Sleeve or Bypass Regrets?

[maintenanceman 287]

Do you ever regret getting the kind of surgery you did? I'm a sleever, and my weight loss pace is great. But I can't help having a little FOMO, wondering if I would be doing even better with a bypass.

[catwoman7 11,285]

bypass here. Zero regrets. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Best decision I ever made.

[Smanky 757]

I had originally wanted a sleeve but was promptly talked out of it by my surgeon because of my pre-existing GERD. I was daunted for about half a day before contacting my surgeon to tell him I'd take his advice and have the bypass instead. Absolutely zero regrets, this was the right procedure for me.

Don't give in to FOMO. FOMO is silly! There are SO many sleevers on here with fantastic long term results. If it wasn't for my pre-surgery GERD, I might have been one of them and just as happy as I am right now. Both surgeries are super-effective tools.

[BigSue 1,434]

I had gastric bypass. I had been leaning toward the sleeve, but my surgeon recommended bypass due to my extremely high BMI and I went with it. I think it was the right decision. The advantage of the sleeve, though, is that you can get a revision to bypass or duodenal switch. Like so many things in life, there are pros and cons to both, and you just have to go with the best decision you can make with the information you have at the time.

[kcuster83 1,505]

I too originally wanted the sleeve but because of having severe GERD my surgeon explained the risks and benefits of each pertaining to my GERD so I switched to Bypass.

4 months post op. ZERO regrets!

No sign of GERD or any type of acid problems and I am off all GERD medications!

[Queen ApisM 427]

I got the sleeve, and I will admit, sometimes I wonder "would my weight loss be faster with the bypass?" Especially times like now, when I am dealing with slowed down weight loss even though I am sticking to program. But then, when I really analyze it, I don't think I would be doing anything differently than I am now. I'd still be eating the same amount of calories, per my program's advice. I would be working out the same amount I am now. So, the tool would be different but I'm not sure I would be doing anything differently as a result so in the end, does it matter? People do incredibly well with both surgeries, and others "fail" with both options (I'm using fail loosely, but basically to mean not reach their goals or even much weight loss with either surgery).

It's easy to get caught up in this sort of thinking, so I try not to do it. Especially because I am totally at peace with the sleeve (I was not so keen on bypass unless I needed to do it based on medical advice). I just have to use the tool as intended.

[I♡BypassedMyPhatAss♡ 808]

I regret getting a Lap Band.

Today is my first day waking up with a Bypass. So I can't say for sure how I'd rate it so far. It's been coined the Gold Standard of weight loss surgeries and I hope to find out soon why that is!

Best wishes to you!

[kcuster83 1,505]

13 minutes ago, I♡BypassedMyPhatAss♡ said:

I regret getting a Lap Band.

Today is my first day waking up with a Bypass. So I can't say for sure how I'd rate it so far. It's been coined the Gold Standard of weight loss surgeries and I hope to find out soon why that is!

Best wishes to you!

WOOHOO Welcome to the other side. Glad you are doing ok and up and at it. Good luck during your recovery!

[RickM 1,753]

When I was going through this early post op phase, there was a group on one of these forums from a particular surgeon who did very well with combining the sleeve with extreme dieting, and he got overall very good results with even very high BMI patients (lost track as they all disappeared, so have no idea how they are doing now, however!) There was one guy on there who was very similar to my stats who was following this program and got to his goal weight at a bit over four months. Wow, but so what? I was working on slowing things down at six months to ease into maintenance, and wasn't doing any of that extreme dieting. I wonder now how well that guy is doing - did he learn how to maintain his weight over the long term, or was he one of those who "gained it all back"?

It really isn't a matter of whether you can do better, or lose faster, but can you meet your goals, and maintain yourself in the long term? This is a marathon, not a sprint. so what happens to you over the next 5, 10 and 20 years is a lot more important than how you lose over the first 4, 6 or 12 months.vsg

Overall, the bypass has very similar performance to the VSG in overall weight loss and rate, so there isn't much to choose there - one might lose a bit quicker with the bypass owing to its' malabsorptive component, but that dissipates after a year or two and you are metabolically in the same basic place that you would be with a sleeve, but you still have the added nutritional deficiencies to make up for. Have there been some challenges in maintaining my weight over time? Yes, much the same as there would have been had I gotten a bypass (my second choice was the DS, which does make weight maintenance easier as it is metabolically a stronger procedure, but I felt that it would have been overkill for my needs then, and still do.) We see just as many come through here who struggle with being "slow losers" or "gained it all back" with the VSG as with the RNY.

With the VSG, I do have a bit of GERD, which is easily controlled with low level OTC meds (some are not so lucky, others are more so and have no problems.) OTH, I do not miss having any of the comparable RNY potential side effects - dumping, reactive hypoglycemia, marginal ulcers, bile reflux (pretty rare these days with how they structure RNYs) low Iron requiring periodic iron infusions, osteoporosis (already have a family tendency towards that, so don't need more risk added,) or the other limitations in medication and medical treatment options as I get (even) older that come along with a bypass. These are not insurmountable problems if one needs to go with a bypass owing to preexisting conditions, but are things that I don't think are worth risking for whatever very small difference there might be in weight loss performance.

I don't miss that at all. YMMV

[I♡BypassedMyPhatAss♡ 808]

On 7/20/2022 at 10:39 AM, kcuster83 said:

WOOHOO Welcome to the other side. Glad you are doing ok and up and at it. Good luck during your recovery!

Thank you so very much! ❤️

[STLoser 1,099]

Although I did not have a sleeve or bypass, I sort of had a combination. I had a SADI-S, which is a sleeved stomach with bypassed intestines. It's a single anasthamosis duodenal switch. I had not heard of the procedure when I met my surgeon. I had planned on getting bypass, but he suggested this because I was paying out of pocket, and at the time insurance didn't cover it, and I had over 200 pounds to lose and he calls this 'the most powerful operation. " I decided to go for it and I'm very glad I did. No regrets whatsoever! My husband just had the same surgery in May and he's lost about 100 so far. (jerk lol). Now we have insurance that covers it. Our insurance didn't cover any wls at the time though
The surgery was still fairly new when I had it, so most insurance didn't cover it anyway, but my husband's was covered.

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[Spinoza 1,526]

Absolutely not one moment of regret here. I think the sleeve is the best of all worlds (but then I would say that because it's worked well for me too)! Not one for FOMO - life is far too short. Enjoy your loss OP.

[Tomo 1,196]

Only regret for me is not to go straight to the Bypass. Over a year ago, I had a revision from sleeve to bypass due to my acid reflux spiraling out of control in the later years of my VSG. Nothing worked. No PPIs, no H2 blockers, nothing. Nights were long from coughing up acid and days were longer from a literally constant burning esophagus. At first, of course, the PPIs worked but through the years it got worse, hence the need for revision. This past year has been a wonderful and easy going experience, in both weight loss and finally no gerd.

I wanted to add that most RNYs do not dump and most VSG people do not get reflux as I did so I'm not here to bash either of the surgeries. They are a lifesaver for most of us.

[Arabesque 7,617]

First, congrats on your weight loss. Yay!

If you’re losing at a great pace why do you want to lose faster? We all lose at our own rate & what is right for us. And you’ll end up at a weight that is right for you too. Sure you may lose a little faster at the beginning with a bypass but it slows just like any other surgery as you progress. So at this stage you’d probably be losing at exactly the same rate. You also didn’t start at a very high BMI so your rate of loss wouldn’t be like someone weighing 400, 500+lbs. But their rate of loss slows too. In five months you’ve almost reached your goal. Can’t complain about that.

As @RickM said the average weight loss at about 3 yrs post surgery is about the same regardless of whether the surgery is sleeve or bypass (about 65% of the weight you had to lose).

I’m glad I got the sleeve. I exceeded my weight loss goal & happily sit at a weight I never thought I would weigh as an adult let alone to have basically maintained. And to me that’s the biggest win: maintaining.

Generally I’m healthy. I don’t need to take any Vitamins like you would with bypass. And while I have a malabsorption (protein) issue, which are possible with bypass, it occurred as a result of my gall removal last year & had nothing to do with my sleeve surgery 3 years ago. I had mild managed reflux before surgery & I still have reflux now. It manifests differently but again it’s managed through diet & meds. If it worsens & I need a revision in the future I’ll deal with that then. I have to be careful to eat slowly & to avoid dry or coarse food but that’s me & my sleeve. I had a bit of a fussy digestive system before anyway so there’s nothing that’s harder to manage or limits me in any way.

Celebrate every pound you’ve lost & enjoy the life you can have now. Don’t worry or question how fast you’re losing.

Edited August 9, 2022 by Arabesque

[SleeveToBypass2023 2,682]

Every once in a while I think about how I have to fight for every pound and deal with so many stalls and I think the bypass would have been better. BUT...even though my surgeon was willing to do either one and let me pick, I had to do the sleeve because I have lupus and MS and have pills I have to take (and there's no liquid forms of the pills and they can't be crushed or broken) so I knew sleeve was my only option (no pills with bypass and I have to take them). Some of the things I was told to expect with the sleeve didn't happen for me (hunger hormone gone, food aversion, must chew slow and have small bites or stomach hurts and food feels like it's not going down, restriction, etc...) so there's times it feels like it was a waste of time and effort and money. But I HAVE had success, and I AM making healthier choices with my food. So it's still a win, even if it's a way bigger struggle than I thought it would be.