First meeting with surgery team - trying to decide

[ready2B 263]

Greetings! This is my first post.

I met with the whole team today - nurse, dietician, insurance person & surgeon. It's a lot of info to take in just in one day! But I am excited and anxious to have WLS and begin to get healthy again. My BMI is 52, I am on 3 kinds of blood pressure medicine, pills for GERD, a CPAP, various treatments for all the back & joint problems, sleep meds, and have hormone issues that can lead to cancer due to my obesity. Miraculously I am not diabetic

My insurance is great and will cover any procedure. (Yay!) And even better new, they only require one month of supervised WL program which I am already 3 weeks into. With everything else all lined up, I could possibly have surgery in about 6 weeks! I've researched the sleeve, bypass & lap band and have ruled out lap band. (Too nervous about having to have a revision later down the road. Also worried about not losing enough weight with it. Plus, my surgeon doesn't recommend it for me.) But I am stumped trying to decide between the other two. My surgeon said he really has no preference for me - either would work really well and he's had great success with both. From what I understand, the sleeve might aggravate GERD more and doesn't have as much long term data, but might allow me to eat more "normal" foods, whereas the bypass might give me faster/better results but have to be more careful about what I eat and taking supplements. Are these assumptions correct? Are there any other big differences I need to consider?

I think I am emotionally prepared for either one. I want to lose as much as I possibly can, as quickly as possible and be able to keep it off long term and at this point, I am willing to do whatever that takes, but want to make a decision that is based on the most information as possible. So, I'd really love feedback from those of you who have already had one of those two procedures - what were the deciding factors for you in choosing one over the other?

Thanks in advance!

[Jersrose43 837]

Congratulations!

I had the sleeve and doing very well so far

Choose not to do bypass as I was unwilling to play with my intestines.

[joatsaint 2,814]

I had the Sleeve because they only remove part of the stomach. And I don't have to worry about taking Vitamin supplements for the rest of my life. And I'm happy with the results.

And 3 ladies I work with that had the Gastric Bypass, and they are all happy with their results as well. I think they lost weight more easily than I did, but they have to watch out for Vitamin deficiencies and dumping syndrome and there are some things they just can't eat anymore.

Both procedures are very successful as long as you stick to your doctor's orders. Neither one will work if you go into this thinking you won't have to work at it and you won't have to change your lifestyle.

I looked at it as my 1 chance for a do over - so I better not F it up!

[JerzyTomato74 91]

I have chosen to do the sleeve because it's the least invasive and I prefer to not have my intestines messed with. At my last support group meeting, one of our surgeons came to speak and he said gastric bypass is too much surgery. I think GB is better for 400+ lb people with a greater amount to lose.

Edited July 26, 2014 by JerzyTomato74

[ambpete 26]

I chose the by-pass because of my gerd and Barretts. From all I have read , and what my surgeon said, gastric was the best with my conditions. And I do not have the disipline to eat what ever I want. The first 2 weeks after my surgery [july 8th]I lost 19 lbs and feel great. And I fully expect to be down another 6 pounds or so on my 3 week anniversary weigh in. I personally feel I made the right choice. Good luck and keep us all posted.

[Mayaresearchmom 104]

I went with a bypass because I already had bad GERD, and the sleeve has been known to increase the amount of reflux you have. Also, according to my doc, bypass patients lose on average 10% more weight than sleeve patients do. It was an easy choice for me when I heard about the decreased GERD with bypass, as I had been miserable for years with my GERD.

[Beckyyb93 225]

Please please please think about this very very hard...I had severe GERD going into the sleeve in 2012 and now two years later I haven't had solid food since surgery, I take the liquid Vicodin to eat or drink anything soft because my esophagus is so eroded due to the acid that intensified x100 with the sleeve that they are discussing esophageal cancer with me at 21! Next week I'm revising to the bypass praying that it will stop the acid and let me start living my life again. There are many cases on here where you will find someone with severe GERD got the sleeve and have revised to the bypass in fact it's becoming legally necessary for surgeons to advise patients to go with the bypass because of the horrible reflux associated with the sleeve. I may be biased but I wish I would have never gotten the sleeve and went straight for the bypass or not had WLS at all, anything is better than the constant pain I'm in now.

I hope you and your doctor make the right decision for your health!

[ready to get this show on 7]

I had the band 4 years ago. After 3 years, I ended up developing what I can only describe as "GERD from hell." I went to a new surgeon and was told a revision would be my best bet. When we talked about what to do, he told me that the sleeve was not an option for me because of the GERD, and the sleeve makes GERD worse. So, I opted for the bypass.

[itsmekarenlee 129]

I wanted the sleeve like my husband got but as soon as I told the Dr I have gerd he highly recommended a bypass and said that gerd can get worse with a sleeve. I've also read many people on her getting it revised from sleeve to rny because their Dr didn't tell them this.

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

I just want to wish you the best. All WLS require dedication and commitment to habit changes. You sound like you're ready. Before you know it, your whole life will change for the better ! Let us know what you decide!

[ready2B 263]

Thanks all! I think I would like to go for the bypass, even though it is more invasive in some ways, I don't want the chance of having to do a revision later. And I really do want the best chance of long-term success. I have my Endo next week and that might decide it for me since I have been on medication for GERD for years but don't know how much damage was done before that. (Or even still happening).

I've had a little more time to wrap my head around the idea of the big lifestyle changes that any WLS would require and I feel ready to deal with them. For me, the malabsorption with bypass is actually more in the plus column. Since I have always started gaining back weight while still dieting and eating low calories so many times in the past, I am really concerned about my body "adjusting" to just the lower calorie intake of the sleeve and gaining weight back in spite of doing everything right a few years from now. With the bypass, because your whole absorption of foods is changed, I think that would be less likely to happen.

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Congratulations on your decision. You sound well educated and pleased about it. Cool!

Very best wishes to you.