I have finally made the decision to undergo weight loss surgery. I've met with the doctors and discussed it with my family and have read various materials regarding surgery. My only question is regarding Gastric Sleeve vs. Gastric Bypass surgery.....I've read the pro's and cons of both, but am looking for some thoughts one why one would choose one over the other.....any guidance would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you so much.

Someone posted what their surgeon told them and I thought it really helped.

If you have problems with overeating then the sleeve is for you. If you have other metabolic issues (high blood pressure, diabetes, etc) then bypass is a better option. I'm sure that's not word for word but that's what I got out of it....

I was planning to have the sleeve, in fact I was set on it for over a year. After I had all my appointments, the upper GI scan showed that I have reflux, which I didn't know about. I thought I only got heartburn every once in a while. I discussed it with my doctor and he told me that the sleeve can make reflux worse, so bad in fact that he has several patients who chose to have the sleeve that are no getting revisions to bypass. Since the bypass pretty much cures reflux, I changed my mind. The bottom line is, I am having this surgery to help fix problems, not create new ones, and with that in mind the bypass was the right choice for me. I finally have my surgery on Monday, June 1st! I cannot wait! Good luck on your journey.

thank you both so much for your feedback!!

Do the rny!! Ive lost faster than sleeve patients and everyone at the docs office said its because of rny

I was set on the sleeve but when my surgeon showed me the difference in weight loss that I could expect I choose RYN. So glad I did. I had to give up NSAIDS but I'd gladly do that for a chance at loosing more weight. Good luck .

I have posted how I came about my decision before, and since I am lazy, I will copy paste.....

I went in wanting the sleeve. My surgeon asked me what my expectations were, and what my main concerns were. Each of my smaller concerns she would stop me and say... either will do that. Then I asked the big one... When I am old, which one would be better. When I am 70-80, or in a nursing home, or if I am in a horrible accident, if I needed a full time feeding tube to help keep me alive, which one would work, and which one would be a huge problem, and she said.. Get the bypass if you are concerned with 50 years from today. Feeding tubes are easy to insert in the stomach that is left inside. With a sleeve, theres nothing to put it in other than the sleeve or intestine, and quality of life would dimish. Diabetes runs in the family. I don't have it now, but I don't want it later. RNY can do that for me.

She also said that in HER practice, 20% of the RNY she performs, are a revision from sleeve. She said that in her patients with sleeve, many show that after 3 years, they no longer feel ANY restriction at all... and that they are regaining weight. Long-term, she has seen much better maintenance with the bypass.

thank you all so much!! i've decided on bypass. I really appreciate you all taking the time to respond

I had the sleeve 10/9/2012, and I lost a total of 115lbs by june 2013. gotten pregnant had my daughter in march 2014, august gotten pregnant again just had my daughter May 8th 2015. well in that time I lost the water weight, and now not losing much at all, and have like no restriction. I never feel full anymore...im currently looking at revision to bypass...I still have 130lbs to lose..

Well after visiting with the surgeon she recommended the sleeve because I have no other ailments ..like diabetes or high cholesterol etc...she said sleeve has less risk so after thinking about it and talking to my husband I've decided on sleeve. It does Co cern me bc the stomach is bigger....but I'm really going to give it my all and hopefully it'll work.

There are many many successful sleeve patients as you can read on the forum. There is also a group of us that suffered with post op gerd and other longterm side effects of the sleeve. My sleeve is now twisted which is a late term side effect, one that I didn't even know about. I do believe there is more data about the sleeve now. Just as any surgery you give it your all. Your surgical team is there to guide you. I too was a great sleeve patient. At the time I had no comorbities and I did not have gerd. It was honestly the best surgery for me at the time. I wish you the best of luck!

I talked to my surgeon briefly during the seminar and he said that basically if you've ever had problems with GERD or reflux he would recommend the bypass vs the sleeve because the sleeve can lead to worsening GERD. I was thinking sleeve pre seminar, but post seminar, I am firmly convinced based on my starting weight and history that the gastric bypass is the better option for me. I'd find a way unintentionally to defeat the sleeve, but the bypass would be greatly harder to mess up.

Hey flipper,

I asked my docs at mayo the same question,here"s what they explained,

Sleeve is good for over eaters, who love sweets

RNY is good for folks who like savory tastes like pizza, cheese and spicy foods,

Dswitch is best for sugar lovers and carb-cravers

The RNY is the gold standard, and works well with folks who follow their diet

Dswitch is most extreme, and can cause digestive woes.

I love Nachoes not ice cream so I will be getting RNY on Friday, even tho my first choice was Dswitch.

(Mayo no longer does banding!)

Starkwe

My surgeon will not do banding.

He does the sleeve and the bypass.

He suggested the bypass to me for several reasons based on my specific medical issues.

I agreed with his rationale and will be having bypass.

Edited July 16, 201511 yr by Dub

I strongly suggest the Bypass. Personally, having had the Lap Band and Sleeve and NOW moving to the Bypass, I wish I had the courage to do the bypass from the beginning. I believe the higher your BMI, the better chances for success is the Bypass. The Sleeve does work, I lost 110 pounds with it, but.....

Best wishes with whichever you decide to choose.

BTW- with the Sleeve I did develop Reflux/Gerd. Been on Nexium ever since. I understand that with the Bypass, this will no longer be an issue ---- Hoorrayyyyyy!