What was the deciding factor?

[Tgarden 76]

I'm loving these boards! You all are inspirational, honest, and a fantastic source of real-life information. I am banded and due for a revision later this year. I had a meeting with my surgeon today, and up until now we had been thinking the sleeve was the way to go. However, long story short, he is now asking me to consider the possibility of bypass. My question for all of you sleevers, is did you ever consider bypass? If so, what made you decide on the sleeve? My heart is saying sleeve, but now that my doctor has put this other option in my brain, I would love to hear from you veterans.

Thanks for any information you can provide!

[nursebeccarn 26]

I am in no way a veteran, but I can tell you why I chose it: My band surgeon doesn't do band to sleeve revisions, he too advised me to have the bypass. There is a common belief ( whether it's true or not) that band to sleeve revisions are not as successful and therefore the bypass is recommended. However, my personal reason were I did not want a forces malabsorption syndrome, I had less than 100lbs to lose, and wanted to have kids without all the risks of being a high risk pregnancy. I decided the sleeve was the right choice for me and found a surgeon that supported my decision. I can tell you 110% that I am happy with my decision and felt like it was the right choice for me. You have to decide what is right for you.... Good luck to you! This is a great group!

[nursebeccarn 26]

I'm sorry for the typos, I apparently get lazy and can't spell when it's 12 degrees outside and I'm sleepy...

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I never considered bypass. I don't want to have to worry about malabsorbsion issues. My daughter had bypass and she has all sorts of problems. I know a lot of people with problems from the bypass.

I loved the idea of just having a small stomach. It seemed like the perfect option to me.

[JeanZ_RN 378]

What Oregondaisy said goes for me too.

[endless80 697]

Bypass seemed like a more risky venture than the sleeve due to the malabsorbtion issues. I don't for a second knock anyone who has had bypass though, it just wasn't for me. I also read an article that the bypass procedure has a higher rate of acquiring a leak.

[ribearty 544]

I had two reasons for choosing the sleeve. I did not want to have any of my intestines rerouted and wanted to avoid malabsorption issues.

Do you have a lapband in place now?

Did your doctor give you any reasons for why he thought the bypass would be a better option for you?

Edited January 7, 2014 by ribearty

[girliegirl 49]

hi, I was told by the 1st doctor i went to that he wouldn't touch me unless i did a bypass. he said there would just be too much scar tissue. I had a band place back in 2006, it slipped and i had a revision and a new band placed in 2007 and in 2009 it slipped again so i had the band removed. so my band has been out now for about 5 years. i didn't want a bypass and wouldn't even consider it at this point. I then went to 2 other doctors who were fine with doing the sleeve. I'm seeing one more doctor this friday for a consult and ill hear what he thinks as well. so far just the 1st doctor told me to do a bypass, everyone else had no issues. maybe the 1st dr was just more comfortable with a bypass, i have no clue. i didn't like him much anyway so i wouldn't use him no matter what. the point I'm getting at is to get more opinions and listen to what other doctors think before making a choice.

[BellaHugz 331]

I agree with the others. I too was told to get the bypass but after doing alot of research on the bypass I decided I didnt want to go to the extreme of having my intenses scrabbled around to make it all work. Also after having many issues with the lapband Ie: what you can and can not eat and not being able to swallow pills or other foods I decided to make the best choice for me. What would be the safest route for me to take where the food I ate acutally worked for my body. Malabsorption was also a big factor too. I did have to have major testing done to make sure I didnt have acid reflux and once that was cleared I was okayed to get the sleeve.Glad to hear you are getting a second opinion

[lovely momma 28]

Your story sounds just like mine. I had a lapband placed in 07. I had it repositioned in 09. I again had a slip and wanted it switched to a sleeve. I have seen 4 surgeons and only one told me no way he would only do a bypass. I am having the sleeve done in 17 days. I too had a lot of scar tissue, so when the band was removed the doctor had me wait for 4 months until he would do the sleeve. The doctor I chose has done 5200 sleeves. The other doctors did have that much experience. The one who only wanted to do bypass had done a lot of them and few sleeves, so I think he felt more comfortable with what he knew how to do.

[girliegirl 49]

i met with the last dr i wanted to see this past friday and he didn't seem overly concerned with my issues of having the lap band and then the revision and then it removed. he was also happy that i had have a 5 yr span since the last surgery until now. he said of course the surgery will take a little longer but he really won't know what type of scar tissue if any until he gets in there. he seemed confident, as he also deals with hard to handle cases from other doctors as well. now ill start some of the testing that needs to be done. I'm nervous, but taking it one step at a time. i want this so bad. he also said it sounds to him like I'm only focusing on the bad things that COULD happen, which are rare. he says i need to stay focused on the good!! i think he is right. I'm worrying about leaks and things that didn't and hopefully won't ever happen to me. i guess its because of the troubles i had with the band. trying to stay positive and not such a worrier in the future!!