What made you decide?

Hi my name is May,

I have struggled with weight for since i was a child. Basically when i have lost the pounds, it could never maintain it for longer than 6 months. Then the weight will come back. I have tried exercise, diets etc..

Anyways long story short- My coworker started to talk to me about having WLS. So i have been reading anything I can about it.

I have read so many things that can potentially go wrong with lap band, gastric sleeve, and gastric bypass. Right now i am leaning more towards the gastric sleeve. But the fact that complications like leakage can occurs makes me a little scared.

Anyone that has done the gastric sleeve, please tell me your feelings when you were thinking about getting it, and what helped you overcome that? In what way did you view this surgery that made you say to your self, I HAVE TO even though there are risks.?

To me life is a gift from God so I have to take extra care of it, but one the other hand being obese doesnt help me take care of that "gift".

 

Thanks

-May

 

I did not get the sleeve, I had the Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass. 

The reason I did it, with all the risks and fear, was because at 35 and 389 pounds I realized I never see people my size over 50.... 

I wanted to live. 

I handle medical malpractice claims for a living. I only see the stuff that can go wrong so I was really really concerned about complications. However, the benefits far outweighed the risks. I made sure I went to the best surgeon with the most expwrience. I have never seen a case involving the sleeve, which I can't say about RNY. My surgery went well.

Your profile says you have a BMI of 37. I wish that when I first reached a BMI of 37, I'd have known what I know now, and had had the opportunity to have had WLS. Instead, I waited until I was MUCH heavier, and had already ruined my joints and really screwed up my metabolism.

I think the Sleeve would be an excellent choice for you---far better than the Band or the bypass/RNY. The Band pretty much guarantees you another surgery---the manufacturer admits it's not intended to last for more than ten years. And the RNY will leave you with a non-functional stomach pouch and a huge, 'blind' remnant stomach that can give you problems. With the Sleeve, your stomach works just like it did pre-op, but it gets full and satisfied with far less food.

Leaks do happen, but they're not very common. Most of them heal on their own.

As for what made ME decide to have WLS? I was dying, and it was lose a lot of weight pretty fast, or start picking out a coffin. The risks of having surgery were far less than not having surgery---and I was far fatter, sicker, and most likely older than you are. That was 9 years ago, and I'm healthier and far more 'normal' than I've been since about age NINE, when I went on my first doctor-supervised diet.

I think you'll do just fine. (*grin*)

While I actually have a sleeve stomach, I had the DS which has some bypass along with the sleeve. I had a stubborn metabolism and regained any weight I lost, with extra each time. I needed more than just restriction.

That said, I LOVE LOVE LOVE having a sleeve stomach. It is so problem free. I take more vitamins with my DS than you will need with a sleeve, but the sleeve is as close to a "set it and forget it" surgery that we have.  If I didn't have a fairly high BMI pre-op, and metabolism issues, I'd have liked to have gotten a stand alone sleeve. 

There is a risk of complications with any surgery. The leak risk with the sleeve is only slightly higher than the bypass, simply because there's a longer staple line.

My decision was based on the fact that after decades of telling myself I was fat but healthy the effects of my weight on my health were starting to be serious: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, debilitating problems with one knee and the start of problems in the other, shortness of breath when doing stairs and hills...

I now wish I had considered weight loss surgery before I developed these problems. On the flip side, I love the sleeve and it wouldn't have been available had I made the decision earlier.

I chose the sleeve because you keep the pyloric valve (the normal plumbing) instead of just having a stoma (a hole) that food flows into the intestine through.

While this page is an open forum and open to all procedures, I wanted to point out that there are forums dedicated to the different procedures, too.  If you go up to the Forums section, you'll see 'Surgical Forums', then the bottom one on the list is the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy forum.  On that page, you'll have a captive audience of VSG patients. 

The risks are there - but more lies in the skills of the surgeon, so select your surgeon with some care.  Ask how many VSG's he's done (especially since this is a newer up and coming procedure just recently embraced by insurance), and his complication rate.  Cross-check that with the hospital, too.

I was pretty much in your boat - after 18 years of failed diet and exercise routines I decided to look into WLS. I had really wanted to beat this on my own but am realizing that isn't going to happen..wish I decided that earlier.

I also decided on the sleeve, just seemed the more natural of the choises sense food continues on the same route as before (not to discredit any of the other choises of course) AND my friend and a couple of hers had the lapband and all are going back in for new surgeries ..one picked the bypass the rest are getting the sleeve. They just basically kept having problems with the band moving, and not being able to fill right..ect.....though that was not my deciding factor in not choosing it, one of the bad things listed that could happen, where it can rot into your stomach was enough to deter me.

I was a bit worried about the leaking also but the center I am going to and the surgion I am working with have yet to have any leakage problems..their stats are amazing. I figured everything you do has risks, but think of the huge risk your taking NOT getting it.

I would definitely recommend doing research on your chosen surgion or maybe ask yourself, they should be able tell you their risk stats, ect.

Thanks Mscheveous,

When i started looking into wls i said hmm i think the best for me is lap band. But after researching more and more, i have been leaning towards the sleeve.

I know what you mean about the band eroding in... i actually saw a YouTube video to repair that, and let me tell you that wasn't cute.

I am researching a lot, i even called up my insurance company and asked them to send me any information they had on that. I just want to make the decision as this is definitely going to change my life, i know i have to have no doubts about the surgery i choose

-May

You are smart to go slow and do your research. I have chosen the RNY over the sleeve, as it has been done for nearly as long as I have been alive. In other words, it has been well studied. If, by getting this surgery, it means I have the opportunity to live to be 85, I want to know what to expect. Also, I think the potential risk of dumping will help keep me on the straight and narrow.