just taking those minutes to relax again before getting on with my day.  It lasted maybe 2 weeks. 

I'm not far enough out to comment on loose skin, but I'm hopeful that it will be mainly contained to my stomach, which is already kind of loose and where I carry a lot of weight.  I also gained at least 100lbs in a year about 3-4 years ago, and I've always been involved with sports, lifting, etc ****il gaining all of my weight) so my fingers are crossed that I have enough muscle tone to mitigate loose skin elsewhere on my body. 

Good luck to you!  I'm down over 50lbs in just 2 months and this is the best decision I could have made for myself.

My job, while not "strenuous" is very active and I didn't want to give the impression of needing to be coddled for any reason.  I took a total of 8 weeks off after my DS and very glad I did.  The first 5-6 weeks, I was very listless.  It took a long time just to shake off the fog of the anesthesia for me.  Week 6 was a turn to me starting to feel like myself more again.  When I returned to work, I hit the ground running, and everyone thought I was tough as nails.