Hello! My name is Lupe and I am from Ventura, California. I am pre-op with a surgery date of March 16th. I am having surgery with Dr. Chen at UCLA. I am still undecided on the type of surgery I am getting. My surgeon said I would be a good candidate for the sleeve but he said the bypass is also ok with him. I have met two people who personally have done the Sleeve and did not have great results with weight reduction. I also have two friends that had the bypass who are both struggling. One with transfer addictions and the other with anorexia. I am trying to learn as much about the process as I can. The good, bad and ugly.

Look forward to getting to know everyone. I am happy and scared about this journey.

As backwards as this may seem, as I am learning to prep my body the hardest thing is eating 6 times a day. I am typically someone who doesn't eat in the morning and find myself having a really late (3-4pm) lunch and late (7-8pm) dinner. Changing that and forcing myself to eat smaller meals/snacks several times a day has been hard for sure! But I'm getting there! My Water intake is getting better too!

Warmly,

Lupe Lane

(Picture is of me and my support team. Hubby & 4 children)

Hi Lupe, glad to hear you are considering this. I got a sleeve done in October and it was the greatest thing I have ever done. It has literally saved my life and I feel 100 % better than before, more energy and I am told I look better. I think so too.

You will here some people saying that they regret having done this.....don't take it too seriously without reading WHY. I think there might be other issues at hand. Most people I hear about or talk rave about what this has done for them. I have nothing but positive things to say about it.

Those other issues MUST be dealt with before this will work for anybody, I think that is why some writers seem so very negative.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

@@lupelane - congrats and good luck. You have a beautiful family and like the OP said, find out WHY someone has a really negative post before you decide. First few weeks out a lot struggle with regret. I had that feeling for a very brief time. make SURE that YOU (not your hubby, kids, mom etc) are good with your decision. It is your body, your tool...

jane

Welcome! This site is so great for getting answers to all of your questions and sharing your concerns. You will get support, advise, and sometimes tough love here!

As to your decision between sleeve and bypass, that is a choice that only you can make. Both options can be incredibly successful, but both are just tools. If you do not use those tools properly and make a lifetime commitment to doing so, then you will struggle like the others you mentioned.

It is great that you are already working on some lifestyle changes that will help you post-op. Eating on a schedule is especially critical in the early weeks/months post-op, when you cannot rely on your body giving your proper "hunger" signals. It is not uncommon for people to forget to eat or not want to eat at all because they don't feel "hungry". That is obviously dangerous and detrimental, so eating on a schedule is essential to make sure you are getting the nutrition you need, especially Protein.

A couple of other things you might want to start working on pre-op are not eating and drinking at the same time, chewing VERY thoroughly, eating slowly, and always eating the protein portion of your meal first. All of those habits will help you out a lot post-op, once you are back on soft foods.

Here are my reasons for choosing sleeve over bypass, but everyone has their own priorities and criteria:

• Didn't feel that I needed such a major surgery as bypass, since my BMI was exactly at 40 and I only wanted to lose about 80 pounds.
• Was very concerned about the increased risk of complications with RNY. More staple lines means more chances for leaks!
• Hated the idea of the detached, unused portion of my stomach being left inside my body where it could develop ulcers, cancer, etc. and not be accessible through a simple endoscopy.
• Concerned about the long-term malabsorption. Sure, malabsorption is great when you want to absorb fewer calories and lose weight. Not so great years later when you are trying to maintain your weight and aren't getting all the Vitamins and minerals you need! (Side note: Now that I am at my goal and maintaining with my sleeve, it is a true struggle to get enough calories to not keep losing weight, just because of my restriction. I cannot IMAGINE trying to get in enough calories with restriction AND malabsorption.)
• Didn't like the idea of losing the use of my pyloric valve. And I was really weirded out by the idea that my pyloric valve would still be attached to my old stomach inside me and might be over there getting signals to open and close all the time when there was no actual food or liquid in that old stomach to pass through.
• Dumping syndrome. On the one hand, it seems like it might be a great way to cut out the sweets forever through what is essentially aversion therapy. On the other hand, I still wanted to be able to indulge in the occasional treat years down the road once I was maintaining. Plus, there's no guarantee that you WILL experience dumping, so relying on it for aversion therapy might not actually work.

My oldest sister had a bypass. My younger sister got a band. I was sleeved. We are in our 60's and are all doing well. Your success will depend upon your commitment. I am in my maintenance forever phase, even though I would like to lose just a few more to keep a bounce-back number that I am comfortable with.

At first, I worried about losing as much as possible as quickly as possible. Now, looking back at two years, I realize that this is more about improved health and a better quality of life than it is about numbers. No matter how much you lose, once you get past that first thirty pounds, you will begin to notice a difference in your mobility. Once you get past fifty pounds down, you can expect to feel better and have more energy.

Once I got about seventy pounds down, I actually felt like exercising and adding more movement to my day. Follow doctor's orders and stay determined. You will succeed no matter which surgery you have. And yes, there will be discouraging stalls from time to time. Just keep in mind that stalls are like lovers: Your first will probably not be your last. This ride is forever.