I am looking for personal experiences. What did you choose bypass over sleeve and are you happy with your choice?

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In Canada where I live we are not given the choice the doctors once in decide what's best. The will do the bypass over the sleeve due to the fact that for if in the future it becomes medically necessary they are able to reattach the stomach. That is the reasoning in all my meetings I have had. I have yet to receive my date for surgery but I have done 2 preliminary meetings and I go again on the 18th of this month and if my Iron levels are where they need to be I will get an appointment with the anesthesiologist in prep for surgery. Excited and terrified all in one.

I chose bypass cause with the amount of weight I had to lose- I wanted the double effect of malabsorption and restriction. A large part of why I did not want VSG was because of the large possibility of reflux. It was never an issue for me before and I didn't want to come out Of surgery with new issues. I've lost 137# so far, zero complications . I'm happy with my choice.

@@dhrguru Congrats!! I'm going for RNY as well. I pray, I have no complications as well. I'm starting out at 255. I have diabetes, gerd, amongst other things so that's why for me. As I'm typing this, I remember you asked for personal experiences and I'm still pre op... Lol

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I chose bypass cause with the amount of weight I had to lose- I wanted the double effect of malabsorption and restriction. A large part of why I did not want VSG was because of the large possibility of reflux. It was never an issue for me before and I didn't want to come out Of surgery with new issues. I've lost 137# so far, zero complications . I'm happy with my choice.

That's awesome! Congrats! Would you mind sharing SW & CW?

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@@dhrguru Congrats!! I'm going for RNY as well. I pray, I have no complications as well. I'm starting out at 255. I have diabetes, gerd, amongst other things so that's why for me. As I'm typing this, I remember you asked for personal experiences and I'm still pre op... Lol

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That's fine, still tells me why you chose the type you did. I was so sure I wanted the sleeve and my surgeon suggested considering bypass! Now I'm not sure but I have time to think about it!

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I was set on a sleeve to start as well... Lol

I am 3 years post-op RNY gastric bypass surgery. I choose RNY because I had severe acid reflux prior to surgery. The sleeve will only make this condition worse. Also RNY gastric bypass is almost the gold standard. It has been around a long time and most of the bugs have been worked out.

I chose RNY because of the amount of weight I need to lose. My surgeon agreed with me so on the 24th I will

Be getting RNY!!!

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I hope you don't mind me weighing in, although I got a sleeve. When I was making the decision my surgeon suggested the sleeve would be best for me for surgical access reasons. People carry their fat in different places and sometimes it can make it hard for the surgeon to get to the bits they need to operate on. For instance, she told me it can be difficult to do a RNY on men who carry their fat in front like a pregnant belly (no offence meant to any men who are that shape, it's just so you know what I mean). I carry mine differently, more like a tyre (if you know what I mean lol) and still she suggested the sleeve would be better for me for this reason. Hope that makes sense!

Jo x

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a few reasons - I wanted the malabsorption (I also started at 300+ lbs), I had moderate GERD pre-surgery and did not want to risk it getting any worse (it completely went away with surgery), and I liked the fact the bypass has been around for a long time and there's a lot of research on it - so they know what they're doing.

I've been very happy with it. Other than two strictures early out (which are an easy fix), I've had no problems with it.

I was set on the sleeve and after my first appointment with the Bariatrician, they suggested I change to bypass because I had severe gerd. They were worried that if I had the sleeve, they would have no where to go with PPi meds.

Then after doing more research, I was thrilled with the idea knowing how much weight I wanted to lose.

I started at 310 and I am currently 158, down 152lbs.

Best thing I ever did. I have had no complications.

i chose bypass because i felt the sleeve was more invasive, losing most of my stomach scared me. my surgeon also says in the long run you are more successful keeping the weight off years down the road with the bypass. i am 3 weeks post op and have had zero complications, sw 272 cw 235. good luck!

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I'm going to copy and paste something I wrote a couple weeks ago explaining my reasons for choosing the RNY over the sleeve. Hope my perspective helps in some way.

I did consider sleeve and would have happily gotten one if my surgeon had had some reason for me not to do the rny. But rny seemed like a better option for me based on a lot of different things.

- There is much more long-term data on it.

- It's considered the "gold standard" of wls.

- My bmi was very high at the beginning of the program... about 67. From everything I've observed/researched and learned in the surgeon's seminars, those with higher bmis tend to lose more during the honeymoon phase and continue to lose more/easier in the maintenance phase. I had a looong way to go to get to my goal.

- I wanted the accountability of the rny. Many sleevers I talked to simply didn't have dumping, or were able to tolerate slider foods even in the weight-loss phase. I wanted the most strict accountability either surgery could offer, and that meant the rny.

- Many sleevers I talked to years out that had started very heavy as I did were not really happy with the larger amount they were able to eat, how easy it was to eat bad foods they should not eat, etc. The rny offers more restriction. True, I can stretch out my pouch just like a sleever can stretch out their sleeve but it seemed to me (and statistics back this up) that rny-ers had more restriction farther out than sleevers, and I wanted that.

- I also knew a lot of sleevers who, for whatever reason, wanted revisions years later and couldn't get them because of insurance, etc. I could mess up my rny too, of course, but I wanted the smallest chance possible, and the biggest bang for my buck.

- I saw many sleevers, particularly ones with high bmis, entering maintenance with 50, 60, 80 pounds left to lose to reach goal. Of course, this wonderful tool will help you reach goal after maintenance has started with enough work and dedication regardless of the type of wls, but since I had such a long way to go and I wanted to lose weight as quickly as possible to give me a good head start on my life-long road to health, the rny seemed a better option. As it is, I'm not yet in maintenance and I'm about 45 pounds away from my goal. Chipping away.

- The only arguments people had against the rny did not really matter to me at all. I have to take Vitamins for the rest of my life? Okay, no problem, most people probably should be anyway. There's a slightly higher risk with the rny? Okay, it's really a tiny extra risk, and with all the added benefits, entirely worth it. It didn't scare me at all. I may deal with malabsorption and other complications? Well yes... but so may the sleeve. The different percentages of risk were so close anyway, it didn't worry me at all to take that leap for what I perceived to be my best chance at getting the best head start I could, which would not only greatly improve my health (it has!) and greatly improve my self-esteem (it has!) but also greatly reduce the difficulties of everyday life (it has!!) as soon as I possibly could. I'm 24 and I left college two years ago because I was so sick. I've been sitting here fixing my body and essentially saving my life, and I really don't want to and can't wait another second to start my life. I'm enrolled and going back to school in about 3 weeks, and I look and feel pretty much normal now. I've had no complications, and I've lost 172 pounds since the day of surgery less than a year ago. This was my dream, and it felt like a silly and ridiculous fantasy before. But here I am, and everything I could have possibly wished for has come true for me. AND BONUS! It only gets better from here!

For all these reasons and many more that are more personal and harder to explain, I would choose the rny all over again, and again, and again...

I went in my first consultation asking for sleeve but had terrible reflux that day and mentioned it to the Dr. She said sleeve can make reflux much worse and strongly recommended bypass. Plus I had a lot to lose and was Type 2 diabetic. It took me a few weeks to get my head around the idea but 14 months post-op, and at goal weight, I am extremely glad I went with bypass.

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I choose bypass because my gastroenterologist suggested it due to a combination of hiatal hernia and previous lap band. The weight loss is slightly better on average, and I like that it would make eating sweet foods harder. The biggest reason was the increased pressure in the esophagus that the sleeve has versus the bypass. I didn't want to feel that pressure I had with the band. I am pretty happy with my decision, but I have no idea what the sleeve would have been like. Type 2 diabetes and gastric reflux and excellent reasons to choose RNY. A sweet tooth also pushed me towards RNY. I definitely can't overindulge on sweets, but I can still enjoy the occasional small servings.

My practice also seems to push the sleeve, so I figured the bypass might be a better choice (I was annoyed they didn't even suggest RNY at the initial appointment.) Sleeve is the new, hot thing. It hasn't been time tested the same way, are though all indications show it is comparable to the bypass in weight loss. I would just rather have the most studied surgery, and my surgeon was top tier so I didn't really face any additional surgical complication risk with bypass.

Oh, the chance of me getting a revision with RNY is less. That is a big reason I went with RNY. This is my 3rd and hopefully last wls.

As far as actual experience, my weight loss wasn't very fast, about 62 pounds at 5 months, from 282 to 219. I am on target, but it isn't as fast as some people. I am a woman and my metabolism has started to slow. I definitely think I would have lost weight quicker when I was younger. I have had minimal restriction issues for the past month. Sometimes I doubt they even did RNY and mistakenly did the sleeve (jk) except that I have mild dumping syndrome with sweets. Mostly just a little dizziness and sweating, enough to earn me, but not enough to compromise my function. My Vitamin levels/bloodwork were all fine. I take a lot of pills without any issues, although I only take chewable Vitamins. Vitamin pills made me feel sick pre surgery, so I am not going to risk it. I even take ibuprofen a few times a month, although I have to take it with nexium. I am able to eat most foods now, including pizza occasionally. I do tend to pick bypass friendly foods on a daily basis. It is just nice to know I can eat out socially without too much planning, although I did have mild dumping after Thai food yesterday. I think they used a coconut cream product for a Soup that had sugar.

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Edited August 11, 201610 yr by NewAngela