Hi I'm new here , I will be having wls this year , I'm still undecided if I'm going to have the sleeve or bypass, my bmi is 42 I carry most of my weight on my tummy , I've seen alot of people who have had the sleeve then go and have further surgery for the bypass , I know it's a tool but do people tend to keep the weight off more with the bypass ? It states with the bypass you struggle to absorb vitamins so you have to take vitamins for the rest of your life , does this work ? As I don't understand how you can't absorb vitamins from food but they give you tablets? Sorry for all the questions I'm really stuck and don't know which surgery to choose ! It also worries me with drinking liquids as I drink 3lr water a day can i do this with the bypass ?any people have success stories with the sleeve that has kept their weight off for 3+ years ?

I had sleeve, and I'm only 5 months out, so I can't speak to maintaining yet.

You will most likely have to take vitamins with either surgery (depending on your surgeon) but there is more risk of vitamin deficiency with bypass.

I looked into whether sleeve or bypass patients were more likely to lose more weight or keep it off longer, and it's really hard to tell because while OVERALL people with bypass may do a bit better, there is so much variation in either surgery with how much you lose and how much you keep off. I would not recommend doing the sleeve and then later getting the bypass, unless it's for something like GERD. You rarely lose a significant amount with a revision.

Yes, you can drink 3L of water after bypass or sleeve; you just can't drink it all in one gulp. At first you will have to take tiny tiny sips, but over a few months it will get better. For me, I can drink a few gulps at once but can no longer drink a whole bottle of water by guzzling it all at once. It's something you have to get used to for either sleeve or bypass.

the stats are slightly better for bypass (for losing and maintaining weight), but they're not particularly significant. You'll find people on here who've been very successful with both surgeries (and unfortunately, you'll also find some who didn't do so well..). Honestly, your success is far more dependent on how closely you follow your program than it is on which surgery you choose. If you're willing to work hard and follow your clinic's rules, you'll do well with either surgery.

you'll have to take vitamins with either surgery, too. There are greater consequences if you slack off on vitamin-taking with the bypass, but that shouldn't be an issue if you keep on top of those. And again, you'll have to take them with either surgery (there's one person on here who doesn't have to take them anymore because her labs are always really good (she had sleeve), but that's kind of unusual...most of us have to take them for life, even sleevers)

there are some medical conditions that make one surgery more appropriate for your situation than the other. For example, if you have acid reflux issues, bypass is the better option, since there's a risk that sleeve could make that worse (whereas bypass usually improves if not outright cures it). But if you don't have any medical conditions that would make one surgery a better option, then it really comes down to personal preference. They're both good surgeries.

with either surgery you probably won't be able to drink fluids as quickly as you do now (it's more like sip - sip - sip), but for most of us, that is temporary. I don't think I drink any slower now than I did before I had surgery.

Thankyou for responding and giving me information, it's a great help ?

5 hours ago, Ellie90 said:

Hi I'm new here , I will be having wls this year , I'm still undecided if I'm going to have the sleeve or bypass, my bmi is 42 I carry most of my weight on my tummy , I've seen alot of people who have had the sleeve then go and have further surgery for the bypass , I know it's a tool but do people tend to keep the weight off more with the bypass ? It states with the bypass you struggle to absorb Vitamins so you have to take vitamins for the rest of your life , does this work ? As I don't understand how you can't absorb vitamins from food but they give you tablets? Sorry for all the questions I'm really stuck and don't know which surgery to choose ! It also worries me with drinking liquids as I drink 3lr Water a day can i do this with the bypass ?any people have success stories with the sleeve that has kept their weight off for 3+ years ?

@lizonaplane & @catwoman Responded to most of your questions already so I will just add a comment to your question about absorbing vitamins. In bypass the malabsorption rate of everything you ingest both food and supplements is approximately 11%. So the reason we take vitamins is to supplement the vitamins and minerals that the bypass doesn't aborb. You don't have malabsorption with the sleeve. It's strictly a restrictive surgery whereas the bypass is both restrictive and malabsorptive.

Hope this helps with your decision! Best wishes!

It's a tough, personal decision. Both WLS's are good options. I was going to choose the bypass but two of my other doctors suggested sleeve as "less radical" so I did that instead. It worked. It resolved all of my comorbidities: sleep apnea, migraines, GERD, acid reflux. I have had no problem absorbing vitamins from food without supplements. But bypass is good too, I'm not trying to influence your decision. I was about a 42 BMI as well pre-WLS.

I had sleeve, and I'm only 5 months out, so I can't speak to maintaining yet.
You will most likely have to take vitamins with either surgery (depending on your surgeon) but there is more risk of vitamin deficiency with bypass.
I looked into whether sleeve or bypass patients were more likely to lose more weight or keep it off longer, and it's really hard to tell because while OVERALL people with bypass may do a bit better, there is so much variation in either surgery with how much you lose and how much you keep off. I would not recommend doing the sleeve and then later getting the bypass, unless it's for something like GERD. You rarely lose a significant amount with a revision.
Yes, you can drink 3L of water after bypass or sleeve; you just can't drink it all in one gulp. At first you will have to take tiny tiny sips, but over a few months it will get better. For me, I can drink a few gulps at once but can no longer drink a whole bottle of water by guzzling it all at once. It's something you have to get used to for either sleeve or bypass.

I'm not having my surgery until the 31st of May 2022 but I have found vitamin patches that actually were recommended by my doctor. I started using them now so I can get used to them and see if there was any side effects from them. They're great and they're not that expensive. I get a 30 day supply for 18 bucks on Amazon. Give it a try. It's less pills. And their recommended. So just saying wish me luck

I'm not having my surgery until the 31st of May 2022 but I have found vitamin patches that actually were recommended by my doctor. I started using them now so I can get used to them and see if there was any side effects from them. They're great and they're not that expensive. I get a 30 day supply for 18 bucks on Amazon. Give it a try. It's less pills. And their recommended. So just saying wish me luck

I forgot to add I'm getting the bypass because I have severe heartburn as it is. My doctor told me that getting the sleeve would give me more heartburn and I sure didn't want that.