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Hiii everyone I’m Sasha. I had vsg surgery in 2018 and I will be having it revised to bypass 12/22. Looking for any surgery buddies around that time. I’m also excited to read everyone’s journeys on the subject so that I may prepare and not seem so alone. I hope everyone is well on this Saturday❤️

November 3rd for me.. right there with you with nerves and worry about gerd. Got pre op Tuesday and going to ask about it.

I forgot, I also wanted to comment on this. I too thought that logically this made a lot of sense and thus sleeve must somehow be better because it kept the pylorus in the food canal. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I couldn't actually articulate why i was so worried about this? Millions of bypassers live normal lives, thus surely it can't be as big a deal as I thought? What I always found odd is that most people feel the sleeve is "less invasive". In sleeve, part of your stomach is permanently removed from your body. In bypass, noting is removed, all the parts are still there, just rearranged a bit. Not sure about you, but permanently removing things sounds pretty invasive to me?

Hi David, I'm in Washington also. I have just started my journey, spoke with the Dr. and am making sure I have everything done, my insurance requires 4 months of medically supervised weight loss so I'm starting that in November, and I need the Endoscopy so I'm thinking I won't be ready for surgery until Feb-March 2023. Who are you seeing for your procedure? I'm going through MultiCare.

only about 30% of bypassers dump, and for those who do, you can prevent it by avoiding or limiting sugar intake (or fat - some people dump on fat). I've never dumped - and I know lots of other bypassers who've never dumped, either.

Is there anyone who has had the gastric bypass who is looking for a buddy. I was hoping someone around my age 34 .

A chose bypass due to GERD, but I also had some reservations around dumping and medications. Medication-wise, the reality is over time, a lot of the medications you take may end up going away. Especially if they are for conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes that are often reversed with weight loss. Personally, I was really worried about NSAIDS, because I have a number of physical issues that have had me on prescription NSAIDS for over 35 years now. My surgeon agreed that even with bypass, I could keep taking them as long as I continued to take a PPI to limit the risk of ulcers. I'm also hopeful that as I get closer to goal, I may be able to give them up entirely. For the rest of my meds (if you include supplements, I take over 30 different pills a day), no mention has ever been made about me needing to adjust the dosage in any way. Honestly, I think the whole "malabsorption" thing for bypass may be a bit overblown? As far as I'm aware, the only ones where you might run into a problem are extended release versions of medications. For most of those, there are non extended release alternatives. If you have specific medication concerns, my suggestion would be to talk with your bariatric team. They can best advise you if bypass would be an issue for you with that medication. As far as dumping is concerned, dumping is far from guaranteed with bypass. I have not experienced it and many others here have not either. Plus, we've had first hand reports that even some sleevers have end up with dumping syndrome. Certainly it's much more likely with bypass, but I'm not sure I'd worry about this too much. If you do end up with that issue, it can certainly help you stay on plan and may help you do better in the long run by controlling your intake of things you probably shouldn't be eating anyway.

My surgery is scheduled for November 3rd and I am now on my 2 week pre-op diet. I have SO many people trying to talk me out of the surgery and telling me I don't need it. I have so many questions and I am just praying I make all the right choices as I have tried everything previous to this decision. Any and all suggestions and advice is appreciated. I have Multiple Sclerosis so this decision was for health reasons. Sent from my SM-S515DL using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi all. I've been lurking the past few weeks, researching heavily. My insurance has cleared me for sleeve but I'm not as sure now as I was when I chose that surgery. My last hurdle is labs and upper GI. I'm bouncing back and forth between sleeve and bypass. My doubts about the sleeve include the risk of developing GERD. I see a lot of revision stories and I don't want that. My main reason for choosing the sleeve was to keep the pyloric valve intact and avoid dumping. It also seems to allow normal medication action - I take a number of meds. I'm creating a list of questions for my surgeon because I want to make the best choice but man, I must admit to feeling dizzy with all this information. It's a big step. I'll save my dietary questions for another post. Thanks already for the great information I've gotten from reading through this forum!

Medical Groups Replace Outdated Consensus Statement that Overly Restricts Access to Modern-Day Weight-Loss Surgery NEWBERRY, FL – Oct. 21, 2022 – Two of the world’s leading authorities on bariatric and metabolic surgery have issued new evidence-based clinical guidelines that among a slew of recommendations expand patient eligibility for weight-loss surgery and endorse metabolic surgery for patients with type 2 diabetes beginning at a body mass index (BMI) of 30, a measure of body fat based on a person’s height and weight and one of several important screening criteria for surgery. The ASMBS/IFSO Guidelines on Indications for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery – 2022, published online today in the journals, Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases (SOARD) and Obesity Surgery, are meant to replace a consensus statement developed by National Institutes of Health (NIH) more than 30 years ago that set standards most insurers and doctors still rely upon to make decisions about who should get weight-loss surgery, what kind they should get, and when they should get it. The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) is the largest group of bariatric surgeons and integrated health professionals in the United States and the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) represents 72 national associations and societies throughout the world. "The 1991 NIH Consensus Statement on Bariatric Surgery served a valuable purpose for a time, but after more than three decades and hundreds of high-quality studies, including randomized clinical trials, it no longer reflects best practices and lacks relevance to today’s modern-day procedures and population of patients," said Teresa LaMasters, MD, President, ASMBS. “It’s time for a change in thinking and in practice for the sake of patients. It is long overdue.” In the 1991 consensus statement, bariatric surgery was confined to patients with a BMI of at least 40 or a BMI of 35 or more and at least one obesity-related condition such as hypertension or heart disease. There were no references to metabolic surgery for diabetes or references to the emerging laparoscopic techniques and procedures that would become mainstay and make weight-loss surgery as safe or safer than common operations including gallbladder surgery, appendectomy, and knee replacement. The statement also recommended against surgery in children and adolescents even with BMIs over 40 because it had not been sufficiently studied. New Patient Selection Standards — Times Have Changed The ASMBS/IFSO Guidelines now recommend metabolic and bariatric surgery for individuals with a BMI of 35 or more “regardless of presence, absence, or severity of obesity-related conditions” and that it be considered for people with a BMI 30-34.9 and metabolic disease and in “appropriately selected children and adolescents.” But even without metabolic disease, the guidelines say weight-loss surgery should be considered starting at BMI 30 for people who do not achieve substantial or durable weight loss or obesity disease-related improvement using nonsurgical methods. It was also recommended that obesity definitions using standard BMI thresholds be adjusted by population and that Asian individuals consider weight-loss surgery beginning at BMI 27.5. Higher Levels of Safety and Effectiveness for Modern-Day Weight-Loss Surgery The new guidelines further state “metabolic and bariatric surgery is currently the most effective evidence-based treatment for obesity across all BMI classes” and that “studies with long-term follow up, published in the decades following the 1991 NIH Consensus Statement, have consistently demonstrated that metabolic and bariatric surgery produces superior weight loss outcomes compared with non-operative treatments.” It is also noted that multiple studies have shown significant improvement of metabolic disease and a decrease in overall mortality after surgery and that “older surgical operations have been replaced with safer and more effective operations.” Two laparoscopic procedures, sleeve gastrectomy and Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass (RYGB), now account for about 90% of all operations performed worldwide. Roughly 1 to 2% of the world’s eligible patient population get weight-loss surgery in any given year. Experts say the overly restrictive consensus statement from 1991 has contributed to the limited use of such a proven safe and effective treatment. Globally, more than 650 million adults had obesity in 2016, which is about 13% of the world’s adult population. CDC reports over 42% of Americans have obesity, the highest rate ever in the U.S. “The ASMBS/IFSO Guidelines provide an important reset when it comes to the treatment of obesity,” said Scott Shikora, MD, President, IFSO. “Insurers, policy makers, healthcare providers, and patients should pay close attention and work to remove the barriers and outdated thinking that prevent access to one of the safest, effective and most studied operations in medicine.” The ASMBS/IFSO Guidelines are just the latest in a series of new recommendations from medical groups calling for expanded use of metabolic surgery. In 2016, 45 professional societies, including the American Diabetes Association (ADA), issued a joint statement that metabolic surgery should be considered for patients with type 2 diabetes and a BMI 30.0–34.9 if hyperglycemia is inadequately controlled despite optimal treatment with either oral or injectable medications. This recommendation is also included in the ADA’s “Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes – 2022.” About IFSO The International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity and Metabolic Disorders (IFSO) is a Federation composed of national associations of bariatric surgeons and Integrated Health professionals. Currently, there are 72 official member societies of IFSO, as well as individual members from countries that thus far have not formed a national association. IFSO is a scientific organization that brings together surgeons and integrated health professionals, such as nurse, practitioners, dieticians, nutritionists, psychologists, internists and anesthesiologists, involved in the treatment of patients with obesity. About ASMBS The ASMBS is the largest organization for bariatric surgeons in the United States. It is a non-profit organization that works to advance the art and science of bariatric surgery and is committed to educating medical professionals and the lay public about bariatric surgery as an option for the treatment of severe obesity, as well as the associated risks and benefits. It encourages its members to investigate and discover new advances in bariatric surgery, while maintaining a steady exchange of experiences and ideas that may lead to improved surgical outcomes for patients with severe obesity. For more information, visit www.asmbs.org.

Wow, that's got to be so disappointing, but you seem to have the right mindset about it! Kudos also to that doctor. For him to decide not to move forward meant he cared more about your health and safety than his ego. While not really the same, my unusual anatomy did cause my surgeon some extra work. Simply put, my intestines are routed differently than most people, so she had to put in a lot of extra work to locate some on the anatomical markers they use to properly measure the roux limb for the bypass. Apparently it made my surgery take about an hour and a half more than usual. Thankfully she is one of the most experienced bariatric surgeons around.

So, my surgery original date was scheduled for September 15th, 2022 for bypass. But unbeknownst to me found out i have condition called Situs Inversus, which is basically all my organ are on the opposite side of my body. My surgeon had not ever seen or yet had any experience with this and decided not to proceed with the Gastric Bypass. So i was closed back up and sent home 😕, and disappointed 😞. Last week my care coordinator sent me some referrals from Christiana Care in Delaware, PA, i live in North Carolina so just wondering if anyone here has had any experience with the providers at this facility and if they could help me with my awesome anatomy. I've done some research on 2 that interest me but there bio really doesn't go into detail 😕. So just trying t figure this out and hopefully not get disappointed and discouraged again thanks all

It's not uncommon that bariatric programs warn people not to drink alcohol post-op. Some, like your team seem to take a "never again" approach, while some say avoid it for a specific length of time, such as the first year. As I understand it, here are the biggest concerns those programs have: The biggest concern by far is that there is an increased risk of developing Alcohol Use Disorder. As @Starwarsandcupcakes mentioned, some research suggest that susceptible patients transfer disordered eating onto alcohol. Some studies have even found that the incidence is as high as 20% of bariatric surgery patients. The second concern is that alcohol affects our altered biology differently. Honestly this is worse for gastric bypass patients, but sleeve patients still have have issues with getting drunk much faster, on much less alcohol. Further, it can take a lot longer to metabolize the alcohol you do consume, meaning you'll stay drunk longer. Bottom line, it's really easy to overdo things and end up completely drunk on a lot less booze than before. There is also the concern that this is wasted calories that provide no nutritional benefit and can slow your weight loss. Obviously for those in maintenance, this doesn't really matter, but for those still losing, it might be a concern for some.

Congratulations. I had mine at the end of November last year and I will forever look back and think what a wonderous day it was. I was so eager that I almost ran to the operating theatre.

The truth of the matter is not everyone reaches the goal weight they have chosen. And not everyone maintains that weight if they do attain it. Remember the average weight loss at three years post surgery (bypass or sleeve) is about 65% of the weight you had to lose to put you in a healthy weight range. Genetics, your body’s set point, lifestyle choices & preferences, age, gender, health & medications, etc. & yes a little complacency. But there’s nothing wrong with any of this. Any weight loss is a win. You may find a conversation with your surgeon, doctor & dietician helpful.

I'm schedule for the RNY bypass on November 8th.

I can relate to this on so many levels. I went to the ER with a blinding headache once and was told once that I was not going to be given the drugs I was looking for. Fortunately the neurologist I saw at the time was on call came down and saved the nurse from my temper. I could only see out of one eye and she wanted to send me out the door with a Tylenol. The neurologist snorted at that and loaded me up with with the rescue protocol for my pain. My surgeon who did my gastric bypass insists the issues I've run into are all anxiety. I had to push for testing because I know something was wrong...yeah, I have a staple line ulcer and a slightly twisted ulcer. She wouldn't answer my questions. Atleast my GI doctor did. By far though was when I was pregnant. This damn near killed both me and my daughter. Because I could stop vomiting, I was losing a lot of weight quickly. Yet the chief of the residents clinic insisted that I didn't need nutritional support. At one point I started having pain and my skin took on a yellow tone...that was gallstones. The surgeon was furious that I was essentially being starved, called the residents clinic and made it known how unacceptable it was. I was admitted and 5 days later had a feeding tube in my chest. I went into labor early and labor/delivery insisted I didn't need to be seen because I wasn't in pain. Thankfully a medical assistant wasn't having any of it and pushed for an exam. Yes, I was in labor and they had to rush me because my fluid levels were low and my daughter was very breached. The OB/GYN said had I not gotten in as soon as I did, my daughter would have died and I might have too from further complications.

Adding to the good points that have been made here, metabolic rates are somewhat individual, beyond genetics but personal history and even your gut flora that helps digestion and absorption. The BMR tests are interesting as a reference, but they mostly tell you what the algorithm thinks your metabolism should be, but not what it actually is. Also, this is a somewhat tough time for a bypass post op, as the caloric malabsorption of the bypass dissipates after a year or two - you tend to lose that extra help in losing weight and become a more "normal" person in that regard. Some may never notice the effect if they lost quickly and early, but it can also bite you in maintenance if one gets used to being stable at say, 1700 calories, but then that stability point drops to maybe 1600 or 1500. So, stay flexible and try to keep the calories down as much as you can until you get to the weight you desire (or to where it just won't go down anymore) and adjust to maintenance Good luck....

My bypass is scheduled for 11/30. I just made myself a countdown clock and had a moment. It's really happening. All these months of talking and planning and thinking are coming to fruition and I'm both elated and scared to death. :-D

I just hit 50.5 pounds lost total, 36.4 since my bypass. I feel like my weight loss is slow but oh well. Nausea is finally waning and zero dumping! My taste buds have changed dramatically and I crave savory foods over sweet. My labs are great and my A1C is 5.1. It’s never been that low! Feeling pretty good!

My surgery is scheduled for November 2nd and I just started my liquid diet today 🥴. I’m getting VSG.

Hello, I had found out about my HH during my WLS pre-op process. They saw it in the scope. I had severe GERD for YEARS and never heard of a HH (on 2 prescriptions plus TUMS), my doctor never even looked into WHY I may have acid reflux so bad. I didn't even know it was a thing, he did say my weight doesn't help it though. Anyway, long story short. Major damage to my esophagus and a huge HH. My bariatric surgeon fixed everything during my WLS. I had bypass, I have ZERO regrets and only wish I had done it sooner. My GERD is completely cured, off all GERD medications and have eaten just about everything I would have before surgery as far as "trigger foods". Otherwise I only had slightly high blood pressure and now it is always low, sometimes even too low. So again, ZERO REGRETS! Good luck on your journey!

I was scheduled this morning for November 8th. Congrats on getting your date. Sent from my SM-F916U using BariatricPal mobile app

I had gastric bypass 7.5 years ago. I love my bypass and would make the same choice if I had to choose today.

Just got my surgery date this morning. I am scheduled for November 16th! Anybody else close to this date? I’m both nervous and excited. Looking for support and people I can talk to that understand how I feel, as they are going through the same thing! Thanks