Hello,

I'm considering having weight reduction surgery and want to get some feedback from folks about why they chose the sleeve over other types of surgeries, particularly bypass surgery. I went to my first informational seminar about the various types of weight reduction surgeries available, and left there feeling like much of the information the MD presented seemed to "push" the bypass surgery. it was evident that he wasn't thrilled with bands and he said he'd done many more sleeves recently than bypasses, but it seemed like he was promoting the bypass a little more, particularly for diabetics. he said the bypass surgery offers the highest rate of reducing diabetes. From the info he provided, the sleeve looked to be a fairly close second and banding third. When I asked what it was about the bypass surgery that made it more probable to reduce diabetes, he answered that there is something about removing the upper part of the large intestine (part connecting to the stomach I think) that may produce some hormonal signals to the brain, etc, etc but they know that bypass ususally reverses diabetes VERY quickly after surgery. I was, and still am, leaning toward a sleeve, but as a type II diabetic also want whichever surgery has the best chance to reverse my diabetes. I know that weight loss over time with any surgery or without helps diabetes, but I'm trying to determine if there really is something special about bypass surgery over the sleeve.

So what I'm looking for feeback from those who have compared sleeve vs. bypass and what ultimately infuenced your decision to go with the sleeve.

Thank you!

I went with the sleeve because it is less invasive and has excellent weight loss results. With a bypass you loss the ability to absorb nutrients and can become malnourished. With the sleeve you can digest food like before and you dont often getting "dumping" from the sleeve. As for diabetes I think that any weight loss is good for reversing diabetes. I am one day post op from my sleeve and am feeling great.

The band really is not suited for us who may be super heavy. I personally opted for the sleeve because I really needed the benefits of a bypass but felt the risk of a more invasive surgery was one reason it was ruled out. The sleeve still is still surgery nonetheless but less invasive with faster healing. This is just what suited my condition best.

I went to my first informational seminar about the various types of weight reduction surgeries available, and left there feeling like much of the information the MD presented seemed to "push" the bypass surgery.

Me too. When I started assembling information back in February I also felt a strong inclination toward roux-en-y. You need to work out what makes sense to you tho.. My logic is this regarding the big picture:

a. Bariatric surgery is still surgery, no matter how good your surgeon is, as **** happens. There is still risk that needs to be accepted to continue.

b. Futzing about w/ your anatomy also must be considered, regardless of what the 30-year study says. Long term study numbers are good to consider, but in the end you need to mitigate risk (That's why I'm doing it, to avoid the risk brought about by my comorbidities).

c. Roux-en-y essentially removes the pyloric (lower) valve from doing what valves do (regulate). While the studies are very good, and the method more prevalent, the VSG keeps your normal linear valves in the food path. No dumping and better absorption.

The VSG weight loss is not as considerable as the roux-en-y, but the surgery is best not left as a means to an end. If you are able to exercise regularly as you drop your 60-70% of excess weight you will be able to lose beyond that study supported benchmark.

Hello, while I think gastric bypass is a good surgery for some, the regain stats and complication stats are scary. I've seen some scary complications in my research of gastric bypass. That really turned me off. Also, the amount of people who gain some or all of their weight back is scary. I think they are finding out that bypassing the pyloric valve during gastric bypass is causing people to gain weight back because of the hypoglycemia that is often induced without the pyloric valve makes them hungry shortly after eating. Researchers have been talking about this! They think that preserving the pyloric valve is much more important than they originally thought.

The sleeve preserves the pyloric valve and also absorbing of Vitamins and etc. This is very important to your health, imho. It is also less invasive and less risky overall when compared to complications of the gastric bypass. No surgery is risk free. You just have to make your own personal choice with the research you have compiled.

Theres a surgery called the duodenal switch. Its a step up from the sleeve. They literally switch your intestines around after cutting out a large portion of your stomach. Less chance or little at all of dumping syndrome. But 98% effective of curing diabetes numero dos! sry practicing my spanish latley. But this is all what i got from my doctor. It is more invasive then the sleeve. But It seems better to me than the bypass. It is a surgery that can cause malabsortion tho.

A coworker decided to have the Gastric Bypass surgery. He's lost a ton of weight and looks really good. He's lost 100lbs so far. However, my best friend decided not to do the surgery. Even though I told her how successful my coworker was. Instead, she decided to try the Roca Labs Bypass NO surgery diet. She's been on the diet for 1 and a half months and has lost 50lbs. She is trying to lose another 25lbs. She says that she's lowered the dose of the formula because her stomach physically shrank with the formula and now she eats smaller portions and needs less support. The formula has regulated her blood sugar so her diabetes is more controllable.