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So, I met with my surgeon for the first time today and everything went ok except that he said he would rather do the bypass surgery instead of the sleeve. He said it's ultimately my choice, that he will do either for me but that because of how much weight I need to lose he suggests the bypass. I have been doing a lot of research about the two and honestly I don't want to do the bypass. The sleeve seems like a better fit for me and I don't really care what the statistics say because I am not a statistic. I am just me. I know the sleeve isn't going to magically take away all my problems, it's a tool. A tool that is going to help lead me towards a better, healthier me. Sorry for the rant. It's just been an emotional few days. Did anyone else get prescribed anti depressants before surgery? I've never taken them before and they are not required. Not sure if I'm going to take them or not.

My surgeon didn't suggest bypass, rather I told him why I won't have it. He was ok with it. Ultimately, you know it's your choice. Go with your gut, your intuition, the facts you have for you. I'm pretty sure your surgeon will be on board with you no matter what you decide. Oh, and I have acid reflux now too, I am not a stat either. ?

Following this thread because I have severe GERD as well and my doctor proposed this as an alternative treatment. I’m 4.5 years post op. I have an endoscopy next Tuesday to see what the damage is. I have been looking into different options aside from bypass because i don’t want to Frankenstein my intestines up more. There is a device called a LINX, that I’m going to ask my doctor about, and one other option that I forget the name of, that can be done before doing gastric bypass. I only weigh 140 pounds, down from 357 so I DO NOT want Gastric Bypass since regain has not been an issue for me. I have the same concerns that I will become malnourished if I have the bypass because I am way below goal weight

Success with weight loss is dependent on getting the upper hand with your relationship with food. There is a psychology behind eating patterns which have taken WLS patients into the realm of obesity. Though I am not a physician, I do feel that you would benefit to see a nutritionist to devise a healthier eating plan. As a psychology professional, I can say that the other part to your equation is to reign in on your choices of food, and accept that we must adjust our beliefs about food. We must revise our thinking to "eat to live" rather than "live to eat" if we want long term success with weight loss and maintenance. I have found it useful to use sipping Water or other no calorie drinks and distraction to keep my thoughts away from feelings of hunger. And I also use "self talk" and ask myself prior to eating anything which I know I should not have, do I really want this, or would I prefer to continue to move towards my weight loss goal? The band is around your stomach, not your mind. You have an incredibly self empowering tool to use for weight loss... Best wishes....

According to the internet: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease worldwide. Treatment recommendations for NAFLD are aimed towards weight reduction, thereby reducing insulin resistance. Unfortunately, lifestyle modifications have not yielded long-term success, while durable weight loss is routinely achieved with bariatric surgery. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/763056 So what this summary says it that lifestyle modifications such as dieting and exercise have not yielded long-term success but bariatric surgery has. Another article says: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is a progressive disease with potential evolution to liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Another article says: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease. It encompasses a spectrum of conditions associated with lipid deposition in hepatocytes. It ranges from steatosis (simple fatty liver), to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH–fatty changes with inflammation and hepatocellular injury or fibrosis), to advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. Studies suggest that although simple fatty liver is a benign condition, NASH can progress to fibrosis and lead to end-stage liver disease. The disease is mostly silent and is often discovered through incidentally elevated liver enzyme levels. It is strongly associated with obesity and insulin resistance and is currently considered by many as the hepatic component of the metabolic syndrome. NASH cirrhosis is now one of the leading indications for liver transplantation in the United States. I underwent RNY gastric bypass surgery because my health was deteriorating rapidly. I dieted and exercised and still could not shed the pounds but instead continued to gain the weight. I had the surgery to correct my health conditions. The surgery corrected a number of my health conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, acid reflux (GERD). It even corrected my asthma condition. If your focus is to become healthy and live a long productive life, then I would suggest the surgery. I dropped 120 pounds after surgery and my BMI went to normal. Weight loss was just a little gravy on top of health improvements. One of the factors that enter into the equation is cost. The operation is expensive and therefore it is important to have insurance that covers the operation. Therefore the guideline requirements from your insurance policy will dictate how easy it is to obtain this surgery. Many insurance policies are written very similar, so this will give you an idea: Surgical treatment of obesity (bariatric surgery) is covered only if: - eligible enrollee is 18 of age or over - clinical records support a body mass index of 40 or greater (or 35-40 when there is at least one co-morbidity related to obesity). Applicable co-morbid conditions include the following: * Type II diabetes mellitus (by American Diabetes Association diagnostic criteria). * Refractory hypertension (defined as blood pressure of 140 mmHg systolic and or 90 mmHg diastolic) despite medical treatment with maximal dose of three antihypertensive medications. * Refractory hyperlipidemia (acceptable levels of lipids unachievable with diet and maximum doses of lipid lowering medications). * Obesity–induced cardiomyopathy. * Clinically significant obstructive sleep apnea. * Severe arthropathy of the spine and or weight bearing joints (when obesity prohibits appropriate surgical management of joint dysfunction treatable but for obesity). - Documentation of failure to lower the body mass index within the last 12 months through a medically supervised program of diet and exercise of at least 6 months duration. So if your health insurance policy was similar to mine, you would not be able to qualify because of age; but the moment you turned 18, you would get a green light because your BMI is over 40. So the best advise I can give you is to dig out your health insurance policy and read the fine print.

Which surgery did you do? From what I understand Bypass patients are more likely to have that problem. Even then though, it seems like a crap shoot and the dice land differently for everybody. I think you just got lucky/unlucky depending on how you feel about it.

Wow, I'm so sorry to hear what you're going through. How long have you had your band? How many times did it slip? What will you revise to? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm genuinely interested. We never know when going into this, what may happen down the road.

I had the bypass with hiatal hernia repair and the pain reduced after about a week. The energy was lacking for a couple of weeks.

The symptoms you had were the ones I had when I found out my band had slipped and caused a hiatal hernia. I had to have a very painful and long band revision and hiatal hernia repair as well as tons of scar tissue removed. My slippage was caused by a fill that was too tight that caused the band to slip. I had horrible reflux that woke me up at night. These were my only symptoms and I could still eat so I though nothing of it until it got to the point I was waking up choking on it. I went in and boom there is was on the xray. What followed was weeks of misery and pain. So don't take it lightly as I don't anymore.

As I said in my post, I'm under a doctors care. I've been checked for a slip and that's not the problem...believe it or not, many people suffer without a slip, erosion, etc while they are waiting for ins auth for removal. My situation is becoming the norm rather than the exception. I belong to a couple of online groups of people who overwhelmingly agree this is becoming the expected outcome of banding. However, I have lost 82+ lb and feel great other than my tummy issues. I'm hoping to revise to sleeve in early 2013, so I need to baby this thing in the mean time.

Thank you!! I thought it was odd myself since the bypass is a more complicated & more expensive surgery.

Hi all, I am experiencing reflux sypmtoms two years post Gastric Bypass (revision from lap band) and ultrasound didn't show anything so I now have to have an esophageal manometry and 24 hour PH test done. Both tests involve having tubes inserted up my nose and down the back of my throat, and it's causing me some anxiety thinking about having it done. I woke up with an NG tube after the surgery and having it removed was quite uncomfortable, so I'm nervous about being awake while having two seperate tubes inserted. Can anyone talk me through their experience? Did you gag/choke while they were putting the tubes in?

I wish I was so lucky, this is my post above and after 3 days of the slip I had to have emergency surgery and have my band revised, 3 hr surgery, lots of scar tissue around the band, I could not eat or drink anything lost 15 lbs in a week. I am 4 weeks post op, just got a 2 cc fill and gained the 15 lbs back:scared2:..anyway they used the same band and just hiked it up and sewed it back in place, he called it an acute prolapse and said it was due to the weight loss and the band got loose and slipped, he said it was a pretty severe prolapse. good luck, sounds like u will be fine.....:thumbup:

I'm 3 weeks post-op and my incisions aren't bad at all. I've been using Aquaphor on them since the surgical glue wore off (about 9 days post-op). I have 6 incisions, but 3 are very small - less than 1cm - on R and L sides, and upper center. Today I started using Bio-oil on them, as many recommend to prevent scarring. And I had gastric bypass, not the sleeve. ( HW 280 CW 256 SW 274 DOS 8/24/17

I have heard of that happening but with gastric bypass peeps only.

I just had a revision 6 weeks ago. I had a stricture and had it ballooned and was able to eat soft foods. The esophagus is closing up again And will have to have the procedure done again. This maybe what you are experiencing. I am still eating yogurt and cream soups and that is getting old real fast!!

I'm sorry you had a rough recovery. I had a mini bypass March 16th and couldn't be happier. Have you discussed your concerns with your surgeon or dr? Weight loss surgery does change your internal body rhythm so you might need to adjust diet and speak with a dietician? Good luck xx

Thanks how long have you had gastric bypass

Dr thinks I shouldn't have any problems with approval It's a revision not putting in a band I just lost so much weight cause I waited too long to call dr

Got really dehydrated...food not staying down fluids either Had 3 bags of fluids yesterday. I'm 5"5' down to 113 lbs about passed out at Drs office I'm feeling much better but get worn out easy. Waiting for ins to approve revision I am hoping I get approval by Nov 13 they have me on the Roster.... Anyone been in my place? How long did u take off after? I feel really stupid!

Each BCBS plan has different exclusion in their policies. You would have to dig deeper into what you plan will cover and what it will not. My BCBS in Iowa would not cover the sleeve so it made no sense to appeal their decision. They would pay for the band and a bypass but no sleeve.

Thank you for posting this, definitely will be on my list. Mine look like your before.. and I'm back at my presurgery weight waiting to see if I can get a revision. All the yo yo up and down weight loss is so hard on the ta-tas

I am really horrible at keeping up a blog, but I am really going to try to with this one, because this is an important journey I am about to embark upon! So many things will start to happen once I really get started, and I want to keep record of it. I had heard about the LAP-BAND® when I saw the commercials on tv, but never really gave it much thought. I was once thinking about having a gastric bypass, but the idea scared me so much that I never pursued it. Last October 2009 I was at my Dr's office, and I saw that there was going to be a seminar about the LAP-BAND®, so I decided to go and see what it was all about. It was a really informative seminar, I got to see and hold a real LAP-BAND® in my hands, and I learned about the differences between gastric bypass and the LAP-BAND®. That really cemented the idea that a bypass wasn't for me! But.... when I found out about the cost of the durgery, ($16,000), I was thinking that there was absolutely NO WAY that I could pay that on my SSDI income. So I went home kind of dissapointed. I again put the idea at the back of my mind. In January, I found the folder that they had given me, and I started reading the information inside....my interested renewed once I saw that there was a way that I could pay by CareCredit. I talked to my SO about it, because he would have to be the one to sign up for the credit, but he was not at all receptive to the idea because of the cost of the surgery. I kept bringing it up, but to no avail, he wasn't going to listen! Then last week, he was reading our insurance benefits, and saw that surgery for morbidly obese people was covered (at least hospital costs) and the other diagnostic procedure would be covered like regular benefits. At that point, he has been supportive of my starting this process. I have even convinced him to go to another seminar with me on April 1st, so he can get the information on the LAP-BAND® himself! I have made an appointment with the WLIA already, for the 6th of April to go over with them exactly what the insurance will cover, and I imagine they will tell me what the precertifications are that I will need to complete. After I know all that, I am going to hit the ground running.!

All I can say to those who had the bypass is atleast I have my intestines in tact and no staples and I have no dumping syndrome and I have no malabsorption issues and I do not have to worry about my pouch stretching and re gaining my weight all I need ot do is have an adjustment and my window of opportunity of weight loss is for as long as I have my band unlike 1-2 years with bypass patients.My skin is not saggy nor do I look gaunt like many bypass patients do.. I lost 91 lbs in a year, to me that is great! I LOVE MY BAND , I know I made the right choice

I had RNY gastric bypass. But I kept the guidance sheet from my surgeons office and it did include requirements for Duodenal Switch patients. It read: Four children's chewable complete Multivitamins daily 1800-2400 mg calcium citrate daily A total of 5000 I.U. Vitamin D3 daily 1000 micrograms sublingual B12 weekly or B12 injection monthly 100 mg thiamin (vitamin B1) weekly