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@scollins707 thanks! My first 10 days were pretty rough but doing good now. Trying to learn my new configuration and how to eat again. I am having a lot of constipation which my surgeon says is strange since I had a distal revision. He expected me to be going several times a day. Hoping that will improve with my increased water intake and walking longer distances.

Thanks for this post, MiniGastricBypassDude! Us Omega-Loopers are a clear minority on the forum, so it's great to read a detailed post from someone further along the journey than I am. I concur with your praise of the MGB - despite a run-in with ulcers and my repeated stalls due to how little I've been able to eat (both have improved immensely now), I'm still super glad I got this procedure. Everything has resolved and it's now getting easier and easier. I can get more calories in now, so the stalling has stopped and I'm losing at a good clip. My surgeon offers Sleeve, RNY, MGB and SADI-S, but is very pro-MGB over RNY because of all you mentioned. He says it has better long-term results, though yes, our supplements are vital. I had originally wanted the Sleeve (the malabsorbtion and potential dumping had me a little wary of a bypass), but because of existing GORD, he talked me out of it and into a MGB. Glad he did, as yes, this is the right surgery for me. I'm also ETERNALLY grateful that I've never had an emotional attachment to food, or BED. I know I'm very fortunate that my head has been in a great space for this, and I feel for folks who are having a rougher time of it.

I just had a sleeve to RNY revision due to severe reflux and a large hiatal hernia. I had sleeve surgery at age 50. (I'm 62 now) I lost 93 lbs from my pre-surgery weight. I reached my goal and went five lbs below for a 'pad'. I stayed at or below goal for 8.5 years. I was diagnosed with arthritis in my hips, ended up on thyroid meds for a while and then Covid. Grazing and less walking put on 40 lbs. (I was NEVER a gym rat, actually I never did any formal exercise) Take advantage of the honeymoon period. Follow the rules, I highly recommend logging your food. It will help you make better choices. I stopped doing that after shoulder surgery and it was a downward spiral. I'm back to logging! This was medically needed, but since I had to do this, I hope to lose and keep off between 25 - 30 lbs. I had surgery the day after Thanksgiving, I'm down 17.5 lbs since my pre-op diet weight. Good luck!!!

What it’s like being a mini gastric bypass patient on BariatricPal – what I found useful, and why I needed a pause from participating on the forum I think the forum is a fantastic resource, I love the store, and I can’t imagine not having read all of you wonderful people’s stories along the way. However, you feel lonely here as an MGB’er, because it’s very America-centric and there’s just not a lot of MGB’ers in America. That’s how it is. Consider this my tiny contribution to change that. What drove me off the site is the already-discussed-ad-nauseam rigidity you meet, and I seriously urge anyone to consider if they’re posting their “I can only eat half a lentil a week, am I losing too fast?” story for themselves rather than for others. Now that I’m below goal, I can say: I had a LOT more calories than what you’d believe was necessary to be a success. And I’m still losing on 2000-2200/day. Had I gone by the consensus here, I would’ve given up a long, long time ago. And I see some of the posters who had surgery around the same time as me, who were very active, and very judgmental of me and people like me, well … they’re not posting anymore. That makes me sad. Because I know why they did that; they needed the resolve and the boost from telling others they were doing it wrong. I hope they made it and that they’re happy wherever they are in their lives. I am back to say we should be so much more forgiving, kind, and open to each other’s experiences. We have a whole world judging us and frankly, we shouldn’t put up with it. That starts with forgiving ourselves and each other, and then stick together, us former, current, and future fatties

Why I think you should consider the MGB I think this surgery is worth considering, even as a self-pay option (I paid myself). We don’t get the serious dumping usually, we lose as much or more than the RNY’ers, our surgery is simpler and can be reversed or revised, and we learn to eat a Mediterranean diet … … by our anatomy. That’s right. My fat malabsorption steers me away from high-fat foods, and that includes pizza and burgers. I simply do not want them. I can have a slice, but it makes me feel … oomph. Not bad just not very nice. I find myself scanning restaurant menus for vegetarian options, just because I feel like it. One year out, I’m still experiencing shifts in what my body craves, and it’s fruit, veggies, protein. That’s coming from someone who ended up living on a diet of mostly fast food, juicy steaks and quick carbs. I don’t even want ice cream anymore. Not because I dump-dump, but because it just doesn’t give me that satisfaction. I make smoothies instead when I feel like a treat. I know, boooring.  Many MGB patients tell the same story. We can eat well, but we slowly learn to go for the things we should be eating. Automatically. Neat! At least give it a look. And consider any surgical team has a business to run. If you’re asking for a product they aren’t selling, they’ll be inclined to sell you what they do sell. Usually, that’s RNY or a sleeve. Did you know sleeves can be done as quickly as 14 minutes? That’s my surgical team’s record. And that RNY takes 2-3-4 hours? If you get paid the same, more or less, you’d be happy to sell your patient the 14 minute job, right? (Yes, yes, I know, that’s not how all surgeons are. I’m just saying: consider your options. It’s your life and your money).

My weight journey pre-op + for a year after the mini gastric bypass I reached my highest weight – 364 lbs – fairly close to surgery. I then lost from 364 to 344 at day of surgery. In the first month, I lost 34 lbs, and at the 60 day mark, I had lost 61 lbs. So 2 months after surgery, I was down to 283 lbs. At the 6 month mark, I was down to 234 lbs (total loss 130 lbs), and at the 12 month mark I’m at 201 lbs (total loss 163 lbs). My EWL is 88.8%, and I’m of a pretty muscular build, so for all intents and purposes, I’m done losing. More importantly, I think I look fantastic! I went from a 54” waist to wearing 32” jeans, and from a 6XL to a medium or large in men’s tops. I can see the individual parts of the shoulder muscles, there’s tricep definition, my legs look like pro soccer player legs … in a way, my fat decade was a massive bulk for the fellow weight lifters out there As for excess skin, it looks like I gave birth to quintuplets a few weeks ago, and there’s loose skin everywhere. I’m only wanting surgery on the stomach area, though. I think the rest will gradually be okay, and I don’t really need to be perfect. I’m great as I am. I’ve debated whether to include photos, but what the hell. I have nothing to be ashamed of, and if this motivates just one person to go do this for themselves, I’ll be happy. DAY BEFORE SURGERY (this is 20 lbs lower than my heaviest) ... aaand: FROM THE PAST WEEK (163 lbs lighter than my heaviest, BMI around 27.5)

My journey to weight loss surgery We all have our journeys, and I love to talk about mine. I’m not ashamed in the slightest over having a hard-to-work-with metabolism in a world that isn’t made for us. It messed me up, but here I am taking back my life. I’ll keep it fairly brief here, though: I was a chubby kid, had some years in a normal weight range, dieted all the time, yo-yo weight, started working a stressful job and eventually fell into a full-on eating disorder (BED). After receiving treatment for this, I was ready for bariatric surgery, and studied my options intensively. I initially ruled out the sleeve due to the regain rates + GERD. I then wanted RNY because of its ‘tested and verified’ legacy but landed on the MGB for the superior possibility for weight loss, higher chance of keeping the weight off, and for how easy it is to revise or reverse if the need arises later. I have not regretted my choice for a second ever since.

The surgery: what is it, how does it work, what does science say about weight loss and complications with MGB? What is it? There’s nothing ‘mini’ about the MGB. The name was given by Dr. Rutledge who invented it in 1997 to describe its simpler configuration compared to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass. Basically, the stomach is divided and a long, narrow pouch is created (a little like the sleeve), but the rest of the stomach is left in place (like with RNY). A loop of the small intestine is then connected to the pouch, and that’s it. There’s one connection point – one anastomosis – and unlike the sleeve, the food travels directly down into the intestine, as the pyloric valve is bypassed. The bypass is anywhere from 150cm – 350cm (3 to 9 feet), though recently most surgeons do 150cm to avoid malnutrition later on. Here’s a diagram: How does it work? As with all bariatric surgery, there are things we know and things we don’t know. We obviously feel full faster due to the smaller stomach, but because it’s ‘open’ in the bottom to the intestine, and this anastomosis is not especially narrow, we can usually eat pretty large amounts fairly soon after surgery. My personal experience is that I’ve only felt I ‘had no more room’ a few times, and always with minced meat, weirdly enough. The big trick is that you feel satisfied very quickly, because the food lands undigested pretty far down the intestine. It’s like the feeling after a huge Christmas dinner. Technically, I could eat more, but I feel stuffed (and satisfied). So I don’t. We have at least 3-4x the malabsorption of RNY, so there’s some calories being flushed right out. Personally, I can see when I eat a higher-fat meal that some of it goes through undigested (sorry for theTMI). How much do you lose? Unlike what people think, there are tons of studies out there documenting that weight loss is generally greater after MGB than after sleeve and RNY. Not a single study out there shows less weight loss with MGB when comparing MGB and RNY. Excess Weight Loss (EWL) ranges from mid-60s % EWL to the 80s after one year (a few studies show even higher WL, but those are generally from cohorts of fairly low-BMI study populations). All-in-all, weight loss is excellent and looks like it’s long-term durable in the studies. Especially when compared to the sleeve. Complications? For some reason, there’s a ‘feeling’ among American bariatric surgeons that MGB carries a higher risk of stomach cancer. This is not true, and it has been studied. A few patients experience bile reflux, but this is a lesser concern with the Spanish ‘anti-reflux stitch’ most MGB surgeons now use. Mine did as well, and while I suffered heavily from GERD prior to surgery, this is no longer a problem. Long-term, malnutrition is an issue, so take your vitamins. Think of vitamins as being generally a good idea for sleevers, mandatory in the beginning for RNY’ers and then see how your labs develop as the years pass, to very important for MGB, also long-term, and life-or-death for our duodenal switch friends. This reflects the malabsorption – none in sleeve, a little in RNY, a moderate-to-significant amount in MGB, and a lot in DS.

[MINI GASTRIC BYPASS THREAD – PLEASE CONSIDER YOUR SURGERY AND EXPERIENCES MAY NOT APPLY TO MINI GASTRIC BYPASS PATIENTS] Hi all BP’ers and lurkers out there; especially hi to everyone who had the mini gastric bypass (AKA the one-anastomosis gastric bypass/single-anastomosis gastric bypass/omega loop gastric bypass) It’s my surgiversary! I can’t believe it’s already been a year. But what a year it has been. Man. I wanted to share a lot of thoughts about my journey – there’s not a ton of MGB patients out there yet, and especially not in the US. I’ll admit I’ve been working on this for a while, because I want to share the good word about the MGB and contribute some of the things I simply cannot find out there. Well, now I know, at least how it’s been the first year for myself. So that’s my small contribution. Below, I’ll post the following posts individually so it’s easy to browse for anyone new: The surgery: what is it, how does it work, what does science say about weight loss and complications with MGB? My journey to weight loss surgery My weight journey for a year after the mini gastric bypass My diet and calories – stages + what does a typical day look like after a year? Exercise – what and when and how much? Alcohol and MGB What I wish they had told me prior to surgery Setting a goal Why I think you should consider the MGB What it’s like being a mini gastric bypass patient on BariatricPal – what I found useful, and why I needed a pause from participating on the forum What now? I hope you’ll find some of this enjoyable.

It is only a phone call to reach out to your Surgical Team. It is literally impossible not to lose weight after a bypass unless you are just ignoring everything they are telling you to do. There is an explanation along the lines of what others have been saying here.

Hello everyone, I have lost another 1.5 lbs since last Tuesday so I’m really happy about that. I guess it’s safe to say I am over the hump. Yesterday I didn’t eat so well, though, and I am paying for it today. My stomach hurts and I keep having to use the restroom. Very happy to be back on track this week, it has been difficult to be on a diet with family over, but at least I kept losing. I sort of wish I had the gastric bypass instead of the SADI because I see people losing all there weight in less than six months, but I think this was probably best for me for a lot of reasons and I’m thankful for having this opportunity after messing up the first time.

I was just approved for revision surgery, I didn't have to go through the requirements for the initial surgery.

Omg someone else like me! I was only 2wk post RNY (revision from Sleeve due to gerd even though I had a Fundoplication 10yrs before my sleeve) when I stopped eating or drinking anything & vomitted nonstop. After 3wks of that I finally went to the GI who did an EGD and found an ulcer at the staple site the biggest he'd ever seen. I was literally on deaths door due to loss of magnesium, nutrition, dehydration, potassium, etc & was admitted to the hospital straight from the EGD and put on a feeding tube for 2 weeks. I'm now 2 weeks off the tube and nothing I eat works. It seems the ulcer friendly foods and the bypass friendly foods are not compatible. Please tell me when things got better for you & what you ate? I hate eggs & yogurt & love cheese and protein shakes even make me sick now. [emoji31] Sent from my SM-G986U using BariatricPal mobile app

I had a gastric bypass on 11/15. I lost 1 lb at my 2 week check up. Now I'm panicking that something is wrong. I'm eating very little and it is most disappointing, Any advice?

Had my bypass the 1st

My surgery was 11/30. It's been rough. Was supposed to be bypass but due to previous trauma surgery too much scar tissue. So doc did sleeve he will do my Hernias (from prior crash) with a bmi of 35. Food isn't seeming to interest me either and getting in all that liquid gags me. Just so you know, you ARE NOT alone! Blessings [emoji119] Sent from my SM-A125U using BariatricPal mobile app

Well, I can honestly say, I thought it would be much worse than it actually was. So happy about that. I'm super sore, but I can handle that! The one thing I'm surprised about is that I am having gerd issues. I had a bypass so that I wouldn't have to deal with that any more. But I guess that's part of the whole deal. Doctor said I would be on my gerd meds for about 3 months.

I have bad knees, one of which was replaced but still hurts two years later. As a result, I cannot walk long distances even if I use a cane or rollator. Instead, I do aquatic exercise and use fins and a kick-board to swim laps at the local YMCA pool. I started using the pool before I had total knee replacement in a "Hip & Knee Class" recommended by my orthopedic surgeon. I liked it so much that I continued in the class for a year after surgery. Then COVID struck and everything shut down. A year later, in April 2021, I was so discouraged by being at home all the time and not getting exercise, I called three people who had been in the "Hip & Knee" class and suggested that we return to the pool. The YMCA was not yet holding classes, but the pool was open again. We knew the routine down pat. We started going for an hour each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. In September, the YMCA started offering aquatic classes again. The four of us signed up for the "Senior Stretch & Tone" aquatic class AND the "Knee & Hip" class back to back! Yikes! The class meets only on Mondays and Wednesdays, but we go on Fridays, too, so we get five hours of exercise weekly Since the Senior Stretch and Tone class uses some of the same exercises that the original Hip & Knee class used, we started using the second hour of class to develop strength by swimming laps using kick-boards and flippers. The fins make us work harder, kicking from the hips instead of the knees, and we are getting a good aerobic workout, By increasing the number of laps by two each time, I finally swam 1/2 mile or 18 laps last Friday. I'm going to try to increase by two more laps each time I go. I want to be able to do a mile (36 laps) by summer. I'll have to take a break after my upcoming revision surgery, but I've been told that as soon as the incisions are healed I can go back to the pool. Maybe by spring I'll have lost enough fat that I will no longer float like a beachball, and will be able to actually SWIM rather than kicking.

I think I was about 5-6 months out with my sleeve and about 3-4 months out when I had my revision. The perks of jerky is that you really have to chew it so it gave a lot of oral satisfaction which was nice.

I’m on the same boat Rachel. I had the sleeve in 2013. Dropped 100 pounds but have gained 65 back. I want to look into a revision. My job has open enrollment and there’s a plan that covers bariatric surgery.

I'm crossing my fingers for a January date for my hernia repair and sleeve to bypass revision. Once insurance approves it will only be a few weeks. I'll hear from insurance by Christmas, it will be a very merry Christmas for me! I had my sleeve 7 years ago right before Thanksgiving. Sadly I developed some nasty GERD that has caused severe damage to my esophagus, as well as developed a large hiatal hernia. Sent from my Z6201V using BariatricPal mobile app

My surgeon's experience is that people usually don't have to jump through the hoops again because the revision is necessary for reasons other than weight loss Sent from my Z6201V using BariatricPal mobile app

I've been video-conferencing weekly with a highly recommended counselor who specializes in eating disorders @$115/hour. However, while she is both a dietitian and a counselor she usually works with bulimics, anorexics, or bingers. I don't have those problems. The first few sessions were frustrating because she kept up her usual spiel directed to those forms of disordered eating. I gave her a list of reference books before our first session, but it was obvious she had not read any of them. I had to educate her on food addiction, bariatric surgery, and my experience with my own wonky metabolism. I sought a counselor because I've gone off the rails a few times while pre-op when confronted with some really delectable food in front of me that I could not resist--namely coffee cake, strudel, pizza, Irish soda bread. As soon as I ate them my sugar/flour addiction was triggered and it took weeks to get over withdrawal again and to get back on track with my pre-op food plan. I don't want to do that after surgery so I was looking for tips and tricks for avoidance of temptation. Well, I'm not getting that type of advice. However, I am getting nutritional/dietetic information that I have not gotten from my clinic's nutritionists. I'll keep talking to her for the next two weeks because my RNY-RNY revision is just 17 days away. I'll wait and see post-surgery. The honeymoon period won't be difficult to me. The problem will arise once I'm eating "real food" again. Good luck finding a compatible counselor at a reasonable session cost.

I was 63 at time of my bypass surgery 3 years ago last May. I lost 150 pounds in about 18 months. I have regained 30. But have leveled off. I am restarting my liquid diet to restart weight loss. I feel great most days however I still have an occasional dumping. All in all I would have it done again if I knew all of this. Wish I had it done decades earlier though.

Hey all, I'm back because I've developed severe GERD, esophagitis and a large hiatal hernia. I had an endoscopy this past Tuesday and they found my hiatal hernia was classified as large, several superficial ulcers, severe reflux/GERD. The esophagram I had a few weeks ago showed esophageal spasms and the results of the endoscopy indicate the spasms are due to the acid reflux. I frequently throw up my food due to the coughing triggered by the spasms. Fun times I tell ya! I saw my surgeon Wednesday and I was already thinking about hiatal hernia repair and asking about if she could do the RNY conversion at the same time. Well, she brought that up before I could. She gave me a few options and the repair and conversion is what I felt most comfortable with. She's having her prior authorization person working on the insurance part. I should hear something before Christmas. We're looking at a possible date of early to mid-January.