Sleeve vs RNY - I have to decide for surgery next week!

[njsleever 0]

:thumbup: O boy - so excited - so nervous

I have scheduled surgery with Dr Almanza in Mexico for the 27th. I weight 193 and have a failed 1999 lap band in me he will remove. I have become more of a carb addict with the band and definately lean on sweets and carbs as my primary diet. That said, i know I dont have alot to lose but I would like to know that what I get will finally get me to a "normal" weight. I have been as high as 267 but I got the band at 234 and got down to 220. The rest of the yo-yo dieting has been Alli (Xenical) and Hydroxycut, starvation combos. Not a way to live. Since I am a sweet and carb junki - should i go for the RNY? i would like to not take all those Vitamins and finally learn Portion Control - even for the foods i love.

The only good thing i have going for me is I love to exercise. (i figured I would end on a positive note!) Thanks for any advice and good luck to all in their journeys!

[deedee 5]

Weclome to VST! It's a very personal decision, but I'm sure others that were trying to decide between the two will jump in. For me, I was looking between the lapband and the sleeve. The sleeve won out and I couldn't be happier. I was a total carb addict, but knew that I did not want malabsorption (RNY or DS) and decided I needed to work on my addictive personality issues with professional help.

The nice thing with the sleeve that I wasn't expecting is that for the first 2.5 months ALL food cravings went away for the most part. Now I'm eating so much less, like with RNY, and if you eat Protein first, there isn't much room for carbs (even if you want them like I do now at times).

I think you could be happy with either as long as you are honest with yourself and your needs. Good luck with your decision and journey!

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

People who get RNY/gastric bypass really have trouble with gaining their weight back. Their stomachs stretch out. The sleeved stomach only stretches a little bit post op, until about 6 months. They use the muscular part of the stomach to make the new stomach and it isn't stretchy like the new stomach they make for gastric bypass.

[jsm 1]

I just had RNY on Tuesday only because my insurance denied me for the Sleeve, and I couldn't deal with any more stress at this time.

If you have a choice, I would choose the Sleeve. The biggest thing is to do the research. I had a great surgeon who eased my fears for the bypass, but my heart belonged the Sleeve.

Best of luck in what ever decision you make.

Hugs,

JoAnne

[Malaika 50]

Welcome to VST and congratulations on getting your surgery - whichever you decide to have. I chose the sleeve over the RNY as I didn't want to have my insides rearranged, the dumping, and the malabsorption. Everyone's choice is different, it's a personal choice. Good luck on whatever choise you make.

[Tiffykins 673]

Hi and welcome to the forum. It's a very personal decision, and with any of the WLS you can eat around them, and not be successful. So with that said, you really have to consider what you want out of the surgery you choose. Any of the surgeries are a true entire overhaul of your lifestyle, and eating habits.

I can't tell you which would be best. But, I can tell you at some point, 18-24 months after RNY, you body will compensate and stop malabsorbing as much, and you probably won't dump when eating sugar/fatty foods. That is why a lot of RNY patients seek a revision (they revise by getting more intestines bypassed to malabsorb again, or revise to a full DS)because they gain weight back due to reverting back to old eating habits, and not having the negative effects any longer, or their pouches/stoma stretch and they can consume large portions again.

For me, I initially chose the band because I did not want to deal with malabsorption of nutrients and Vitamins. I am a volume eater. I could eat most grown men under the table, and go back for more. I knew a restrictive procedure would be successful. Unfortunately, I had complications with the band, and decided to revise to the sleeve. If I would of known the sleeve was available with my insurance (Tricare military insurance), and being performed down here, I would of never had the band placed to begin with.

I chose the sleeve because of extensive research I did on the sleeve vs. RNY. I knew I had to get the band out of my body, and I wanted the restrictive only procedure.

I am now 5.5 months post op, and I can eat anything and everything that I choose. I'm simply satisfied with smaller portions. I no longer feel hungry, and head hunger doesn't happen very often so I haven't had to really deal with that too much. I truly am ecstatic about my life with the sleeve. It's a huge lifestyle change, and sometimes I want to eat more because whatever it is I'm eating tastes so good, but then I realize I don't need to eat anymore because I'm full. Leftovers and to-go boxes are always in my fridge.

Also, I take 2 chewable multi-vitamins per day, and my labs have been perfect. I do not have to worry about taking extra Vitamins because my body is not absorbing them. As for the sweets, tonight, I had 2 tiny bites of cheesecake and was perfectly content with that small amount. Over Halloween, I had a couple of those miniature candy bars, and was satisfied with that small amount. I didn't need to gorge myself, and felt pretty victorious. I don't avoid a "treat" here and there because I didn't have surgery to deprive myself of eating like a "normal" person. Normal people eat candy and ice cream, they just don't eat 2 king size PayDay candybars, or 1/2 quart of Reese's ice cream. I am now able to eat like a normal person, and it's pretty amazing.

I wish you the very best with whatever you decide is truly best for your life.

[Norma 10]

Ditto Tiffy's response for me. I did not want a host of new issues to get used to (dumping, inability to eat what I chose to eat, having to take mulitiple doses of expensive biaractric Vitamins and suppliments every day for life due to malabsoprtion issues of RNY). The sleeve was my only choice after I had done my research. I am able to eat like a "normal" person for the first time in my life.

[Lee 19]

I'm really grateful to read everyone's responses. I'm just starting out my research on which surgery. I think I've ruled out the RNY which is what I think my Kaiser really pushes. After reading here about how many band revisions there are, the band is sounding less appealing as well. I have a feeling I may have found my "home" here at VST.

[njsleever 0]

thank you everyone for the replies. i dont think i will sleep from now to Thursday. Every day I get closer to sleeve but still have nightmares that it will be like the band and fail me so miserably. i pray i make the right decision!

[LAN2k 18]

I will pray that your decision will be the right one. Hope to hear again from you soon.