Too Big for Sleeve?

[simplysmile 10]

Hey guys,

Just some details: I've only just met with the surgeon a couple weeks ago and am still completing my appointments and tests. I am female and currently weigh 375lbs and am 5'5. My surgeon said I would have great success with either sleeve or bypass with the bypass yielding most weightloss.

I am still very unsure as to which one I want, but am leaning more towards the sleeve since the surgery doesn't seem as intense as bypass. I am nervous, however that I won't have significant weightloss with the sleeve since I am starting at such a high weight. I totally understand I will need to put in work for either one and everybody's body is different. Am I over concerned? Any thoughts or opinions? Thoughts on Sleeve vs. Bypass in terms of surgery and recovery? I truly appreciate any help and insight!

[catwoman7 10,879]

we have people on here who've had great success with both surgeries. Yes, statistically the bypass yields somewhat greater weight loss than the sleeve (but we're talking 70% vs 65%, so it's not THAT significant), but stats are stats - you have people who fall on either side of those percentages - including people who lose 100% of their excess weight, and people who lose 30 or 40 lbs and then gain it all back. Honestly, I think your ultimate success has a lot more to do with how committed you are to your plan than which surgery you have.

[catwoman7 10,879]

52 minutes ago, simplysmile said:

Hey guys,

Just some details: I've only just met with the surgeon a couple weeks ago and am still completing my appointments and tests. I am female and currently weigh 375lbs and am 5'5. My surgeon said I would have great success with either sleeve or bypass with the bypass yielding most weightloss.

I am still very unsure as to which one I want, but am leaning more towards the sleeve since the surgery doesn't seem as intense as bypass. I am nervous, however that I won't have significant weightloss with the sleeve since I am starting at such a high weight. I totally understand I will need to put in work for either one and everybody's body is different. Am I over concerned? Any thoughts or opinions? Thoughts on Sleeve vs. Bypass in terms of surgery and recovery? I truly appreciate any help and insight!

oh - and recovery is pretty much the same for both surgeries. So are the eating plans.

there are some medical conditions that would make one surgery more appropriate than the other (e.g, people who have GERD - bypass is a better option for them), but if you don't have any of those conditions, then it's really going to come down to personal preference. I love my bypass and would make the same choice if I had to make that decision today, but we have sleevers who are just as enamored with their sleeve and would choose THAT again if they had to make the decision today. It's a tough decision...but both are good surgeries and you'll find people who've had great success with both.

[Queen ApisM 426]

Hi there. I started our roughly about where you are starting, and went with the sleeve. I am still very early on (6.5 months out) compared to others, but can comment on my experience. I'd always preferred the sleeve, but talked myself into the bypass based on online reading because I was so heavy to begin with. I was never excited about the option, until one of the surgeons I consulted with pushed me (in a good way) to reconsider why I was doing it. Obviously it was going to be my decision, but he emphasized that the statistics are just statistics, and at the end of the day it is a tool that is only going to work - no matter the surgery - if you use it properly. Neither surgery is a magic bullet. That really resonated with me, so I reverted back to my original preference of the sleeve. I would up switching practices, and when I went to the new one, they were perfectly happy with the sleeve as long as I didn't have GERD. I had to get an endoscopy to confirm that was the case.

Again, I am still in the honeymoon period, but I am not regretting this choice one bit. I'm really happy with my weight loss to date (80 lbs since the 2 week pre op diet) and I feel amazing. Honestly, I feel lighter than what I actually weigh and better than I have in ages and ages. Even if I never get to a normal BMI, given how heavy I started, even getting to "just" overweight would be game changing. And, I am comfortable with the changes I made to my body, because it was what I preferred among the options I had available to me.

I hope some longer-term sleevers who started at similar weights will comment. Some have had incredible success!

Edited February 21, 2022 by Queen ApisM

[lizonaplane 1,605]

I agree with everyone who says that the difference in the "statistical" weight loss averages isn't much, compared to the huge variation among patients with either surgery. Either way, it's up to you to do the work.

If you have significant GERD, probably bypass is best.

If you think you won't be good at taking your Vitamins, sleeve MIGHT be better, as you are less likely with sleeve to have Vitamin deficiencies and may need more supplements.

[AmazonSleeved 25]

I had the sleeve at 538 - I've lost 94 lbs in the last 3 months.