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I’m having my bypass on the 10th

Just wanted to follow up on a few things from the post above: 1. DS patients do not typically experience dumping syndrome. We maintain our pylorus valve during the sleeve part of the surgery, so we dump at the same rate as the non-surgical population. 2. Bypass patients have about a 30% chance of dumping, lower if they avoid the food behaviors that trigger it. For all but a few it is a manageable phenomenon. 3. Diabetes goes into remission MUCH more frequently with Bypass and DS patients because of the alterations to the small intestines. As do most other co-morbidities. 4. I don't personally view my DS surgery as "punishing". My body has done nothing wrong. I feel no need to punish it. I personally don't have emotional eating issues but I don't judge those that do, nor do I think it is a reason to punish the body... Having my small intestines rerouted was not a punishment. It was a BLESSING! My fasting blood sugars normalized within 24 hours of surgery. So did my high blood pressure. I'm not on medication for either one. I'm currently 7 weeks post op. I consider remission of those two conditions to be a modern medical miracle... I didn't choose the DS to be harsh to my body. I picked it because it had the best chance of restoring my health and keeping the weight off long term. My surgeon put it best "You have a metabolic disorder. You need a metabolically potent surgery. The DS is the most potent one available..." My bowels habits have changed, but nothing unmanageable. I have to watch my carbs, that's no different than before surgery. I no longer have to count calories because I malabsorb a portion of them. I'm at risk of vitamin deficiencies if I don't take my vitamins, that to me is no different than risking a blood sugar or blood pressure emergency from not regularly taking my meds pre-surgery. Nothing about this process is free. There are always trade offs. Any GI issues that occur with the DS can also happen with Bypass, including vitamin and protein deficiencies. But protein and vitamin deficiencies are also possible with sleeve patients. They may happen at different rates, but they are unusual across the board. As are serious complications. Gallbladder failure can happen with ANY surgery. It is caused by the rapid weight loss and low fat diet many adhere to post surgery. It is not unique to the DS or Bypass. I don't think DS and Bypass patients are choosing to punish themselves because they pick these surgeries. They pick these surgeries because of their own individual medical challenges and what they need out of their surgery. Most of us are working to heal various dysfunctional relationships with our bodies, or with food, or both. None of us are exempt from that. These surgeries are ALL support tools, not a punishment for past misdeeds.

I had reflux before my sleeve surgery. It was mild & I managed it through dietary choices. Only needed to take esomepraole 3 or 4 times a year (usually when I had too many champagnes or G&Ts). My surgeon & I discussed my situation & he decided to proceed with the sleeve because I managed my reflux & it was mild but he would have done bypass if I wanted, After surgery I take esomeprazole everyday & I always will. My reflux manifests itself a little differently now - more burning in my throat but way less incidences of the hideous hiccups & bad taste in my mouth. I would question a surgeon who will only do a sleeve regardless of your gerd which usually means sleeve is not for you. Are there any surgeons in a neighbouring city who will take your insurance & you could meet with?

I just made an account to answer this. I am two and a half weeks post op from gastric sleeve. I too have PCOS. I am 37 years old and my highest weight was 330. At surgery and after the pre-op diet I was down to 305. I'm currently 289 today. My comorbidities were hypertension, high cholesterol, newly onset GERD, and insulin resistance. (never made it into the diabetic range). I watched a ton of videos on youtube after I decided to have surgery. I watched the testimony of patients ranging from a few weeks out to twenty years. I also listened to bariatric surgeons discuss the process, pitfalls, and successes. My PCP had been talking to me about this surgery for three years and at first I declined because of all the people I knew of that experienced full weight regain. I only decided to have the surgery when I had determined that not being able to eat as much and what I want all the time was a small price to pay for my health and quality of life. Some things to consider between sleeve and bypass. Myth: Bypass patients are much more successful at keeping weight off. The sleeve is a newer surgery and was discovered as the first part of the duodenal switch. The 5 and 10 year outcomes for weight loss and regain tend to be around the same with the bypass slightly better. The sleeve is less punishing and is easier to 'stretch' out with poor eating habits but it can be done with the bypass as well. Overall, a change in relationship with food is a higher predictor of sustained weight loss than either surgery. The Switch is the surgery with the most rapid weight loss and sustained loss without regain but it is a heavily malabsorption procedure, carries the most risk of post operative complications, including dehydration and vitamin deficiency and requires a very strict regiment to sustain a healthy lifestyle. It can also result in some interesting bowel changes. Too rapid weightloss can also result in gallstones. Quite a few bariatric patients have had gallbladder removal after surgery. It should be noted that actual operative complications are low for all surgeries but not zero. Another controversial topic of sleeve vs gastric bypass is that the bypass is better for GERD. There are contradicting experiences for both surgeries. One thing is for sure you can certainly still have GERD with the bypass, although it seems revision from sleeve to bypass has worked to cure GERD for a lot of people. My GERD was very mild before surgery and so far I have not experienced any after. I am on a daily dosage of omerprazole but that's nothing new to what I was taking before. My triggers for GERD were fried foods and canned tomatoes. I know to stay away from that now. Keep in mind that the bypass is reversible in most cases while the sleeve is not. Also, the sleeve can be converted into a bypass or switch if complications arise or you fail to lose or sustain a meaningful amount of weight. There are very few options for bypass and switch if regain occurs outside of dietary changes, exercise and will power. Bypass patients can no longer consume NSAIDS, steriods, and possibly other medications after surgery for life. Switch and Bypass patients are more likely to experience dumping syndrome but Sleeve patients can also suffer from it. Constipation, diarrhea, and blockages and strictures can occur with all surgeries. Very minimal risk for long term serious complications. I have read quite a few posts that spoke about pain after surgery with the sleeve. Speaking for myself the only pain I experienced was gas after surgery from the surgeon introducing it into my abdomen during the procedure. I was given liquid pain meds but never took any, and no otc pains meds either. I felt discomfort from the surgery port sites for maybe a week. After that I was good. My surgery team has stayed on top of any side effects that could occur after surgery and I was very lucky. They gave me medicine for nausea before surgery, put an anti-nausea patch behind my ear also before surgery and discharged me with anti-nausea dissolveable meds. I took the meds for about a week though I never experience sickness and still luckily have not. I was a water drinker before surgery and can still easily drink water without any pain or nausea. Cold or hot temps don't seem to upset my stomach though some have reported either can cause pain. I am on the puree stage and things are going well. Really, experiences vary. I'd choose a doctor carefully and if possible speak to prior patients to get their experience pre and post op. I was lucky my Aunt had the procedure done the year before and could report on her experience. We chose the same surgeon. He had a 98% success rate. So after this long-winded wall of text I choose a sleeve because: I wanted a slower and steady weight loss. I did not want to re-route my insides. Had a co-worker suffer a bad bowel blockage with a bypass and had to have part of his intestine cut out. I did not want restrictions on not being able to take certain pain or treatment options should they become necessary in the future. I did not feel I have a dependent relationship with food. I ate too much of it. And sometimes the wrong things because they were easy and accessible. But I also enjoyed a lot of healthy foods. My kryptonite has always been lack of exercise and even skipping meals so that I overate when I did eat. I'm from the finish your plate generation, but I did not and do not rely on food for comfort, bordem or pleasure. Therefore, I felt and still feel that the more punishing procedures were not right for me.

Good advice above! I made a very very considered choice to have a sleeve despite being on PPIs for years for reflux. Only because I knew when I had previously lost significant weight my reflux had gone. My gamble paid off but I know that the recommended surgery for people with reflux is bypass. Concerned that your surgeon is trying to railroad you into anything else. My choice was very much mine after a long discussion of the pros and cons. This is too important a decision to get wrong.

I'm about a week out from my revision surgery and it's slow too but I'm starting with a lower weight than the first time (240 instead of 350). I'm down about 4 pounds and feeling discouraged because I'm on liquids still so I feel like it should go so much faster but I keep telling myself slow and steady wins this race.

i just had a revision from a sleeve to roux en y and yes i can hear everything. i also feel things moving through. Has anyone else had this experience?

I'm almost 4wks post bypass and the stabbing and burning pain the the new stomach area where the anchor stitches are is unbearable when i move. No amount of pain relief is touching it, any advice?

I went that exact route and the bypass was the easiest recovery for me and with no side effects except constipation which is easy to treat. I take miralax (a tsp a day) is perfect for me. But I have to add the common "everyone is different" so this is my story. I had to go from band to vsg due to serious complications of the band, and then I had to go from vsg to rny due to developing severe gerd.I really think the band created that environment by damaging my esophagus before the sleeve. The best way for me to describe the rny revision is... Finally a feeling of normality. I feel so good and normal now, pre-any weight loss surgery normal except I can't eat as much. No severe gerd, no side effects, no hassle anything except taking daily vitamins which I always did anyway pre WLS.I hope this helps.

Hi! I’m 6 weeks post bypass and have lost 19lb since surgery. I’m getting 1.5/2l fluid a day. Hitting my protein targets and getting some exercise in. Why is my weight so slow? If I’d known that it was going to be like this, then I never would have put my body through a major op.

Finishing up my breakfast and then it's time to get ready to go back to work FINALLY!!! WooHoo!!! It's about time. I hate not working. So glad I was cleared yesterday to go back starting today. Oh, and I'm now down to 233 pounds. I'm 33 pounds away from my goal weight!!!! I started off at 421 pounds when this whole journey began. I've lost a total of 188 pounds from my highest weight. I've lost a total of 155 pounds since my surgery in May 2022 (I was 388 pounds on surgery day). Bariatric surgery, changing my relationship with food, changing my diet, working out and changing up my routines, all of it is why I'm here now. 33 more pounds to go, ya'll!!! I'm in a size 16/18 in clothes (down from 28/30), I'm in a size 6 1/2 ring (down from size 10), I'm in a size 10 shoe (down from a size 11), and I wear 18" necklaces (instead of the 22" and 24" necklaces I wore before). Yes, I've had complications. Yes, I've had several surgeries. But things were found that I never would have known about. Silent killers, they're called. Has it been annoying and painful and frustrating? ABSOLUTELY. Would I do it all again anyway? ABSOLUTELY. I've STILL gained so much more than I've lost. I have 1 more surgery (my hysterectomy) and then I'm completely done. And honestly, I'm still way way healthier than I ever was before. I only wish I would have just done the bypass to begin with and skipped the sleeve. But then again, like I said, the conditions I didn't know about wouldn't have been found without the complications from the sleeve that led to all my procedures. Everything happens for a reason. I firmly believe that. And I'm almost on the other side of all this, so I can speak into existence that nothing else will go wrong, things are looking up, and I'm getting my life back but as an even healthier and better version.

I think many of us have our own places where we self-sabotage. For me, going into this surgery, I knew consistency was going to be a challenge because I have ADHD and my brain really struggles with routine, even though routine helps my life flow better... The biggest thing I've done to help myself is to not allow things into the house that I'm not supposed to be eating. I put them all in a basket and put them in my partner's office. Out of sight, out of mind. LOL To support me, they keep the snacking in their office, thank the gods. The other thing I did was educate myself on what will happen to my body if I consistently fail my protein, vitamin, and hydration goals. Some other surgeries can get around this, but DS patients cannot. It is a very unyielding surgery. When I was younger I had a friend who had an old school bypass and was non-compliant with the dietary advice and vitamins. She'd sit there and chat while eating M&Ms, breathe through the dumping symptoms, and keep on eating them. Her hair was falling out and brittle, her skin was dry, she'd get heart palpitations with the slightest bit of exertion because her calcium was off. I can't even imagine what was happening to the strength of her bones... I don't say this to scare you, I say this to illustrate what can happen long term when we can't get our habits under control. I know for her, she just had the surgery. She had no aftercare. No psych care. No mindfulness coach. No dietician. No one supporting her through these difficult changes and helping her understand what was happening to her body when she was making less than stellar choices. Every time I'm tempted to ignore my vitamins or skip a meal I think of her and march my ass to the fridge and eat some cheese. 😂 You have a good list of things to help course correct. I've seen you post before, I know you are trying. Where is your support system to help you achieve your goals? If you have no one local, where and how can you cultivate them? I find when it is hard for me to act in my best interest, that's the time when I most need my support system to kick in and give me a helping hand...or a kick in the ass. Instead of focusing on what you need to NOT do, how can you frame those things as a list of supportive things you can add to counter those behaviors? It is so easy with our dieting history to get into a restrictive mindset, but I've been working with a mindfulness coach who has been encouraging me to be additive instead of subtractive and that helps a lot with the mind game that surgery is! So instead of fussing at myself for missing my 3rd snack of the day, I've instead added a morning protein cocoa made with Fairlife milk, Genepro protein, collagen, and a hot cocoa mix. It packs almost 30 grams of protein in one go and soothes my queasy early morning tummy. Plus by front loading it in my day, I increase the chance of having time for that post dinner snack! And yes, dehydration and lack of protein will make you snack and feel hungry... Try a snack/meal with protein and fat.

Totally worth the stress and worry of it. I'm 7 weeks post op so those hard, early weeks are very fresh for me and I'd do them over every year if I had to. I've already been able to stop my diabetes meds (my blood sugar is in the 80s!), they also took me off my blood pressure meds (it is now normal!), and we expect my labs to have improved when we draw them in January. Truly, I think it is a modern medical miracle that a surgery can do that and do it so quickly. My biggest wish is that I'd had it sooner. I let a lot of fear and misinformation get in my way for decades. I knew a woman when I was in my 20s who was an old school bypass patient and non compliant with her vitamins and protein. The health issues she had from not complying with good treatment were scary and I didn't want to be like that! I also didn't understand that these surgeries have a METABOLIC effect as well as the effect of making our stomachs smaller so we eat less. Those metabolic effects are something we can't get from a medication. Can it make things worse? There is a small chance it could. But there is a much bigger chance it will improve your life by leaps and bounds. WLS is about as risky as gallbladder surgery and you don't see many people having a cow and panicking over a loved one having their gallbladder out. Educate yourself on the facts, read all you can, talk to the surgeon, have them talk to the surgeon, and really think over what you are willing to change in your world to make this work for you the way you need it to work. It is YOUR body and your quality of life being impacted here.

Hey all. So, probably for the past week now I've been feeling down on myself. I saw my weight go up a little and then came back down a little. I know that's normal It's making me think I gained 50 pounds when it's only like 2 to 3 pounds. I'm scared of gaining weight back, but im still making bad choices and it's making me hate myself for it. I'm not hitting my water and protein goals and I haven't since surgery.. it's hard for me for some reason.. I don't like water enhancers. They're either too sweet or just gross. My bad choices are (please don't be rude or negative, we are supposed to help each other, not make each other worse) I snack on chips, crackers, chex mix type of stuff, popcorn, some chocolate (not always, not every day and yeah most of the time it doesn't make me sick). I can drink soda with no problems and I HATE MYSELF FOR EVEN ALLOWING MYSELF TO DRINK IT. I can, most of the time, drink regular iced tea. Almost everyday I don't eat breakfast. And even if I do I find myself snacking later. Why? Is it because of the lack of protein and water? When I eat my meals, I can eat more than 4 ounces. Usually I don't eat everything on my platw/bowl, rare times I'm able to. I think some of the times I feel like im forcing myself to eat it. I drink with my dinner meal and my night time snack. Sometimes my lunch/breakfast. I know what I got to do before it gets out of hand more than it already is. I'm failing myself and before I know it, I'll be a bypass failure if I keep it up like this. I need to weigh my food out. I need to stop drinking soda. I need to stop drinking at my meals. I need to chew better. Stay away from the foods that got me this way in the first place. I need to focus of the protein and water goals. I feel like the foods I need, I don't reach for and I just grab whatever is easy. Any body meal prep? Why is it so hard to figure out what you want to prep? I feel like it would help. God I feel bad about myself.

I gurgle all the time with my sleeve. I say it’s my poltergeist cause it literally groans & moans & whines too. It’s just a noisy digestive system. My young nieces & nephew think it’s quite amusing, I’ve never been able to burp so I think that adds to mine. And yes I agree not feeling your restriction is likely from your nerves being cut during your revision restricting messages getting through just like after your initial sleeve surgery. Remember to keep to your recommended portion sizes until your signals can get through to ensure you’re not accidentally impacting your healing & recovery. All the best.

The thing to watch out for when doing a minimally malabsorptive RNY is the prospect of bile reflux instead of the acid reflux that you had with the sleeve. When I was looking into this for a non WLS reason (it's has long been used for maladies such as gastroparesis and gastric cancer,) was that one of the most common problems reported on the patient sites such as Facebook was bile reflux. Talking to the surgeon about it, he said that as long as he keeps that roux limb at (IIRC) 80cm or more, it's not a problem; it seems that many surgeons going for minimal weight loss for such patients go overboard on shortening things. The extreme of this would be the "mini bypass" that attaches the pouch directly into the intestine without the roux limb, and that is well known for bile reflux (and why it was never adopted here in the US as a mainstream approved WLS. However, there are also definitions and standards of care wrapped into the CPT codes that the docs use for billing, that define these things depending upon usage. I know this came up in one of the support groups with my wife's surgeon, and he noted that when he did the RNY, which he rarely did preferring the DS, he liked to make it as malabsorptive as the codes permitted. So there are standards that the surgeons are obliged to follow if it is to be a WLS procedure, and it doesn't seem to be a problem with most RNYs that we see as WLS, but could have been for what I was contemplating (but never proceeded with.) There's always an up side as well as a down side with anything we do.

I don't know how common this is with Bypass, but it sometimes happens with patients who have the Duodenal Switch because the level of malabsorption from the surgery is significantly more than with the Bypass. It usually happens a few years out because that's how long it takes to deplete the body of its stores. That's why we have to have lab work done frequently to monitor our vitamin levels and protein levels. Some patients end up malnourished when their vitamin levels drop too low or their protein levels drop too low. There are medications they can prescribe to help you better absorb protein but I can't remember what it is called, it is a digestive enzyme of some sort. A GI doctor would know what it is, your surgeon might know too. The liver is very sensitive and things getting out of whack can definitely cause it to be angry. I hope they do more testing and figure out what is going on... You have probably lost muscle mass as your body takes protein from your muscles to compensate from the depleted protein levels. Try protein shakes and protein waters that are made with whey protein isolate. It is the easiest form to absorb and it will help your protein levels go up. This is what DS patients are advised to consume, most premade shakes will be made with inferior types of whey that may not help your protein levels. Unjury makes some good ones, Syntrax is another brand that makes medical grade whey protein isolate. There are a number of them around!

I haven't had revisions, I just had DS surgery 6 weeks ago. But I have seen a fair number of multiple revisions around here and elsewhere... I'm sure if your doctor approved you for the surgery then you are good to go! But any surgery can be scary, so I understand the worries. Sleeve to Bypass revisions are pretty common. It is likely your surgeon has done a fair number of them. The weight loss is slower for revisions, but I have seen many end up reaching their goal weight, it just takes a bit longer the second time around. You don't say what your starting weight is or what you hope to lose... Advice is just like for any of the surgeries---take it easy. Trust your team. Drink your fluids in baby sips and get in as much as possible, this will keep you out of the ER hopefully. Stay ahead of your pain. Ease into food gently. Walk as much as you can. Rest when you feel tired and give yourself extra rest for the first few weeks because surgery can take it out of you! Remember that a lot of nerves have been cut and have to heal, so you may not feel any restriction for a while. Stick to the portions your dietician advises for the first few months until you are getting accurate communication from your healed tummy! And whatever you do, do NOT let yourself get constipated!! Take the stool softeners, take Miralax if you haven't gone in a few days and are concerned. The most common complications I see are nausea, dehydration, and constipation! Most of all, good luck! Have a really routine, easy surgery and an uncomplicated recovery! ❤️

Thanks for the explanation! Thats actually really helpful. To be honest, I was very much like ‘just help me get rid of GERD’ and the rest he took care of. I didn’t research much on bypass myself. Thanks for the reassurance with the restriction, or lack there of. It’s such an odd thing being how easily I felt it before, and now nothing. Like you said, perhaps I just need more time and well, more solid food. I am also very bubbly, such a weird statement, but I never really experienced that with my sleeve. I feel like almost gassy but not gassy. Not burping, not tooting, just bubbly.

They don't actually remove any bowel - they just bypass part of it - but the two parts meet up again about a foot from the stomach. He may have just made the "Y" shorter than usual - as in had the two parts meet up sooner. I'm not a revision patient, so there are probably others on here who know more than I do, but you may not be feeling full because of nerves being cut during surgery. If so, they regenerate fairly quickly. Plus you're eating soft foods, also. I didn't really start feeling restriction until about a month out when I started eating solid food. lastly, only about 30% of bypass patients dump. I never have - and know lots of others who don't, either. If you turn out to be a dumper, though, you can prevent it by not eating a lot of sugar or fat at one sitting (which we shouldn't be doing anyway...). I never worried about dumping (although at times I wish I DID dump since I have no problem eating tons of sugar at one sitting, unfortunately...)

Hey all! I had a revision from VSG (2020) to a bypass without bowel reduction on 11/28. It’s been going fine, recovering is good and I’m tolerating food fine. However, since we did my revision for severe GERD and a large hernia, the surgeon told me that my bypass was minimal in terms of removal of bowel. Since I’ve basically maintained my weight loss since my sleeve, he did not want to create a situation where I would be malnourished so he did not remove bowel like a typical bypass. All that to say, I’m super hungry which is surprising since they did mess with my pouch, and I’ve lost a little weight which is fine too, but it’s like I cannot tell when I’m full. I’m on soft foods, so not full solids yet but have been eating real meals basically (soft foods allows canned veggies and some fruits on my plan). With my sleeve I could easily tell when it’s time to stop. Now it’s like I could just keep going. I haven’t had any nausea or vomiting caused by over eating, and I’ve been measuring because I’m nervous but it’s like I’m still hungry. I was hopeful leaving the bowel would help me not experience dumping as much (which I have no idea if that’s legit or I’m just telling myself that), but I’m also so worried about eating too much. On a happy note - I have only ate tums once since my surgery, and I guess now won’t have to continue to keep tums in business anymore. LOL! That was the goal, so far so good, still on protonix but I’ll take it over misery any day!

Hello all! I’m scared for my surgery on Monday because I have had grade 4 EE , hernia & weight stall etc. I’m very nervous this time around because… the odds / number of procedures. Has anyone else ,here, had so many revisions? 😔😔😔 any words of encouragement or advice? THANK YOU!

I had a revision from vsg to bypass due to gerd over 2 years ago. I don't regret it. I'm sorry I waited so long. I don't know the future but up till now, it's been a very smooth transition.

Hi there! I just signed up on this forum and have a surgery date of January 30 for gastric bypass. My sister had it done about a year and a half ago and has had great success so I decided I was ready to make some big changes in my life. im currently trying to keep my required 10-lb weight loss on the books. I officially achieved it in October and I meet with my doc each month. In November I had lost an additional half pound but ended up in the ER after my appt because I was so dehydrated from fasting to make my weight goal. So embarrassing ugh. Now, thanks to the holidays my next appt is January 2, but I’m up eight lbs and they will cancel my surgery if they see that. I have 18 days to lose that weight again and I’m scared I won’t make it. I’m mad at myself for being lax after my last weigh-in. I know that part of losing weight pre-op is to start making changes gradually but I’m struggling. I guess that’s normal for many of us. I’m really excited about getting the surgery but also a little depressed because it will force me (and is now forcing me) to completely change my relationship with food. That’s scary. But I see how happy and energetic and positive my sister is and I want that in my life too. Anyway, I didn’t mean to get depressing lol but I’m trying to be honest about my feelings which are all coming at me at the same time! Its crazy.

Hey everyone!! 👋 😀 So they decided to give me the Sleeve instead, because they realized my liver had not shrunk enough to do the gastric bypass. I was a bit upset upon the realization, mostly because I was set on my decision. Also I battle with acid reflux so my concern is the sleeve will make that worse. Let's hope not. My surgeon did say that down the road we can discuss doing the gastric bypass if the sleeve does has that negative affect on my acid reflux, but he assured me all went really well and he was very happy with it. When I came to, I will admit I was ROUGH. They kept me in recovery for hours as I could not keep my eyes open, and I was in quite a lot of pain. Eventually they took me to another room that was just temporary as my room was not ready yet. No dimmed lights and more pain medication was needed. I was moaning and groaning by the time they got me to my room for the night. Eventually pain became less and less and by 5am yesterday morning I was up and walking up and down the hall by myself. Going to the bathroom on a regular, and starting to relieve gas build up. They eventually discharged me at about 4:30 pm yesterday. Last night at home was rough, woke up every hour and decided to take the time to walk since I was awake anyways. Rough sleep, sore belly and back. Eventually moved downstairs to the living room couch lol. Rested a bit but not much. It is now nearly 1pm and I still feel quite sore, tired, and slow, but feeling somewhat better. 😅