Second Thoughts About Gastric Sleeve Surgery

[Countess 5]

I am starting to freak a bit. Surgery scheduled for the 28th and I am wondering if I should have done RNY. I am afraid I won't lose enough or I will gain it back...I have always eaten sweets and RNY might deter that...any words of wisdom?

[lsereno 2,525]

I'm 7 months out. I started at 254 (I'm 5'6") and was 222 the day before my surgery, May 16. I am now 144 (I only update my ticker once per week so it's at 145.4, which is what I weighed last Friday). I'm 9 lbs. away from my goal, which will put me at a BMI of 21.8. I have small bones, so I don't look as skinny as you might think.

I still like sweets and greasy foods, but not very much of them. They don't set as well as they used to. I think it's because I am out of the habit of eating them. When I was younger and thin, I couldn't eat a lot of greasy food or sweet food because it bothered me.

Not everyone who gets RNY gets dumping syndrome when eating sweets, so it may not offer the deterrent you hope for.

I am very happy with my choice. The weight loss, appetite suppression, and ability to eat a small amount of any food I choose, has been everything I hoped for.

Best wishes on a speedy recovery. I'm keeping you a seat warm on the losers' bench!

Lynda

[Thomas CPA 496]

You can eat your way out of rny as well as sleeve. Don't do it unless you are ready to commit. With sleeve you are likely to lose 50 to 80 pounds or up to 50% of excess body weight. RNY may lose more but we don't know what your starting weight is.

First you should have lost 10% on your own before surgery.

[doggz109 41]

Choose RNY if you want to gain back most of your weight after 2-3 years. I'm serious. The caloric malabsorption goes away after a few years. You are then left with a blind stomach pumping you full of ghrelin while you have no malabsorption. You then are dependent on restriction only at that point.

No thanks. You couldn't pay me 1,000,000 to do an RNY and I am serious.

[savinggrace 6]

I had the sleeve and had second thoughts many many times. I don't know much about the other. I do know from my own experience with the sleeve, everything tastes different, sweet things taste too sweet, and salty things taste too salty. It helps as far as not indulging into those. I wish you the best of luck, and hope you can come to a decision that you can live with.

[Lissa 2,631]

RNY and dumping syndrome are not pleasant. My sister in law had RNY and she's regained most of her weight. She told me not to even think about RNY when I was researching.

I am also a sweet eater, and the sleeve leaves me the ability to eat sweets if I choose to do so. HOWEVER, I chose the sleeve because it limits the amount of anything I can eat. Most of the time, I choose to fill my sleeve with good, protein-rich foods. I can only eat so much in any given day, so I choose to put what I need into my sleeve.

There are times, though, that I just really want something on the sweet side, so I'll usually eat a Protein bar, or, if I'm really craving something, I'll eat a bite or two of it. I had some m&m's yesterday. I believe I ate six of them and the rest of the bag is sitting somewhere, unless my son found them, then they are gone! LOL

For me, the sleeve was the right choice. I wanted the ability to eat like a normal person without worry that I couldn't have xyz food because it would cause me to have diarrhea/dumping. So far, the sleeve has given me that choice.

Despite my little indulgence yesterday, my scale shows the same weight as the day before. I conclude that I couldn't eat enough of the sweet food to make a dent in my weight loss, at least not at this stage.

You should definitely choose the procedure that you want, but keep in mind that none of them work if you don't work the dietary plan that comes with your surgical choice. For me, the sleeve has been a Godsend and has allowed me to not feel physical hunger while I learn better ways to eat.

Good luck, whatever choice you make!!

[SKCUNNINGHAM 298]

I chose the sleeve over the other two procedures because I thought it gave me the best shot at leading a normal life. No foreign object in me (like the band) to cause problems later - no rerouting of my internal plumbing (like the bypass) and no dumping syndrome. I travel for my work, and thought living with a bypass and having to travel would be awful.

I loved sweets pre-sleeve. Now, if I want a sweet, I get one-two bites and I am satisfied. During my Christmas celebrations, I had two bites of pecan pie and gave the last bite on the plate to my husband. I couldn't eat a third bite - it was too sweet and rich. Later in the day, I had a tiny morsel of fudge (1/2" square) and gave the rest of the piece to my husband. Tasted wonderful - but couldn't handle more than a taste.

The sleeve is the right choice for me. I love the lack of appetite and the fact that I get full with just small amounts of food. Having a small stomach is wonderful. And, with the sleeve, I don't worry about what problems may be lurking in the part of the stomach that is closed off. I know too many people that have regained weight with the bypass, or never successfully lost it with the band.

The sleeve is not a "magic bullet" - you have to follow the guidelines on how to be successfull with it.It is posible to cheat your sleeve and gain weight. And, they operate on our stomachs, not our heads - so you will need to address whatever demons you have in your head that caused you to abuse food - we all have to do this.

Good luck on your decision.

[illgeturhairdid 176]

RNY does not guarantee dumping syndrome. My cousin had RNY the same day I had my sleeve done and she hasn't dumped on anything yet. And she has not really followed her diet very well. (She started soft foods much much sooner then our surgeon said to start.) She hasn't eaten a candy bar or anything but she's been fine with regular yogurts and coffee Creamers. I'm not sure if there is enough sugar in those things to cause dumping but we sort of thought it was a sure thing so soon after our surgeries (12/5/11)