I was set that I was gonna get the bypass surgery, but I don't have a date yet, still doing presurgery appointments. But I am hearing the sleeve is better to get than the bypass!?!? What is the consensus on these two surgeries?? Help please!!!

I had to lose 70 lbs but chose the bypass because you will lose more weight with the bypass than the sleeve. If I was going to go under the knife I wanted the best bang for my buck even though my ins. paid 100%. But that was "MY" choice. I never had one issue, I followed the plan exactly as my surgeon said and I am 2 yrs post op doing fine !!! I take all my Vitamins and get complete blood work done yearly and no issues. I think you should make this decision with your surgeon and educate yourself as much as possible. We are all individuals and if something works for some it may not work for others - so my advise is talk with your surgeon and don't be afraid to ask tons of questions...that is what you are paying him for !! Good luck in making the right decision for you !!!

My Primary Care PHysician and Bariatric Surgeon recommended the Lapband.. Thank God they did. I have several people in my support group who were sleeved, they are having reflux and/or dumping . The leader of our group had bypass years ago and has lost 250 lbs but lives on Protein Shakes and vitamins.. not sure about your history or how much you want to lose or how fast you want to lose it.. al WLS have good and bad points. For me I did not want my stomach stapled off or re-arranged. My lapband is something that can be emptied should I need nutrition (in case of illness).. All options at your age are to be seriously considered.

My doctor won't even touch lapband anymore. Too much failure rate:(

There are statistics that disprove your statement regarding lapband. There are failures in all weight loss surgeries. Some Doctors would rather do sleeve , more money for them, less trouble. The sleeve is relatively new and the long term results are not in yet.

any WLS will and does have complications

and any WLS will have good and bad

and any WLS will have results that vary for whatever reason (dr issues, patient issues, WLS issues or a combo of both)

but to lose weight, with any WLS, one must eat less calories than they take in (exercise/burn off)....and no WLS is better than the other..shame on people who continue to spout statements due to what they read/heard or googled

i support any person who has any WLS surgery

i wish them total success and am supportive no matter what

oh yeah, i got that horrid lap band BTW

and it does NOT work......tisk tisk

PS to the OP-----get the surgery your doctor and yourself feels that works for you and your lifestyle....but remember, unless you change from diet thinking/mentality, no WLS will work....best of luck to you....and you will read on this forum, and others, it is not an easy fix and when its not coming off (as fast as they thought), its a failure and off to the races of spouting anti WLS comments.

I attended the information session and found that all they wanted to do was discuss the bypass leaving me with the impression that people serious about loosing weight get the bypass and less committed folks go with the sleeve.

After researching both surgeries I feel the sleeve is best for me as the idea of being chemically depended on tablets to meet my nutritional needs for the rest of my life just doesn't sit well with me.

I had the sleeve and a hiatal hernia repaired and I have severe acid reflux to the point that we are revising to a bypass. One thing that concerns me that I've read on this thread is that people with the sleeve don't have to take Vitamins for the rest of their lives which is false. For both the bypass and the sleeve you need Vitamin supplements for the rest of your life. The choice is of course yours to make but neither is a bad option and IMO bypass isn't only for people with more weight to lose. If you are worried about the reflux you may go with the bypass but the sleeve is much less restrictive which also has pros and cons. With the sleeve, you have the option of eating ice cream, drinking soda, etc. which if those choices are made you won't lose weight. The bypass is more restrictive and will hold you accountable physiologically. Dumping syndrome doesn't usually happen unless you are eating sugar and carbs again holding you accountable because you will feel crappy if you cheat.

There are pros and cons to every single surgery ever and complications and risks. You have to figure out what you are most comfortable with good luck!

Okay how many gastric bypass procedures are there anyway?

Okay how many gastric bypass procedures are there anyway?

There is one gastric bypass aka RNY

There is one sleeve aka VSG

There is one lap band ( however different suppliers of the band)

The group of weight loss Dr's at the office i go to won't do lap band anymore either. It's not because they want to do a more expensive surgery on people either. They want what's best for their patients and the problems they've had with lapbands and the long term results made them decide that wasn't a good option for their patients.

The group of weight loss Dr's at the office i go to won't do lap band anymore either. It's not because they want to do a more expensive surgery on people either. They want what's best for their patients and the problems they've had with lapbands and the long term results made them decide that wasn't a good option for their patients.

My surgeons office still does them , but he was telling me that in the last year he has done very few lapbands...my doctor is one of the best surgeons in the u.s. and that is def saying a lot. I also knew that with my work schedule,I did not have time to go in for fills.

I attended the information session and found that all they wanted to do was discuss the bypass leaving me with the impression that people serious about loosing weight get the bypass and less committed folks go with the sleeve.

After researching both surgeries I feel the sleeve is best for me as the idea of being chemically depended on tablets to meet my nutritional needs for the rest of my life just doesn't sit well with me.

With the sleeve you will still need Vitamins the rest of your life.

I attended the information session and found that all they wanted to do was discuss the bypass leaving me with the impression that people serious about loosing weight get the bypass and less committed folks go with the sleeve.

After researching both surgeries I feel the sleeve is best for me as the idea of being chemically depended on tablets to meet my nutritional needs for the rest of my life just doesn't sit well with me.

With the sleeve you will still need Vitamins the rest of your life.

YES! With either surgery you need vitamins for the rest of your life otherwise you will feel crappy and get sick!!

At age 66 I'm glad I went for the lapband but would not rule out the sleeve

I attended the information session and found that all they wanted to do was discuss the bypass leaving me with the impression that people serious about loosing weight get the bypass and less committed folks go with the sleeve.

After researching both surgeries I feel the sleeve is best for me as the idea of being chemically depended on tablets to meet my nutritional needs for the rest of my life just doesn't sit well with me.

With the sleeve you will still need Vitamins the rest of your life.

YES! With either surgery you need vitamins for the rest of your life otherwise you will feel crappy and get sick!!

So ... I just gotta throw my two cents in here ...

I am a sleeve patient, so I cannot speak to the other bariatric procedures.

It is possible to get all of your nutritional needs in through eating balanced meals and not have to take vitamins the rest of your life. Some folks who get WLS do begin a route of being very conscience of nutrition. They understand what they are putting in their bodies and feed their bodies what it needs. I am a work in progress and at this point am only doing the Vitamin B12 shots. I was doing a sublingual, but my blood tests revealed I could not get my levels up even taking them daily. But I had B12 issues even before my surgery, so ...

I guess the bottom line is we are all different in our approach. Early out, it is impossible to meet your body's nutritional needs and vitamin supplementation will be required. But once you are able to eat the "normal" sleeve life and have the desire to not be on vitamins, you can get what you need through a good, balanced diet.

Some folks get the sleeve just so they can lose a bunch of weight and get the restriction it offers. Eat the same way they did pre-op occasionally consuming nutritionally irrelevant foods, just less of them. Which is totally fine, but these folks would most likely need vitamin supplementation.

So, for all the noobs and researchers reading this, your program will determine your need for vitamin supplementation, not the sleeve procedure.