New here and cannot decide which surgery to choose.

So, this is probably the single-most asked question on the forum (and cause of debates and fights).  Use the search field to find old posts you can pour though - also go into each forum and ask why those in each forum chose their surgery (you may get more replies in each sub-forum too).   Also - head to local support groups, and engage people face-to-face.  And while your list is pretty good, there are a couple pros and cons left out on each of the surgeries.

I got the sleeve (as you can see), lost 125 pounds.  I love it.  Not sure I agree you need "a lot more discipline" although I would agree you do need "some" more discipline.  As far as weight lost, peer-reviewed data over the last 10 years places VSG and RnY as comparible.  

One thing that brought me to the sleeve was the following philosophy:  Weight-loss should be the short phase, and maintenance will be the rest-of-my-life phase.  I believed that VSG gave me the best setup for a life of maintenance - especially in a end-of-life, nursing home situaiton.  Also, I was Mr. Hungry all the damn time, and the surgery has given me a great deal of relief from that horrible, annoying stimulus.  

You got to choose what's going to work best for you.  Whatever you choose, you should at least lose 'a great deal' of weight.  Good luck in your choice!

I chose the sleeve and couldn't be happier.   My surgeon has weight loss at the same rate as the RNY.  I lost 100 lbs in the first 5 mths, 132 in 9 mths..I certainly can't be upset by that!

I am just over 2 years postop and still can only eat 2 to 2.5 oz of protein for a meal.  My stomach has definitely NOT gotten larger..nor do i expect it to.  I still have no hunger, no reflux issues either.  I don't feel i really have to discipline myself to maintain weightloss.  I have gotten to a point where I love where I'm at..so I have not been trying to lose more weight.  I eat what i want..and i have remained the same weight. 

Definitely ask lots of questions at the seminar..but also review all the various surgery forums here at OH.  There is alot of information here for you..best of luck!!

wow...congrats and what a lot of weight loss in such a short amount of time.  i had the sleeve august of 2011 and i have stalled at this point and have been going up and down by 2-4 lbs for a couple of months...
i have lost 82-85 lbs, back and forth.
frustrating, but i know where i was to start so i try to focus on that but still frustrated.

i usually eat 5-7 dime size bites of protein and fill the rest up to a cup size with vegies.  i am changing it up some to see if that will help start the loss but so far it has not.

Gastic Bypass
Pros
-Very common Bariatric surgery
-Will lose a great deal of weight and can potentially keep it off
-Surgery has been performed on a number of people and there is a lot more research available.
-Less supplements
Cons
-Potential for dumping syndrome
-Very small stomach, food can get stuck.
-Some people gain weight back over time.

This should look like:
Pros:
Very common

Cons:
MAY lose your weight to goal, average is just at 50%.
Regain is almost a given by a majority of people...NOT all but most.
Supplimentation is different but for those serious about vitamins, it's almost the same as the DS. You will regain your ability to absorb the calories from food but not the ability to absorb the nutrients.
Can NOT take NSAIDS, EVER!
Reactive Hypoglycemia is very common...also called "Late dumping"

For the DS AND the RNY, you need to tweak your suppliments to your labs BUT don't kid yourself, there is a LOT of supplimentation with the RNY as well.

Good luck with your decision...unfortunately the sleeve was NOT an option with my insurance company.

Liz

Thank you so much for all of your thoughtful replies. 
So, I went to my seminar last night, talked to the surgeon and I actually have decided that I REALLY want to have a Gastric Sleeve. The problem: I am pretty sure my Insurance only covers it if you have a BMI of 50 or more and mine is 46.

I hope I did not sound naive with my pros and cons list. It is just what came out. I did not mean to indicate that any of the weight loss surgeries are an "easy fix" or don't require a lifestyle change, I know they do. It's just more that all of the options are different. I will post more later. I have to make a few phone calls later to my insurance company and things, but I thank you for all of the helpful info. 

To be honest, I really do think my DS was an "easy fix", since it changed the way my body deals with food. It's also cured the constant hunger I had to deal with pre-op.

 Now, what about YOU?  
Do you lose weight without a problem, only to regain it when you try to get back to normal?
Does your body fight you tooth and nail no matter how extreme you diet, yielding little or no results?
Could you lose all of your weight just by eating less really?  

WLS isn't one-size-fits-all, so answer those questions to determine what's going to work for YOU.  The wrong decision made the wrong way often leads to a second surgery.

Think twice, cut once.

That's probably one of the most accurate summaries I've seen. However, I still have a few nitpicks:

"Larger stomach than RnY" Actually most surgeons make the VSG sleeve smaller than the RnY pouch. And for the DS, some surgeons make the sleeve as small as their VSG sleeves and some don't so, if you pick that to get a bigger stomach, be sure to ask what your surgeon does.

Also, I don't think having a sleeve takes any more discipline than RnY. In fact, in my experience, it doesn't really take much discipline at all. But I can see that this isn't true for everyone. It's hard to say what your experience will be -- it probably depends on how much hunger control you get and that's not something you can predict ahead of time.

Thanks again everyone, and I wanted to say congratulations to those of you have been successful. You really inspire me and make me believe that I can have the life I always wanted to have. I honestly could cry right now. The thought that I may be done with this life of obesity and poor health in a few months is so overwhelming emotional for me! (As I'm sure it was for all of you pre-surgery as well!). 

Honestly, for me, I CAN lose weight when I diet. I have PCOS so I think it makes my weight loss a little slower, but the weight does come off if I eat less. It's just that I can never stick to anything for the long hall. I am very nervous about this. I KNOW it's the right decision for me, but I am scared.  I know that comes from a lifetime of failing diets and having the fear of failure always in my brain.  I feel like I want to work out, but being this big (about 280 pounds) really makes that hard and uncomfortable so I give up pretty easily.  I actually enjoy walking,  and  even running but not at this weight because it's so uncomfortable. However, that's really something that post surgery I hope I can work on. One of my life goals is to run a marathon. 

The more research I have done the more I realize that Gastric Sleeve is right for me. I talked to my insurance company and they cover the surgery if your BMI is 40 or above, not 50, so I am eligible which I am SO excited about. I really have decided against malabsorptive surgery because I am prone to anemia and in addition I want to be pregnant at least one more time and while I can live with depriving myself of nutrients I would be devistated if I cause harm to my unborn child, and I'm just not willing to do that. Not to mention that if I REALLY need to I could convert to an RNY or DS down the road, which hopefully I would never have to do. Anyway, thank you to everyone again. You really gave me a lot to think about and I appreciate it very much!