Hello!

Talk about a long process! I started out at Portsmouth Naval Hospital in their Bariatric clinic, they had a year long wait after you've been approved, due to there only being 1 surgeon. This was fine with me because you are required to have an appt every 6 weeks and make sure you're maintaining or losing weight. No problems, but with what happened in Puerto Rico, the only surgeon is being deployed. So now I'm heading to Bon Secours to have my surgery done by Dr. Gregory Adams. (If anyone had surgery with him or Bon Secours let me know your experience and story!)

My question is about which surgery to choose. So I started out at my highest of 358 this past January, I'm currently 329 and 5'8" (female, under 25).

I know the "gold standard" is the RNY, which I found out through my surgeon is actually reversible if something goes wrong....I think that's what has me rethinking about which surgery to choose. I had been dead set on the sleeve, because my mom had the RNY 10 years ago and while it was fine for the first few years, she now has to have iron infusions every 6 months because even with supplements her body doesn't absorb iron as it should. So I'm worried that I would have problems down the road with absorption.... But I know I have a lot to lose and most people recommend the RNY because of how much I have to lose. But I don't want to have a bunch of issues later on, which is why I like the sleeve, because nothing is bypassed.

Any thoughts, or personal advice??

Thanks!

Long term, 2 years plus, the weight loss between RNY and the Sleeve are about the same. The first year, you lose more with RNY, but it balances out in year 2.

The surgery you choose is completely person choice, you can be successful or fail with either.

As a young active person, my Dr suggested the sleeve, and I lost almost 200 pounds with it. How much weight you lose really depends on you and your choices not the surgery.

Good luck on choosing. There are literally hundreds of threads on this topic, try using the search feature and you will find plenty of discussions on it.

I chose to get the sleeve, for several reasons one of which is that with the RNY since you are rerouting things inside and are relying on more staples and sutures you are opening yourself for more issues as well as a issue named intususpeption which is something I have seen first hand and do not want! The sleeve keeps everything "original" except for the size of the stomach, that was my choice. I think that you need to sit down and look at the positives and negatives of both as well as the procedure itself and make the choice that is good and right for you. I am not going to advocate either since it is a personal choice. When I had my surgery I went in thinking that I wanted the band, but the Dr highly advised against it, I heeded their warning and chose the sleeve. Your Dr may have an aversion to a particular surgery for various reasons. If you are unsure schedule some time to sit down and talk to them to help you make the correct choice. Good luck!!!

PS we live in the same area, and my SIL is in management for Bon Secours and says that you are in great hands! She was trying to get me to go have my surgery there vs where I had mine done.

Edited October 12, 20178 yr by Bhageerah

I went back and forth and have chosen the bypass for the following reasons: one, it is the gold standard and there are years of data and research, two, it is reversible if necessary, and three, I can't bear the thought of my stomach being cut off and thrown away. More intense surgery, yes - but the risk of surgery is far outweighed by the risk of being fat. I like immediate gratification and I want to see more weight loss. My Dr told me 69% of excess weight lost for the sleeve and 79% for the bypass.

Surgery is 11/1.

Well what happened to me was that I wanted the sleeve, but i had severe GERD and my esophagus was already hurt because of it, so my Surgeon advised me against it because I most likely would have to get a revision. This was not what I was expecting but I didn't want to risk going through this surgery twice. Today I'm almost two months post op and really happy with my RNY.

So you do your research and make your own decision but also listen to your doctor's advice because they know better.

Unless you have pre-existing GERD, you should strongly consider the sleeve. Even though it isn't reversible, it can be turned into a bypass later if necessary.

You are young - any children in your future? Because the bypass will take a toll on your body nutrient wise, especially during pregnancy.

And that unused stomach can get reflux and ulcers - how is that to be treated, can't get medicine to it orally. My nurse at my PCP - now has this 7yrs out from bypass plus B12 deficiency.

Edited October 13, 20178 yr by Sosewsue61

this has to be a totally "my own choice" surgery, otherwise you will not be happy with it. remember that this surgery is only a TOOL and is not a magic wand for weight loss and permanency. we each have to be happy with the choice we make. I have allergies to alot of the vitamins and minerals that the RNY requires so I choose the sleeve, however I have a hiatal hernia and my surgeon was very concerned about that being an issue. so he had me take 2 tests (and endoscopy, and a barium swallow) to determine if I was a candidate for the sleeve. dr finally said he had no probs with the sleeve, so wahoo!, I get to have it done in just a few days after 2 years of praying, pondering, and completing the pre-op program. this is all to say that you need to do the same.....work the situation. see what is best for you. look at both the RNY and the sleeve. what are the pros and cons of both. which one will work the best for you? then make your choice.

I chose the sleeve as the right choice for me. This is a VERY personal choice, and you need to look at what are the important things to YOU. The sleeve and RNY will both get you to within sniffing distance of your goal weight, but the difference in this aspect is time to goal. The RNY is faster to goal, the Sleeve will still get you there - one takes 1-2 years, the other 1.5-4 in most cases.

The RNY reroutes your digestive tract, so there will be malabsorption that can cause problems with certain medications and supplements. The Sleeve leaves your digestive tract in place and in use, so there is less of an issue on this front. This was the main reason that I chose the Sleeve - it was what I Wanted to do. I have lost a substantial amount (from a 5X to a 2X shirt, from a 53 to a 37 waist) in the last 2 years (Surgiversary is 10/21) and I am making the additional changes to finish the job (XL shirt and a 34 waist is the Goal). I am VERY happy with my decision, and You need to be Happy with yours!!!

8 hours ago, Sosewsue61 said:

You are young - any children in your future? Because the bypass will take a toll on your body nutrient wise, especially during pregnancy.

And that unused stomach can get reflux and ulcers - how is that to be treated, can't get medicine to it orally. My nurse at my PCP - now has this 7yrs out from bypass plus B12 deficiency.

Reflux after bypass is rare. It's common with the sleeve. I do have an ulcer, but they just treat it with a PPI (like prilosec) and something like Mylanta to coat the stomach. I believe when they appear, they're usually near the stoma (opening between stomach and small intestine)

Not to sound rude but you are missing the point - in the UNUSED stomach she has the ulcer.

Sosewsue61

Thank you very much for mentioning this possible complication (ulcer in the unused stomach). As much as I've been on this board and done research elsewhere, this was the very first time I've heard of this. It makes SENSE, I just never thought of it!

It would take a special procedure to even get in there and LOOK at the unused portion of stomach, so how many bypass patients have this problem and don't even know it? Scary.

I wish they would figure out an effective procedure that wasn't so full of potential complications (the sleeve isn't perfect, either). Sigh...

Unjury.

I take pantoprazol regularly ( Protonix) so I am nervous that the sleeve will make existing heartburn, etc problems worse.