I'm now a little over 5 months post-op and am doing great. A good friend had gastric bypass surgery about 6 weeks before my VSG. Though my surgeon claimed the bypass is the "gold standard" in WLS, I am convinced my stubborn nature paid off in getting him to perform the VSG on me against his advice. Though my weight loss is not spectacular compared with others on this board, it has been mostly steady. My friend with the bypass has not lost any more weight than I have, considering the 6 week head start she had. Additionally, I eat whatever I want within reason and my friend has only a limited menu of acceptable foods. Though I am somewhat carb, calorie and fat conscious and attempt to maximize my protein intake, I still eat pasta, sandwiches, potatoes, and an occasional dessert. My friend cannot eat many of the things I eat with no problem. She also spent last weekend in the hospital with a blockage. To say she was sick and in intense pain is an understatement. All this leads me to believe that I made the best decision ever in choosing to have the VSG!

That is really great 2bskinny!! Keep it up, I see you are within pounds to your goal weight. GOOD LUCK!!!

Though, I do believe we should all choose what is right for US - it is still possible your friend chose what was right for her. But it seems also true that you chose what was right for YOU, and that is what matters most here.

Blessings!!

That is really great 2bskinny!! Keep it up, I see you are within pounds to your goal weight. GOOD LUCK!!!

Though, I do believe we should all choose what is right for US - it is still possible your friend chose what was right for her. But it seems also true that you chose what was right for YOU, and that is what matters most here.

Blessings!!

Absolutely, we must all choose what is right for us as individuals! My friend didn't have a choice because her insurance would not pay for VSG. My surgeon had performed the sleeve but didn't really believe in it and pushed RNY. Hopefully his attitude will change as her sees more and more people achieve positive results. I did waiver somewhat on the VSG vs. RNY but stuck to my guns in the end. All along I've been waiting for my friend to lose more weight faster and it hasn't happened yet. The day I wrote this post I finally reaized that I had, in fact, made the best decision for me. I suppose I was hoping that others who are on the fence might appreciate a direct, real life comparison. I sincerely thought my friend would see significantly better results than me and that just hasn't been the case.

Lisa

I made a friend at support group who had the RNY the same week (hers was on a Mon. and mine a Fri.) and she and I are about tied even on weight loss. HOWEVER, she is wheelchair bound due to a freak accident injuring both of her knees. During her extensive recovery she contracted a MRSA infection that nearly took her life. She is indeed lucky to be alive today. She is very soon going to be having both of her knees operated on (again) with the hopes of being ambulatory soon.

She *wishes* she had the sleeve but didn't hear of it/know much about it and went with the RNY. I tell her all the time, it doesn't matter, YOU make this work for YOU, because the thought of her being able to walk again. WOW. She has had an okay recovery, no strictures, and she doesn't get dumping (which she was actually sad about, lol) but her little pouch is far more sensitive than my sleeve.

I think as the sleeve gains popularity, it make shake the core of the "gold standard" being the RNY. There is SO much more data on the RNY, it's hard to compare.

I am so happy with my choice of the sleeve too! To think *shudder* I was going for the band originally. Thank goodness for the sleeve and all of my sleeve sister and brothers who took the path before me so it wasn't as scary when it was my turn.

Thank goodness for the sleeve and all of my sleeve sister and brothers who took the path before me so it wasn't as scary when it was my turn.

AMEN TO THAT!!!!!!

Where I am originally from (a small town in Texas) there are many people, approx. 13 these are just people that I personally know, that have had RNY. All but ONE have regained some of their weight. Some never even got close to their goal weight. Some have gained a lot of the weight back, some just 20 or 25 lbs, which seems like quite a bit to me. There are three other people I know in the same town who've had WLS, two banded and one, the asst. DA, he is the ONLY one to get sleeve surgery. It's amazing, the sleeve is very popular in the larger cities in Texas, but it hasn't caught on in the smaller towns east and west of Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Austin. Eventually it will. I predict that in five or ten years.....RNY will NOT be the "gold standard" any longer. That is just my humble opinion. I do not regret my decision on the sleeve, not for one minute. I just don't see the bypass patients being successful long term....

I'm now a little over 5 months post-op and am doing great. A good friend had gastric bypass surgery about 6 weeks before my VSG. Though my surgeon claimed the bypass is the "gold standard" in WLS, I am convinced my stubborn nature paid off in getting him to perform the VSG on me against his advice. Though my weight loss is not spectacular compared with others on this board, it has been mostly steady. My friend with the bypass has not lost any more weight than I have, considering the 6 week head start she had. Additionally, I eat whatever I want within reason and my friend has only a limited menu of acceptable foods. Though I am somewhat carb, calorie and fat conscious and attempt to maximize my Protein intake, I still eat Pasta, sandwiches, potatoes, and an occasional dessert. My friend cannot eat many of the things I eat with no problem. She also spent last weekend in the hospital with a blockage. To say she was sick and in intense pain is an understatement. All this leads me to believe that I made the best decision ever in choosing to have the VSG!

I am so glad I had the sleeve. I had chosen the bypass orginally until I found this board and read everyone's posts and stories. I then made another appt. with the surgeon and changed it. I actually thought she seemed to push the sleeve more than the bypass but I wanted the bypass because I thought I'd lose more weight with that option. I am very lucky to have heard from so many people on this board about the advantages of the sleeve and the comparable weight loss. Thank goodness!