The Incredible Shrinking Me

When I speak to someone for the first time about bariatric surgery, their initial expectation is that I’ve had Gastric Bypass surgery. And while it is true that this type of surgery is common, it is by no means the only option available these days.

Strangely enough, many people (myself included) had never heard of the VSG before. When I was looking into my options, I was set on having a “Lap Band,” which seemed the safest and least invasive option. After all, I was only 26 years old, and having all of my organs rerouted seemed a bit extreme to me. But the company that I went through offered both the band and the VSG. After reading up on both, I decided that I’d rather have the VSG.

VSG stands for Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy. In essence the surgery is one of the more simple, but effective types. What it involves is the cutting away of about 85% of the stomach, leaving a small, banana-shaped, stomach in its place. Only 2 - 3 ounces can be held at any time, so overeating is no longer an option.  And while the Gastric Bypass shortens the length of the intestines, the VSG has no malabsorbtion problems. All the nutrients stay in the body.

My surgery was carried out by Dr Michal Cierny of Brno, Czech Republic. He and his staff were incredible, making me feel totally at ease and cared for. There was not ever a single moment of doubt about him, despite the fact that I only met him the day before my surgery. The clinic in Brno was incredibly clean and well-staffed. And though there was a small language barrier between the nurses and patients, the vast majority of staff was easy to speak with.

Pre-surgery the clinic carried out a multitude of tests on me. First, they took blood, temperature (from the armpits), blood pressure and asked me questions about medical history. I had my weight taken, I had to get my lung capacity measured by blowing into and out of a cylinder, I had urine tests, an abdominal ultrasound, lung and heart x-rays, an ecg, spirometry, and then an endoscopy, for which I was heavily sedated.

My mother, who had gastric bypass in the US was not put through half of these tests, nor was she in the hospital for as long as I was. And her surgery wasn’t even laproscopic!

On the morning of my surgery, I was given anti-nausea gum and an IV of fluids to get me ready. The efficient staff had me ready for surgery in five minutes, and I was hardly in the operating theatre for 30 seconds before I went straight to sleep.

The pain and discomfort afterward was intense. I woke up in ICU, where I spent 24 hours after surgery. I was attached to an oxygen hose, a blood pressure cuff and I had an IV, a catheter and drains from my incisions. They kept the pain controlled with medicine which I thanked them for, as it really was quite painful. I felt as though I’d been hit by a truck!

They had me up and walking about 10 steps that night, and the next morning, I was able to walk a bit further. I had to have a stomach x-ray to check for leakages, and it involved drinking some disgusting barium. Luckily all was well, and I was sent back to my regular hospital room. I had the catheter removed shortly thereafter, and the drains came out the next day. I was refusing pain medication from the second day, as it wasn’t that bad.  Also they stopped offering it via IV and said we’d have to have it in suppository form if we wanted more, and that really put me off! ;)

All in all, I was in the hospital for three days after the surgery, and by the end I was bursting at the seams to get out! I wasn’t nearly healed, but I was amazed at how much I could do even with all the pain and stitches.

Once back in the UK, it took me another few weeks before I felt truly healed, but I was energetic and losing weight quickly during that time.

Looking at my own personal results, I can say that so far my weight loss has been very similar to my mother’s even though she had a full gastric bypass. She had hers 8 months ahead of me, but with 9 months since my surgery, I am already within 10 lbs of her low weight.

The upsetting thing about the VSG is the lack of long term studies. Because it has not been around very long, there is not a lot of conclusive proof about what happens at five, ten or twenty years out. On the one hand, this makes me feel good, as I know I am part of furthering that research. On the other, it does worry me slightly, as there is no proof that the results are maintainable long term.

Still, I am incredibly happy with my results thus far, and I expect that I will be able to hit my goal weight within a year of my surgery.

I will be updating often so that my results can be monitored.

To learn more about this surgery, or to find a supportive community, visit ObesityHelp.com