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Im scheduled for November 7th

Hi guys If both the sleeve and gastric bypass had been the same price when you decided on having surgery which would you have chosen? Would you still have gone with the sleeve? My hosptial charges the same for both, (US$1450 - I know.... bargain!). I'm on the waiting list, and just need to tell them which one I want when I'm called for surgery. For many reasons I've 99% decided on the sleeve, the main one being that it seems less risky, but out of interest, if the cost wasn't an issue would you have preferred to have the Gastric Bypass? Your opinions would be appreciated!

No doubt I would do the sleeve. My mom had the bypass years ago and her recovery wa horrible. I had my sleeve Nov 18 and I am down from 247 to 189. My recovery was quick and easy and my food list was an easier options than hers. He ha gained some of her weight back and she always had that dumping sensation. She stayed miserable for a while.

Gastric bypass? NEVER!! Go with the sleeve...Kathe

I am taking off for 6 weeks after the surgery. I want to devote my full attention to recovery and getting started on the second half of my weight loss journey. My surgery is September 28, and I plan to go back to work on November 14.

I have trouble with insomnia also. I did some research on the web and it seems like it is a problem with gastric bypass patients, but nobody is sure why. I take Restoril when I get absolutely to the point where I just have to sleep because I am so exhausted. Trouble is that no mater what you take, be it Ambien, Lunesta, or the Restoril if you take it every single night it will soon stop working. I am hoping that some day they come out with something better! Try using magnesium supplements at night. That can help. There is a powdered citrus flavored magnesium supplement called "Calm" that you can get at health food stores. You mix it with Water and drink it in the evening. The powder does fizz when mixed with water, like an Alka-Seltzer tablet, but don't worry. I checked with my nutritionist and she says this isn't the same as drinking carbonated beverages.

Hi everyone, I've been a frequent lurker, but I have not interacted on the boards. I now find myself in a position that I'm unsure about and could use some feedback. I was banded in 2008. I haven't had any problems until semi recently. Two weeks ago all of the fluid was taken out of my band because I started having bad heartburn while I was sick with a summer cold. Oddly enough, this was just a little over a week after seeing my Lap Band doc and being advised to consider revision to either sleeve or gastric bypass due to not really seeing much in results. My surgery weight was 258. My lowest weight was 221. Current weight is 247. Anyway, since having all of the fluid removed, my body is all kinds of messed up. I can actually eat LESS than I could with the band. I eat, I get heartburn. I get too hungry, I get heartburn. I eat solid foods too close to bedtime, I get heartburn. I'm also experiencing lots of gas and some bloating almost every time I eat something, Yesterday, it happened with water. Now, I'm on Prilosec per my doctor. I have an EGD scheduled for Thursday of next week as well as a barium swallow the day after. They've already done an x-ray and they say that my band is in the correct position. So, I'll have some answers soon, but I want to know if anyone has any kind of experiences that might give some clue as to what's happening. Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

I was banded last November and I am so happy with my choice. I am not hungry in the mornings so usually I don't eat until around noontime. I like Greek yogurt and buy the 100 calorie kind then pack the cup with things like chopped walnuts, chia seeds, a bit of gluten free cereal, etc. For me this is like a giant treat. Later I'll have whatever protein is going and some veg. Tonight we grilled and I loved my steak, just a small amount and then when I'm full I'm done. Oh, earlier I had cheese and crackers (GF) and we are having cocktails. I don't want to say what's good for any one but me, but this banded life is wonderful. I sure I could be losing faster but for the first time I'm not on a diet, I have no deprivation and I am at peace with food. I still love to cool -- have some chicken Marbella marinating right now. I've lost about sixty pounds and feel GREAT.

Hi, I am a newbie her to the forum. I was on approve on October 7th to have surgery.. My date is November the 7th.. Whoooohoooo.. Well not really.. The submitted my paper work for the bypass.. I soooo don't wanna that procedure.. I will meet with the surgeon on Monday and they will resubmit my claim... Good news you might say.. Well again, not really my insurance is in negotiating with the hospital.. Basically if the cannot come to an agreement by December insurance will not cover the procedure after Dec 9th..SUCKS RIGHT!! I know.. The forum has been so helpful and motivational.. Do you think I should go ahead with the bypass since it has already been approve or take my chances and wait to see if I get the quick approval for the sleeve? I was gonna call my coordinator and commit to the bypass, but I changed my mind.. Please help.. Send some encouragement my way... By the way I have BCBS federal..????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????. Oh I forgot to add my surgeon is booked the entire month of Nov.. Some one cancelled that's how I got my date.. Help help..

Thank you EVERYONE for weighing in on this today. I felt like I was going to bang my head against the wall soon. I have GREAT news, I really lucked out today. When we were waiting to check hubby out of the hospital, Kim came in - she is the head of the whole bariatric program at the hospital and works closely with my surgeon. She said that the sleeve program here is pretty underdeveloped because they've done so few... and they group us in with the bypass patients as far as the nutrition guidelines and classes... and that 1 ounce is far too little. She said I can eat UP TO 4oz in one sitting, every 2-3 hours. I don't know if it will take 4oz to fill me up or not but I will play around with it and see. She also said I could go ahead and advance to the next phase of eating - full soft food diet!! I said what do I do since the nutrition class for it is not until next week - she sat down and wrote out a list for me of what I could eat! She also said there was a cookbook written by one of my surgeon's patients that included recipes for all the eating phases, and I could go get it in his office which I did. I am home now (and hubby is too - resting comfortably) and I am going to go have some cottage cheese b/c it's time to eat but then I'm going to look through the cookbook and probably make up some stuff that I can try to eat later. I will let you all know how it goes. I think a lot of the problem here comes from the fact that a bypass patient starts with a 1 ounce stomach and mine is 3-4oz, and they just group us all together. I am so glad Kim came around and shared all this info with me. Also - she said even though generally they don't worry bout you drinking after meals until 6 weeks/solid food, that I should start now since I am having problems with hunger (which I was doing already after the suggestion this morning) so I am going to continue with that. If none of this works I will try the Prilosec too. Just don't want another pill to take if i don't have to :sad0: But I think that is a great suggestion Tiffy and thank you for the info. Also Kim said I could start solid food at 4 weeks if I want to, instead of 6 weeks... but, I will wait and see how this phase goes and if I am not dealing with the hunger as badly I will still wait until 6 weeks. Thank you everyone!

The bypass and DS are far more invasive than I am willing to even consider. The whole rerouting of intestines and malabsorbtion thing and not things I believe I will ever except.I want a somewhat normal life after surgery. I don't want to be obsessed with food. Whats the point really? from one extreme to the other. I want to be healthy, not so much skinny. Skinny is over rated lol.

Gastric bypass

I had pretty bad GERD before my surgery but it had only come with my weight so surgeon and I hoped it would disappear with weight loss. Straight after surgery I was so much better that I was able to drop from 40 to 20mg Nexium. Around 4 months out and 22kg lighter (2/3 of my total excess weight) it started getting worse. I am currently taking 80mg Nexium with poor control of symptoms - very painful and affecting my oesophagus, throat and Eustachian tubes (ears!). Seeing the surgeon tomorrow and hoping he has some "magic" suggestions. I also wanted the simplest possible procedure and am not at all keen on bypass, but I know there can be serious health consequences if my dr and I can't get these symptoms under control. Knowing that a bypass revision is always possible, is it worth talking to your dr to see about doing the sleeve in the hope that you are amongst the lucky ones whose GERD is not made worse by the sleeve? It would be nice to keep it simple if you could - ongoing need for vitamin/mineral supplementation is something I'm keen to avoid.

I have not yet had surgery (RNY bypass) and am doing all I can to prepare (following dr.s orders, started exercise program). I have been reading the weight loss stories in this forum and notice a wide range of differences in "success." While I understand that if you go back to bad habits you won't meet goal (since the surgery is only one of the many tools we need), I am curious if there are things you have done (or not done) that you think helped you meet your goals. In other words...if I do everything I am supposed to, most of the time (knowing slips happen), is there anything that will prevent me from hitting the goal range my Dr. and I set for myself? I.e., genetics? Not exercising every day or hard enough? I am just so worried that even if I do everything I should that I will fail...once again... Interested in your thoughts (and encouragement!). TIA

Thank you for creating this topic, @@cgshrink! I am currently looking into having this revision because I did not do well with the sleeve at all and I followed the correct diet for a year (then I got frustrated and started giving in to slider foods)! I also have reflux issues. @@cgshrink, can you tell me how you felt post-surgery? I might have to go to Mexico alone and I am worried about being weak and/or in a lot of pain. I went alone when I got my sleeve and I was fine, but I guess I'm more worried about this because it is a revision and a bypass. Thanks.

Most of time time the first two weeks following bypass is: Week 1 - Clear liquids only SF Jello, broth, Water, crystal lite, watered down apple juice, SF Popsicles Week 2 - full liquids and clear liquids- same as above plus creamed Soups, yogurt, Protein shakes (no more watered down Apple juice) Week 3 - the will move you to puréed if all goes well. You should ask your surgeon for his/her food plan because they all seem to differ but they should give you some idea of exactly what to eat when. In terms of meds, you should try to get yourself the liquid versions for the first 3 months or chewable if you can. Otherwise you will be crushing anything that is bigger around than a pencil eraser. This improves over time but those first 3 months it is pretty swollen in there. I don't use a blender because I buy Premier Protein ready made shakes instead of all the powders. When I had the puréed stage I used either my food processor or I had a nutrition bullet. I have since given that nutri bullet away. The best of luck to you! I hope all goes well.

I have an appointment with him in November, I least I thought so....

@CeeCee2018 . Always nice to meet a new forum friend. Don't be afraid to ask questions. I'm an expert at asking dumb ones, so don't let any topic stop you from getting to the bottom of what you want/need to know. We were all navigating unfamiliar waters in the beginning, so don't be shy. And, yes, the archives are a wealth of information. Of course, they lack that one-to-one contact with another forum member directly, but they can still provide you with a lot of details that you may not even know you needed to know! You came to the right place for bypass info. Actually, the bypass area would be better than this area, which is the general weight loss surgery area, but you'll find your way there. Ask if you need a roadmap. (You'll have to re-fold the map yourself, though. )

I had a lap band and stomach plication performed on June 28th of 2010. At first the weight loss was awesome and I was so happy with my important and expensive decision to have the surgery. But since the middle part of November I have been really struggling. I had the surgery because of my obvious issues with food. I had thought that after enduring the pain of surgery the result would be that it would be difficult for me to overeat. I hope that you do a better job of listening than I did. When they said weight loss surgery is only a tool, that is exactly what they meant. My father had a bypass performed back in 1972 and he was able to eat all and whatever he wanted and he lost weight almost without any willpower at all. He also had to take a ton of vitamins, shots, and suffered with kidney stones the remainder of his life. The surgery finally took his life about 7 years ago. Because of that I kept thinking my surgery would produce spectacular results. However, what I am finding is I will be on a strict low calorie diet the rest of my life, or, I will gain weight again. I have regained 40 of the 65 pounds that I had lost and it has left me feeling frustrated and upset with myself. I feel so mad at me for failing. I can not help but feel shame for my regression. I am going back next week to visit my surgeons office and I am not looking forward to it because I hate failure. Please don't do as I have. I have almost had to start from scratch but I can not let my self down. I wish there was a good support group; near me but I really don't have that option. Good luck to all of you and I have been encouraged by finding this sight. It is the closest thing to a support group I have found.

Joe, both my sister and I are nurses, and we both agree that this band business in the US is one of the most frustrating, poorly run, annoying processes we have ever seen. I got my band in Mexico--no problems. 6 weeks from the initial phone call to surgery. My sister has been messing around with this since November, and still doesn't have a surgery date. I have complicatons now and do you think I can get ahold of the local doctor who has been following up? A radiologist told me that my band has slipped and I'm having chest pains--Do you think that maybe they'd return my phone calls?

Yes! I did this before starting with anything because I wanted ALL of my medical records just in case. I called my ins., saw my surgeon's NUT, went to my surgeon's seminar, AND saw my surgeon ALL before visiting my PCP (I had to wait 6 months anyway to be approved so I had time on my side) but when I did finally talk to my PCP, I was pleasantly surprised that he was supportive. I had previously asked about bypass and he had sort of steered me away from it (giving me thumbs up to try South Beach, and Meridia, and eventually a card for a place that sold medifast-like supplements) so I was thinking he might not be on board. When I did see him I had taken ALL of my medical records and made a chart of my weights over the last 10 years (he's been my dr. at least that long!) I wrote down every single diet I had ever tried (with lots being recommended by him) and the results of those diets, how much I lost, how much I regained and how much I spent. What I realized during the whole process is that he just didn't want to be the one to suggest surgery. Faced with the overwhelming report that diets had indeed NOT worked for me, he was 100% on board. Good luck, time to take charge and get the paperwork you need and deserve to have!

My surgeon requires two day of liquids after a band adjustment. So, I had some time to reflect and figure out how I was going to stay on track. I thought the best place to start would be by doing reading and further reflection. I decided to read a book I purchased somewhere around the time I was banded, but never took the time to read. The book title is Before and After: Eating and Living Well After Weight Loss Surgery by Susan Maria Leach. Some of the things I summarized from reading her book that have really hit home for me are: Even after all my research, I wasn't prepared for how day-to-day living would really be after weight loss surgery until I lived it. What I realize now that I didn't quite grasp before is that the band only keeps you from becoming ravenously hungry and restricts your intake -- that's ALL it does. The hardest part of being successful with WLS depended entirely on me and my choices. As I moved from liquids, to soft foods, to solids, my daily food challenges grew. At some point I let "life" overwhelm me and failed to develop personal strategies for dealing with my emotional issues or eating habits. I also expected my band to do more for me than I was doing for myself. Now I completely understand that if I want to be continually successful, I MUST: GET MY HEAD IN THE GAME. not drink and eat at the same time. eat like I had the gastric bypass focusing on getting in protein first, then veggies, then fruit in that EXACT order and control the portion sizes/ratio. AVOID high carbohydrate foods because they are the DEVIL reincarnate. Don't EVER act like I don't know what carbohydrates are and there's no label to read. If I do, the only one I'm fooling is me. My band, my body, and my scale have proven they will not be easily fooled forever. build up to EXERCISING at least 5 day per week to lose fat instead of muscle. Take dietary supplements morning, noon, and night. Hold myself accountable by tracking my weight weekly and my diet and exercise. KEEP MY HEAD IN THE GAME. First thing this moring, I created a weigh-in chart through the end of calendar year 2008. According to my estimates, if I average two pounds a week, I should be at or below goal (150) before the end of the year. Is this goal set on perfection? Nope, it's set on continually striving to reach my goal in small achievable increments. Is this goal attainable? Well, I really don't know yet. The lowest weight I can ever remember being is 156 and I was 19 years old at the time. So it will be interesting to see where my body lands on the weight scale with continously applied effort. For now, my sites are initially set on getting back to the January 24, 2007 weight of 224lbs, from there I'll be working on breaking the 200lb threshold, then my focus will turn to achieving a healthy BMI of 29, which will put me at exactly 190lbs. Hmmm, now that I'm thinking about it. I'm going to update my weigh-in chart to include BMI changes for extra incentive. Since my surgeon only sees follow-up patients on Wednesdays, I've decided that will be my weekly weigh-in day. So, I will take and record an official naked weight every Wednesday even if it's a day I'm scheduled to see the surgeon. I will also record the clothing weight on those Wednesdays as well. I still have to come up with a plan that addresses all my issues and not just identify what I've failed at doing in the past and a documented weekly weigh-in chart. I need a plan that helps ensure my success. That will definitley be a bit harder. So, I'm going to have to address one issue at a time as soon as possible. My next appointment with the surgeon on 13 February and I want to ensure that both our scales show my effort.

Howdy Sleevers!!!! I haven't chimed in for a couple of days due to the fact that I was trying something new. My company provides probably one of the best weight loss surgery benefits I have ever seen. Granted you have to pay a $5000.00 deductible, but you get that money back over the course of 3 or 4 years provided you meet the doctor's weight loss goals. And to top it off, if I hit 40% of my goal, my company will give me a $5000.00 cosmetic surgery benefit to help address any "skin" issues that could potentially arise. They did have a couple of pre-op goals that I had to meet beyond the traditional 6 month diet and weight loss. They required attending a 12 week course on mindful eating (which they paid for), 1 pre-op psych eval, and attendance at a surgical weight loss support group. Post-op they require 5 meetings with a psychologist at certain intervals and that I attend 6 support groups in the first year. Being a student of Psychology myself, I didn't mind the requirement of the psych visits; it was the support groups that I was dreading. Well...I went to my first 2 support groups this week and my opinion of them has completely turned around. The first group I went to was for people who had the sleeve or bypass and it is run by the surgeon himself, with a stand-in when he is unavailable; which is rare. The room was packed!!! I am glad I got there early. There were people in all phases of their recovery and subsequent weight loss. I got to hear them talk about many of the same issues I had been having or could potentially face in the future. They talked about their successes, roadblocks, stalls, changes, etc. Nothing was taboo and I felt reassured that I was not alone. I know that I have my family and friends who support me 100%, but sometimes it is hard for them to understand just what I am going through and being able to talk to a group of people, face to face that have or are going through the same things as me...well it made me feel really good about my decision. In this group we mostly talked about the physical elements of the surgery and even though I found the group engaging, helpful, and motivating, I wanted more. The second group I went to was held the very next day by a psychologist. It was the emotional support group. Now I know what you might be thinking...a bunch of people crying, hugging, etc. Well it was nothing like that. We sat in a circle and talked about the emotional impacts of the surgery and weight loss on our lives. I talked about the fact that I was unprepared for the emotional roller-coaster I experienced (and am still experiencing though it is much better). Others talked about their partner’s reaction to the change and how some of their relationships had become strained, how they were unsure how to address questions from people about the surgery and dispel myths, and several talked about struggling with the decision to tell people at all. When I talked about my issues, I was reassured to hear that I was not alone and that many in the group had experienced the same emotional impact that I have been dealing with. My overall experience with the two supports groups were so positive that I fully intend to attend both on a monthly basis. One other thing I have done differently that I didn't anticipate I'd do is get a Sleeve Buddy. I met a fabulous lady during the 12 week course who ended up having her surgery the day before me and we hit it off right away. We call ourselves Sleeve Buddies, but it is so much more than that. We motivate each other, talk to each other when we hit a rough patch, we work out together, and much more. The best part is that she lives in the same city so we are close enough to get together whenever we want. Aside from the support groups, the relationship I have developed with her has been so helpful. She has become by sleeve confidant. I guess the moral of the story gang is that the more support we have the better chance we have of succeeding. I strongly encourage you to try out a support group and see if it helps you as much as it does me. Ciao 4 Now!

If you suspect that you won't get the support or that your family has biases agains surgical weight loss, then I wouldn't tell them...in fact, I didn't! I have heard my parents speak ill of a distant cousin who had gastric bypass and just "knew" that they would pass judgement on me as well. I also have a sister that is a workout fiend who believes strongly in dietary moderation and exercise (if it were only that simple, I wouldn't be fat!). So I chose not to tell them...except for my mom...turns out we were having a "heart to heart" one day and got talking about my diet and exercise efforts and I ended up confiding in her. I do have to say that my mom has surprised me with her acceptance of it all, but she did need to be educated first...her initial perception was that it was the easy way out and that the magic band makes the pounds melt away (again if it were only that simple, I wouldn't be fat!). She now realizes that the weight I've lost so far is really because of my dieting and exercising (OK, mostly dieting) and has an entirely different view knowing the effort I've had to put forth.

Congrats on your surgery and glad to hear it went well! I'll be relocating to Georgia in about two years (hopefully to Atlanta) and one of the things on my list is to make sure I find a good bariatric surgeon to see there in case I need to. I'm having my bypass april 6.