[MINI GASTRIC BYPASS THREAD – PLEASE CONSIDER YOUR SURGERY AND EXPERIENCES MAY NOT APPLY TO MINI GASTRIC BYPASS PATIENTS]

Hi all BP’ers and lurkers out there; especially hi to everyone who had the mini gastric bypass (AKA the one-anastomosis gastric bypass/single-anastomosis gastric bypass/omega loop gastric bypass)

It’s my surgiversary!

I can’t believe it’s already been a year. But what a year it has been. Man. I wanted to share a lot of thoughts about my journey – there’s not a ton of MGB patients out there yet, and especially not in the US.

I’ll admit I’ve been working on this for a while, because I want to share the good word about the MGB and contribute some of the things I simply cannot find out there. Well, now I know, at least how it’s been the first year for myself. So that’s my small contribution.

Below, I’ll post the following posts individually so it’s easy to browse for anyone new:

• The surgery: what is it, how does it work, what does science say about weight loss and complications with MGB?
• My journey to weight loss surgery
• My weight journey for a year after the mini gastric bypass
• My diet and calories – stages + what does a typical day look like after a year?
• Exercise – what and when and how much?
• Alcohol and MGB
• What I wish they had told me prior to surgery
• Setting a goal
• Why I think you should consider the MGB
• What it’s like being a mini gastric bypass patient on BariatricPal – what I found useful, and why I needed a pause from participating on the forum
• What now?

I hope you’ll find some of this enjoyable.

Edited December 7, 20214 yr by Guest

12 hours ago, MiniGastricBypassDude said:

Thanks Hope your journey is going forward nicely!

Well it is slow and steady, so hanging there ?

Almost end of month 2 and I think I'll end up losing about 10 to 11 pounds this month. It's slow compared to others but I think it's fine. It could be because I had lost almost 25 pounds before surgery. Post surgery it'll be another 28 to 29ish. So I think I am getting there. Only 1 major stall for about 2 to 3 weeks and it's going down little by little, so I think it's nice ?

Have a follow up appt on Feb 1st, so will figure out if any dietary changes are needed.

12 hours ago, MiniGastricBypassDude said:

Generally, bypass length with the MGB has decreased, though - they find people lose weight great with 150 cm bypass, but with less chance of mineral deficiencies.

That makes sense. I think RYN it's lesser than that. Though I completely forgot to ask my surgeon how much was mine. ??‍♀️??‍♀️

12 hours ago, MiniGastricBypassDude said:

You know what the weirdest thing is? People you know passing by you on the street, not recognizing you. It has happened more than ten times now.

LMFAO ??

Weird, bizarre and all sorts of crazy. Well then, may be it's time you ought to say "Hi" to them ?

Edited January 29, 20224 yr by DaisyAndSunshine

Thank you kindly for all the information and your openness. I’ve re-read your posts several times over the past few weeks, as it’s such an important decision to make, and am scheduled for a MGB on February 24th. Ready for a new start!

On 2/9/2022 at 6:10 AM, HuskyMommy said:

Thank you kindly for all the information and your openness. I’ve re-read your posts several times over the past few weeks, as it’s such an important decision to make, and am scheduled for a MGB on February 24th. Ready for a new start!

HI! How did I miss this one?! Please update us

Oh, and ask your surgeon for how long he plans on making your bypass, I wish I had talked to mine about it (I got exactly what I wanted, but I guess that was luck )

Small update - this is why I try to tell people you don't have to get to BMI25 to be at goal. I'm at BMI27 and I feel perfect (for the first time ever).

1 hour ago, MiniGastricBypassDude said:

HI! How did I miss this one?! Please update us

Oh, and ask your surgeon for how long he plans on making your bypass, I wish I had talked to mine about it (I got exactly what I wanted, but I guess that was luck )

I’m having a revision from VSG to MGB. How long should it be for optimum success?

2 hours ago, HuskyMommy said:

I’m having a revision from VSG to MGB. How long should it be for optimum success?

Probably 150 cm will be exactly where you want to be, or 180 max. That's 5-6 feet. Studies do not show longer is always better, it's more like 150 will be exactly right for most, but 200-250 cm for BMIs over 45 or 50.

Much appreciated! I’ll jot that down. You are looking fabulous by the way. I’ll keep you posted following surgery in a few weeks. Thanks so much!

On 02/11/2022 at 00:03, MiniGastricBypassDude said:

Small update - this is why I try to tell people you don't have to get to BMI25 to be at goal. I'm at BMI27 and I feel perfect (for the first time ever).

You look fantastic!! ?
I love your mindset, I have tried to surround myself with a lot of body positivity/neutrality pre-op and more importantly post-op, and I am genuinely already liking what I see in the mirror at BMI 30. So what if it’s not “ideal” (yet)? My surgeon is happy, I am happy, and I look damn cute in jeans!!! ?
I don’t think I’m done losing yet at 5.5 months po but I’m happy already.. If only I could have told my previous self all about this. ?

Small update - this is why I try to tell people you don't have to get to BMI25 to be at goal. I'm at BMI27 and I feel perfect (for the first time ever).

You look amazing. [emoji1303]

Small update - this is why I try to tell people you don't have to get to BMI25 to be at goal. I'm at BMI27 and I feel perfect (for the first time ever).

You look amazing. [emoji1303]

Small update - this is why I try to tell people you don't have to get to BMI25 to be at goal. I'm at BMI27 and I feel perfect (for the first time ever).

You look amazing. [emoji1303]

I know this is an older post but it was so well done I had to comment. I'm having my POS band removed very soon I hate it. It doesn't work long term etc,, The first band was in 2008 and redone in 2014 since then all weight is back. 380 right now.

Question? Why do I read all the bad things here about MGB? stalls, pain, GERD, ulcers, and can never use aspirin again? I chew a baby aspirin every day 83mg for my heart...MGB seems to be the best overall procedure. Thought maybe of the sleeve but heard even worse things about it.

I'm confused as to what to do next as the Band has not proven a long-term solution for me. I'm 58 and don't want to go through this again.

Also, does the stomach still produce hunger hormone which is removed with the Sleeve?

Thanks and great post!

On 10/31/2023 at 6:10 PM, Edward said:

I know this is an older post but it was so well done I had to comment. I'm having my POS band removed very soon I hate it. It doesn't work long term etc,, The first band was in 2008 and redone in 2014 since then all weight is back. 380 right now.

Question? Why do I read all the bad things here about MGB? stalls, pain, GERD, ulcers, and can never use aspirin again? I chew a baby aspirin every day 83mg for my heart...MGB seems to be the best overall procedure. Thought maybe of the sleeve but heard even worse things about it.

I'm confused as to what to do next as the Band has not proven a long-term solution for me. I'm 58 and don't want to go through this again.

Also, does the stomach still produce hunger hormone which is removed with the Sleeve?

Thanks and great post!

Hi Edward,

The original thread starter left the forum ages ago, but I'll try to answer being veteran MGB patient now well into maintenance.

Regarding "bad things". Honestly, EVERY bariatric surgery option comes with issues from mild to (thankfully rarer) serious. It's worth remembering that people on forums like this mostly ask questions when they think things are going wrong or are looking for reassurance. Stalls are common for ALL procedures. GERD is common in the sleeve but not everyone gets it. Pain? Well yeah, it's major surgery so expect it to hurt. Your body has to recover from about five deep stab wounds, being inflated, and then having the stomach cut apart and intestines rearranged. That will take time to recover from! What I think is surprising is how FAST the body recovers considering what it goes through. And if, like me, you have a hiatal hernia repair at the same time, it's another level of pain to wade through, but it does improve.

And I take ibuprofen and aspirin. I was never told "never again". I don't take it frequently, but when I have to, I take it. Nothing horrible has happened, and I AM prone to ulcers. To combat my ulcers, I take Pantoprazole. No biggie.

As for the hunger, it seems different for everyone across all procedures. My hunger came back about six months in. The restriction remains though, and some things have remained permanently off the menu, like coconut milk/cream and more than one bite of bread or potatoes. It's different for everyone, but I really am glad I got the MGB/Omega Loop. Worked a treat, I lost almost 120% of my excess body fat, and my lab results are all great so the vitamin intake hasn't been an issue.

Thanks for the response. I saw the doctor and discussed options and will go with Sleeve.

2 surgeries, one to remove the band and heal and 2nd 3 months after for Sleeve. He admitted that some doctors do the surgery all at once but cautioned that scar tissue can be problematic.

Think I'll start a new thread about Band to Sleeve. Thanks

On 12/7/2021 at 12:37 AM, Guest said:

The surgery: what is it, how does it work, what does science say about weight loss and complications with MGB?

What is it?
There’s nothing ‘mini’ about the MGB. The name was given by Dr. Rutledge who invented it in 1997 to describe its simpler configuration compared to Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

Basically, the stomach is divided and a long, narrow pouch is created (a little like the sleeve), but the rest of the stomach is left in place (like with RNY). A loop of the small intestine is then connected to the pouch, and that’s it.

There’s one connection point – one anastomosis – and unlike the sleeve, the food travels directly down into the intestine, as the pyloric valve is bypassed. The bypass is anywhere from 150cm – 350cm (3 to 9 feet), though recently most surgeons do 150cm to avoid malnutrition later on.

Here’s a diagram:

How does it work?
As with all bariatric surgery, there are things we know and things we don’t know. We obviously feel full faster due to the smaller stomach, but because it’s ‘open’ in the bottom to the intestine, and this anastomosis is not especially narrow, we can usually eat pretty large amounts fairly soon after surgery.

My personal experience is that I’ve only felt I ‘had no more room’ a few times, and always with minced meat, weirdly enough.

The big trick is that you feel satisfied very quickly, because the food lands undigested pretty far down the intestine. It’s like the feeling after a huge Christmas dinner. Technically, I could eat more, but I feel stuffed (and satisfied). So I don’t.

We have at least 3-4x the malabsorption of RNY, so there’s some calories being flushed right out. Personally, I can see when I eat a higher-fat meal that some of it goes through undigested (sorry for theTMI).

How much do you lose?
Unlike what people think, there are tons of studies out there documenting that weight loss is generally greater after MGB than after sleeve and RNY. Not a single study out there shows less weight loss with MGB when comparing MGB and RNY.

Excess Weight Loss (EWL) ranges from mid-60s % EWL to the 80s after one year (a few studies show even higher WL, but those are generally from cohorts of fairly low-BMI study populations).

All-in-all, weight loss is excellent and looks like it’s long-term durable in the studies. Especially when compared to the sleeve.

Complications?
For some reason, there’s a ‘feeling’ among American bariatric surgeons that MGB carries a higher risk of stomach cancer. This is not true, and it has been studied. A few patients experience bile reflux, but this is a lesser concern with the Spanish ‘anti-reflux stitch’ most MGB surgeons now use. Mine did as well, and while I suffered heavily from GERD prior to surgery, this is no longer a problem.

Long-term, malnutrition is an issue, so take your Vitamins. Think of vitamins as being generally a good idea for sleevers, mandatory in the beginning for RNY’ers and then see how your labs develop as the years pass, to very important for MGB, also long-term, and life-or-death for our duodenal switch friends. This reflects the malabsorption – none in sleeve, a little in RNY, a moderate-to-significant amount in MGB, and a lot in DS.

Thanks for the elaborating the entire journey! A big massive congratulations on your success that has been inspiring... That was a brilliant read and it mirrored my journey too to a large extent. I'm now 6 months post op and I have lost about 29kg or 64lbs in total. I feel like a different person altogether! I have more energy and my knee pain is virtually nonexistent. I have another 36lbs to go and I'm not bothered about how soon this happens or it happens at all! I chose mini gastric bypass for the same reason that you mentioned and I have no food intolerances or dumping. I don't get these contemptuous looks when I go to the gym or a yoga class anymore... I'm not self conscious when I go clothes shopping either. I don't really feel like I've had a surgery on many occasions as I have had little or no issues post op.