I have my first appointment on January 2nd with a surgeon. My doctor recommended this last February but because of insurance I have had to wait. My questions is how did you decide between the sleeve or bypass? The doctors office told me the doctor will make a recommendation but its really up to the patient. Also what questions should I ask that you wish you would have asked at your first appointment?

Despite what anyone might tell you it boils down to two things: how much EXCESS weight you want to lose and complicating factors.

Sleeve loses around 60% excess weight while bypass is around 70%. These are general numbers - either one could do better or worse depending on the person and the surgeon. You will not guarantee more weight loss if you choose the bypass.

Complicating factors - If you have GERD or heartburn now just get the bypass. For me I didn't have that, I wanted the less invasive of the two and I have meds I have to take for life so the bypass was out.

47 minutes ago, lvidacovich said:

Despite what anyone might tell you it boils down to two things: how much EXCESS weight you want to lose and complicating factors.

Sleeve loses around 60% excess weight while bypass is around 70%. These are general numbers - either one could do better or worse depending on the person and the surgeon. You will not guarantee more weight loss if you choose the bypass.

Complicating factors - If you have GERD or heartburn now just get the bypass. For me I didn't have that, I wanted the less invasive of the two and I have meds I have to take for life so the bypass was out.

Above is exactly correct - I decided to do the sleeve simple and seemed easier, Just made sense to me, Totally happy with it so far and was not that big of a deal the surgery,

there may be medical reasons why one or the other might be more appropriate for you (e.g., if you have GERD, bypass is a better choice as the sleeve can sometimes (not always - but sometimes) make that worse). But if you don't have any of those issues, then it's really up to you which way you want to go. Do a lot of research - and do a lot of reading on this site and others - until you feel informed enough to make a decision one way or the other. They're both good surgeries and people have had a lot of success with both. It may just come down to which one you feel more comfortable with.

I have GERD pre-surgery, so it was a no-brainer for me - bypass. If it weren't for that, I'm not sure which way I would have gone, although I've been very happy with my bypass.

I had to attend a seminar, prior to being seen by the weight loss doctors, that detailed out what the different surgeries would involve, including pros and cons for each and expectations. A couple items stood out to me for the bypass surgery that I didn't like, which were dumping syndrome and no ibuprofen. I believe dumping can happen with either the bypass or the sleeve, but from what they described it was more common with the bypass.

14 minutes ago, melmet42 said:

I had to attend a seminar, prior to being seen by the weight loss doctors, that detailed out what the different surgeries would involve, including pros and cons for each and expectations. A couple items stood out to me for the bypass surgery that I didn't like, which were dumping syndrome and no ibuprofen. I believe dumping can happen with either the bypass or the sleeve, but from what they described it was more common with the bypass.

The doctor I am going to offers an online seminar or in person, I did the online. I am open to either option but the bypass just seems so much more invasive.

58 minutes ago, melmet42 said:

I had to attend a seminar, prior to being seen by the weight loss doctors, that detailed out what the different surgeries would involve, including pros and cons for each and expectations. A couple items stood out to me for the bypass surgery that I didn't like, which were dumping syndrome and no ibuprofen. I believe dumping can happen with either the bypass or the sleeve, but from what they described it was more common with the bypass.

it's definitely more common with the bypass, but still, over half of us (supposedly) don't dump. And if you're a "dumper", you can control it by not eating a ton of sugar in one sitting. (I've never dumped so I have no experience with this, but I know most dumpers can eat *some* sugar - but just not a lot of it at once. Some people actually wanted the dumping feature to keep them from binge-ing on sweets and were disappointed when they found out they don't dump!

also, a lot of surgeons don't allow their sleeve patients to take ibuprofen, either - although I think it's more risky for bypass people.

Edited December 5, 20196 yr by catwoman7

Thank you ALL for your input on this subject. This was one of my questions for Group tomorrow, "How did the doctor determine that Gastric Bypass is a better surgery for me than the Sleeve?" Your answers were illuminating and I no longer have to ask that question. I have severe GERD so Bypass Surgery is definitely the surgery I need but "Dumping Syndrome" scares the crap out of me! I have had a similar thing occur when I take my medicines and haven't eaten anything. 20 minutes after my first meal the stomach empties too quickly into the small intestine and all the symptoms associated with "Dumping Syndrome" happen to me. It's VERY unpleasant, but not something I could ever see going to the hospital for, as apparently, some patients have with Dumping Syndrome. It's survivable. The thought of NEVER being able to eat ANYTHING with sugar is intimidating to me. Can I do that? If I can't do it now when I crave something sweet, how can I be sure that I can do it after Bypass surgery? I am committed to this surgery and I have LOADS of incentive to do everything within my power to make it successful, but with 4 months to go to surgery I am apprehensive about that.

23 minutes ago, SehorseGal said:

Thank you ALL for your input on this subject. This was one of my questions for Group tomorrow, "How did the doctor determine that Gastric Bypass is a better surgery for me than the Sleeve?" Your answers were illuminating and I no longer have to ask that question. I have severe GERD so Bypass Surgery is definitely the surgery I need but "Dumping Syndrome" scares the crap out of me! I have had a similar thing occur when I take my medicines and haven't eaten anything. 20 minutes after my first meal the stomach empties too quickly into the small intestine and all the symptoms associated with "Dumping Syndrome" happen to me. It's VERY unpleasant, but not something I could ever see going to the hospital for, as apparently, some patients have with Dumping Syndrome. It's survivable. The thought of NEVER being able to eat ANYTHING with sugar is intimidating to me. Can I do that? If I can't do it now when I crave something sweet, how can I be sure that I can do it after Bypass surgery? I am committed to this surgery and I have LOADS of incentive to do everything within my power to make it successful, but with 4 months to go to surgery I am apprehensive about that.

I also had bad GERD and Barrett's esophagus, so having bypass was a no brainer. I thought a lot about the sugar, but just decided that sugar was a small thing to give up in light of a healthy new life. Since being off sugar, I have had NO joint pain at all, which is amazing. Admittedly, I still have a tiny bit of sugar here and there - like 82% cacao covered almonds as a small treat. Or a tiny bit of pumpkin pie, but always with protein first to slow things down. But I don't desire the sugar any more and it really is no big deal. I am building a healthy lifestyle, and sugar just doesn't fit into that. I am also afraid of dumping, and so the bypass is indeed a deterrent to eating sugar.

I am very glad I had bypass - no regrets at all. I see that others with the sleeve often seem to have a revision to bypass later down the road. I don't want to go through this again, so I'm glad it's done, once and for all.

1 hour ago, SehorseGal said:

Thank you ALL for your input on this subject. This was one of my questions for Group tomorrow, "How did the doctor determine that Gastric Bypass is a better surgery for me than the Sleeve?" Your answers were illuminating and I no longer have to ask that question. I have severe GERD so Bypass Surgery is definitely the surgery I need but "Dumping Syndrome" scares the crap out of me! I have had a similar thing occur when I take my medicines and haven't eaten anything. 20 minutes after my first meal the stomach empties too quickly into the small intestine and all the symptoms associated with "Dumping Syndrome" happen to me. It's VERY unpleasant, but not something I could ever see going to the hospital for, as apparently, some patients have with Dumping Syndrome. It's survivable. The thought of NEVER being able to eat ANYTHING with sugar is intimidating to me. Can I do that? If I can't do it now when I crave something sweet, how can I be sure that I can do it after Bypass surgery? I am committed to this surgery and I have LOADS of incentive to do everything within my power to make it successful, but with 4 months to go to surgery I am apprehensive about that.

as has been mentioned elsewhere, not everyone dumps - over half of us supposedly do not. I've never dumped - and I know lots of other RNYers who've never dumped. And for those who do, you can avoid dumping by not pigging out on sugar.

most dumpers CAN eat sugar - just not a ton of it at one sitting. Which none of us should be doing anyway...dumpers or not!

My plan is to use as much sugar-free options as I can after surgery and see how that does. I already "dump" with too much lactose, so I'm not afraid of it. I just know that I'd rather not experience it. I have GERD too, so the bypass has been recommended to me, and that's what I'm preparing for.

The four months will fly right by as you prepare your mind, body and home for the new you! There are so many different tests and appointments that you'll have to have prior to surgery that there always seems to be something going on. Use that four months to wean yourself off of the things you can't have right after surgery, like sugar. Carbonated drinks have been one thing that I've had to wean myself off slowly. i'm down to 1 a day and in January I'll quit. This after being a complete soda drinker all day long back in August. If I can give up soda and sugar, I know you can give up the things that you currently crave most. Just take it one day at a time, one hour at a time if necessary. Before you know it, you've broken the physical addiction, and then you can work on the mental and emotional addiction.

We're all here to help you, so dig into the threads. You're on your way to a brand new you.