Can't decide....sleeve or bypass.

I am very torn between the two procedures.  I've looked both of them up and I just can't decide which one is best for me.  The bypass seems so much more extreme...not the actual surgery..but life afterwards.  The sleeve almost seems to easy..(life afterwards)...will it be as effective??  Any input????

I was torn between the Lapband and the Sleeve during the last week before sugery.. i was scheduled for the band but was scared it wouldnt be enough.. So i switched to the sleeve... I dont regret my decision at all at this point in my life.. Good luck with which ever prodecure you decide on...

What is best for you?  Can  you handle the lifestyle needed for success after surgery?  You know yourself best.
The othere suggestion would be is to take 2 pieces of paper.  On 1 sheet.  title it bypass.  Then divide the paper in half, lenght wise.  1colums write down all the pros, the other column would be the cons.
On the other piece of paper, do the same for the sleeve.
The things to consider:  sucess and failure rate, curing co-morbidites, long term supplement, restrictions, etc.
I had a rny 2 years ago.  The vitamins are a way of life and don't evern think about it. I've learned how to eat and  control what I eat as far as protein, vegies/fruit.  simple carbs, and fats.  I can eat anything, just small amounts.  To look at the meals that I do eat,  nobody is the wiser .  I do have pizza, candy, cheesecake, cupcakes, et****ASIONALLY!  It looks like any other person watching their weight.

I think you are going to get some pretty strong opinions against the lap band here- it does have a pretty high complication and failure rate. On the other hand, people have been successful with it.

All forms of WLS require big life style changes after surgery. The operation is only a tool- you have to work it. The best help from WLS is getting the weight off in the first place, then it will be mostly up to you to maintain the weight loss with healthy eating and exercise. There is some help from restriction and/or malabsorption, depending on the surgery.

You also will get strong pro-DS opinions here, but you don't offer that as an option for yourself.

I suggest you do lots of research for yourself- only you can and should make the choice for yourself.

Good luck!

The clinical data we have so far shows these two surgeries have similar results but the sleeve has less long-term complications. It's also cheaper if you are self-pay.

The thing is, a sleeve isn't a RnY without malabsorption and a RnY isn't a sleeve with malabsorption. So the idea that RnY has to give better results because it has malabsorption is flawed.

The sleeve is more metabolically active than RnY. This gives it a boost that negates any advantage that malabsorption gives you. Plus, the malabsorption of RnY goes away over time so that you are left absorbing all your calories but still malabsorbing nutrients.

If I had to pick between only these 2 options, I'd go with the sleeve. The stats as far as weight loss are pretty similar, but the sleeve offers much less complications than the RNY.
I would recommend reading a lot of posts on both forums to see what people have problems and why they like their choice. I was originally on the path to get the RNY, but found out about the DS on this site about 4 months into my 6 month weight loss period. I'm so glad I did, I don't think I could have lived with the RNY. The more I read about it, the more I didn't want to have that one.

I personally picked the DS because it's got the best results of all the surgeries for weight loss and keeping the weight off and I've just seen so many people on here seeking revisions from other surgeries to the DS.

Oh, and if you go with the sleeve and it's not enough, it's a much easier revision to the DS than getting an RNY and then it not working for you.

My sister had the sleeve done about a year and a half ago and she's doing really well with it. She does have much less requirements for supplemetation than I have with the DS. I just had my surgery last week, so far so good. Recovery has been much better than I had prepared myself for.

Good luck in making the decision and deciding what the right one is for you.

Foxymama: You mean you still eat all that stuff after RNY and it doesn't make you gain weight? Wow. Maybe I better take a second look at RNY.   Macmadame: what does metabolically active mean?  

Why the RnY fails:

www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/4391498/RNY-insulin-carbs-we ight-regain-Articles/#36305662

www.lenoxhillhospital.org/press_releases.aspx

A comparison of the surgeries:

www.dssurgery.com/procedures/compare-surgical-procedures.php

Another excellent article:

www.obesityhelp.com/forums/ds/4416755/Must-Read-Transcript-o f-Dr-Roslins-Presentation-to-ASMBS-on/

You need to understand what happens when you get an RnY.  You lose the function of your pyloric valve.  You get a blind stomach that can get ulcers but can't be scoped.  You lose the malabsorption after 2-3 years so you are back to diet/exercise for life.  You can't ever take NSAIDs, you can't drink with meals, you have the potential for protein getting stuck in your stoma making you want to only eat food that slides easily (and is bad for you), and you have the very real potential of developing reactive hypoglycemia (google it..you don't want it.)

With the sleeve you get to keep your pyloric valve but you have no malabsorption.  Is restriction (low calorie) enough for you?  Do "diets" work for you?

The DS is the best surgery as shown in scientific studies for everything they study except the resolution of GERD.The DS really wins the surgery comparison when it comes to long term success.  I wasn't interested in a short term fix.  I wanted a long term solution to my obesity which is why I picked the DS.  But you have to be willing to take the vites you will need, make sure you get the labs you will need and find a surgeon who actually DOES the DS (see www.DSFacts.com) to consult with.

Check out the revision forum and the failed surgery forum before you make your decision. 

~Becky

There's SO much more to choosing the best procedure for YOU than just how much weight you'll lose. Do you have any co-morbs, like diabetes, PCOS, insulin resistance, arthritis, high cholesterol, etc? Each form of WLS will have a different impact on any present AND future health problems you may have. Take arthritis---I couldn't live without the NSAIDs I take daily, so there's no WAY I could be happy with the RNY. Have diabetes? More than 98% of the diabetics who get the DS lose their diabetes within weeks or even DAYS after surgery. Have GERD? RNY is the go-to surgery for that.

Based solely on post-op lifestyle, and choosing between only these two procedures, I'd go with the Sleeve. I'm almost 8 years post-op from the DS, so I've been living with a Sleeved stomach for a while now---but because of the DS's malabsorption, I eat somewhat differently than Sleevers do. (I had many reasons for choosing the DS, but lifestyle was a HUGE part of it. So was effectiveness---the DS has the very BEST long-term, maintained weight-loss stats.)

RNY was never an option for me.  I need to take NSAIDs (Aleve) and they're contraindicated for RNY.  I thought long and hard about the DS, but decided that the postop vitamin regimen was too rigorous for me.  That left the VSG, which I have chosen. 

Another big factor for me to choose the sleeve was that it left the entrance to and exit from the stomach unaltered. 

I'm saying this to myself as  well as to you and everyone else ... the VSG is not a magic wand, nor is any WLS ... it gives me a running start at weight loss.  I still have to make the right choices: water, protein, exercise, vitamins, labs.  Today, tomorrow, forever.