Hi everyone!!

So, my biggest delima right now is what proceedure to choose...The sleeve or the bypass?

Sorry, this may be long..but here is where the issues come from. My PCP is a former sleeve patient & swears by it. My surgeon will do either proceedure. However, he has concerns about the long term effects from the sleeve. He says it hasnt been out that long (vs the bypass), thus doesnt know the long term effects & results (10+ years, lifetime, etc). He used the example that the lapband had great success rates in the early stages (such as where the sleeve is at), but after about 7-8 years there were a lot of failures & revisions needed.

I need to lose at least 90-100lbs. I am worried that the bypass may make me lose too much weight. How does your body regulate and say "okay, this is enough weight off.."?

My PCP is totally against the bypass and says I need the sleeve... The surgeon says the bypass will give best results, has the best documented succecss rate over time, etc. ::facepalm:: now what? Who do I listen to?

Otherwise, I am on month 3 of the 6 month supervised weight loss / diet.. Psych eval scheduled & sleep study scheduled in the next couple of weeks. Nut visit completed... Everything is ready for an approx surgery in Jan - Feb 2015.

Help me decide!

My surgeon said that if I was going to let him rearrange my insides, why wouldn't I want him to do the Cadillac of surgeries. He is very pro bypass as you can tell. But when he put it that way it made sense and I want to wake up with no diabetes.

Please know, diabetes being gone instantly does not happen for all RNY patients. In very well may go into remission over time but there is no guarantee. About 75% see the diabetes go into remission. Do not expect it to be gone instantly. If your doc is promising this, he is misleading you. Also, it is not cured. It will come back with weight gain. Regain is rather common so, a true diet change for life is needed.

Below is a link to an article. It states only 30% of diabetic patients leave the hospital with no medication but, it could resolve within days to weeks. It does take months for some patients as well, however. My sister, for example took about 9 months to come off all meds. The time you have had it and the severity of it both are factors in determining when and if it will resolve.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2010.00802.x/full

i am choosing rny because with the sleeve i was told you can eat bad foods in the long run without dumping syndrome. i need a consequence for bad eating so that i can learn not to do it again.

You can still get dumping syndrome. I am 2 weeks and 4 days out and if I eat something sweet, even applesauce, it can go right though me. Even peanut butter made me feel ill since it is high in fat. Each person is different and some with bypass can still eat candy and sugar and not be affected.

@@auntiemel you're right everyone is different. However, about the dumping syndrome, I said in the long run, your surgery is relatively new so ofcourse you are experiencing this. My doctor told me that patients who get the sleeve don't get dumping syndrome later on, they just have portion control . Rny patients will get the consequence of eating sugary, fatty, salty foods, whether it be one or the other, because its all trial and error, so sometimes somethings will work for your pouch while other things won't. That's why they say becareful what you try, you just might like it and have too much of it. I wish you a speedy recovery and congrats on your surgery!

I understand lol...each person reacts so differently. I know a gal with RNY and she can drink wine and eat sweets like before. It's so crazy how each of us wake up and our bodies either accept or reject what we put in them.

I'm trying to eat like a baby and introduce one thing at a time. Eating and drinking is so different now.

What was your experience?

I'm having RNY... it's interesting because I've had several (non-medical) people ask me why I don't have the sleeve or the band. Their thought process being that "I'm not that big" since I only have about 110lbs to get rid of. I think many, supportive friends and family outside the WLS loop want to see us happy and healthy with the least possible side effects. What they don't take into account are the long term benefits.

I'm already taking an over-the-counter stomach acid reducer that doesn't work so great (by the way, isn't it clever marketing that I know the meds don't work well but I still continue to purchase them!) So one reason I'm going RNY is for the reflux benefits. I can't wait for the first day I realize I don't have reflux! I won't promise anything, but sometimes I like to Celebrate by dancing horribly in front of my girls.

Another reason is that I know I have a food addiction. I'm an active member of a 12 step program and have been for a few years. In recovery, you know you'll always and forever be recovering. I don't think I'll ever be cured, but I do think I can use tools that help me stay on track. I look at WLS as a tool. And since I have a few options on which tool I can use, I'm choosing "the gold standard" (que the trumpet blasts, do-do-do-dah!) This tool overall has some of the best long-term research and it has a possible negative consequence (dumping) built in that may help me if I make a less than stellar choice in what I consume.

These are my reasons, though. I like reading why others have chosen a certain path because it helps me to reevaluate what I think and sometimes challenges things I suppose to be correct. Best of luck to you, I know it's coming up fast!

I understand lol...each person reacts so differently. I know a gal with RNY and she can drink wine and eat sweets like before. It's so crazy how each of us wake up and our bodies either accept or reject what we put in them.

I'm trying to eat like a baby and introduce one thing at a time. Eating and drinking is so different now.

What was your experience?

aww yeah it's like being a baby again after wls lol. i haven't gotten mine done yet, i was set for oct 7 then it got cancelled cuz of an emergency, now i am going in on monday. how is your healing coming along?

When I was trying to decide between the sleeve and bypass my surgeon said the sleeve will cause more acid. So if you already have acid reflux go with the bypass. That made my decision easy so I got the bypass.