Msbosse

I am revising from band to bypass on October 24. Unfortunately, despite insane nausea, heartburn, the pain with eating, I had nothing that looked to be an emergency, so I had to start back from the beginning with weigh-ins and nutrition visits. Without anything showing the band had to come out in an emergency situation, insurance would not cover the revision.

I hope you have better luck, but just be prepared that it might not happen right away! It's a bummer, but I'm certain it will be worth not dealing with the band anymore 😃

October 1 - @Panda333 @lingre @JessTucker04 @ypease @Lizzziee
October 2 @lv2laff
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October 7 @MwtRBP @Joyfuljourney @LaLasQuest @Msbosse@Nancy
 October 8 @DaisyJane @aurilove @Ng4345 @slm118djm
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October 11 @alyons23 @Little Debbie 77 @Nonnaof4
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October 15 ) @pssk @sferen
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October 28 @Losing for Jack @Cherylmilla
October 29 @ @Peggymacb @vanessalongano2
October 30 @Tiffgarcia22
October 31 @stacyguerra

Just got confirmation my surgery will be Oct 21!

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@Msbosse I started the liquid diet last Wednesday and messed up the first day by choosing a yogurt with too much carbs. Got back on it. My other mess up but it was sort of planned was last Friday was hubbys birthday. we went out to eat. I did have a 4 oz steak and a side salad. It was a little more than the 1 cup of veggies and 4 oz of lean meat my pre-op diet allows. Yesterday I had a handful of nuts. Tomorrow is officially one week before surgery going to really work to not have one slip up.

I'm more upset is that I still have this cough that won't go away even after medicine. I have bronchitis and doctors won't give me antibiotics which I know will help and have prescribed me prednisone which has made me feel better but still coughing up junk.

I started the liquid diet today, I am so hungry 😋 ! How is everyone else doing ?

I’m October 7 lap band removal and conversation to sleeve

I’m October 7 lap band removal and conversation to sleeve

I am so excited to get this lap band removed. I was banded June 2012 and have had all kinds of problems and not allot of weight loss. I have been approved and my surgery date for the sleeve is October 7! 😀😁

I was approved today and scheduled to have my lap band removed and conversion to sleeve in one surgery on October 7. I am so excited 😆

I knew I needed the bypass due to GERD. My surgeon talked about how this surgery has been around for decades and is even used as a surgery to treat GERD not just weight loss. Yes the side effects and risks are higher but I didn’t want to mess with the risk of a second surgery. Just know that Vitamins are lifelong and make sure you do the labs to check your levels. My MD and nutritionist both said a lot of long term issues are preventable so if you follow the Vitamin guidelines your risks are even lower.

I think you'd have to take Vitamins with the sleeve as well. I might be wrong but that's what I've always heard.
I started off wanting the bypass. I knew it was more complex but to me surgery is surgery so if i'm already going to have one it might as well be the one I felt was right for me. I still stand with my decision to have the bypass so no regrets here!
I too was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the vitamins. I never could before. But I think just knowing how serious this is and that I HAD to take them made me stay on top of them. I also downloaded an app called Medisafe and it's honestly so great it always reminds me when to take them so I never forget!
Good luck! ❤️

And you don't have to go even the chewable route, I take prenatal Vitamins, yeah a lot of strange looks at W-M when you're over 70, some people think I buy them for a grand-daughter so I'll have healthy great- grandbabies, the ones I am honest with ( and already think I'm a tad flakey in the First Place) I joke with about it all but they have high rates of everything I Need including some Iron, well I still need extra because Precious Pouch does not like animal Proteins like meat, no problem , my Ferrocite is a teeny greenie once a day, take either citrus juice, diluted or a vi5am8n C with it. And my prenatals are a small caplet, not even as BIG as the ones I took when Verifiably preggo, and my dietician at OSU recommended them in the first place, Thank You Roy, couldn't hack chewables, couldn't chomp them with dentures, almost lost my love of applesauce when I put ground- up in it. My secret, small amount,of liquid, reopen gently mouth , toss things in and let them float down to Gut- Dom while I swallow. Ground up maybe a couple weeks , said "Flupp This" and taken whole pills since then except for Carafate which has to be dissolved into a slurry since my Cheapo Medicare Part D supplier SilverScripts(curse YOU!) won't pay a share of it for liquid, if I had to buy Carafate over the counter my ulcers would have perforated , BLED and I'd be Totally DeAD! And I have never in my 11.25 month bypass career ever dumped,truth is I vomit too quickly to ever be at Risk, Precious Pouch don't like,IT , it re- emerges QUICKLY, so fast it doesn't even smell at all, no real chance to digest.
But that's how the mop flops and I do love a BMI of 28, 188 pounds and securely in Junior and Misses clothes after a lifetime of " Where are your LARGER Clothes displayed?"- Almost always in the back near the Restrooms- Now I am in the front with pretty shades, large selections, and No Shame Any Longer- And Frustr8 is "rocking" until I topple over and get hauled off on a gurney!

i'm having to make the same decision right now. Surgeon suggested bypass but I went to him for the sleeve. I've had friends who've had success with both. The most I can figure is below from my own anecdotal research
Sleeve
Good for the most obese patients because it's an easy surgery for them to get through - They do the sleeve on 600 lb life
Bad if you have GERD and you can get GERD after this due to the stricture
Bad if you are a chronic overeater
People that don't resolve their eating issues end up stretching the sleeve and getting bypass anyway
All Calories and Vitamins get absorbed

Bypass
Good if you have diabetes, cures it in one day
Complex - intestines are rerouted, more complex surgery
Good if you have other co-morbidities
Slightly better weight loss sustained over the long term (more stats though)
Gold Standard - Who knows what this means it's just been around longer
Malabsorption of calories and vitamins means you will have to take vitamins every day but good news ,many calories you eat are also not absorbed.

My pcp and my good friend say sleeve is for me and my surgeon and therapist are recommending the bypass. I think you have to be really honest of how you got overweight.

I am not a person that overeats. I'm obese and my body likes it there even when I eat 800 calories. That is why I'm leaning towards bypass although I'm dreading having to take a Vitamin every day. If I was a severe overeater I would do the sleeve. That's just what I'm thinking now.

A few random thoughts, in no particular order -
You will likely lose some muscle mass as you lose weight irrespective which procedure you get; the main emphasis in general for WLS is to minimize muscle loss as we lose. Some maintain that it is impossible to build muscle mass while in a caloric deficit (needed to lose that fat) and while I never like to say "never" on such things, I would say that it would be exceptionally rare for it to happen, Typically, we lose what we need to lose to a healthy weight and body composition, and then work on building additional muscle mass if we so desire.
The bypass and VSG have very similar weight loss and regain characteristics - there isn't much to choose between them from that aspect. You may lose a bit quicker with the bypass owing to its malabsorption, but will ultimately end up in the same place. The caloric malabsorption of the bypass is a temporary thing - it dissipates after a year or two - so weight maintenance is similar for both; nutritional malabsorption is a long term affair, however.
As long as one stays on top of supplements and lab tests, both are good for long term health. The bypass, however, is somewhat fussier in its supplement requirements - minerals are malabsorbed, so one usually needs to supplement Iron and Calcium more than with a sleeve (and that may not be enough, as the need for iron infusions is usually greater with the bypass than with the sleeve. Iron and calcium is somewhat fussy as they need to be spaced out during the day. it's mostly a matter of establishing the habit, but this will bother some more than others.
The sleeve has a predisposition toward GERD or acid reflux, so if one already suffers from this, the bypass is often preferred unless there is a specific identifiable cause that can be corrected during surgery (such as a hiatal hernia.) In contrast, the bypass is predisposed to dumping, reactive hypoglycemia, and marginal ulcers (which precludes the use of NSAIDs such as ibuprofin or aspirin, which are better tolerated by the sleeve.)
The sleeve is conceptually a more straightforward, or simpler, procedure. However, it still takes some time and practice for a surgeon to master, so it is well to ensure that a prospective surgeon has performed several hundred of them. In the US, that isn't a big problem these days as most have been doing them for several years, but in other countries where they have been slower to adopt it, this may be a consideration. Owing to their national health policies, Canada is running about five years behind the US on their learning curve, and other countries seem to be similar. There is a recent poster (from AU, IIRC) here who went through a quick revision from an initial sleeve to a bypass within the first week or two, that is likely an example of this. So, if your surgeon is recommending one over the other, it is well to pay attention to them - their recommendation may (or may not) the absolute best thing for you, but it is likely to be the best that they can do for you, or are most comfortable performing on you.

I am very happy with my bypass. My GERD is gone, which has relieved my asthma as well. I started exercising right away, gradually adding elements of cardio, weights, stretching. I have more muscle mass now than before surgery. I have also entered a triathon in Oct and a bicycle event in November. I have so much energy now and feel 20 years younger! My only issue with malabsorption is with fat. If I eat too much it will come out in my stools. All of my 6 month Vitamin levels were great, but I do take my Vitamins faithfully, which I think is a small price to pay in exchange for the life I have now. My only other issue is getting enough calories in now, to keep up with my training schedule. My pouch limits intake, so I am having to eat more frequently and starting to add more healthy carbs back into the menu.
All in all, I couldn't ask for a better outcome. I respect anyone's decision about which surgery to have, but it seems quite a few folks with the sleeve end up getting revised to bypass. I was also fixed on the sleeve until I understood the advantages of bypass with helping GERD and since that was an issue for me, it became a no brainer. I also like the fact that dumping can occur with sugar intake, when bypass is chosen. That is a great detriment for me to avoid sugar. Sugar is poison. I want no part of it, and my tummy agrees! No brainer there. I am also commited to taking care of my pouch and all the connections as well as possible. I work in the GI department of our hospital and I have seen firsthand the damage that can be done to WLS sites - ulcers and erosions beyond horror. So no alcohol, coffee, or NSAIDs for me. Those are my personal choices - again, a small price to pay for the life I have now.
Best wishes in your journey!

I take an rx NSAID daily (mobic/meloxicam). I have to stay off it for 6 months then only take if my body needs it. I’m having a second shoulder repair a few weeks after my bypass conversion. I’ll be using a topical NSAID that you can get from your doctor. Mine is called Pennsaid.

The problem with NSAIDs and the RNY is that the anastomis where your pouch joins your intestines is in a location that is not resistant to stomach acid, unlike the duodenum that is located immediately downstream of your stomach, and is bypassed along with the remnant stomach. Consequently that anastomis is very sensitive and subject to marginal ulcers, hence the advice against using any meds that irritate the stomach (such as NSAIDs). Compound that with any meds to further decrease the mucus layers.
The sleeve based procedures (VSG and DS) don't have this structural problem, so are more tolerant of NSAIDs, though they can still be nasty drugs and are best only taken under medical supervision.

I'm 38 and wish I had done it 10 years ago. You're so young and have so much life left. I feel like I lost so much life being obese and rejecting outings and get togethers because I was embarrassed. Do what you have to do to live your best life.

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When I had my sleeve, I was 23.
I lost more than 50kgs. And I did try dieting and exercising before, losing twenty kgs, regaining twenty-five...
So yeah, people don't know sh*t about what you are personally going through, so they can mostly keep their opinion for themselves. Just smile and nod and do what you intended to do.
Today I am 26, I finally have a body I am not ashamed of and I am really happy with the results.

I'm almost 60. I spent 40 years trying to diet and exercise it away. It never worked for me. I'd lose 40 or 50 or even 60 pounds, and it'd come right back on. Again and again and again. My only regret is that I didn't have this done several years ago.

Well I really only have one close friend and she is on the heavy side also and she is very supportive she always tells me if I feel like that’s what I wanna do then by all means do it. But it’s always the ones who wouldn’t understand what we go through who says don’t do it.

Hello I’m 26 and I get the same thing from my family🤦🏽‍♀️ all they say is your young just excerise and eat better. But I do all of that I don’t eat fried food in over a year and half and I’m 5’3 248lbs it’s hard and my mind is made up already. But I say don’t let there opinions stop what your trying to do for yourself. You know what’s best for you💪🏾

And I thought I was too "old" at 53. I don't think there's any age too young or too old to get healthier and use this surgery as a tool for a better life. Good luck with your WLS journey.

Congrats on five months out. I like that you divided your goals. I understand the fear. I had doubts because I would lose weight gain it back with extra pounds. I'm grateful that I’m still maintaining this far out from surgery.
I wish there wasn’t pressure about choosing/achieving goal weight. I agree 100% It doesn’t matter where we end up on the BMI chart. Healthy is the goal.

Thank you both, Orchids&Dragons and MsBosse! I appreciate your insight. I really have no clue what the policy will look like until open enrollment since it was previously a written exclusion and this is the first time they've covered it. I'm a state employee with group health insurance/uniform benefits, so I'll be curious to see if each plan will have the same language regarding revision, or if they'll be different. I spoke to a nurse with the bariatric program last week and felt a little defeated because I felt like she was pushing towards the idea that if there's nothing wrong with the band, I'm SOL. Now, whether or not that is true, I don't know. That may just be me being hyper-sensitive.

Again, I appreciate the feedback from you both! Once the plans are out, I'll start digging, calling, and consulting. Thank you!