Hello!
First time poster here and I’m thinking of taking my life back and going to Mexico for mini bypass surgery BUT they keep pushing me for the sleeve instead. I don’t have a problem with over eating but apparently my body likes to hold on to everything I give it. I don’t think the sleeve would be a good option for me I am 5’8 almost 300lbs. I hear a lot of people getting the sleeve into a bypass afterwards and I don’t want to be in that boat. I know what I believe will work best for me but I’m looking for other peoples experience with the sleeve or mini bypass. Also any recommendations to a doctor in Mexico would be helpful as well because there are so many!
Thank you for reading I appreciate it!

I have the sleeve and my starting weight was 297 and I am 5'9. It has been super successful! I am already maintaining my weight and I haven't had any issues with GERD, or anything like that. I might be a lucky one- not sure. Just depends on what your needs and health issues are.; I chose the sleeve because I did not want my intestines re-routed, I did not want to prohibit the usage of NAISDs, the lack of absorption of nutrients and the dumping syndrome. I know there have been many many people very successful with the bypass and glad they did that, and those who had to revise the sleeve to the bypass!

I would just do your research, its took me a couple of months to figure out which one I wanted.

Congratulations on making your decision to take your life back. Only those who are obese truely understand how limiting and challenging it is as well as its impact on you psychologically and emotionally.

There are a number of reasons why people undergo a revision from sleeve to bypass: they develop GERD, weight regain, don’t lose as much as they hoped. Don’t know the rate of this occurring. Doesn’t mean this will happen to yiu.I know people who have had a revision on this forum and people who haven’t. Personally I have three friends with a sleeve all between 4 & almost 7 years out and no revisions. I ‘m 5.5 yrs out with my sleeve and am happy with it & my younger brother just had one done. But we’re all different & the surgeries work in different ways to different people.

Sometimes surgeons will recommend bypass over sleeve because of the weight their patient has to lose, weight loss and gain history, pre-existing conditions (like GERD, etc.), etc. Are you able to ask why the surgeon/clinic is encouraging you down the path of a sleeve rather than bypass as this is less common (more common to recommend bypass over sleeve). My cyclical side wonders if it’s because a sleeve is a less complicated surgery, takes less time to perform and sometimes doesn’t require an overnight hospital stay. So do they want you to have a sleeve because it’s less demanding on their services. Ultimately it should be your decision as to which surgery you get.

Have a look at some of the you tube videos by Dr Matthew Weiner (pound of cure) & Dr John Pilcher. They cover many topics so you’ll need to work through quite a list (great resources for you post surgery) & will have some on the differences and benefits of the different surgeries.

All the best.

Thank you for a reply!!
That was my thought too as they were only recommending because it’s less time consuming and easier on their end with almost the same pay out. They don’t have any info on me yet so why push it. There have been several places that have said this when they don’t have any information of mine yet so, they don’t have any info on me and I have over 140 pounds to lose. I don’t want a place that just wants to recommend what they want to do vs what I want and or need. I’ve been trying to find a good surgeon in Mexico but it’s hard to know which one is and isn’t!

12 hours ago, PlantMom said:

they were only recommending because it’s less time consuming and easier on their end with almost the same pay out.

I would suggest you do some more research into which surgery to get. There are pros and cons to each. Many people choose the sleeve over gastric bypass because it has a lower risk of dumping syndrome, vitamin deficiencies, and ulcers. Most doctors want to do what’s best for the patient, so they should be able to explain why they recommend the sleeve for you.

21 hours ago, PlantMom said:

I don’t have a problem with over eating but apparently my body likes to hold on to everything I give it. I don’t think the sleeve would be a good option for me I am 5’8 almost 300lbs.

Do you know how many calories you are eating? Have you tried measuring and tracking your food? At your height and weight, you are eating approximately 2500 calories per day, and you will need to eat less to lose weight. Either surgery works as a tool to help you eat less, which is how you lose the weight.

Welcome PlantMom! There's already some really good advice here on your query. If you can spend some time reading this forum generally you will gain SO much knowledge in a short time. Well worth it.

I'm 3 years post sleeve. It has suited me very well - I am 5'9" and was 276lbs before I started my WLS journey, so not that far off your stats.

I made a positive choice to have the sleeve based on minimum changes to my anatomy. My surgeon laid out the pros of that Vs the bypass (he only did those two ops) and I decided. I would be really concerned about anyone trying to shoehorn me into what was easier for them.

I did have reflux when I was morbidly obese but I lucked out and it actually improved after I lost weight (as it always had before) but if you're a fellow sufferer that might be one to consider carefully.

In IRL I know people with sleeve, bypass, AND band, who have failed to lose, or lost and regained everything and more. WLS is a chance to re-think and redefine your relationship with food. I am saying this as someone still doing that and who will be negotiating that forever!

It's a lifelong journey for those of us who were born with the propensity to gain gain gain weight in the obesogenic society we now live in. Choose your tool carefully and after as much research as you can. Even then it doesn't work out for everyone but I think it maxes out your chance that you'll be one of the lucky ones.

I wish you all the best.

Edited November 20, 20241 yr by Spinoza

Not to confuse you further but consider the SADI surgery as well in your research. It’s fairly new. I started with a sleeve and had to revise because of immediate weight regain and I revised to the Sadi but the SADI can be done as a virgin surgery as well.