sleave or Rue Y

 Hi All!   Let me introduce myselve.  I am a 36 year old mother of 2 beautiful daughters and have a wonderful huband and own a farm in MI.   I now weigh 255, 5'6" tall and am trying to get my surgery preapproved by insurance.  Have very good insurance thuough, they will cover Rue Y or sleeve or lap bad.  I am have a terrible time making up my mind on which surgery to have!   I also have high Blood pressure but other than that I am very healthy.   Could you all give me some tips and what you believe is the best option for me?   Thanks so much.   Glad I found this site!

I rec you doing your own research on all of the surgeries available. Read on the risks and long term as well. It is not a quick fix and many issues can come up down the line. My self having a band removal Friday. My revision is going to be the sleeve. Just be very aware and very very knowledgeable about WLS. Do a lot of research on your surgeon as well. This is a life changing surgery and can not be reversed. So my main piece of advice is to do a lot of research! I did about 5 years of research before I decided to get WLS. After 5 years of it and being banded for 4 years I still ran into complications.
Good Luck! There is a message board for each WLS that is available. Go on those and read through some of the posts that are already available. Hopefully that can help with your choice as well. Also talking to your surgeon he will be able to inform you more and HELP with your decision.

Hi my name is Cheryl. I had lapband surgery in2009. I have had nothing but problems with it. Finally got it out last week. Getting the sleeve next month. I am so tired of the roller coaster ride. Can't wait to get this done.

I think this is a hot button issue in this community. I looked into all three of those myself. I determined that lap band wouldn't meet my needs. They I looked into RNY and sleeve. I thought I wanted the sleeve as I think of it as more "normal." Part of the stomach removed but the remainder of the diegestive tract is unchanged. As it turns out, people with reflux (like me) can sometimes develop much worse reflux with the sleeve. Gastric bypass is the surgical cure for reflux. The other thing I wanted was to be able to take NSAIDs, but my surgeon doesn't let her sleeve patients take NSAIDs either as she doesn't believe there's been enough research showing it's safe in that procedure. So in the end, I opted for RNY. I'm having it done Dec 8.

 I'm pretty sure you can take Nsaids with the sleeve but you can't with the RNY.....

That is the general consensus, but my surgeon believes that will change once there is more research on the later effects of the sleeve.  For me, there were also concerns over reflux, so I went with her recommendations.  But I was disappointed as I had thought the sleeve was my first choice.

Partial gastrectomies have been around since the late 1800s / early 1900s. Plus the sleeve is done as part of the DS and has been for decades.

If there were reasons people with DS or sleeve couldn't have NSAIDs, we'd know it by now.

 I'm wondering where your surgeon is getting that from, as I don't know of any other surgeons that believe that (about NSAIDs with DS or sleeve), and no studies that suggest that either.

There IS some controversy over the reflux however. Mine was resolved, despite having a sleeve at 3oz (actually a bit less) but there is speculation that the smaller sleeves may be more prone to reflux, and the larger more likely to resolve it. 

I also recommend that you do your own research.

My mom get a lapband in Aug. 2008 and has regained everything and did not lose much to begin with- I would not recommend that.

As for RYN and VSG, I am on the same boat, I am leaning more towards VSG because it does not cause malabsorpsion like RYN does. It also does not have the 'dumping' effects that RYN has, but that means that its easier to 'cheat' and get off track. Both more than likely will have stomach stretching and may have weight regain after years if you do not learn a new lifestyle.

Hope that helps.

Since no one here knows you, I'm not sure anyone here would have any clue what would be best for you.

I will tell you that I would not recommend lap band for anyone.  Some people do really well with it but many have complications and many do not lose nearly as much weight as they want to lose.  Many end up getting the band removed and having another surgery performed instead.

Here's what I see as the pros and cons of RNy and VSG.  With RNY, weight loss is often faster.  I think the end amount people lose is often similar with either surgery, though.  Some people feel more comfortable with RNY because there is more long term data available.  Some people also don't like the idea of most of their stomach actually being removed and gone for good.  With RNY, it's all still in there.  Techinically RNY can be reversed, but in truth it's hard to reverse and your stomach may or may not work like it used to after a reversal, so you should pretty much think of both options as permanent changes to your anatomy.

With RNY you shouldn't use NSAIDS after surgery, so VSG is often preferred by people with conditions like arthritis.  Even if you don't have any conditions like that now, though, you are young.  You might have it in 20 years.

With RNY you'll probably need more vitamins and the risk of nutritional deficiencies is greater, but you still need some vitamins after VSG.  And with RNY, deficiencies are usually easy to catch and resolve if you get labs done regularly.

With VSG you still have a functioning pyloric valve and don't have to worry about dumping.  Some people hope to dump after RNY, though, thinking that will keep them from eating junk food.  Only about 30% actually dump after RNY, though, so you can't count on dumping to make you choose the right foods.

So.  What are you thinking might be best for you, and why?