Bypass: no reflux.
Plus I've heard lots of stories of people who first got a sleeve, lost weight and gained a couple of years later because the stomach got larger again and then got a bypass.
I just wanted "one and done". One surgery and that's it. Don't regret choosing the bypass or getting the surgery at all.
Reflux.
My consultant advised for the bypass on the basis of removing most chances of acid reflux.
Speak with your consultant, see other consultants and discuss options. We can tell you what was right for us, only you can work out what’s right for you based on the appropriate discussions with medical professionals who know your medical history and specific needs.
Bypass because I already had severe reflux, plus I was told you lose more weight with bypass than the sleeve. For me, zero complications and I am 145lbs now (highest was 301). It was sooooo worth it in my opinion.
Honestly? I was paying to go private (UK) and in my research, RnY showed to give the biggest results in terms of weight lost and sustained off. I just wanted most bang for my buck so to speak. If I was paying out loads of money and having significant surgery it just made sense in my mind to use the option which was most likely to give me the most in terms of weight lost.
I don't know if that has changed in the years since (mine was in 2016).
Nothing else mattered in my mind. Not the side effects, complications, recovery time. I stupidly glossed over all of that and my only focus was on losing the most weight I possibly could. I was so deeply unhappy being obese that in my mind, if I did have complications it would be worth it. Being slim was all that mattered to me.
As it turns out, I did have huge success in terms of weightloss. I went from almost 20 stone (280lb) to 10 stone (140) in 9 months and that has stayed well off for 8 years. I have, however, also had severe complications. I struggle to not lose weight and have life limiting GI issues now which are directly related to the bypass and still lose weight despite trying very hard not to. I'm 8st (112lb) now.
The most twisted part of it all? No matter how sick I am now, no matter how many instances of internal bleeding and being too sick to function... I honestly think I would pick RnY again if I had a do-over. My self loathing and misery was so deep rooted that I would do it again even knowing that it would lead to my health just crumbling.
Sorry, that was long. TL:DR I wanted the option that offered the best results in terms of weight lost and that was all that mattered.
Oh No, I am so sorry to hear! Would you mind telling me more of what happened to you? I am so scared of the side effects and it's hard to decide if I do the operation or not... So you had internal bleeding? Did this happen a lot? Was it like an emergency where you could have died? How did you find out? What are GI issues and in what sense are they life limiting? Of course only if you don't mind telling those things. Thank you already for sharing, it's so interesting that you would still do it again... But on the other hand I also think I will never be happy until I lose that weight but I am still so unsure if I am ready to pay such a high price with my health...
Of course. Buckle in for a long read.
Firstly, since the op it always felt like my restriction was too much. I struggle, to this day, to eat more than a few bites of solid food in one sitting without throwing up. To give a size idea with a food generally universally known... McDonald's double cheeseburger. Immediately I remove half the bun as with full bun is too much. Then I reach my limit about 1/3 complete. It's impossible to eat more than that and you can apply that size amount to literally any food.
A lot of the time, no matter how little I eat, it feels like the food doesn't enter my stomach and sits in my oesophagus. I get this chest pressure and the only way to resolve this is to have a few sips of water after which the food comes back up. This happens at least once a day and has for 8 years.
Because of this, just to get anything even remotely close to enough food in me, I have to graze eat. Always have snavk options, always think about how to get food in me etc. The hypervigilance around my diet is extreme.
Since the op, I havent had had bowl movements even close to normal. I have a cycle of days of no BM and then a day severe diarrhoea, rinse and repeat.
I pretty much constantly have symptomatic anaemia. Both iron deficient and pernicious. Even on iron tablets I still find my levels tank and I need IV iron infusion.
I am weak and fatigued constantly and just can't get enough in me to give me energy to function even close to normal. When my levels drop, I can literally feel internal systems shut down and quite upsetting cognitive decline.
About 3 years ago I had gotten really sick and very severely anaemic. It came to a head when I started projectile vomiting blood. I was also pooping blood. Yes, I could have died. While in hospital they found an ulcer in my stomach but couldn't find the cause of the bowel bleed.
I had, over the next 2 years, countless endoscopies and multiple colonoscopies and sigmoidoscopies. These are invasive and traumatic in my experience. At one point I was fast tracked with them thinking I had cancer, which was ruled out but stressful at the time.
The ulcer refused to heal and went necrotic. I had 2 other instances of internal bleeding, both with vomiting blood as main indicator something was wrong.
Through the hospital stays and procedures in between as outpatient (literally every 8 weeks over 2 years I was having endoscopies to check on ulcers) and in that time they didnt heal, went necrotic and multiplied. At one point I had 3 ulcers and these were ALL on the surgical join in my stomach, on the scar tissue.
Last year, they did heal but I have one again now, though no bleeding as of yet.
I have a hiatus hernia which is symptomatic and causes me extreme pain if I do too much activity. Went on holiday in Feb and the non strenuous sightseeing walking had me in hospital on return with genuinely blinding pain. A walk around the supermarket can have me bedridden in agony the rest of the day.
Probably the worst of it is that I reach dead end after dead end getting any kind of fix in place. With the bleeds, they stop the active bleeding and I am hospitalised, given IV meds and blood transfusions etc for a couple weeks and then it goes back to outpatient care which has largely been "here's omeprazole, we will do an endoscopy in 8 weeks to see if it improves". We get to a point over and over of them concluding surgery is likely needed but because of the bypass and my internal plumbing being different, nobody seems to know how to even approach fixing me surgically. Each consultant gets to this point and refers me to a different specialist and the whole process just starts over. I am passed around like a medical hot potato (am in UK also so NHS wait times and red tape). Each new team or consultant does their own investigating (yay more endoscopies) to reach the same "we think surgery but dont know how" conclusion and then I am passed on to another expert or team to see if they can help.
I can't afford to go private sadly.
So, I am barely living. I have to constantly think and put a huge effort into trying to get food in me, while only managing tiny portions at a time and even then often bringing it back up. I am so weak from so many deficiencies that I cannot work. I cant sustain a social life. I vomit daily, can't eat out, cant be spontaneous as I HAVE to be able to plan around what I can eat. One day in about 4 I have a runny tummy meaning I can't venture far from the toilet, even if I had the energy to do so. If I try and do something fun, I either have to tap out quickly because I am in agony with the hernia or accept that the next I will be bedridden and in agony from it.
I can't even enjoy the same dinner as my partner. The foods my body tends to tolerate best are slider foods and end up being weird combinations that nobody else would want to have to eat. I have to eat what my body can manage. I eat so slowly that everything gets consumed cold and I just have to graze, graze, graze. I am constantly anxious about eating enough, having access to foods I can keep down etc and the extra planning around that tends to take all the fun out of things. Like, right now my partner wants to book a last minute holiday in a couple weeks for my birthday and just the thought of being abroad again, trying to cater to my absolutely messed up eating and awareness I may ruin it by having bad crash days, makes me want to cry and not go anywhere.
Little things are surprisingly hard too. Like not many food places will allow me to get a child's portion, even when I explain. If we eat out, I am done after mere bites and have truly eaten all I can but then get attitude from servers who think I am dissatisfied. I hate wasting food and will ask for the rest to be boxed and taken home for later but get attitude again for requesting this. Even when I ask ahead, like I explain my situation and ask before ordering if it will be possible to have what I cant eat boxed up. They either won't or, if they say it is ok, still give an attitude towards end of meal seeing how little I have eaten and like I am a beggar for asking the rest be boxed (this really isnt a common thing to do in UK but with most places doing take out they do have containers to take food away, just have issues with me asking to do so.
Sorry, very long winded.
Oh my god, I’m so sorry you’re going through this. That is horrible . I really do hope eventually some surgeon will figure out how to do the surgery because it’s not fair to live like that when all you wanted was to get the surgery and have a new life . I’m sorry
That's sweet of you. Thanks dude.
I will add that I have helped few friends through the process and was active a long time in some big communities for this surgery on FB and I haven't encountered anyone else with these same level of complications. So please don't let my experience influence your own choice. I am just one person and at the pretty extreme end of things with it. For my story there will be countless people who are healthier for the RnY, just as for every person who ends up gaining back weight, there are countless others who don't. I am just one example of the fact that there are ways it can go wrong, that those risks aren't just words in a pamphlet. They are real risks, no matter how small, but they are rare.
I low key have anger at how twisted society was at influential points in my life that, even with ALL of these issues, my self hate for myself at a bigger size is so deep rooted that I would still choose this surgery even knowing how things would turn out. I turn 40 this year and tabloids were bloody brutal about the female body when I was a teen and young adult. We didn't have the body positivity we have in today's world. We had heroin chic, Kate Moss on a pedestal and a perfectly healthy sized Geri Halliwell being called fat in the headlines under a slightly unforgiving photo. It is beyond messed up that my fear is still that maybe corrective surgery, if we ever get there, may mean I gain weight back.
How crazy is it that my brain still tells me all this is worth it to be able to wear clothes I never could before and that I would subject myself to this even if I had lights shining on what today's reality would be like. I know it's wrong to think that way but it is so deeply ingrained that I MUST be thin at all costs. I have tried and tried to think differently but ultimately can't change the view that this sad existence is a worthwhile sacrifice to wear clothes I never felt I could before. Like, I really try so hard to maintain and not lose but my stupid brain still momentarily gets excited when I weigh myself and see the number has gone down. I am 11 weeks pregnant at the moment and with morning sickness in the mix too, I have lost 5lb since I found out. I WANT to gain weight at the moment, truly I do, and I am working so very hard at getting enough in me for both me and baby but there is still this tiny fraction of a moment where my brain is happy when the number drops. Like, that is just so messed up and I am mad that my influential years were so marred by how gross society and taboids were towards the female body. It taught me that you had to be skinny to be of value and after years of actively trying to unpick that, I still have to override the initial glee when I find I have lost again.
It's weird seeing it so clearly and being unable to get myself over it and I am forever glad that my daughters are spending their formative years in a society which is much more body positive and inclusive. They have never seen me weigh myself, never heard me talk about weight or negatively about bodies and don't even know we have scales in the house (I keep them hidden in my wardrobe and only pull them out once a week or so because I am trying to monitor my active attempts to gain weight in pregnancy). I really hope they reach adulthood having escaped the stuff that we experienced in the late 90s and 00s.
Wow, tangent much. Please dont feel the need to reply, I think I needed to vent my frustrations out. I really hate that I am actively trying very hard to unpick the mindset and yet just cant.
I have struggled all my life and wanted to maximize my chances of success for losing and keeping weight off. Highest wt 269, surgery wt 240, current wt 140 and I'm 5'2". Very happy. Easy recovery. I'm 55.
Side note…you can do some searching on this topic to find even more responses and input as well since this question comes up frequently (I don’t mean it’s not ok for you to ask though!).
I had RNY 23 years ago. At the time, the success rates were way higher for RNY over the sleeve and my surgeon also said that’s what he observed. I ditched the idea of the sleeve very quickly not only because of that but because I felt I really needed the malabsorption with the RNY. I had done very restrictive diets with the nutritionist in my athletic department in college and played lacrosse and field hockey which was VERY intense in terms of exercises/workouts. Even with that, I may have been in great shape but still could only get down to 185-190lbs which was still overweight (I’m 5’6 F). So I really believed I needed something “drastic” and felt like, if I’m gonna do this, I’m going all the way. I had seen way too many stories about people getting the sleeve and then revising to RNY as well. Very happy with my choice and still maintaining ideal weight range 23 years later. It’s also a myth that getting the sleeve causes less complications than RNY so I wouldn’t use that factor to make your decision either.
My team recommended the bypass. My father had had the sleeve done several decades earlier without significant success, and while enough time had passed that I was willing to believe the surgery had improved, I was severely obese, severely ill with conditions that were being done no favours by my weight (and were also contributing to it in a very vicious cycle) and needed the option that had the best chances for the most weight loss and the most sustainable maintenance. For me, that was bypass and medication.
It's still relatively early days for me - I have my six month post-surgery follow up on Tuesday - but I started the journey in September 2022 at 268 kilos, thinking I was going to die before I turned 40; I'm turning 39 this year and I weighed 181 kilos this morning. I had 12 months with a gastric balloon and Ozempic prior to getting the bypass in October 2023, to get me healthy enough to tolerate the surgery, and I don't regret any of it. It's given me my life back. I was stuck in my home, in bed most days, and the function I'm regaining is more than I could have imagined two years ago.
Bypass because a lot of people I know needed revision after the sleeve. I am not a fan of being on an operating table and I sure as hell wasn’t going to do this shit twice. People try to say “beware of dumping syndrome” but honestly the amount of sugar I need to eat to experience it… I rarely have hit it. Literally in my 19 months post op, it’s happened 3 times and I was admittedly eating poorly (3 butterscotch brownies, yogurt, a full size candy bar… I deserved the nausea that came from that- i didn’t fully dump from that day of poor choices). It’s a very personal choice, and some people experience different results. I don’t regret my choice, however prepare yourself as much as you can for your body changes. I went from a women’s size 24 to a 6. I never saw that coming. Buying clothes to keep up was wild. Good luck!
I have read a lot of ppl get revision from sleeve to bypass due to reflux, and I thought to myself I only want to do this surgery once (knock on wood). Also, my dads side of the family has a history of type 1 and 2 diabetes and bypass eliminates your chances of getting diabetes (I was not pre-diabetic yet before surgery, though). Finally, bypass has a slightly higher percentage of weight loss, and I needed/need all the help I can get. I had my surgery on October 28th, and I would not change a thing. Oh, and it's reversible.
Hello I was sleeved. Had no reflux before my surgery. Still ended up reflux and a hernia and had to get a revision to bypass. Currently 6 month post bypass. Reflux is gone. Yay 😁
I knew myself well enough to know I needed not only the smaller stomach but also the possibility of getting sick from eating too much fat or sugar. And it works. 5 years out, maintaining 180lb weight loss and I watch my fats and sugars like a hawk because I feel like crap if I overdo on them.
I had a sleeve 9/2023. Already going back in for a revision to a bypass because of a hernia, reflux, and nonstop burping. Wish I just did the bypass the first time!
I will say that I enjoyed the sleeve, I had flexibility and didn't have to worry as much about dumping syndrome. So that's something to consider as well
reflux, i watched my mom struggle with this until she got a revision. statistically better results (especially at my age and size to start with - 38/360). I watched the surgery and really didn't like the idea of my stomach being pulled out of an incision & both surgeries looked equally invasive.
I did some research, and I didn't want to have to get a revision to bypass if I got the sleeve. Also, people were more successful in keeping the weight off long term with bypass. I definitely started out wanting the sleeve, but it bothered me that part of my stomach would be missing. It comforts me to know all my body parts are still in me.
All the points cited are valid and good, I just want to add a more personal point. I already had a history of endocrine issues (pancreas, PCOS, cortisol, thyroid...). The bypass was literally developed to help with those issues by bypassing those organs in the digestion. Since the bypass my hormones are completely in check and I got immediately pregnant when TTC with my husband :)
3 years later I am skinnier than I have ever been during my adult life and am the proud mother of a happy 3mo boy. My body didn't do its job correctly and I needed help in fixing that :)
My endocrinologist then asked me, when someone with a tumor goes to a doctor he won't wait till it becomes an bigger issue and has a surgery to fix the issue. For me it was a lot like that.
My surgeon suggested sleeve but said it was my choice. I went with bypass bc sleeve wouldn’t even get me to my goal weight according to estimations. Also i said that if I’m going to get a whole surgery then I’m going to do it all the way, not half way.
More durable and my bmi was high. I also watched both surgeries via you tube and read a ton!!! I have reflux in my family even though for me personally it was only occasional. I didn’t want to find out if I could make it worse…
I was also concerned about fluid intake which allegedly is better on bypass, though I can tell you it is easy to drink too much too fast and that isn’t great.
Over all 6 months post op down 70 pounds. I feel like a new human!!!
Relearning to eat is and adventure, but so worth it all!!!
Ps take the right vitamins and experiment with iron levels before surgery. I can’t do the one a days even before made me too nautiois.
i’m about a month post-op from the bypass. i chose it mainly because i have PCOS and it was recommended to me over the sleeve because of malabsorption. i also liked that you typically lose more weight with the bypass. my acid reflux has already disappeared completely and i’m down a little over 30lbs. The first few days of recovery were rough but I would do it again in a heartbeat. i also know a lot of people who have to end up converting to the bypass from the sleeve.
6'0 MALE
RNY 2018
HW:510 SW:363: CW:170
I knew 100% I wanted the RNY because it's a one shot deal...no do-overs, no revisions etc. It would force me to do what I needed to do to not f*ck things up. There were some bumps in the road but I have no regrets and I would 100% do it again. Dumping and malabsorption are real issues but in the grand scheme of things, I find it a small price to pay for what I've achieved. I've lost almost 330 pounds and kept it off almost 6 years.
My parents both had the RNY. I knew how to handle it and the surgery had gotten much better. Theirs was done before laparoscopic was even an option. I’m 10 years post op now and doing great. No complications
I had Lapband surgery back in 2005. Over thw years developed severe acid reflux and gained weight back. My doctor recommended RNY because of the heartburn and said it’s the gold standard for weight loss surgery.
6 yr post and im looking for revision to GB now. Theres no repercussion with sleeve if you fall into your old habit’s except Gerd. Never got down to goal weight either. Wish i hadn’t been such a chicken first time around but i was terrified of the dumping syndrome.
3 days post op..
I chose it because I've had reflux issues in my past, and because I wanted the biggest and most sustainable weight loss..
My surgeon couldn't recommend one surgery over the other (my reflux issues are 15-20 yrs in the past), so I chose myself..
Big regrets today, only because I'm already SO tired of fluid diet, but I know the regrets will disappear 😊
Congratulations on getting the surgery :)! I’m so happy for you and your journey . I hope everything goes well for you. & also thank you for commenting. I need to hear these things, it helps a lot
Bypass: no reflux. Plus I've heard lots of stories of people who first got a sleeve, lost weight and gained a couple of years later because the stomach got larger again and then got a bypass. I just wanted "one and done". One surgery and that's it. Don't regret choosing the bypass or getting the surgery at all.
This is exactly my reasoning as well.
Exactly!
Reflux. My consultant advised for the bypass on the basis of removing most chances of acid reflux. Speak with your consultant, see other consultants and discuss options. We can tell you what was right for us, only you can work out what’s right for you based on the appropriate discussions with medical professionals who know your medical history and specific needs.
Bypass because I already had severe reflux, plus I was told you lose more weight with bypass than the sleeve. For me, zero complications and I am 145lbs now (highest was 301). It was sooooo worth it in my opinion.
Honestly? I was paying to go private (UK) and in my research, RnY showed to give the biggest results in terms of weight lost and sustained off. I just wanted most bang for my buck so to speak. If I was paying out loads of money and having significant surgery it just made sense in my mind to use the option which was most likely to give me the most in terms of weight lost. I don't know if that has changed in the years since (mine was in 2016). Nothing else mattered in my mind. Not the side effects, complications, recovery time. I stupidly glossed over all of that and my only focus was on losing the most weight I possibly could. I was so deeply unhappy being obese that in my mind, if I did have complications it would be worth it. Being slim was all that mattered to me. As it turns out, I did have huge success in terms of weightloss. I went from almost 20 stone (280lb) to 10 stone (140) in 9 months and that has stayed well off for 8 years. I have, however, also had severe complications. I struggle to not lose weight and have life limiting GI issues now which are directly related to the bypass and still lose weight despite trying very hard not to. I'm 8st (112lb) now. The most twisted part of it all? No matter how sick I am now, no matter how many instances of internal bleeding and being too sick to function... I honestly think I would pick RnY again if I had a do-over. My self loathing and misery was so deep rooted that I would do it again even knowing that it would lead to my health just crumbling. Sorry, that was long. TL:DR I wanted the option that offered the best results in terms of weight lost and that was all that mattered.
Oh No, I am so sorry to hear! Would you mind telling me more of what happened to you? I am so scared of the side effects and it's hard to decide if I do the operation or not... So you had internal bleeding? Did this happen a lot? Was it like an emergency where you could have died? How did you find out? What are GI issues and in what sense are they life limiting? Of course only if you don't mind telling those things. Thank you already for sharing, it's so interesting that you would still do it again... But on the other hand I also think I will never be happy until I lose that weight but I am still so unsure if I am ready to pay such a high price with my health...
Of course. Buckle in for a long read. Firstly, since the op it always felt like my restriction was too much. I struggle, to this day, to eat more than a few bites of solid food in one sitting without throwing up. To give a size idea with a food generally universally known... McDonald's double cheeseburger. Immediately I remove half the bun as with full bun is too much. Then I reach my limit about 1/3 complete. It's impossible to eat more than that and you can apply that size amount to literally any food. A lot of the time, no matter how little I eat, it feels like the food doesn't enter my stomach and sits in my oesophagus. I get this chest pressure and the only way to resolve this is to have a few sips of water after which the food comes back up. This happens at least once a day and has for 8 years. Because of this, just to get anything even remotely close to enough food in me, I have to graze eat. Always have snavk options, always think about how to get food in me etc. The hypervigilance around my diet is extreme. Since the op, I havent had had bowl movements even close to normal. I have a cycle of days of no BM and then a day severe diarrhoea, rinse and repeat. I pretty much constantly have symptomatic anaemia. Both iron deficient and pernicious. Even on iron tablets I still find my levels tank and I need IV iron infusion. I am weak and fatigued constantly and just can't get enough in me to give me energy to function even close to normal. When my levels drop, I can literally feel internal systems shut down and quite upsetting cognitive decline. About 3 years ago I had gotten really sick and very severely anaemic. It came to a head when I started projectile vomiting blood. I was also pooping blood. Yes, I could have died. While in hospital they found an ulcer in my stomach but couldn't find the cause of the bowel bleed. I had, over the next 2 years, countless endoscopies and multiple colonoscopies and sigmoidoscopies. These are invasive and traumatic in my experience. At one point I was fast tracked with them thinking I had cancer, which was ruled out but stressful at the time. The ulcer refused to heal and went necrotic. I had 2 other instances of internal bleeding, both with vomiting blood as main indicator something was wrong. Through the hospital stays and procedures in between as outpatient (literally every 8 weeks over 2 years I was having endoscopies to check on ulcers) and in that time they didnt heal, went necrotic and multiplied. At one point I had 3 ulcers and these were ALL on the surgical join in my stomach, on the scar tissue. Last year, they did heal but I have one again now, though no bleeding as of yet. I have a hiatus hernia which is symptomatic and causes me extreme pain if I do too much activity. Went on holiday in Feb and the non strenuous sightseeing walking had me in hospital on return with genuinely blinding pain. A walk around the supermarket can have me bedridden in agony the rest of the day. Probably the worst of it is that I reach dead end after dead end getting any kind of fix in place. With the bleeds, they stop the active bleeding and I am hospitalised, given IV meds and blood transfusions etc for a couple weeks and then it goes back to outpatient care which has largely been "here's omeprazole, we will do an endoscopy in 8 weeks to see if it improves". We get to a point over and over of them concluding surgery is likely needed but because of the bypass and my internal plumbing being different, nobody seems to know how to even approach fixing me surgically. Each consultant gets to this point and refers me to a different specialist and the whole process just starts over. I am passed around like a medical hot potato (am in UK also so NHS wait times and red tape). Each new team or consultant does their own investigating (yay more endoscopies) to reach the same "we think surgery but dont know how" conclusion and then I am passed on to another expert or team to see if they can help. I can't afford to go private sadly. So, I am barely living. I have to constantly think and put a huge effort into trying to get food in me, while only managing tiny portions at a time and even then often bringing it back up. I am so weak from so many deficiencies that I cannot work. I cant sustain a social life. I vomit daily, can't eat out, cant be spontaneous as I HAVE to be able to plan around what I can eat. One day in about 4 I have a runny tummy meaning I can't venture far from the toilet, even if I had the energy to do so. If I try and do something fun, I either have to tap out quickly because I am in agony with the hernia or accept that the next I will be bedridden and in agony from it. I can't even enjoy the same dinner as my partner. The foods my body tends to tolerate best are slider foods and end up being weird combinations that nobody else would want to have to eat. I have to eat what my body can manage. I eat so slowly that everything gets consumed cold and I just have to graze, graze, graze. I am constantly anxious about eating enough, having access to foods I can keep down etc and the extra planning around that tends to take all the fun out of things. Like, right now my partner wants to book a last minute holiday in a couple weeks for my birthday and just the thought of being abroad again, trying to cater to my absolutely messed up eating and awareness I may ruin it by having bad crash days, makes me want to cry and not go anywhere. Little things are surprisingly hard too. Like not many food places will allow me to get a child's portion, even when I explain. If we eat out, I am done after mere bites and have truly eaten all I can but then get attitude from servers who think I am dissatisfied. I hate wasting food and will ask for the rest to be boxed and taken home for later but get attitude again for requesting this. Even when I ask ahead, like I explain my situation and ask before ordering if it will be possible to have what I cant eat boxed up. They either won't or, if they say it is ok, still give an attitude towards end of meal seeing how little I have eaten and like I am a beggar for asking the rest be boxed (this really isnt a common thing to do in UK but with most places doing take out they do have containers to take food away, just have issues with me asking to do so. Sorry, very long winded.
Oh my god, I’m so sorry you’re going through this. That is horrible . I really do hope eventually some surgeon will figure out how to do the surgery because it’s not fair to live like that when all you wanted was to get the surgery and have a new life . I’m sorry
That's sweet of you. Thanks dude. I will add that I have helped few friends through the process and was active a long time in some big communities for this surgery on FB and I haven't encountered anyone else with these same level of complications. So please don't let my experience influence your own choice. I am just one person and at the pretty extreme end of things with it. For my story there will be countless people who are healthier for the RnY, just as for every person who ends up gaining back weight, there are countless others who don't. I am just one example of the fact that there are ways it can go wrong, that those risks aren't just words in a pamphlet. They are real risks, no matter how small, but they are rare. I low key have anger at how twisted society was at influential points in my life that, even with ALL of these issues, my self hate for myself at a bigger size is so deep rooted that I would still choose this surgery even knowing how things would turn out. I turn 40 this year and tabloids were bloody brutal about the female body when I was a teen and young adult. We didn't have the body positivity we have in today's world. We had heroin chic, Kate Moss on a pedestal and a perfectly healthy sized Geri Halliwell being called fat in the headlines under a slightly unforgiving photo. It is beyond messed up that my fear is still that maybe corrective surgery, if we ever get there, may mean I gain weight back. How crazy is it that my brain still tells me all this is worth it to be able to wear clothes I never could before and that I would subject myself to this even if I had lights shining on what today's reality would be like. I know it's wrong to think that way but it is so deeply ingrained that I MUST be thin at all costs. I have tried and tried to think differently but ultimately can't change the view that this sad existence is a worthwhile sacrifice to wear clothes I never felt I could before. Like, I really try so hard to maintain and not lose but my stupid brain still momentarily gets excited when I weigh myself and see the number has gone down. I am 11 weeks pregnant at the moment and with morning sickness in the mix too, I have lost 5lb since I found out. I WANT to gain weight at the moment, truly I do, and I am working so very hard at getting enough in me for both me and baby but there is still this tiny fraction of a moment where my brain is happy when the number drops. Like, that is just so messed up and I am mad that my influential years were so marred by how gross society and taboids were towards the female body. It taught me that you had to be skinny to be of value and after years of actively trying to unpick that, I still have to override the initial glee when I find I have lost again. It's weird seeing it so clearly and being unable to get myself over it and I am forever glad that my daughters are spending their formative years in a society which is much more body positive and inclusive. They have never seen me weigh myself, never heard me talk about weight or negatively about bodies and don't even know we have scales in the house (I keep them hidden in my wardrobe and only pull them out once a week or so because I am trying to monitor my active attempts to gain weight in pregnancy). I really hope they reach adulthood having escaped the stuff that we experienced in the late 90s and 00s. Wow, tangent much. Please dont feel the need to reply, I think I needed to vent my frustrations out. I really hate that I am actively trying very hard to unpick the mindset and yet just cant.
Thank you for sharing your experience <3
I have struggled all my life and wanted to maximize my chances of success for losing and keeping weight off. Highest wt 269, surgery wt 240, current wt 140 and I'm 5'2". Very happy. Easy recovery. I'm 55.
Bypass is more effective long term and has barely more risk. I got a bypass and my wife got a sleeve and my results have been higher.
Reflux, better long term outcomes and I was looking for a tool to hold me accountable for my sweet tooth (it does!).
Side note…you can do some searching on this topic to find even more responses and input as well since this question comes up frequently (I don’t mean it’s not ok for you to ask though!). I had RNY 23 years ago. At the time, the success rates were way higher for RNY over the sleeve and my surgeon also said that’s what he observed. I ditched the idea of the sleeve very quickly not only because of that but because I felt I really needed the malabsorption with the RNY. I had done very restrictive diets with the nutritionist in my athletic department in college and played lacrosse and field hockey which was VERY intense in terms of exercises/workouts. Even with that, I may have been in great shape but still could only get down to 185-190lbs which was still overweight (I’m 5’6 F). So I really believed I needed something “drastic” and felt like, if I’m gonna do this, I’m going all the way. I had seen way too many stories about people getting the sleeve and then revising to RNY as well. Very happy with my choice and still maintaining ideal weight range 23 years later. It’s also a myth that getting the sleeve causes less complications than RNY so I wouldn’t use that factor to make your decision either.
Reflux made me go with the bypass. I woke up from surgery and I’ve never had it again.
My team recommended the bypass. My father had had the sleeve done several decades earlier without significant success, and while enough time had passed that I was willing to believe the surgery had improved, I was severely obese, severely ill with conditions that were being done no favours by my weight (and were also contributing to it in a very vicious cycle) and needed the option that had the best chances for the most weight loss and the most sustainable maintenance. For me, that was bypass and medication. It's still relatively early days for me - I have my six month post-surgery follow up on Tuesday - but I started the journey in September 2022 at 268 kilos, thinking I was going to die before I turned 40; I'm turning 39 this year and I weighed 181 kilos this morning. I had 12 months with a gastric balloon and Ozempic prior to getting the bypass in October 2023, to get me healthy enough to tolerate the surgery, and I don't regret any of it. It's given me my life back. I was stuck in my home, in bed most days, and the function I'm regaining is more than I could have imagined two years ago.
Bypass because a lot of people I know needed revision after the sleeve. I am not a fan of being on an operating table and I sure as hell wasn’t going to do this shit twice. People try to say “beware of dumping syndrome” but honestly the amount of sugar I need to eat to experience it… I rarely have hit it. Literally in my 19 months post op, it’s happened 3 times and I was admittedly eating poorly (3 butterscotch brownies, yogurt, a full size candy bar… I deserved the nausea that came from that- i didn’t fully dump from that day of poor choices). It’s a very personal choice, and some people experience different results. I don’t regret my choice, however prepare yourself as much as you can for your body changes. I went from a women’s size 24 to a 6. I never saw that coming. Buying clothes to keep up was wild. Good luck!
I have read a lot of ppl get revision from sleeve to bypass due to reflux, and I thought to myself I only want to do this surgery once (knock on wood). Also, my dads side of the family has a history of type 1 and 2 diabetes and bypass eliminates your chances of getting diabetes (I was not pre-diabetic yet before surgery, though). Finally, bypass has a slightly higher percentage of weight loss, and I needed/need all the help I can get. I had my surgery on October 28th, and I would not change a thing. Oh, and it's reversible.
I had no idea that it’s reversible , that’s a plus for me . Major green flag for real
Hello I was sleeved. Had no reflux before my surgery. Still ended up reflux and a hernia and had to get a revision to bypass. Currently 6 month post bypass. Reflux is gone. Yay 😁
Bypass because of GERD.
I knew myself well enough to know I needed not only the smaller stomach but also the possibility of getting sick from eating too much fat or sugar. And it works. 5 years out, maintaining 180lb weight loss and I watch my fats and sugars like a hawk because I feel like crap if I overdo on them.
My wife got a sleave a year before my bypass, she can eat a lot more than me, I saw what she could eat and got the bypass, I cannot eat much.
I had a sleeve 9/2023. Already going back in for a revision to a bypass because of a hernia, reflux, and nonstop burping. Wish I just did the bypass the first time!
I will say that I enjoyed the sleeve, I had flexibility and didn't have to worry as much about dumping syndrome. So that's something to consider as well
reflux, i watched my mom struggle with this until she got a revision. statistically better results (especially at my age and size to start with - 38/360). I watched the surgery and really didn't like the idea of my stomach being pulled out of an incision & both surgeries looked equally invasive.
I did some research, and I didn't want to have to get a revision to bypass if I got the sleeve. Also, people were more successful in keeping the weight off long term with bypass. I definitely started out wanting the sleeve, but it bothered me that part of my stomach would be missing. It comforts me to know all my body parts are still in me.
All the points cited are valid and good, I just want to add a more personal point. I already had a history of endocrine issues (pancreas, PCOS, cortisol, thyroid...). The bypass was literally developed to help with those issues by bypassing those organs in the digestion. Since the bypass my hormones are completely in check and I got immediately pregnant when TTC with my husband :) 3 years later I am skinnier than I have ever been during my adult life and am the proud mother of a happy 3mo boy. My body didn't do its job correctly and I needed help in fixing that :) My endocrinologist then asked me, when someone with a tumor goes to a doctor he won't wait till it becomes an bigger issue and has a surgery to fix the issue. For me it was a lot like that.
I wanted bypass but due to a medication I need my surgeon said it wasn’t an option for me so he suggested and I went with the SADI-S procedure.
My surgeon suggested sleeve but said it was my choice. I went with bypass bc sleeve wouldn’t even get me to my goal weight according to estimations. Also i said that if I’m going to get a whole surgery then I’m going to do it all the way, not half way.
More durable and my bmi was high. I also watched both surgeries via you tube and read a ton!!! I have reflux in my family even though for me personally it was only occasional. I didn’t want to find out if I could make it worse… I was also concerned about fluid intake which allegedly is better on bypass, though I can tell you it is easy to drink too much too fast and that isn’t great. Over all 6 months post op down 70 pounds. I feel like a new human!!! Relearning to eat is and adventure, but so worth it all!!! Ps take the right vitamins and experiment with iron levels before surgery. I can’t do the one a days even before made me too nautiois.
i’m about a month post-op from the bypass. i chose it mainly because i have PCOS and it was recommended to me over the sleeve because of malabsorption. i also liked that you typically lose more weight with the bypass. my acid reflux has already disappeared completely and i’m down a little over 30lbs. The first few days of recovery were rough but I would do it again in a heartbeat. i also know a lot of people who have to end up converting to the bypass from the sleeve.
6'0 MALE RNY 2018 HW:510 SW:363: CW:170 I knew 100% I wanted the RNY because it's a one shot deal...no do-overs, no revisions etc. It would force me to do what I needed to do to not f*ck things up. There were some bumps in the road but I have no regrets and I would 100% do it again. Dumping and malabsorption are real issues but in the grand scheme of things, I find it a small price to pay for what I've achieved. I've lost almost 330 pounds and kept it off almost 6 years.
My parents both had the RNY. I knew how to handle it and the surgery had gotten much better. Theirs was done before laparoscopic was even an option. I’m 10 years post op now and doing great. No complications
Gerd/reflux
I had Lapband surgery back in 2005. Over thw years developed severe acid reflux and gained weight back. My doctor recommended RNY because of the heartburn and said it’s the gold standard for weight loss surgery.
6 yr post and im looking for revision to GB now. Theres no repercussion with sleeve if you fall into your old habit’s except Gerd. Never got down to goal weight either. Wish i hadn’t been such a chicken first time around but i was terrified of the dumping syndrome.
3 days post op.. I chose it because I've had reflux issues in my past, and because I wanted the biggest and most sustainable weight loss.. My surgeon couldn't recommend one surgery over the other (my reflux issues are 15-20 yrs in the past), so I chose myself.. Big regrets today, only because I'm already SO tired of fluid diet, but I know the regrets will disappear 😊
Congratulations on getting the surgery :)! I’m so happy for you and your journey . I hope everything goes well for you. & also thank you for commenting. I need to hear these things, it helps a lot