360+ pounds?!? help!

[IncredibleShrinkingMan 437]

Depending on what your insurance will cover, I am a big fan of giving the sleeve a shot at any starting weight. With any surgery, your final weight potential is dependent upon where you begin, and it's not like bypass circumvents (I really wanted to say "bypass" two words in a row LOL) that rule. This may even be a situation where you use the sleeve for its original purpose, i.e., the first step of a BPD-DS. But ask yourself if you think your problem is carbs and sugar. If you are like me and just have trouble with quantity and constant hunger, the bypass will probably add little to what you can accomplish with the sleeve. However, if you are sugar crazy, the bypass will do a lot more to knock that out, and will probably offer you substantially more than the sleeve. Please discuss with NUT and MD! This is just a start.

[dlappjr 467]

I chose the sleeve also. 4 months out. Down almost 100 pounds, but feel like a new person. I would recommend the sleeve to anyone, but not that I have anything against bypass, just didn't seem like a good fit to me. Some people choose it to lose more weight, but I liked the idea of keeping my intestines intact. here are before and afters from my 4 months.

Edited December 21, 2015 by dlappjr

[snickysnack78 131]

I personally had the RNY and my starting weight was a little more than you (392). When I spoke to the surgeon for the first time, I had the mindset of the sleeve. When I spoke to him he stated with as much weight I wanted to lose, that we can do the sleeve and a RNY revision later because he didn't believe I would be happy with the weight loss. I chose RNY because I didn't want to have a 2nd revision surgery later.

In the end, its your choice and what your comfortable with

[Smye 695]

@, I was 415 in February, I am 235 this morning, and I had the sleeve. If you like, I can email you the graphic organizer I made for myself comparing the 4 most popular surgeries, the pros/cons, costs, risks, etc that helped me make my decision.

[allyrenee 10]

@, I was 415 in February, I am 235 this morning, and I had the sleeve. If you like, I can email you the graphic organizer I made for myself comparing the 4 most popular surgeries, the pros/cons, costs, risks, etc that helped me make my decision.

please email me! send me a message and I'll give you my email. that would be a great thing to have! thank you so much!

[allyrenee 10]

Thank you all SO much for your advice and input! I will keep them all in mind and of course hear what my surgeon recommends as well I appreciate it! Thanks again!

[LeahRainey 6]

I am pre opp at 367. I'm set to have gastric bypass because of the amount of weight I have to loss.

[Waler 330]

I was 345 when I was had the sleeve done in August of this year and I am down 108 pounds. I think it is more what you and your surgeon agree is best for you. I had a lot of concerns about the mal-absorption issues that come with the bypass, and my doctor agreed,

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

Anyone here around 360 pounds when they had surgery? What surgery did you have? When? How much have you lost? I am not sure whether sleeve or bypass is best for me since I am pretty heavy and see that a lot of sleevers weigh less than I do. Thanks!

I was sleeved April 20 of this year and started well over 360. I couldn't be happier with my decision, my recovery, and my progress so far.

Talk to your surgeon about what procedure is right for you.

All things being equal I would recommend the sleeve in a heartbeat.

[tbella67 19]

I went for first intake appointment on 12/17 and asked the pa which procedure was best for me and she said the surgeon is 100% for the sleeve due to being less invasive and less complications. I am at 350 lbs right now.

[Ashlegal 525]

Having had the sleeve and now the bypass I definitely suggest the bypass at your starting weight. You will have better results. For me I have better restriction and feelings of fullness with the bypass than I did with the sleeve.

You will have great success with either surgery. With the sleeve i have good restriction and feeling of fullness.

With bypass you also have malabsorption and dumping

I don't dump. And taking my Vitamins keeps my labs perfect.

Plus, dumping is a great tool for those that have weakness when dealing with high sugar/high fat foods. It keeps them in check and allows them to use their WLS tool successfully.

[Ashlegal 525]

@

I was 302 pounds the first day I met with my program director. I am 5'2 and that is 160 pounds of extra (unnecessary) weight I was carrying around, all day, everyday.

Two weeks into the program I was moved into "group" meetings and there I met women from different points in the same journey. Until that first meeting, I was going towards Sleeve surgery as it seemed less invasive (it isn't), less restrictive (it is but that isn't necessarily a "good" thing) and didn't seem as drastic (umm, you completely lose part of your stomach, that's pretty drastic).

During that meeting I met six ladies who had all had sleeve done and were getting revisions to Bypass. When I asked "why?", they all had a similar story. They never reached goal weight, they were still battling comorbidities and they had horrible acid reflux (worse than prior to surgery). Two of them had actually been LapBand patients prior to getting Sleeved and were now faced with a third WLS. In total, there were out of the thirty people on the program (at the same time I was) 12 of them were Sleeve to Bypass revisions.

Those revision stories and the fact that I already had horrible GERD, my surgeon and I decided Bypass was best for me. He also felt that due to my obesity, my obesity related issues and my age, (30's) Bypass was a better fit. I have lost seventy pounds since having surgery on September 9th 2015 and have absolutely no regrets. None. Not a single one and everyday I feel better and better. I am off all my diabetes medicine, my blood pressure medicine and my labs are spot on with taking my Vitamins daily. Which is something I (and many others) should be doing regardless of surgery. Many obese individuals were not getting the right nutrition from the foods they were eating, anyway.

I am in no way trying to persuade you in one direction or the other. I am not a medical professional and all I am offering is my story. And the reason I decided to have Bypass over Sleeve.

Good luck on your journey!

[allyrenee 10]

@

I was 302 pounds the first day I met with my program director. I am 5'2 and that is 160 pounds of extra (unnecessary) weight I was carrying around, all day, everyday.

Two weeks into the program I was moved into "group" meetings and there I met women from different points in the same journey. Until that first meeting, I was going towards Sleeve surgery as it seemed less invasive (it isn't), less restrictive (it is but that isn't necessarily a "good" thing) and didn't seem as drastic (umm, you completely lose part of your stomach, that's pretty drastic).

During that meeting I met six ladies who had all had sleeve done and were getting revisions to Bypass. When I asked "why?", they all had a similar story. They never reached goal weight, they were still battling comorbidities and they had horrible acid reflux (worse than prior to surgery). Two of them had actually been LapBand patients prior to getting Sleeved and were now faced with a third WLS. In total, there were out of the thirty people on the program (at the same time I was) 12 of them were Sleeve to Bypass revisions.

Those revision stories and the fact that I already had horrible GERD, my surgeon and I decided Bypass was best for me. He also felt that due to my obesity, my obesity related issues and my age, (30's) Bypass was a better fit. I have lost seventy pounds since having surgery on September 9th 2015 and have absolutely no regrets. None. Not a single one and everyday I feel better and better. I am off all my diabetes medicine, my blood pressure medicine and my labs are spot on with taking my Vitamins daily. Which is something I (and many others) should be doing regardless of surgery. Many obese individuals were not getting the right nutrition from the foods they were eating, anyway.

I am in no way trying to persuade you in one direction or the other. I am not a medical professional and all I am offering is my story. And the reason I decided to have Bypass over Sleeve.

Good luck on your journey!

Thank you for telling me about your journey! I am leaning towards bypass but my mom is a nurse and keeps telling me she wants me to get the sleeve. I ultimately want to do what's best for me. I want bypass because I want the restriction and I figure if I'm going to pay so much out of pocket after my insurance, then I misewell go for the golden standard. I have so much to lose and I hope I can convince her on the bypass. I don't have any comorbities as of now and my tests came back great. But I still am leaning towards bypass. I fear that if I get the sleeve, then it could fail and I might regret it and want bypass down the road. Thank you for letting me know!

[cookarue 233]

If you want the bypass, then go for it! I mean, there's no way for her to check which surgery you got... It's all inside you. Lol.

[allyrenee 10]

If you want the bypass, then go for it! I mean, there's no way for her to check which surgery you got... It's all inside you. Lol.

haha I know, so true!