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My Dr. suggested bypass as well but I immediately told him that was not for me. At that time he looked at me and said ok we will do the band but your weight loss is going to be very slow. I told him I wanted to lose 48 lbs the first year he said that was doable but probably not much more(I don't think he wanted me to think I could shed weight as fast as everyone else. Which I already knew....I am an aerobics instructor, bicycler, do triathlons, and ran a 1/2 marathon 6months before I had surgery. I know it takes a miracle for me to lose weight. Anyways I am only down 37 lbs since Dec but also down 23 inches. When I get down my Mom says....when was the last time you were able to lose 37 lbs and keep it off? That kind of puts things back in perspective for me. So...even though the weight loss is slow it is still weight loss....hang in there you will be thinner before you know it :tt2:

I also have PCOS, type II diabetes, and low thyroid. Both my Surgeon and Endocrinologist support my getting the band. I was warned ahead of time that I might be a slower loser opting for the band over other weight loss methods. I was not at a point in my life where I considered bypass surgery. The only surgery that I wanted was the band. I have only had two fills so far (third is scheduled for this afternoon) and I have lost a total of 46-lbs in about 4 months. I am not restricted as of yet and have lost the weight due to sheer willpower. I am hoping that the next couple of fills will help me out a bit! Please have patience with the process. PCOS will definitely slow down your weight loss but that doesn't mean that we won't eventually get there! I too took Metformin and Januvia prior to surgery. Immediately before surgery I went off both medicines...under the guidance of my Endo. Since the surgery my 2-hour after meal sugars readings are great, but my morning fasting number has begun to creep up. She has put me back on the Januvia which I take before I go to bed. This has made a great difference in my morning fasting numbers. Talk to your Endo and see what he/she recommends.

I have managed to loose 120lbs in 2 years and keep it off. My mode is better, my health is better, my marriage is better. what else is there!

What is actually sad is that the only person in my family that has voiced their concern about my well being is my father, and he is the the one paying for the surgery. My sisters are mad because of it. To them, even though they are 19 and 23 it is "not fair" that I am having extra money spent on me. Especially for something "I can do on my own." That is actually the general consensus for the whole family. "I dont know why you cant just stop eating fast food three times a day and go to the gym." What really makes me mad is I do have a thyroid condition, and while it isnt hard for me to lose weight if I drop down to 1200 calories a day and work out 3 hours, if I stop doing that I WON'T maintain it. And I dont mean STOP and start eating fast food again. I mean the slightest slacking off and I stop losing weight and it is very discouraging. I work out 3 times harder than my 135 pound body conscience sister, but it doesnt matter because I am not as thin as her. Everyone is right when they say you don't have to defend your decision to go with WLS, and I didnt. I just think it is complete BULLSHIT that that people think because I am fat that it is TOTALLY fair that I DO work 3 times as hard as any skinny girl and that I should have constantly live in fear and depression of what I eat and how I live my life, AND STILL NOT BE THIN. I am so sick of hearing "Just do this... or Just do that"....you know what? Just kiss my fat ass because I know what I am doing is ultimately going to make me happy... AND you can say I did it the easy way, or whatever..but we both know who is going to look more attracting in the family photos for holidays come November and December this year. Jealous bitches. ::hops off soapbox:: Fine. I am through venting.

If you are referring to insurance, I didn't have either surgery for weight loss so BMI was not even considered. I had some upper GI issues. I have lost weight, but really didn't need to. Had I not had this RNY, it would have been likely that in the future I may have gotten esophageal cancer because my acid was so out of control. Also I had an area on my esophagus that was so thin from acid damage, it would have probably ruptured in the near future, so he had to repair that when he got in there before he did the bypass. My pouch is smaller than normal because of the repair so the restiction is much greater than the sleeve restriction. But everything is going great. Never had any pain or any nausea, and I am on all food now and no issues. No regrets!

I will only say that mothers always worry about their babies no matter what!! Mom was afraid for me to have WLS both times--I considered both surgeries lifesaving. The first surgery was gastric bypass 10 yrs ago that began failing me about 5 years ago. It took all this time to get OKd for revision to sleeve. I just think you need to be headstrong in doing surgery for YOU and YOUR HEALTH. Then once you have surgery, education about your new lifestyle, nutritional needs, etc. is in order--be the proof in the pudding for them and their doubts. If they see your efforts openly, my guess is they will be grumbling under their breath, "Why didn't I believe her???" Fear and doubt does strange things to people--typically those we are closest to--namely, our moms!! Good luck with everything, and I will be praying for good things happening with your surgery and your family. :DRonda

So I am starting to get a little anxious with all of this pre-op evaluations. They seem neverending to me because everytime I do something, I have to go back again for something else. For example, went for Cardio clearance and everything looked great but he can't clear me without an echocardiogram and stress test so I have to go back for that this Thursday. Same with Gastro, went for that, went for Endoscopy and have to go back for results (which really can be done with a phone call, but phone calls don't give them co-pays). Sorry, I'm just venting frustrations. But I am in the home stretch of all of these things - Thursday I have 2 appointments, Friday is final gastro appointment, Saturday Bloodwork and then I'm done. I just called my surgeons office and spoke to the person who handles all of this there (sooo nice & helpful she is!) and she made me feel so much better about all of this. She told me what she had already received and what she still needed and I gave her all the dates of my upcoming appointments. She said that by the last week of August she should have everything and then she gives the complete file to my surgeon who will review it all and sign off his approval. Then she will call me and we will decide on a surgery date, which will be at least 6-7 weeks from that day (because of my insurance company). Then she will submit that to my insurance company (GHI-CBP in New York) and they take about 5-6 weeks to give approval. She said that's how my insurance company does it, they require a surgery date for the approval process. So basically I will have a surgery date before I have actual insurance approval (which will be very nerve wracking to me!). But it is what it is. She also said that GHI has been very good about approving surgery. I also told her that I have a deadline in my head of November 7th, otherwise I am waiting until January. I asked her if she thought I was being unrealistic but she said I am very realistic and so long as she gets everything as expected, realistically I can have it done by the end of October!!!! So that made me very happy. The reason I want it before the 7th is that I don't want to run into the holidays while still on the liquid diet. I realize I won't be eating a hell of a lot at Thanksgiving no matter what, but I really don't want to have to explain to anybody why I'm drinking a Protein shake instead of eating dinner. So that's my update. I started my day very anxious about all of this and now I feel like I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. The light is still a small dot, but I can at least see it now.

I am being sleeved tomorrow with no intention whatsoever to have it switched to a bypass. Chrohn's disease runs in my family and so it is not a recommended procedure for me. I would like to see what the people mentioned at Obesity help have to say. I had concerns with how big I am and getting this done with my BMI being higher than most people I have read stories from. I will go take a look on OH. Thanks.

Oh thank you so much. We are all helping each other so much on this site. I know what you mean about eating more coming up to the pre op - the majority of us are emotional eaters and if this doesn't trigger emotions I don't know what will. I think eating is the hardest to control during the waiting period. Don't be mad at yourself for gaining cause that is just another emotion that is soo distructive ( I know). cause if you are disgusted then you can't love yourself and Lady you have to love yourself in order to take care of yourself. I felt disgust at how I allowed myself to get to this point...we all know the scenario...standing naked in front of a mirror and thinking what happened... But the first thing I did when I started this journey was apologize....to me....for abusing food for so long...for not taken care of what God blessed me with. I had to forgive me before I could love me again. I started working out in November - long before I even decided to have WLS and I think that may have helped a little to keep from eating too much. I started trying to eat healthy and not be on any particular diet...just healthy so that I would not do any more damage until I could get help. And that is when I decided to get WLS (Sleeve). Hang in there Lady and hold on. June will definately be here before you know it. Start your journey now. Start walking - you know...a little bit here and a little bit there. Go to some of the group sessions and keep reading some the great stuff the people on this forum are kind enough to share with us. We are all right here with you. Thanks again and God Bless You too.

Someone at my job commented to me yesterday, my first day back after the surgery, he said this: Make sure you don't become addicted to something else. A friend of my wife was a food addict, had a gastric bypass, and is now addicted to alcohol. Turned out she had an addictive personality that was not discovered in her psych profile. I was stunned, and realized that now, everyone will be full of advice, good, bad or weird, and I have to take it as it comes. As long as you are true to yourself and sticking to your goals, things will change if you want them to.

Your welcome my surgery is scheduled for November 28th weighing in at 274 and I know I'm going to have to worried about my bat wings but I'm going to work on it keep up the good work you look amazing Sent from my SM-G928T using the BariatricPal App

I also has the sleeve done 3/2015, lost 155 and gained back 40. I went back to my Dr because of gerd and no restrictions when eating since 3 months post op. I have cigna, they approved and I am now waiting on the dr office to schedule the surgery. I would love to find out what the average weight loss is for sleeve to bypass revision....

I had the gastric sleeve in December 2012. I lost 100 lbs but have since gained back 55 Lbs. I have extreme GERD, have been hospitalized for Ulcers. i went and met with the doctor and he recommended doing the bypass to alleviate my GERD and other issues. i am now waiting on my ins approval. Has anyone else had this procedure done? did it relieve your GERD and how much additional weight did you lose?

Yes, I had band to sleeve, but that didn’t do anything but give me Gurd, really bad, so on 9/25 had bypass, so far so good, not acid reflux....the reason I had the surgery to begin with.. by the way, never lost any weight with the sleeve! Have already lost 11 pounds as of 10/1....

I am 68 years old and had RNY gastric bypass surgery 4 years ago. My age did not seem to impede my healing. Some people say they are more energetic after surgery. I wouldn't say I was more energetic but rather my stamina improved dramatically. Stamina is the ability to perform physical labor. I felt like my stamina was similar to when I was 30 year old. On one of my projects around the house, on the 2nd year post op, I moved 100,000 pounds of gravel by hand along with around 60,000 pounds of concrete blocks and the next year I moved about the same amount of material.

I'm going thorugh a six month...started in November and finish in April, surgery scheduled May 11th. 12 months does seem like a lot and I thought 6 months was bad.

Cost-Effectiveness and Budget Impact of Obesity Surgery in Patients With Type-2 Diabetes in Three European Countries JournalObesity Surgery PublisherSpringer New York ISSN0960-8923 (Print) 1708-0428 (Online) IssueVolume 16, Number 11 / November, 2006 DOI10.1381/096089206778870067 Pages1488-1503 Subject CollectionMedicine SpringerLink DateTuesday, June 26, 2007 Add to marked items Add to shopping cart Add to saved items Permissions & Reprints Recommend this article Roger Ackroyd1, Jean Mouiel2, Jean-Marc Chevallier3 and Frederic Daoud4 (1) Royal Hallamshire Hospital, General Surgery, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom (2) University of Nice, Obesity Center, Nice, France (3) Hôpital Européen Georges-Pompidou, General Digestive Surgery, Paris, France (4) Medalliance, Paris, France Published online: 01 November 2006 Background: We aimed to establish a payer-perspective cost-effectiveness and budget impact (BI) model of adjustable gastric banding (AGB) and gastric bypass (GBP) vs conventional treatment (CT) in patients with BMI ≥35 kg/m2 and type-2 diabetes T2DM, in Germany, UK and France. Methods: Clinical evidence was obtained from literature and patient-reported EQ-5D scores given BMI and T2DM status from HODaR. Resource utilization data in AGB, GBP and CT were obtained from quoted publications so as to reflect practice in 2005. CT in each country was based on descriptions in HTA reports or based on co-authors' experience of current practice. Unit costs were obtained from published sources when available, or from co-authors' institutions. A deterministic algorithm with cost and utility discounting, enabled selection of inputs independently throughout the time scope for each of the 3 treatments, and included mean BMI, amounts of resources and unit costs. Results: The base case time-scope was 5 years, and the annual discount rate for utilities and costs was 3.5%. Compared to CT, GBP yielded +80.8 kg/m2.years, +2.6 T2DM-free-years and +1.34 QALYs. AGB yielded +57.8 kg/m2.years, +2.5 T2DM-free-years and +1.03 QALYs. In Germany and France, both GBP and AGB yielded a cost decrease, and were thus dominant in terms of ICER compared to CT. In the UK, GBP and AGB yielded a cost increase, but were cost-effective. Conclusion: In patients with T2DM and BMI ≥35 kg/m2, AGB and GBP are effective at 5-year follow-up in cost-saving in Germany and France, and are cost-effective in the UK with a moderate BI vs CT.

Does your surgeon know your indecision? I would think that the operative set-up would need to be switched out. I changed from bypass to sleeve, but did so a month before my surgery. l needed to be home the same day. The sleeve surgery allowed me to do that.

Since this is a procedure that cannot be undone, if you are feeling unsure why not go with the less invasive procedure? If you find that overtime the sleeve does not work for you, the bypass is always there. As a general rule of thumb, I tend to go with the less invasive, less extreme medical procedure if I find myself with the condition that needs to be treated by Western medicine. I have the sleeve. And I love it!

As part of the pre-requisite for surgery, I completed my endoscopy and was shocked at the findings. The gastro dr. said that he would not recommend me for Lap-Band at this time due to previosuly undiagnosed relux. I had no idea I had any issues! I apparently have gastritis and an ulcer in my stomach. He said the band can create additional issues and that Lap-Band may not be the best option for me. I am now on prescription meds and have another Upper GI in 1 month. Needless to say, I was devastated. I had a follow up with my bariatric surgeon and he said that is not necessarily true. He said with the Lap Band the band is placed high enough that irritating meds and foods should not have an impact in my stomach. In addition, they can still monitor my ulcer and any issues because they aren't bypassing my stomach as they would with the gastric bypass and can therefore still conduct an upper GI in the future. We agreed to a follow up meeting and a decision once I have my second Upper GI. Has anyone else had a similiar issue?

AFternoon... It took me a good 2-3 weeks to even feel normal. That weird feeling in your mouth could be Thrush. I had that and so hated it. I had to be put on two medications to clear this. The pain from the gas took, like it seemed forever, to get rid of. When I had my surgery in November, I did not drink any Protein shakes, my stomach said NO ... I did drink every 10 mnutes a sip of Water which kept me hydrated. I cried alot because I lacked the energy, which no one let me know would happen. You will get over this hump, I promise. I, do however, agree with one of the statements above. Please contact your surgeon's office.

In my gastric bypass eating program plan after surgery, it wasn't until 8 weeks post-op before I was allowed solids, like chicken and steak. Transitioning to solids is a very difficult transition. I found that softer foods such as chili and soups went down much easier than solid foods such as steak and chicken. I included some recipes at the bottom of the following article. http://www.breadandbutterscience.com/Surgery.pdf Generally during surgery in the hospital you are automatically given antibiotics because there are a lot of dangerous germs in a hospital and surgery opens up a pathway for infection. Antibiotics kill not only the bad germs but also the good gut bacteria. It is important to reestablish your colonies of good bacteria after you come off the antibiotics. This is done by taking probiotics for awhile. This will help you gut process foods better and will minimize your frequent trips to the restroom.

Hello Everyone. I had my surgery September 20, 2011. I started at 265lbs and currently weigh 242lbs. I had my post op check up with my doctor on October 5th. I am scheduled to have my first fill in early November. I guess that my real question is why my appt is so far out? Is it because I am currently losing weight steadily with no fill?

Hi!! I know this is probably answered somewhere else on the website, but I am still doubtful so I hope someone could answer my question! I have my lap band surgery scheduled for the 28th of November and that is exactly one week after my final exams finish so i would have to start my pre-op diet straight after my exams, however, I needed to know how much time I need to take off from work after my surgery because I work in retail at a department store, at a jewellery kiosk. Generally my shifts are anywhere between 8-10 hours a day with about a half hour break... there are no seats so I would essentially have to stand for the entire duration of my shift... any advice on how long to stay off work safely would be much appreciated! Thanks!!!

I'm in the same situation, BUT my surgeon's office is a Bariatric Center of Excellence and he has done thousands of bypass surgeries. Although the sleeve has a longer staple line, the bypass is a more complex surgery. My family doctor also gives him high marks and I really respect her opinions. Finally, I've checked the web rating sites and he gets remarkably consistent high reviews. Finally, he's never had a fatality, and I don't plan to be the first. Don't be afraid to ask questions, but many offices just started doing the sleeve because insurance just started covering it. Good luck! Virginia