Decisions on surgery type

[luvhermitcrabs 46]

I have completed most of my clearances, and I just attended the first of two pre-surgery visits with the nutritionist. There were eleven people in the group, and every single one said they are getting the sleeve. I am leaning towards bypass, as I have several friends who had bypass several years ago, and they are doing great. For me, I believe I will stick to the program through a lot of the negative side effects like dumping syndrome. As odd as it seems, I do best with "aversion therapy"... If I get sick from something, I will generally stay away from it for a long time!

I was really surprised that everyone in that meeting stated that they will be sleeved. I haven't met with the psychologist yet, and I still need to meet with the program's medical director. That appointment is on October 12th. If approved, I will then meet with the surgeon and schedule a date. I have done a lot of research and really believe the bypass is best for me. I have a bad habit of getting anxious over things like this. If I am told that I must have the sleeve, I don't want to start the process all over through another hospital program.

Anyway, I am really ready to get things moving along with the process, and trying not to get caught up in the "what if". I would love to have my surgery before the end of the year.

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[Dub 9,922]

I was grinning and nodding my head while reading your post.

I've been going through very similar experiences lately as I navigate my way to surgery.

I'm wanting bypass for the reasons you described, yet faced with a surgeon who seems to have an overall bias for the sleeve.

[paintergirl 41]

I walked in thinking I wanted the sleeve. But I have acid reflux and the Dr. said that wouldn't be a good choice for me. Plus she said for the amount of weight I wanted to lose, bypass was a better option. Did your Dr. offer their opinion on what would be best for you?

[luvhermitcrabs 46]

I meet with the doctor on Oct 12. The next six weeks will drive me crazy with waiting to talk to him :-)

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[Bufflehead 6,358]

I think a lot of people just get "weirded out" by the idea of their intestines being re-routed. I personally don't think "I get an ooky feeling" is a great basis for making a medical decision, at least it isn't for me. I ended up going with the sleeve because of some medical issues making the sleeve a better choice for me, but I would have been very happy with a gastric bypass. I know several people who have had them and they are all doing fantastic.

[Djmohr 6,965]

The bypass is the gold standard for WLS. I would suspect that your surgical team will have no problem with your choice.

Any surgeon that pushes you toward a surgery better be able to explain very clearly why that is the best surgery for you. Otherwise get a new surgeon.

I was originally going for the sleeve and after much discussion with both my surgeon and a gastroenterologist it was determined that bypass was the better surgery for me. This was specifically because I had severe reflux and the sleeve could make this worse for me which could have resulted in a second surgery to revise to bypass anyway.

[IncredibleShrinkingMan 437]

Even though I have awful GERD that has been made worse by the sleeve, I went with the sleeve so that a) dumping is not even a word on my map, I can rely on restriction to get me where I need to go without constantly being on the lookout for some sugar that could make me totally sick (sugar wasn't a weakness anyway so bypass would've been a waste in that sense), and c) I am not convinced that the hunger hormone completely goes away with bypass as the stomach remains inside your body. The latter issue was the most important to me by far, and while I am not one of those lucky few that have to be "reminded" to eat or find old favorites sickening, I can eat and be satisfied for the first time...ever.

[gpmed 623]

@@luvhermitcrabs I definitely understand your thinking. I didn't make my final decision to have the bypass instead of the sleeve until a week ago when I met with my surgeon to set the date (Sept. 21).

I have Aetna insurance and my clinic's nurse told me the insurance would only authorize one surgery a time, but that if I changed my mind, it would only take a phone call to get authorization for the other procedure. Maybe you could ask your insurance company or your clinic what happens if you change your mind about which procedure to get. I'd be surprised if you had to start all over. That's assuming your surgeon is comfortable performing both procedures.

If it helps at all, I was leaning toward the bypass all along because there are long-term studies demonstrating the success of the bypass, but not the sleeve because it's a relatively new procedure. I also think dumping might help as "aversion therapy" as you put it. Also, while the hormonal changes that take place after surgery are not fully understood, my surgeon said the current research shows they are longer-lasting for the bypass. Of course, that's the best understanding he can have today. Things could change in 10 or 20 years (too bad we can't hop in a time machine and find out!). I'm going with bypass because it seems, based on what we know today, that the bypass will give me the best chance of long-term success. This is just one doctor's opinion, btw. I just personally trust him.

[catwoman7 10,864]

the sleeve has become really popular - probably because, as others have said, the idea of re-routing your intestines really bothers a lot of people. I went with the bypass because I had GERD, and I've been very happy with my choice.

[AllisonK1986 68]

I have major acid reflux, but I also have lupus. So after having a long discussion with my dr medically the sleeve would be a better outcome for me than the bypass.