Search the Community

I chose the sleeve for a few reasons. It is less risky and the chance of death is about half that of the bypass. There are much less long term complications that can occur with the sleeve than with the bypass. The whole malabsorbtion issue mentioned by others. With the sleeve you are supposed to be able to eat all foods in moderation. With the bypass if you eat certain foods you will get very sick.

What made you change your mind? I have bad acid reflux and I was afraid it will get worse with the sleeve. I was also worried about not losing enough or gaining it back. The sleeve is new and the data isn't available like it is for the bypass. Are you nervous? Where are you? What time is your surgery? I will be thinking of you.

Congrats on your upcoming surgery! I had the Loop DS 18 months ago. And in my own experience the bowel prep bit was absolutely miserable. And I felt like I got hit by a truck when I woke up from surgery, but I was up and walking after about three hours. It really helps with getting rid of the gas. Some people (myself included) vomit old blood after the surgery (it was only 4x for me, but super painful) so I'm telling you incase it happens to you because they didn't tell me it was a possibility and I freaked the hell out! I went home after three days in the hospital and I stopped taking pain meds at home after two days (so on day 5 post-op was the last day I took pain meds). The part where they take your stomach out will hurt the most, especially when you get up or sit down and you may need help showering (I did), but I was a lot better by week two. I struggled to get fluids in at the hospital and they almost kept me a fourth day because I was getting all my fluid in via ice chips so they weren't able to count so they gave me a bunch of 1oz cups and told me I had to drink a certain amount for them to release me (I didn't get released until after 6pm, so they seriously almost kept me another night). Broth tasted like heaven lol, but I couldn't eat sugar free jello at all because it made me feel like my stomach was flipping (I'm odd, I guess lol). It's hard to get the protein in (in the beginning) and the powder was wayyy too sweet, I had to drink the pre-made protein drinks instead so I had one in the morning that I nursed for several hours and then one at night, that I again nursed for several hours. Fluids were a struggle for several months for me, but some don't have the same kind of issue that I had. Also, they never told me, but there is something like a 3% chance that you can get either a wheat allergy or Celiac's Disease after surgery (this is for any WLS with malabsorption. So DS/Loop DS/Gastric Bypass). It's only 3% so only 3 out a 100 people so the chances are low, but my luck is terrible and I developed a wheat allergy so if you end up getting what feels very much like dumping syndrome when eating something with wheat in it... you might want to get tested (that's how I found out). My allergy has progressed to where I break out in a rash if I even TOUCH something with wheat in it like dried noodles that aren't even cooked or hand crackers or a cookie to my niece or wipe off bread crumbs while looking after my nieces (I always have benadryl when watching my nieces lol. My 12 year old niece is always asking why I didn't just ask her to clean up so I don't end up breaking out in a rash. I just clean out of habit). Anyway, the recovery in the beginning can be tough and for the first few days I kept asking myself "why in the hell did I do this to myself", but things do get better and I'm sooooo glad that I made this choice for myself. I've reached my own personal goal weight and am hoping I can even lose a couple extra pounds before I hit maintenance! Try and stay positive and stick to nutrition guidelines you're given to the best of your ability and you'll do great, I'm sure! I wish the best in your journey and if you have any questions feel free to ask!

Goal of the future scar revision is to move the incision under the tattoo down closer to where my underwear are and to remove more of the tattoo so that the incision looks more like a "handlebar" and less like a "grin". FYI: What's left of the tattoo is the half that was originally above my belly button so you can have some idea how much skin was removed. The tummy tuck didn't give me my 20 something stomach back but I'm happy with the results so far. The "final" result won't be apparent for several more months. Plus the lipo should help.

Wondering if anyone can chime in on a conversion from sleeve to either bypass or plication? Currently awaiting insurance approval for either one but wanted to know experiences some of you may have had with either one. My situation is that my sleeve pouch has dilated and also been getting GERD so my surgeon suggested plication or just getting bypass which he says will ultimately fix the problem but is all contingent on getting insurance approval.

Interesting, I have seen tons of people converting into bypass to resolve GERD that's not manageable by medications. I never heard of picliation though....I don't understand how it can resolve your GERD?

I'm having a revision from band to bypass July 13.

I don't think it's about the money. Even though I have heard wonderful thing about the bariatric surgeons in Mexico, there is still a stigma attached. It's even in the pop culture. I remember watching a Grey's Anatomy episode concerning a botched bypass done in Mexico. I think it's very small of them to not let you in on the support groups, but I think there is an unwritten rule like the cop's blue code that shuns the people who have had surgery in Mexico and doctors like to keep their patients separated. I was curious myself how the insurance deals with it. My surgery cost $15.000. I paid and extra 10% for lifetime follow-up and the support group. Also, what if a complication arises? Will insurance cover a Mexico sleeved patient? There also may be malpractice insurance regulations that these surgeons have to follow. They may not be allowed by their own insurance to see Mexico sleeved patients. That said, why can't these surgeons be a little kinder and explain things? As a side note, 99% of my surgeons patients are either lapband of bypass. There are no sleevers in my surgeon's support group. That's why I come here. This is a great place!

At my surgeons office they advertise that they do RNY, sleeve and banding, but it became clear from the very first seminar that they want to do RNY as the default for everyone. The doctor I saw on my first visit was very candid that they want to do the bypass because all us fatties cannot control ourselves and there is immediate negative feedback for life in the fo of dumping when you get the bypass. She asked me which surgery I wanted and I told her that I was leaning toward the sleeve but was willing to listen to medical reasons if the surgeon disagreed. She said I just needed to decide no later than my surgeon visit just before surgery date. It turned out, of course that I really needed to decide before all the paperwork was submitted to insurance. They called and said the surgeon had approved me for both the bypass and the sleeve. I told them the sleeve. So fast forward to my first appointment with the surgeon the Friday before my scheduled Monday surgery. He hands me the consent to sign and it says--RNY! I said, "you are going to have to get me a new consent for the sleeve". He responds, "oh, you're not having the bypass"? "No", I say, "I am having the sleeve". He then asks me why I don't want to have bypass. I told him that if I can accomplish what I want (100 lb weight loss) with less trauma to my systems, that is what I want. Our bodies work, for the most part, best when left alone. I can accomplish my goal without re-routing my intestines and without malabsorption that goes with it for life. Oh, and I told the surgeon that I was going to take a sharpie and write SLEEVE across my tummy the morning of surgery so he wouldn't forget!

Wow this is what I needed !!! I do t know anyone with sleeve or bypass and hearing first hand for actual sleevers is great . !!! My first initial visit the PA said I should get bypass so she threw me off. I'm going to stick to sleeve it's best for long term not just getting the weight off ... I wanna live healthy Thank you so much for your help .. And I'm going to write on my tummy with a sharpie SLEEVE . Lol

For me it was not having to worry about significant vitamin deficiencies due to the malabsorption from the bypass.

So glad to hear you are doing well. What was your BMI starting out? Did you have to do a pre-op diet? I thought Dr. C. was exceptional....such horror stories about T.J. but I could not have been more please with the facility and the staff. I had a 31.5 BMI to start so I didn't have to do pre-op. I lost 14 lbs. in the first 13 days. I am on day 21, but only lost 2 this wk. for a total of 16. I have 50 total to lose. Someone on this site sent me a great link to plication procedure that has been really helpful. Have you checked out the site " the world according to eggface" ???? She had gastric bypass, but the recipes, encouragement and humor on her site is priceless!!!!!!!!! Let me know how you progress....and good luck to you!!! k.b.

If you had your sleeve done in Dec of 2010 there is no way that you have stretched your tummy this soon. That is less than 3 months ago. It is possible that a lot of swelling and inflammation has gone away and your tummy has healed, which may be allowing you to eat a little more and you may not be feeling quite as much restriction. This is completely normal. How much are you able to eat? Don't go by Soups, but measure how many oz of dense meat like tuna or chicken you can eat. It probably won't be very much. The 5-day pouch test was created for thw RNY gastric bypass, and usually they were pretty far out from surgery, The pouch of the GB is much easier to stretch out because it is made from the intestines, which is thinner and stretchier tissue. The sleeve is your actual tummy with the greater curvature removed(which is also the stretchiest part of our tummies). I am not saying the sleeve cannot be eventually stretched over time. Just not usually within the first yr. And not very much or very easy. A lot of people report having great restriction yrs out. But it's all in what you put in the sleeve that counts. If you do what most surgeons recommend and eat your Protein first, you should do great. Good Luck! Kelly

Really good discussion on this topic... http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-ricki-lake-show-wrap-up.html I'm not sure exactly where I sit on this whole topic. There are days that I feel over-the-top excited over getting to live life in a smaller body, and then there are days that all I can see is the extra skin, sagginess, and I feel sad about my body. And then when I'm feeling sad that sort of mean, reproachful (not helpful) voice chimes in and says "well what did you expect spending most of your life either obese or morbidly obese, you get what you deserve..." Blah blah blah. And there are days that I feel like I'm in "touch" with my body now, and then I will realize that I have it all wrong. The other day we took the girls to see OneRepublic in concert, first concert for our pre-teen girls...how fun! And while we were all waiting in line to use the bathroom there was a large mirror to the side wall of where we were standing. I scan towards the back of the line and saw someone who I guessed to be about my size. Then later we both happened to be right up at the washroom mirror both washing our hands and I was shocked to realize that she had at least 60+lbs on me that I couldn't see until we were standing next to each other. And so then times like that I realize that no I really don't exactly "see" what other people see. Certainly a good topic for discussion...it's rather disheartening to hear that Michelle from Eggface (link above) had bypass AND plastic surgery and still isn't happy with what she sees in the mirror.

I do the premier shakes as well. After a month I was starting to struggle to finish them. A friend who is also had gastric bypass suggested making a smoothie with it. Now I add one banana and ice and blend it with the shake and can tolerate it well again.

I'm getting so frustrated. I've been to the surgeon, nutritionist and exercise therapist 3 times. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever get a surgery date My insurance is Triwest through the military. Starting to get upset. I'm waiting to have gastric bypass.

I am 3 weeks post op gastric bypass. I wanted to see if anyone else is still experiencing extreme soreness in their stomach after surgery. My whole abdomen is so sore almost as if I have been doing sit-ups and it hurts to turn over in bed at night. I had been doing 30 minutes of walking 1 week post op and it was fine. The only things that I have done differently lately was I recently started a soft diet and I also have started back to work. Also can anyone tell me how long it takes until your stomach actually feels normal again without pain? Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using BariatricPal mobile app

I was revised in February and so far I've lost 28 pounds. I would like to lose another 20-25. The weight, though not flying off, is pretty steady at coming off in ounces. I stall every now and again but it lasts maybe a week. I initially didn't like the RNY but I really appreciate it now. I definitely have restriction and it is very easy to not go overboard otherwise I'll be in agony and I'm against that! I am in a caloric deficit for sure but I'm wondering if my body will get used to the tiny amount I'm taking in and just stop losing.

How long ago were you revised ? I lost a total of 25lbs and I thought the RNY was easier and I am able to maintain my weight without a lot of effort. I hope you find this to be true for you too !!!

How's everyone doing? I'm down another 6lbs since my dec 29th post. Little frustrated to only lose 6lbs in a month when I see so many people with big numbers. And being back at work have a co-worker get gastric bypass 2wks before my sleeve and she's down 45 and I'm down 23. Gonna start the gym next week with a personal trainer, doctor says in free and clear with no restrictions.

Hey everyone! I was just wondering if any of you have had this surgery done more than 10 years ago and if you could let me know how the long term affects are? I spoke to my doctor about this but he told me that there are not very many study follow ups on post op patients of more than 10-15 years. I'm curious because I am having this surgery done in April and my parents and I are more worried about the long term effects such as weaker bone or increase arthritis) as well as fighting infections if one was to get seriously sick do gastric bypass patients have the same strength ability to fight these infections ?? Sorry for such a serious thread I'm just 20 years old and I have so many thoughts about this procedure before I have it on April. Thank you

Hi, I have a complicated story and need some input. I won't go into a long story as it is quite twisty turny. Long and the short of it is that I had an RNY done 3 years ago and lost all my weight to goal in 9 months. I kept it off and loved my bypass. Then at the 2 year mark, I developed a rare side effect and the decision was made by my medical to team to reverse it to see if it would mitigate or relieve the effects/complication with the intent to sleeve me as soon as I was healed to continue with the restrictive aspect. (because it is not a common situation, they knew it was possible it would not help) They reversed it in Sept 2014. Again, I healed great but promptly started gaining (Even though I did my very best to maintain my RNY eating habits) in January 2015, I was cleared to have the sleeve done and I have been working out like crazy daily to hold the weight gain at bay. The complication is still an issue but we have resigned ourselves to that fact and have been managing it quite well. My sleeve date will be mid june.... Here is my query... I loved my RNY. I loved the restriction and everything about it. I hear so much about people failing the sleeve/the sleeve failing the people and converting to an RNY. I am very afraid that the sleeve won't be enough. I regained 40 lbs and only need to lose 40 to get back to goal. I would like to hear some feedback about the sleeve. Do you have restriction? Is it noticeable? Average weight loss? IS it a tool that can work? I know how the RNY works. Can I (if I use it properly and respect it) have an honest expectation to lose weight with the sleeve?

I went to Dr Verboonen in Tijuana I had the Mini Gastric Bypass and my total cost was $6500.00. I know if you want the sleeve its only $4200. Dr Verboonen has his own clinic in Tijuana and Cancun. I was in Mexico a total of 4 days 2 nights at the clinic one night at a beautiful hotel,Then flew home. The price included everything( transfers, labs, clinic stay,hotel)except flights.

You will find thousands on this site who have lost weight with the sleeve. Now, your case is unique and there may be some issues with scar tissue from your RNY and the reversal of it that make your sleeve surgery not as straight-forward as it would be for someone who had never had RNY. I've read some accounts from people who went from lap-band to sleeve not having as much restriction because scar tissue from the band effected how small their sleeve could be and the shape of it. Sleeve definitely provides restriction. I would argue that it provides more restriction than RNY, because with RNY, your pyloric valve is bypassed, meaning food can pass straight through your stomach into your intestines. With sleeve, the pyloric valve is intact and continues working as normal and hold food inside your stomach for longer so it has proper exposure to your stomach acid to break it down before allowing it to pass into your intestine. Also, with sleeve, the fundus is removed. The fundus is the top part of your stomach that is very stretchy and stretches to accommodate more food as you eat. With RNY, the pouch that is made includes some of the fundus, so your pouch is able to stretch more as you eat than a sleeve is. The main thing you will be "losing out" on with sleeve versus RNY is malabsorption. Since none of your intestine is bypased, you will fully absorb all of the calories and nutrients from your food. Edit: In terms of diet and food consumption, the two surgeries are very similar. You will always want to put Protein first. You will eat several small "meals" and Snacks per day to get all of your protein in. You have to avoid eating and drinking at the same time. You have to avoid carbs and slider foods. You have to avoid drinking your calories. It sounds like you were doing well with that with your RNY, so there is no reason to suspect you would have any trouble once you're sleeved.

four and a half weeks out from revision, I don't want to eat anything, I mean nothing sounds good. But I have made sure from the very beginning to drink drink drink, I have stayed hydrated thank goodness, I get all my protein in, through protein shakes or adding protein to whatever I do manage to eat. Also I have been faithful about my supplements (vitamins) I don't want my already thin hair to fall out, and I don't want to suffer the consequences of not having the vitamins I need. I figure food and eating will come eventually but I am diligent about the other three. liquids, vitamins and protein. It is not easy but it is something I practiced several months before surgery cause I knew it would be hard, but I know that it is so important. Somehow I have been able to drill that through my thick skull and do it. Now exercise, nah haven't done that yet.