Ghrelin - RNY vs. sleeve?

I am so glad I chose RNY. For me the problem with the sleeve is there is no dumping threat and I need that. If I could I would definitely be eating pints of ice cream and slabs of cake! Incidentally a friend of mine got the sleeve and she still eats crap she ate before just less and so far her weightloss iss significantly less than mine.

In both the Sleeve and the DS, the part of the stomach that's completely removed from the body is the part that produces MOST of the ghrelin in the body. In the RNY, that tissue remains, but does not come in contact with food---and most docs tel you that we just don't really KNOW how much difference that makes.

What I DO know, from personal experience, is that *my* hunger post-DS is VERY different from what it was pre-op. Pre-op, I was, literally, hungry ALL THE TIME. Even when I was stuffed, I still wanted one more bite.

Since my DS, I have what I think of as 'normal' hunger---what happens to normal people when they go too long without eating. It's not the relentless monster that plagued me pre-op---it starts out as a gentle reminder that my body needs food, and the longer I ignore it---and I CAN ignore it now---the more forceful it becomes. Just like for normal people. And a normal amount of food satisfies it.

Read everything you can, especially med studies (some you may need to pay to gain access.. but there are plenty out there free.) There are higher statistical risks with RNY (both long & short term) vs the sleeve. Each person is different, and you need to be your own advocate to get the best results from whichever you chose.

I wouldn't base my surgical choice on Ghrelin.  WLS is very a very individual experience as far as hunger is concerned.  It comes back after time anyway.

There are many more important aspects to WLS.  The sleeve is a great surgery and well worth looking into for a variety of reasons.

I've read a number of studies on ghrelin levels after the various surgery types. I found one study that said there was significant reduction in ghrelin after RnY but all the other ones found little or no reduction.

So who knows...

I do know that there is more to hunger and appetite than ghrelin and that all the surgery types provide some degree of hunger control. However, I also know that I had raging ghrelin before surgery and I wasn't willing to take a chance on a surgery type that didn't absolutely reduce it substantially. Hence my decision to have a sleeve.

Btw, a recent study of lapband patients showed their ghrelin levels had *doubled* post-op. Yikes.

 What??? Why? Why did lap-banders double their ghrelin? 

They didn't study why. Just what their levels are.

I got my RNY in January, have lost almost 60 pounds now, and have had no problems what-so-ever with hunger. The ghrelin issue, I think, varies from person to person, no matter which procedure they had done. Relax! Just trust that you, with support from the doc, friends and family, will be able to handle anything that comes your way after surgery.  :-)