Search the Community

Just converted from sleeve to bypass 2 days ago and already losing my mind. The first time wasn't as difficult because it was for weight loss and I was pumped, this time is for GERD relief. I HATE sweets. I could go an entire lifetime without sweets but all the protein drinks are sweet. To combat that does anyone have any suggestions of some soups they ate during phase 2? I was thinking strained chicken noodle soup, strained top ramen, or strained minestrone because regular fat free low sodium broth made me vomit. My doctor just said clear liquids but did not specify or give me ideas. Tyia

So I'm browsing the bariatric cookbooks and find that many specify in their title whether the recipes are for Sleeve or Bypass patients. Just what is the difference in diet after Sleeve vs. Bypass? Does it actually matter which type of cookbook I buy? Thanks!

I've been thinking a lot lately about how it's already been 10 years since I got my sleeve. I've also been thinking about new people just starting on this journey and remembering how I felt about the whole process. I should mention I'm 5ft 2in and weighed 233 lbs and was 56 years old at the time I started my journey. I tried every diet, I mean every diet. Spent too much money on fads and diet supplements. In the beginning I was excited and worried about having the sleeve. You can't grow your stomach back! Not that I had an emotional attachment to my stomach and actually thought my stomach was my enemy. The thought of removing part of a perfectly good organ in my body. Well, that's just crazy - isn't it??? I have to go to this extreme to stop killing myself?? I couldn't eat hardly anything at first. If I ate one bite too many I was in horrible pain and had to lay down. I remember thinking if I just could eat 1/2 of a small hamburger or one little taco I'd be happy. But pretty much 2 bites of anything and I was done. The weight came off fast in the beginning. But my energy was low, I didn't feel good and I had some regrets. Couldn't go out to eat it was a total waste of money. Besides since I could only eat a couple bites the waitress thought there was something wrong with the food. Naw, just wasn't that hungry I'd tell them. I get a doggy bag and attempt to eat the rest later. So yes, the first 8-10 months the weight fell off. I don't remember exactly how long it took me to loose the first time over 90 lbs. Yes, I said the first time. I didn't gain it all back though. I still was not at peace with my sleeve. It was the enemy keeping me from eating as much as I wanted and when I wanted. BTW I still can't eat salad anymore it's just too hard on my stomach. I loved salad but NO sleeve doesn't like it!! So here's the deal...no I couldn't eat a whole hamburger BUT I can eat maybe 1/2 now and then 2 hours later I eat the rest. Same with everything else. HAHA sleeve I win. I really struggled with my love/hate relationship with my sleeve. A couple years go by and I gain back around 50 lbs. HAHA sleeve I win???? Did I already say that learning to live with the sleeve was a real struggle for me? So, it took me along time to be at peace with my sleeve. Well, I am now. It wasn't easy but I did it and it feels good today not to stress out over not being able to eat as much as I want and I stop when my friend the sleeve says "that's enough!" Okay, you win sleeve. I've lost the weight that I had gained back. No, I'm not skinny but I'm at a comfortable weight that looks good on me. The real win is my health. My blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol are good/normal! My sleep apnea is gone! I don't shop in the "big ladies" department and I fit in an airline seat and can put the tray table down! I can walk for miles and I don't break out in a sweat just walking to the mail box. I can play with my Grandkids! If I were to give advise to anyone considering having VSG. Don't expect the sleeve to be the magic bullet. You have to work with it and listen to your sleeve. You might have to go through what I did. I hope if you do eventually you'll start listening. Most, not all of us have a food addiction and most of us don't want to stop eating when we are really full. Food tastes good, we love it. It's social and everything we do socially has food involved. Television ads for fast food, and restaurants at every commercial break! I was so addicted to food. Well, actually. I still am. But.. most of the time now I stop eating when my sleeve tells me to stop. I have a family member who had gastric bypass. She is so frustrated. " Ya can't eat a meal!" " Nope, we can't but we can share a meal and still have leftovers." I believe long term success (not that I'm saying I have that either) will happen when you accept, make peace and listen to your sleeve. It could just save your life like I believe mine has done for me. Good luck to everyone on this journey or getting ready to start it. It was the best decision I've made for my health. No regrets!

Hello, I had a bowel resection myself. I went in to my consult certain I wanted the bypass and after the consult the surgeon helped me decide that for my situation the sleeve was a better fit. My surgeon said the resection did not take the bypass off the table for me BUT due to the number of issues I have had in the past with diverticulitis and other abdominal surgeries he thought that it was best no leave them alone and do the sleeve. I couldn't be happier with the results!! Your surgeon will look at the portion of bowel that was removed and the reasons it was removed, those are the two big factors

I assume the clear liquid diet to help your stomach and bypass heal without overloading them. Perhaps have a chat to your dietician or your surgeon see if they think you have recovered enough to progress to the next food stage early.

I don't have issues with GERD. My surgeon is pretty respected and has been doing this for a while. Patients travel from out of state to see him. Even patients who are too large to walk and need medical transport see him. I'm interested in the differences of living with say a bypass vs sleeve? Maybe that's best to look over the bypass forum. If I need to have the hernia surgically repaired, I think I would want to have a revision done as well and hopefully do it in one surgery. I think I got the hernia because I gained so much weight.

Hello Everyone, I had a bowel resection approximately ten years ago. A foot of my bowel was removed, does anyone out there know if I can still have a Gastric Bypass? Thank You, MinnieMay1971

Hernias can be repaired alongside a revision (or separate). It’s up to the surgeon if they believe it’s worth repairing at the same time as it may prolong the surgical time. IMHO choose a surgeon that has done plenty of complex cases with great outcomes. I’ve gone from sleeve to bypass albeit for GERD. Outcomes can vary greatly but discussing optimal roux limb length for the best weightloss possible with your surgeon may help. It’s entirely possible to maintain or even gain after revision to RNY. Some revision patients also experience a loss of VSG restriction because the pyloric sphincter is bypassed. Food might feel like it goes right through you if you are used to the strong restriction of VSG. Another option to inquire about is a revision to SIPS or Duodenal Switch especially if you don’t have GERD and have a significant amount to lose. Good Luck!

I’m post op 17 days from my bypass and am starting my puréed diet..Im finding it very hard to eat any of the foods listed..they do state to eat three meals a day which consist of 2-3 oz of protein a day..and 1/4 cup puréed fruit. This is in addition to The daily water and milk products I’ve already been consuming the first two weeks. I take 2 bites and I feel full..I’m scared to eat to much here..and stretch my stomach...how have others been handling this phase of their diets?

Hi! I'm revised Bypass to Bypass. I would only recommend a revision if your surgeon is 100% knowledgeable about bariatrics. As I understand it there are some unique challenges to a revision surgery - but maybe that is more in my case since I had a Bypass already. When they do a sleeve, do they distallize any of the connection to your intestines? In any case, if you do have the revision - weight loss appears (8 weeks out) to go much slower than before, but steady. I feel better this time around - and as you say, I'm treating it like a do-over as I'm older and wiser now - and much better able to keep up with the costs of vitamins and proteins. And - there are a million bypass friendly things on the market now - so many more shake choices - high protein snacks and things. I suspect the hernia can be repaired at the same time if your insurance will approve the bypass - that's the trickier part. Good Luck!

I haven't had a revision, but I just wanted you to say that lots of people have revised from sleeve to bypass (mostly due to GERD). There are a few current BP members who have, so hopefully some of them will respond.

I received a gastric sleeve back in June of 2016 so I'm coming up on my 5 year anniversary. I at one time weighed nearly 500 pounds and got the surgery at 380 as I lost 120 pounds on my own prior to surgery. I was down all the way to 160 pounds. My doctor even said I could stand to gain a few pounds. Problem is, I gained more than a few. I currently weigh about 330 pounds now. I have developed a hernia that will probably need to be surgically repaired. Given that, I'm considering a revision. Can a hernia be repaired while doing a revision? Has anyone gone from a sleeve to bypass? What are the differences you experienced with a sleeve vs bypass? I will also add I'm in the process of seeing a psychiatrist. I've learned I have social anxiety and the weight loss wasn't a cure for that anxiety. I'm almost looking at it as a do over and continuing therapy after surgery. Anybody have success doing a revision?

Congrats!! I had my first consultation on March 30. Had to have the psyche eval before they submitted it to insurance. Got that done and approval came through May 6th, so mine was a little over a month. Maybe you'll be having yours in June like me!! Did you end up going with sleeve or bypass?

See my post on My sleeve experience - it’s long and detailed. The pluses - weight loss to goal, no vitamin deficiencies. The negs - GERD!!! Do it again? Tough to answer, because it’s been 15 years and I don’t know where I’d be if I didn’t have it. Dead? Massive Stroke? Or maybe a healthy, but fat 51 year old? Who knows? Lol. Quality of life is severely diminished with GERD, but my friends have had the bypass, and that’s a tough road too. My advice? If your happy, healthy, but fat - don’t do anything. Wear beautiful clothes, don’t take yourself too seriously, laugh, enjoy your friends and your life! If you’re suffering and the future is looking bleak, grill your doctor about GERD and find a surgeon that understands it and mitigates the risks. See my post for all the right questions! I’d do the sleeve, but find the right surgeon. The ones who’ve been doing for over 20 years are the best - they know some tricks to avoid GERD, and they test you for GERD before surgery. If your surgeon doesn’t mention GERD or downplays it - RUN!

I went to WL support groups for 1 year before I had the sleeve. GERD was very common; but I discounted it because I didn’t understand that it’s NOT Your garden variety Pop-a-tums GERD. (I don’t think many of the Doctors really know how bad this type of GERD is.) The Bypass patients seemed to have really intense energy problems “, mal-nutrition and gas - so I opted for what I thought would be occasion TUMS. LOL - yeah - NO. People don’t go in for revision for that! I wish I could jump in a time machine and cancel the surgery.

Same here I feel like I’m starting to get full faster then when I first had the surgery. I had gastric bypass on 3/3.

My gerd has went away since the surgery I got bypass and that’s a beautiful thing

4/13 bypass revision from installed Lapband 2008, removed 12/1/20 due to severe GERD and erosion! So glad I finally got rid of my band NO more acid reflux!

I had Lapband surgery 2008 and went from 322 down to 148…. seemed like I could never eat first thing in the morning or at least until about 9:30 or 10. I just had my gastric bypass revision 4/13 after having my band removed 12/1/20 due to esophagus erosion from severe acid reflux from my band and so far no issues with eating… not feeling hunger currently and have reminders set for when it’s time to eat

regain can happen with any surgery, even the most powerful of all, the DS (duodenal switch). Losing the weight and keeping it off takes a lot of commitment - for life. People who say you're taking the easy way out are dead wrong. This takes A LOT of work. Hair loss is very common with all weight loss surgeries. the good thing is, it's temporary. It grows back. And a majority of us don't lose enough for others to notice (although WE notice it, of course...). A few people don't lose any hair at all. To many of us who are long past that stage, the hair loss was a small price to pay for the benefits we got from the weight loss. Vitamin deficiency can happen in bypass patients if they don't keep on top of their vitamins. You will have to take vitamins for life regardless of surgery, but the consequences for slacking off are more severe for bypass patients than sleeve patients. However, if you're diligent about taking your vitamins, vitamin deficiencies are pretty rare, even in bypass patients

Thanks so much for responding. I appreciate you taking the time to tell me your stories. What was the final straw for you to finally make that move to go to a surgeon? Did something happen or were you just fed up with being overweight and just decided to go through with it? I guess I just have reservations about doing it. I know a few people who had the gastric bypass. One is gaining his weight back 3 yrs in and the other a female seems to have put alittle bit of her weight back but she has had ALOT of hair loss. She also had skin removal not long after her weight loss. Both seem deficient in vitamins etc. I just dont want to go through all this and ultimately end up gaining it back. Id like to think that I could say on target and make a change in my eating habits and the types of food I eat but seeing others starting to put the weight back on makes me second guess doing it.

there's some malabsorption involved with bypass (not so with sleeve), so you have to take vitamins for life to avoid deficiencies (you will also have to take vitamins for life with sleeve, but the consequences aren't as severe if you're not diligent with them). But the malabsorption is also part of the reason people tend to lose more weight with bypass, because you malabsorb calories along with nutrients. However, malabsorption of calories with bypass only lasts about two years. Malabsorption of nutrients is permanent, so you really have to be diligent about keeping on top of your supplements. Dehydration isn't an issue with bypass. You have to drink at least 64 oz of fluids a day with either surgery, but I've never read about any dehydration issues with bypass (I've been on this and other bariatric forms for about six or seven years - that issue has never come up that I'm aware of) as far as why I chose bypass: 1) my surgeon recommended it because I had GERD pre-surgery (sleeve can make GERD worse in about 30% of people. Bypass tends to improve if not outright cure it) 2) I went along with his recommendation because I didn't want to risk my GERD getting worse 3). I weighed over 300 lbs, so I wanted the most powerful surgery I could get (if my insurance covered the DS (duodenal switch), I might have gone for that instead. But it only covered sleeve and bypass) 4) At the time I had my RNY, the sleeve was still relatively new. It was in the process of replacing the lap band as the major non-RNY weight loss surgery option. The lap band turned out to be a not-so-great surgery (to the point where most surgeons refuse to do it now), and I didn't want to risk the sleeve becoming "Lap Band 2". However, that was a few years ago. The sleeve has been around long enough at this point that it's proven itself, so I would no longer have this particular concern if I had to make the decision today. HOWEVER, due to my GERD issues, I would still choose the bypass if I was facing that decision now. If not for that, I'm not sure which one I would go with. They're both good surgeries, and you'll find a lot of success stories with both.

Yeah, to be honest, I'm not sure which one would be best for me. Was there a reason you selected the Bypass or was that recommended by your doctor? They both seem very similar to me as far as limiting how much food you can tolerate and from the seminar, I had to watch before my consultation tomorrow I know that with the Bypass you only get some of the Minerals/nutrients needed which I'm assuming can lead to dehydration, etc. so that makes me a little nervous.

basically, the bypass is a more powerful surgery than the sleeve. As mentioned in other comments, statistically you will lose more weight with it, and you're also more likely to maintain it. The DS (duodenal switch) is even more powerful than the bypass (RNY). But again - those are stats. Your success is going to be much more dependent on your level of commitment than which surgery you get.

you can eat around ANY surgery, even the DS (the most powerful weight loss surgery out there) and regain all your weight. However, stats on that are a little better for bypass than for sleeve (in other words, you're less likely to regain all your weight with the bypass). However, stats are stats - it really comes down to the individual. Regardless of surgery, you'll always find people who never gain any of it back, and others who put on a few lbs (10-20 lbs after hitting bottom is very common - but with some people it's more like 40 or 50 lbs), and still others who gain it all back. I wouldn't say that MANY people regain all their weight with bypass (or with sleeve). Some do, but they're in the minority. There are a lot who gain a good 40 or 50 lbs though (or even more) if they start slacking off too much.