Help deciding which surgery to have

I think that the main thing that bothers me about the possibility of dumping is that I will do ANYTHING to keep from vomiting.  I have a friend from work who had a bypass from the same surgeon I am seeing.  We will sometimes go to CE dinners together, and she will just get up and run to the bathroom after eating.  Scares me to death.

Me too---I hate even the THOUGHT of barfing. Reading about dumping symdrome scared me off WLS for a couple of years.

That's why I strongly urge people to research the Sleeve and the DS. Fully-functional stomach means you're a lot less likely to dump---although ANY sort of stomach surgery does increase the risk, even surgeries that don't touch the intestines.

In the seven-plus years since I've had my DS, I've barfed on three occasions. The first two, I had food poisoning. The last time, I made the mistake of taking vitamins on an empty stomach and they came right back up. It wasn't even like 'regular' vomiting---more like when a dog just opens his mouth and things come out. No heaving, no nausea, etc.---the vitamins just returned to the outside. (*grin*)

Visit all of the boards here, RNY, Main, Lap Band, VSG, DS, and revisions.


All surgeries have their downside.  The band was a big failure for me.  I hated it.  I have the sleeve now and it is the best surgery for me.

Even if your insurance says it doesn't cover the sleeve or DS, you can appeal to get the surgery you decide you want.

There are many factors that go into making a decision, so please do lots of research and really focus on the everyday experiences of each surgery as discussed by the individuals that have them.  Only you can decide what side effects you can live with.

The lap band is a total failure for me and a lot of others for many reasons.
Please consider the sleeve or DS. Visit the boards and research!

The first thing you need to look at is YOUR medical situation. How much weight do you need to lose? How long have you been morbidly obese? Do you have any co-morbs, like diabetes or high cholesterol? Do you often take NSAIDs? (pretty much every OTC pain reliever/anti-inflammatory.) Do you have a family history of any medical problems?

If you have ANY metabolic problems, like diabetes, PCOS, insulin resistance, etc., then you *probably* want a malabsorptive surgery like the DS, or, to a lesser degree, the RNY/gastric bypass. The same is true even if you don't have metabolic problems but have a BMI greater than 46. The DS has the very BEST long-term, maintained weight loss, AND it's the very best at resolving or preventing metabolic problems.

If you think restriction alone will do all you need---get the VSG/Sleeve. It's a fairly simple surgery that PERMANENTLY reduces the size of your stomach, thereby limiting how much you can eat. (It also, for nearly everyone, reduces how much you WANT to eat---a real plus. *grin*) Unlike the Band, there's no need for fills, unfills, and eventual removal.

I was in the same perdicament you are in - my plan was to get a lap-band seemed less invasive and safer.  The surgeon told me that the gastric bypass was far better for losing weight faster.  So when he kinda got me worried I started to research each of the surgeries and read all the forums I can.  This forum has by far been the most helpful.  I have my surgery scheduled for July 13th and I am going to have the vertical sleeve gastrectomy... my reasons are it is the most natural... nothing is changed they just remove the lower 15% of the expandable part of the stomach which also removes the grehlin (spelling).  I thought long and hard about the pros and cons of each surgery and how they would fit in my life - they all have their good and bad points.  I liked the thought of how my surgeon put it, "the plumbing is the same, we just remove the bottom of the stomach"  - Good luck with your choice, but you have to choose the one that you feel most comfortable with and don't be pushed into anything else by anyone including the surgeon.  Good Luck :)

I was informed that it's the upper 85% of your stomach that is removed, not the lower 15%.  The lower 15% is what gets left and that forms the sleeve or the "banana" as it's called.  Ghrelin is created in the upper portion of the stomach.

Actually, it's neither---it's 85-90% of the greater, or outer,  curvature. Look at a pic of a normal stomach, then look at a pic of a gastric sleeve---you'll see what I'm talking about.

Here's a pic of a DS, the only 'visual aid' I have on hand---but the stomach's the same. (This is an older pic---they're making them smaller these days.)

Marciab wrote " my reasons are it is the most natural... nothing is changed they just remove the lower 15% of the expandable part of the stomach which also removes the grehlin (spelling)."

You've got it backwards---they REMOVE 85% of your stomach, and LEAVE 15%. What they remove is not really either the upper OR lower part, but the left side. Here's a pic:




This is actually a pic of a DS, but the stomach's the same, although even more is removed, leaving a more banana-like gastric sleeve.

Thanks for showing me my reversal of the numbers... I just know from what my surgeon said that the grehlin is created in the lower portion of the stomach and the sleeve that I am having would take care of that... :) Thanks for the pics.