Why Sleeve?

Hi,

Thanks for the insight. I, too, am worried about the inability to take medicine and the malabsorbtion. All this is so complicated. It's like every other hour I flip back and forth between which surgery I prefer. There is just so much to think about. How long did you have the RNY? Do you feel any difference in terms of how much you can eat? Was it hardto get ins. approval to switch?

The failure stats for the band were just too high for me to consider it.  I was not going to go through major surgery only to have a high chance of failing.

I am another one who didn't want to have my digestive tract rearranged any more than necessary, so I chose to be sleeved.  My surgeon was very supportive of my choice.  Given that my husband and I are still raising kids at our ages (54 and 52), I also needed a surgery which, barring complications, could get me back in the swim in the shortest time and with the lowest potential for drastic changes to our lifestyle.  Again, the sleeve seemed the most appropriate choice.

Absolutely no regrets.  On postop day three I had the classic "What the hell did I do to myself?!" moment, but I pulled myself together on postop day four and haven't looked back since.  :)

Hi... thanks for sharing!! I am scared of having my insides rearranged. I'm also worried about living a "normal" life or if I get health complications later down the road so it seems to me like the sleeve might be the safest option. I feel like a worry wart because I keep bouncing back and forth between all of this. I know I don't want the band. The reward simply does not seem to be worth the risks.

I didn't want a blind stomach. I didn't want stuff re-routed. My husband's aunt's dumping scares the hell out of me (and she's gained back a good portion). I just didn't want that drama.

VERY happy with my sleeve and down almost 225 pounds - I'm SO close to my goal of 150.

It's hard, no matter what surgery you get. Make sure you get the one that's right for you.

I got the sleeve for all the same reasons everyone has mentioned so far. I have to admit that there are times I wish I had gone for the DS instead. I am almost 3 years out and have not gotten to goal. Recently there have been many people checking in who are in the same position. I now believe that with any WLS you can fail either by not getting to goal from the git go or by gaining back weight. With most procedures the surgery does most of the work in the beginning but then there comes a point where you've got to put effort into it. I think that effort depends on your age, hormones, capabilities, determination, habits, etc. In my case, I am going through menopause so age/hormones have played a role in my failure to get to goal but also old habits and lack of discipline also contributed. I ended up regaining 25 lbs. I just recently got real with myself and took a good hard look at what was holding me back. One major roadblock was major reflux and a mineral deficiency - which it turns out kinda of go hand in hand. I have to take a PPI to turn off the acid in my stomach. Turning off the acid and the reduced surface area of my stomach caused a magnesium deficiency. Every time I tried to "get back on the wagon" I got super cranky. So bad that I could hardly stand to be around ME! Now that my magnesium levels are back up I feel so much better - no more crankies! Getting real with myself, upping my magnesium and coming back to OH.com has helped me get back on track. Getting real meant admitting that I have a problem with grazing/snacking on crap, not tracking my calories and not being disciplined. I have lost 6 lbs in the last 2 weeks so I feel like barring any more issues there is a good chance I will finally get to goal. So, looking back at the times I wished I had gotten a DS, now I feel like maybe its a good thing I didn't. There would have been a greater chance of nutritional deficiencies with that procedure just as there is with the RNY. You're probably wondering why I told you all my issues - the main reason is to let you know that no procedure is perfect. You have to take a good hard look at yourself, your habits, your determination, your health, etc. and decide what procedure is going to work best for you.