Surgeon Said Gastic Bypass was my Best Option

[Catracks 865]

He says that statistics show I will only lose 50% of my weight with Sleeve. I don't think he has as much faith in it.

I mean I appreciate the honesty. He says that if I am average, I will fall in at the top of the bell curve or near that. I come on this page and see people making their goal weight or well on their way. I am a little confused and certainly do not want bypass.

Opinions?

[Forensikchic 528]

You can go from sleeve to GP but not the other way around. You have to live with it, not him. Why not give it a go and then if you are in that percentage that doesnt loose all the weight, get the bypass then. I would do what I felt was right for me. Statistics are just that... you dont know where you will fall on the curve and neither does he. I would not want the dumping but that is just me. Its your decision and I think you should just think about what you think is best for you and only you. If you want the sleeve, get the sleeve. Its your body. JMO My doctors office reports near the same results as GB. I went for it because of that. He said many people loose 100 percent of their weight with it just like GB. I dont know where your doctor got his stats from. Lap band is about 50% average I think. Not sleeve.

EDIT: I think I am going to take a little poll of people whho are at least 6 months out and see what percent they are on these boards. I will do my own stats to see what the percentage is at 6 months. I will let you know what I come up with.... I am going to look at all the posters and not ask the question... some people may not see the poll... I love detective work!

[Catracks 865]

I like the idea of taking the stats, but I would like to see 1 year out. Isn't that the cut-off for most of the weight loss?

The results might be skewed because I would think the more successful people would stay with the board. I'd still like to see though.

[Escape_Pod 358]

Do you know how much experience your surgeon has with performing the sleeve? It may be that he's just not as familiar with it, in which case you may want to consider researching other surgeons.

As far as your window of weight loss goes, I'd say it's at least 24 months, and there's no real end point - it's still calories in, calories out.

I think where the rubber really hits the road is with regain stats, and in my opinion, we're just too early to know for sure with the sleeve.

I think it's not uncommon for surgeons to recommend bypass for really high BMI patients, because you get the added help of malabsorption for the first couple of years, but it doesn't seem like your BMI is that high...

I think there are pros and cons to each surgery, depending on your personal eating habits and issues, and any associated medical issues you may have.

[Sassygirl06 962]

i agree with forensichic, you have to live with it not him. the whole point of the surgery is to get healthy, not lose weight. malabsorption is not healthy in any way. gastric bypass is just starving your body of the prescious Vitamins and minerals that you need so that you can get skinny. plus if you see people that have had it, take a good look at them, they have a grey look about them and all of their skin hangs off of them. i would rather lose enough weight to be healthy then lose all of the weight and be sickly. best wishes to you.

[A New Day 5]

That is the main thing I notice when I look at Youtube vids of VSG patients vs. RNY patients. The sleevers look so much healthier.

[Catracks 865]

Yup. What I want to do is eat like a normal thin person. I was going to go for the band until I heard about all the problems (not even able to swallow a pill or having pineapple stuck). Bypass sounds like a nightmare to me with all the mal-absorption, dumping and throwing up.

I want a normal, smaller stomach please.

[Forensikchic 528]

Okay.. I did a rough little tally at these increments....

2-3 months out ---- 50%

4-6 montHs out ---- 67%

7-9 months out ---- 86%

10-12 months out --- 96%

I just went through some posts and wrote down the username, months out and percent weight loss in each group from there tickers/surgery dates etc. There were about 12-15 people in each group. Just a quick overview. Some were lower than others but I averaged them and this is what I came up with.

PRETTY IMPRESSIVE!!!!!!!

[Escape_Pod 358]

If you want a more scientific comparison, you might check out these comparison statistics from Dr. Cirangle - one of the leading surgeons in the field of VSG:

http://www.ssat.com/cgi-bin/abstracts/08ddw/O4.cgi

Also, I understand we're all big fans here of VSG, but there are more bypass patients than sleevers in my support group, and none of them looks sickly. Now, if you're not following doctors orders and getting your Vitamins and supplements in, you might have health issues with RNY, but I think it's a bit alarmist to suggest it's an unhealthy option.

I'm very grateful not to be lactose intolerant (many RNY patients develop this post-op but not all), or to have to look at everything I eat with an eagle eye for lurking sugar content (tomato sauce, etc.). Dumping certainly sounds like a miserable experience (and again, not all bypassers dump, and some sleevers do), but there've been times when I ate irresponsibly, and wished I did have a bad physical reaction - sometimes I could use the additional negative reinforcement! And for those with GERD, bypass can be a much better option. And throwing up? I could point to about a zillion posts from people here with the sleeve that throw up when they eat too fast.

There's a reason there are still several options in weight loss surgery - the best option depends on the patient. I think if you live someplace where there are several experienced surgeons, it's well worth your time to go listen to several of them, especially those who have considerable experience with both sleeve and bypass.

[Catracks 865]

Thank you for all of your responses. My surgeon is known to be very strict and doesn't pull any punches. He said if you follow instructions, you will do well. If not, you will be on the phone to us constantly.

I'm set on getting sleeved. These studies only make the decision easier.

[MRSKOUBiK 27]

Go with what YOU want. it's YOUR body.

I am just now 9 months, I've lost 70 percent of my excess weight.

My surgeon said I am above the curve. That I'm where most people are at 12 months post op...

[lob1999 0]

You may find this interesting:

[Nichelle 21]

It's your body, your life, your decisions. Go with what makes you comfortable and make the decision that you can live with. The doctor you choose is there to help guide you and give you their help and expertise in your choices. Choose wisely and do your research, the choice of doctor is very important, but doing what is right for you is the most important decision. Good Luck!

[Angelsgirl 0]

You can go from sleeve to GP but not the other way around. You have to live with it, not him. Why not give it a go and then if you are in that percentage that doesnt loose all the weight, get the bypass then. I would do what I felt was right for me. Statistics are just that... you dont know where you will fall on the curve and neither does he. I would not want the dumping but that is just me. Its your decision and I think you should just think about what you think is best for you and only you. If you want the sleeve, get the sleeve. Its your body. JMO My doctors office reports near the same results as GB. I went for it because of that. He said many people loose 100 percent of their weight with it just like GB. I dont know where your doctor got his stats from. Lap band is about 50% average I think. Not sleeve.

EDIT: I think I am going to take a little poll of people whho are at least 6 months out and see what percent they are on these boards. I will do my own stats to see what the percentage is at 6 months. I will let you know what I come up with.... I am going to look at all the posters and not ask the question... some people may not see the poll... I love detective work!

I am 11 days out from getting the sleeve done. I have lost 20 lbs. I asked my surgeon his opinon for me between the sleeve and bypass and he asked me three questions: do you have diabetis? NO. Do you have high blood pressure: NO, do you crave sweets? NO... he then said well if you had any of those three issues I would recommend that you go with the bypass, but since you don't its entirely up to you, which left me puzzled. Then I asked well give me statistics and this helped me make my descision. He said 3 in 1000 die getting the bypass vs 1 in 1000 with sleeve (Yay!). Most people only have to take the Vitamin supps for one yr on sleeve vs rest of your life with bypass (yay!) Then he said and now that I have been doing the sleeve for a yr i find that at the 6 mo and 12 month check the percent of weight loss is the same as the bypasss...so its your choice. I PICKED THE SLEEVE!!!!!!!!!!!!! My concern was that I have so much weight to lose I wanted to be sure I would get the most out of the surgery. It is really up the the individual how much you lose. My friends boyfriend lost 125 on the lapband, which is not typical. Best wishes to you! God bless you, Sabrina

[Becca 108]

Remember this is YOUR body and you should decide what surgery is best in the end. One of my friends has to have Vitamin IV transfusions because she has such bad malabsorption problems from the bypass. She also has terrbile problems with her teeth because she can't absorb Calcium (she is 10 years out). I knew from her struggles, that the bypass was not something I wanted to take on. I have been extremely successful with the sleeve (after a failed lapband). There are many who have lost huge amounts of weight with the sleeve. If you make the right choices (protein first, Water, and exercise), you will lose all of your weight. The sleeve has finally given me my life back. I really can't imagine where I would be without it. I wish you the best with your decision. Just know that the sleeve is a great tool and I feel anyone can reach their goals with it.