Sleeve or by-pass?

[joanne 0]

My surgery is coming up on Monday, April 4, and I still haven't decided between the sleeve and the by-pass. My daughter is doing the by-pass the next day. I don't want to have to chew or drink my medications for the rest of my life and I would with the by-pass. Would I with the sleeve?

My insurance has okayed whichever way I want to go.

This is my 4th day of liquid dieting and I have 5 more to go. They wanted me to lose 10 pounds before the surgery to reduce the size of my liver. I thought it would be harder than it is. I can hear my tummy gurgling, but I'm not hungry. Sometimes I find myself looking around for something to eat, but once I really think about my stomach, I realize that I'm not hungry. Just wanting to snack. I'm going to have to watch that.

I have diabetes and i'm hoping that after this, it will go away or at least be well controlled. My eyesight hasn't been better! Guess it's because of no sugar.

I don't have instructions for what to do after the sleeve, but I do have for after a by-pass. I'm worried that I might be more apt to gain back my weight with the sleeve, and the way the dr. was talking, it will take 3 years to get it off. Then, on here I see that it hasn't been like that for most of you, so I'm surprised and confused.

Why did you all choose the sleeve over the by-pass? How fast have you lost? I'd better figure out what I'm doing and soon!

Joanne

[MelissaAnd 3]

My surgery is coming up on Monday, April 4, and I still haven't decided between the sleeve and the by-pass. My daughter is doing the by-pass the next day. I don't want to have to chew or drink my medications for the rest of my life and I would with the by-pass. Would I with the sleeve?

My insurance has okayed whichever way I want to go.

This is my 4th day of liquid dieting and I have 5 more to go. They wanted me to lose 10 pounds before the surgery to reduce the size of my liver. I thought it would be harder than it is. I can hear my tummy gurgling, but I'm not hungry. Sometimes I find myself looking around for something to eat, but once I really think about my stomach, I realize that I'm not hungry. Just wanting to snack. I'm going to have to watch that.

I have diabetes and i'm hoping that after this, it will go away or at least be well controlled. My eyesight hasn't been better! Guess it's because of no sugar.

I don't have instructions for what to do after the sleeve, but I do have for after a by-pass. I'm worried that I might be more apt to gain back my weight with the sleeve, and the way the dr. was talking, it will take 3 years to get it off. Then, on here I see that it hasn't been like that for most of you, so I'm surprised and confused.

Why did you all choose the sleeve over the by-pass? How fast have you lost? I'd better figure out what I'm doing and soon!

Joanne

I had the same issue as you mentioned. I originally planned to have the gastric bypass. However, closer to surgery, I changed to the vertical sleeve. I am only a month post-op, but I am very glad that I changed my mind. My husband had a gastric bypass about 5 years ago and he is amazed at how fast I can reintroduce foods into my diet. He had to be on a liquid diet for 3 weeks and he had a difficult time (and still does) with beef and ground meats. Sleevers are usually able to try and tolerate those things within about 10 months. Plus, the surgery is not as long and there is less cutting. Also, when he experiences the "dumping syndrome" he is very sick for about 30 mins. I have not had this experience and my doctor said many sleevers don't, but he does have a patient who does. I am also not at as big of a risk for Vitamin deficiencies as he is as I do not have any malabsorption issues.

There are pros and cons to both. Really research and evaluate each procedure and then decide which is best for you. Regardless of which procedure, be prepared mentally for a huge life-changing event.

There are lots of members on here who had their procedures over a year ago. I have yet to read a post by one of them that is sorry that they did the surgery.

Best of luck!

[Billy363627 15]

I chose the sleeve because there is no pouch..It doesn't reroute anything just make your stomach smaller. You have to remember that either or surgery is just a tool. It will depend on how bad you want to loose weight and control your eating habits.. If you have the sleeve , and you follow doctors recommendations on the diet any thing in life is possible.

there are no limits on how much you can lose . You will eat about 2 to 3 ounces of food and be really satisfied. I guess the most important part is make sure you do your homework on each of the surgeries. Personally I have studied all of them and the only logical choice I came up with was the sleeve.. I personally love the sleeve and I would do it 100 times over. It has been some work for me such as exersice and staying focused , but I am truely satsified with all that I have accomplished in the short period of time that I have been sleeved. Also they say the sleeve is getting close to the same results as the bypass, and the risks to gain weight are about the same..You just have to change your eating habits and you life forever.. I wish you all the luck in the world and please keep us posted on what you choose..

[Tiffykins 673]

The regain stats on RNY are much higher than what they are reporting with the sleeve especially since the malabsorption of calories/fat/sugars only lasts max 2 years, and then it's all about the restriction of the stretchy pouch that RNY offers to keep your portions small. It's called "intestinal adaptation after intestinal resection". The body adjusts, and the villi of the intestine grow back, but that part of the intestines that absorb specific Vitamins and nutrients do not ever grow back because that entire portion of the intestines have been bypassed and are just hanging out in the body. I would recommend checking out the revision, food issues, failure after wls on obesityhelp.com so you can get as much information as you can. You can see the day in and day out issues of RNY especially with people that are several years out.

This is my standard reply when the question pops up for RNY vs. VSG:

The VSG was my 2nd, and final WLS. I could have easily had RNY, but I fought to have VSG as my revision from the band. Some factors I considered in deciding on VSG. The pouch that RNY offers is similar to the pouch with the band. Least to say, a pouch sucks, I love having a normal tummy, just less capacity and still fully functioning.

1) No blind stomach left behind that can be difficult to scope yet can still get ulcers and cancer.

2) 2 years max on calorie/carb/sugar malabsorption, but a lifetime of vitamin/nutrient malabsorption

3) I had a pouch with the band, and it sucked. I'm pretty fond of my pyloric valve and the sleeve let me keep it. I love having a normal functioning stomach, just smaller in capacity.

4) Regain stats and #of RNY patients seeking revision truly scared the poop out of me

5) I have too many friends in real life that struggle with Vitamin deficiencies post-RNY, and most of them either never got to goal, or have gained back a significant amount of their weight.

6) The long term complications with RNY were too numerous for my comfort level.

7) I researched gastrectomies that had been performed for stomach cancer and ulcer patients, and found comfort in the long term results and minimal complications of patients that had lost most or all of their stomachs had dealt with over several years.

8) I was a volume eater, and knew a restrictive only procedure would work for me. That was my thought process when I got the band, and I thought I could beat the odds on complications. Sadly, the band only lasted 8 months before I had to revise.

9) I did not want to have food or medication restrictions. I chose WLS to have a "normal" life, and I think it's normal to eat a couple of Cookies. With RNY, I wasn't willing to go through the possibility of dumping if I wanted to have a couple of Cookies, or a slice of cake on occasion. In the event, I am ever diagnosed with a disease or condition that requires steroid treatment, those drugs are an absolute no no for RNY, as are NSAIDS. I have a friend that has Addison's disease, and she has to take steroids, even with every precaution, and trying to protect her pouch, she's got ulceration and been hospitalized 4 times this year (just in 2011) because of the issues with absorption of steroids, and her Addison flare-ups. Her last hospitalization led to her being on a TPN bag with a central line feeding her because her pouch is obliterated from steroid use, and there is nothing but time and more meds to heal it. She's considering a take down of her pouch, but she's 8 years out, and they are concerned that she will end up with a full gastrectomy (removal of all stomach) because of scarring and extensive damage. I'm not trying to scare you, and I realize it's just one experience, but to watch her suffer, and go through a debilitating disease without decent treatment has been difficult.

I lost all my weight with the exception of 7lbs with the sleeve. It's been a fabulous journey, and I'm easily maintaining with zero issues.

Here's a diagram, and information on adaptation:

http://pamtremble.bl...s-absorbed.html