pros and cons please help

Leigh Anne Pereira
on 10/15/14 5:23 am - Marietta, GA
VSG on 07/02/15

I am making a pros and cons list for vertical sleeve and rny because I cant decide which to do. I would greatly appreciate any comments or tips from anyone that has had the sleeve done.  Any particular things you found out afterwards you wish you had known before hand?

Thank you so much for your help

Leigh Anne

    

I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.

        
jenn1469
on 10/15/14 5:33 am

I don't have anything bad to say it has been working fantasticfor me

Jennifer

    

GeekMonster, Insolent Hag
on 10/15/14 5:34 am - CA
VSG on 12/19/13

I decided on the sleeve because I liked the idea that my stomach would still function as a stomach.  I was a quantity eater, so I needed the restriction that the sleeve offered.  I also liked that the portion of the stomach that produces the hunger hormone ghrelin is removed.  I liked the idea that I could still eat just about anything, but would be subject to portion control.  My surgeon left the decision up to me.  He said that you will initially lose more weight with the RNY, but the results at the two year mark are comparable to the sleeve.

The RNY always scared me with the rerouting of the intestines and the possibility of dumping.

Good luck with whatever surgery you choose.  

"Oderint Dum Metuant"    Discover the joys of the Five Day Meat Test!

Height:  5'-7"  HW: 449  SW: 392  GW: 179  CW: 220

DragonTear25
on 10/15/14 5:51 am
Gwen M.
on 10/15/14 6:27 am, edited 10/15/14 6:31 am
VSG on 03/13/14

Just for the record, the ASMBS guidelines advise VSGers to skip the NSAIDs.  

VSG with Dr. Salameh - 3/13/2014
Diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder and started Vyvanse - 7/22/2016
Reconstructive Surgeries with Dr. Michaels - 6/5/2017 (LBL & brachioplasty), 8/14/2017 (UBL & mastopexy), 11/6/2017 (medial leg lift)

Age 42 Height 5'4" HW 319 (1/3/2014) SW 293 (3/13/2014) CW 149 (7/16/2017)
Next Goal 145 - normal BMI | Total Weight Lost 170

TrendWeight | Food Blog (sort of functional) | Journal (down for maintenance)

DragonTear25
on 10/15/14 9:11 am
Tracey C.
on 10/15/14 7:23 am
VSG on 12/27/13
Gwen M.
on 10/15/14 6:14 am
VSG on 03/13/14

Here's the post I wrote in my blog about why I chose VSG.  

The four WLS are - sleeve, gastric bypass (RNY), lapband, and duodenal switch. My insurance covers the first three, but not the DS.

I ruled out the lapband immediately because the only people I know who have had it are miserable or have needed it removed. The complication rate is atrocious and it only lasts for 10 years or so. It's billed as being a "reversible" surgery, but the damage it can cause, like from erosion into your esophagus, is permanent. So no lapband for me.

The choice really boiled down to RNY or VSG and I chose the sleeve for a number of reasons. (Even if DS had been an option, I would not have chosen it.)

1. I really like the simplicity of the sleeve. All it does is remove 85% of your stomach. That's it.
2. I dislike the idea of having my intestines rerouted.
3. The "good" malabsorption that the bypass gives (of fats) is a temporary thing that only lasts for a few years whereas the "bad" malabsorption (of vitamins and minerals) lasts for forever. That's not worth it to me.
4. The sleeve is restriction only, no malabsorption. This also means that I CAN eat anything at all. Fats and sugars won't screw up my bowels the way they can for the bypass. (Of course I still need to make healthy choices, but that's a choice, not something that my surgery requires.)
5. With the bypass, you're left with a remnant stomach that can't be scoped. That scares the crap out of me. First, the idea that I have this weirdly connected non-stomach but then to not be able to get it checked out with an endoscopy if there's a problem? Eek. Do not want.
6. My understanding is that complication rates with the bypass are significantly greater, especially longterm due to malabsorption. While I will be taking vitamins for the rest of my life, chances are that I won't end up in the hospital if I stop because the sleeve has no malabsorption involved.
7. For the most part (and there are exceptions) the people I know when the sleeve look and seem healthier than the people I know with the bypass. That's nothing scientific though.. just a gut feeling.
8. The sleeve leaves you with a fully functional pyloric valve at the bottom of your stomach whereas the bypass gives you a stoma which can stretch over time.

VSG with Dr. Salameh - 3/13/2014
Diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder and started Vyvanse - 7/22/2016
Reconstructive Surgeries with Dr. Michaels - 6/5/2017 (LBL & brachioplasty), 8/14/2017 (UBL & mastopexy), 11/6/2017 (medial leg lift)

Age 42 Height 5'4" HW 319 (1/3/2014) SW 293 (3/13/2014) CW 149 (7/16/2017)
Next Goal 145 - normal BMI | Total Weight Lost 170

TrendWeight | Food Blog (sort of functional) | Journal (down for maintenance)

ElizaM
on 10/15/14 7:14 am
VSG on 07/24/14

Although our intestines are not rerouted, we do experience some malabsorbtion. B12 and iron absorption are both related to the stomach that's removed. File this under things I wish I had learned before I was 1 week out from surgery. I'm not sure it would have changed my choice but it was a shock. Also, extended use of PPIs can have complications relating toall kinds of vitamin absorption

   

32F 5'8" High weight: 432 | Consult weight: 396 | Surgery weight: 335 | Current weight: 170

Gwen M.
on 10/15/14 7:16 am
VSG on 03/13/14

Do you have a link to any information about B12 and iron absorption?  I haven't seen anything about that.  

VSG with Dr. Salameh - 3/13/2014
Diagnosed with Binge Eating Disorder and started Vyvanse - 7/22/2016
Reconstructive Surgeries with Dr. Michaels - 6/5/2017 (LBL & brachioplasty), 8/14/2017 (UBL & mastopexy), 11/6/2017 (medial leg lift)

Age 42 Height 5'4" HW 319 (1/3/2014) SW 293 (3/13/2014) CW 149 (7/16/2017)
Next Goal 145 - normal BMI | Total Weight Lost 170

TrendWeight | Food Blog (sort of functional) | Journal (down for maintenance)

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