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Are you having the sleeve or bypass? I had the sleeve and Dr. Wegner was my surgeon. You are more than welcomed to PM me with questions.

It’s really just a personal decision if there is not a glaring medical reason to choose one over the other. I am on medications and worried about absorption issues of bypass affecting them so I went with sleeve but I knew that I was possibly going to lose a few less pounds than I would with bypass. I think from my research the difference in weight loss between the two surgeries was only like 5-10% of excess weight which for me ended up being just a few pounds but I was lower BMI to start. If you eat a lot of sweets however the bypass could be even better for loss because you may dump on sugar which will help you stay away from them. But not everyone dumps from sugar so that’s not guaranteed.

Why are you afraid of Bypass?

Tricare is about to start approving the sleeve, and my revision from band to sleeve was covered 100% by Tricare. Our MTF/Hospital here is doing sleeves all the time and they are covered by Tricare as long as you meet the eligibility requirements. BMI, co-morbidities, and so forth. There are several MTF/Military Hospitals across the nation that are performing the sleeve and they are being approved and covered. Don't give up ! ! !

I have had a hiatal hernia and major hair loss.I had a revision with hernia repair on12/23/13

:eek: I am new to this site too, Andrea. 47 - year old female, married, two teenage boys. I am scheduled to go to an "Informational Meeting" with a doctor here in Buffalo on January 6th. I have been on a waiting list for one year just to get into this meeting. I guess after that, it goes quickly. I canceled gastric bypass surgery for last summer - just couldn't do it. I feel as though the lap band is a better tool for weight loss. I wish you the best of luck!! This seems like a wonderful site for support and information. Hope to hear about your progress! Mary

Rny 1999 Bowel resection 2001 While 3 months pregnant 2008 plastics 2016 regain 10/25/18 revision Don't meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy, and taste good with catchup!

I’m researching SIPS vs DS and I’m so confused on the correct choice! SIPS seems easier to live with less side effects possibly and an up and coming surgery while DS has been around longer and has more follow up data. My surgeons office only does SIPS and truly has not done that many of them so I’ll probably switch surgeons as well. My story is that I had a nightmare band experience in 2011, didn’t lose much at all and regained all as well as port discomfort etc until being revised in 2017 to sleeve. I did amazing on sleeve for 2 years lost almost all my weight (112lbs) but regained about half. I’m desperate to find the right surgery and so afraid I will make another mistake! I know I need a more powerful surgery than the sleeve and yes I’m doing the “head work” in therapy. Any advise on which I should choose or how I should make the decision?

I believe the average weight loss for bypass is 65% & sleeve is 60% of the weight you were to lose at the 3year mark. Which is a pretty negligible difference. Bypassers tend to lose more quickly at the beginning but that is no guarantee of how fast you will lose at first as we all lose at our own rate & everyone’s rate of loss slows as you get closer to your goal. You can have a bypass & still be a slow loser & vice versa. My surgeon went through each surgery, pros & cons, but recommended the sleeve based upon my weight loss & gain history, my basic diet & eating habits, & general health which is where I was leaning anyway. You’ll lose weight regardless of the surgery you chose if you work the program. I exceeded my goal with a sleeve but there are factors beyond your control, like genetics, which play a big part in where you’ll end up. Like you will lose more & faster simply because of your gender.

That's really good to know! I heard the difference between sleeve and bypass described as a nudge vs a shove, and I knew I needed a shove. I'm glad to hear the hormonal issues are indeed likely to get some help!

I started out wanting the band but chickened out, just wasn't ready. Two years went by and I decided to revisit WLS and went to a meeting at the Hosp near me. I was initially thinking bypass but the more I learned about the Sleeve the more I felt it was a better choice for me. I have a history of A-fib and the dumping syndrome can cause palpitations. Thus I didn't want to go there. I'm a big sugar junkie so I knew that aspect would be a struggle either way. That being said some of us sleevers still experience dumping syndrome if we eat too much sugar or high-fat food. For me it's a fine line with sugar which if I cross it I feel like crap and then I have to go crap! TMI, sorry! LOL! Anyway, I did have mild sleep apnea but none of the other health issues you mention but my starting weight was 325. I've lost 100 and I'm 6'1&3/4" tall so I am close to my goal weight. Many people reach normal weight ranges with the sleeve but my surgeon told my that I could expect to lose about 60-70% of my excess weight from the surgery alone. I have surpassed that and plan to keep going. All this being said, you have to decide what is right for you. Both options are good IMO. Good luck to you!

LindafromFL, thanks for your reply....I am doing research like crazy. I actually stopped posting on FB because I don't want to waste time that I could be gathering re wls!! I am reading all the threads on both the sleeve and bypass forum. May I ask if you and your husband have been able to get rid of medicine or cpap/bipap?

Revision from sleeve to bypass 5/20..i feel like i could eat alot more and .I do not dump ..please help ..Am I the only one with this issue Sent from my SM-G935P using BariatricPal mobile app

Thank you everyone. To answer the questions about my diet. I try to make healthy food choices, I might slip every now and then. I know my main problem is the amount of wine I drink every night. Since my mom and two sisters passed, wine has been my coping mechanism. I drink plenty of water. Wine and water are the only things I drink. I have two glasses of wine per night. I have vowed to stop. Didn't have any last night and the bottles I had I gave them to my sister and cousin yesterday. My sleeve have never stopped me from eating a full meal, never! I would stop myself, because I know I should. My doctor has never checked my blood, never checked for leaks or suggested I have any type of test to see if there's a problem. I pray my insurance will pay for a revision and allow me to see another doctor. I admit I didn't do all I could have done, but my sleeve seem nonexistent. I'm about to make some calls now.

I have a lapband, but I understand your pain. I want to tell you, failing to lose has many causes--I know, I lived on less than 1000 calories a day for years and never lost an ounce. My lapband didn't help me lose much and my first doctor wouldn't give me a fill. So I found another who did. I am practically wheelchair bound (can only hobble around the house). So I started to lose--slowly. the big help was I didn't regain what I lost. One thing I've never heard a doctor explain to me is that excessive hunger can be giving you a message. So many diets I went on ended with me lying in bed, weak and starving within weeks. What I didn't realize was that my body was telling me those diets weren't nutritionally what I needed. I've tried low fat-high fiber, low calorie, vegetarian, all raw salads, lot's of nuts, praying the weight away, self-hypnosis, bodybuilding, lots of exercise...you get the idea. All of them failed because I wasn't listening to my body. When I got so hungry I would eat nails if there was ketchup to put on them, my body was telling me I was on the wrong diet. This isn't a normal,"Gee, that looks tasty." But was more like a weak pathetic cry from my bed that I was dying and had to eat. I kept experimenting and discovered a ketogenic diet helped, but I gained everything back quickly. As I worked with the keto diet, I learned I wasn't drinking enough water, and I wasn't sleeping enough. But the high protein with lots of greens was definitely a better choice than the others. Then I got the lapband, and the slow weight loss with no restriction was discouraging. But it was a tool. And once I got restriction, I used that tool. I mostly stayed on the ketogenic diet. Lots of protein was just a necessity for me. The fat I ate made the diet more enjoyable. The lapband made me eat small bites, or I spent days puking. If I got sick, I had to reduce what I ate because sickness caused my stomach to swell, and I puked. Over the last ten years I've lived on the ketogenic diet, except for two years when I lost control, (I gained 50 pounds and found I had cancer. I believe the sugar cravings after being in control so long were a result of the cancer.) Back in control, and the 50 pounds went away. I've managed to lose 160 pounds. Not a large amount, and I still have over 100 pounds to go. But I am happy not to be the woman I was. I don't know if the ketogenic diet will help you, but I'm sharing my experience to show you have to experiment to find the right diet. And you have to sleep enough to lose weight. So, get the junk out of your house--the chips, crackers, cake mixes, candy, soda, snack food, juices (fruit juice is just liquid sugar water with a few minerals, eat whole fruit instead), and the alcohol (You can go back to 1 drink a day after you've lost weight). And start the eating pattern you feel best on. Just practice eating a healthy diet for a bit. Don't eat much at a time and keep any easy to snack on food (like grapes or nuts) in the refrigerator. Then start working your tool. go longer between small meals, see what happens when you delete starches, or what foods change how you feel. I had to stop vegetarian because beans make me uncontrollably hungry(love those beans, yumm, yumm). Your body is unique, and just because you haven't found what works for you doesn't mean you're a failure. It just means you haven't found the balance of diet, sleep and exercise that works for you. The important thing is NEVER GIVE UP. After 10 years with the band, I'm revising to a sleeve this spring. I love my band, but there is evidence it doesn't do well after 10 years or so. I feel I will do even better on the sleeve.

She's just a huge huge sugar addict. It's overwhelming. She's even considering bypass just so she'll dump if she eats sweets.

I am totally doing the same thing.. my band is only at 1.7 right now.. but will i just continue to find more and more ways to eat around it? I always drank alot (not alcohal) and ate crispy junk... I shoulda got the bypass I think

Abby - Northern California Kaisers are in their infancy in regards to the lap band. I know, I went through the SSF Kaiser program and was banded 12/12/07. They've been at is a little over a year. This is why most of their recommendations and information is spill over from gastric bypass stuff. You need to do your own research so that you can peel the GB stuff away and find out what you need to do. Lap band patients aren't effected by alcohol like GB patients are. Alcohol no matter what form it is consumed in is still empty calories and if used more than occassionally will prevent your weight loss from being good if at all. But one of the nice things is you can plan a nice cool one into your day and enjoy it. I think that the reason your boyfriend might not be on board is because he may be afraid that you won't like/love him when you loose weight. As obese people we tend to have low self-esteme. He might also be afraid that you will try to pressure him into getting the surgery. You have to decide to do this because it's what you want to do and not because someone else approves or disapproves. If your relationship is good, it will survive. If it's not good, this might be the excuse he needs to leave or for you to leave him. Only you can answer that one. My DH was afraid for me because it was surgery and he didn't know how WLS worked. He went with me to my appointments and a seminar and learned what there was to know. He still sweated the surgery but he is so happy I'm finally loosing the weight and active again. He's been so supportive. Sit down and write out why you want to loose weight. Put on the list how it will affect your kids lives as well. Then do a list of why you shouldn't have the surgery. Then compare them. I'm so sorry about your friend. I am so happy that the lapband was an option for me because I think GB should be put in the category of only to be done if nothing else can help. It scares me. PM me if you want. I know how frustrating Kaiser's programs can be from first hand experience. They are so slow because they are so overwhelmed with the number of people wanting WLS. There are only 3 Kaisers in No. Cal doing the surgeries. I think there is less in So. Cal. Until they get more hospitals on board they will be buried. Good luck and whatever you do, do it for you.

You should keep track of what you're eating. It is possible that you're experiencing a mild form of dumping syndrome like people with the bypass tend to experience. Track it for a few days maybe something will tip you off. (my trigger is cream if its too heavy sometimes.) good luck and feel better!

I am having surgery Wednesday, April 13th. Band to Bypass... definitely getting more nervous and scared each day. The doctor has no idea what type of scar tissue I have and also could be possible erosion of band to deal with... Needless to say, i am starting to freak out the closer I get.

Are there any April surgeries out there? I am scheduled April 26th. My preop is April 1st

Interesting that now there is a place that isn't pushing gastric bypass.

Hey, I'm Jenn, 27 married with 2 kids. A coworker of had the gastric bypass surgery about a year ago and his transformation has been amazing to watch. In March of this year I started my 6 month long monthly weigh in's as per my insurance and decided on the sleeve surgery. Now here I am about 2 weeks away from starting my protein liver shrink diet and pre op appointments. So glad I found this app now because I will def need support and advice as I am a very anxious person.

Hi Crishell, I completely know what you're talking about. I had been over 300 lbs for most of the last 25 years when I was banded three years ago. Getting below that number was earth-shattering, as was wearing sizes that start with a 1. All I can say is that you know yourself better than anyone, and you have to do what feels right to you. This is not a race, you will not let anyone down if you don't meet some external standard. You can see my stats below. While I've come a very long way, by any objective standard I am still substantially overweight. My BMI at the moment is about 31 (down from 48!!). But I'm totally happy here, and think getting to my "ideal" weight of 170 would be too weird for me. I haven't weighed that little since junior high! The beauty of the band is that it lets us control the outcome. One of the major reasons I opted against bypass was fear of the major, dramatic weight loss. I've been obese too long to think I could accept such a change happening too fast. Banding has let me control the speed of weight loss, let me take pauses when necessary and get back on the stick when I felt ready. Will I feel ready to lose more than I have? Who knows? For now I'm comfortable and want to spend time on getting in better shape through exercise, and re-concentrating on embracing small portions. But these are not means to a goal of losing more weight, they're for my health and weight maintenance. Anyway, just wanted to say yes, lots of people have been where you are now. This is a big journey and we all take it differently. Good luck to you!!

No i havent. I see that email box but i just bypass it n put the names in. Sleevedandbeautiful