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Well That was Interesting!

CarolElaine

CarolElaine

Member
Dapple+Grey+Stander-Carousel.jpgHi All,
Well I have had my first meeting with the surgeon. Very interesting. I was, in my mind, geared up for a bypass and he is suggesting a sleeve instead. His thoughts are that due to the distances I have to travel and possible support problems that a sleeve would be an easier route to follow.

The reading I have done suggests that a sleeve is an equally good tool for weight loss. It seems that the two issues may be insurance problems because it is relatively new, and something about GERD being more of a problem with the sleeve.
Anyone with thoughts or experiences about these two types of surgeries? I know one point that my doctor made is with the bypass you will be married to having blood tests for iron levels.

I guess for me I was just a little freaked about losing a large part of my stomach and that from what I have read, it could be re-stretched back out. But again it has to do with staying hooked into the philosophy of not just the surgery but the exercise and diet for life.

I am motivated. But I do look forward to the group response. I hope all of you who are going through the process or who are almost there the best. I have never appreciated more how brave you all are for doing this most daring and difficult thing to try to improve the quality of your life.
 
Hello, CarolElaine,
Wishing you the best on your journey whichever route you end up choosing. Sometimes we just have to listen to our surgeon. I would suggest researching all the options fully before making a decision. A sleeve was not one of my choices as my surgeon only does Lapbands and RNY. It seems to me that whatever you choose your life style changes will have to be made in order to get healthy. These are only tools and you have to follow the rules pertaining to your particular choice. Good luck!
 
Hi,

I had the sleeve and am very happy with it. I had my surgery Jan 31, and am down 88 pounds. You can undo any of the procedures, it is all up to you. Thankfully I have had no side effects from the surgery and I am at about 4 1/2 months.
 
Carol Elaine, I went to my first seminar thinking I wanted the gastric band because it seemed less complicated. After the presentation, I was leaning more towards bypass or gastric sleeve. Both were big surgeries, but I was impressed that they could do them both with laparoscopic.
The more I thought about it, the sleeve seemed right for me, happily my surgeon suggested it also. His reasoning was that since I take a fair amount of Ibuprofin for arthritis, the sleeve would be better. He said I wouldn't be able to take Ibuprofin with a bypass.
I have had some colon problems in the past which required hospitalization and blood transfusions, so I thought it was better to keep my colon intact and not mess with my iron levels, although the surgeon didn't seemed to be concerned with this.
Anyway---I'm not worried about losing part of my stomach. After all, I have had my appendix removed, and I don't miss it either. Besides, when they told me that a typical stomach is 22 ounces, I thought, my God, that's huge! No wonder it's so easy to overeat. Why on earth do we need stomachs that large!

I agree with a previous poster that all of the procedures can be subverted. I personally know a woman who gained every bit of her 200 lbs lost after WLS surgery. But I think if you are motivated and use WLS as a tool to get where you want to be, then work on maintaining it, it doesn't matter how you get there.
 
Hi CarolElaine, That is an interesting delema, at the time of my surgery my surgeons were were only doing RmY and Lap Band and I didn't want the lap band due to personal and logistical reasons. In my opinion a good support system is needed what ever WLS is chosen, however the recovery time is much faster with the Sleeve and Lap Band than with the RnY, he may be concerned with your travel time to the follow up visits because there is on the at one week, three weeks, two months, three months, six months and a year post op, that is a lot of trips to the doctors for follow up and that is if there are no complications or vitamin issues. One of my friends has just had the sleeve and she seems happy with it, I am told that the weight loss is very similar as well as the success rate, but only you can make the choice that is right for you, if your surgeon wants you to have the sleeve only because of travel distance then you should have a frank discussion with him and your primary doctor on what you would do in case of any complications, whatever they may be, with either proceedure, especially if it means the difference between insurance paying for one and not the other. I know this is a personal descision for our health but we also have to think about the fiscal matters involved with the WLS. Whichever you choose I remember they are all only tools that we use to get and stay healthy. Let us know what you decide on. :cool: Tom
 
When I went to see my surgeon the first time, I was thinking gastric bypass, but with my insurance, they suggested the duodenal switch, it is a combination of the bypass and the sleeve. I hope all goes well with you!
 
Hi carolelaine. I didntt want the lapband- i didn't lke the idea of a foreign object in my tummy, and liked the idea of filling the band via a needle in my tummy every 4-6 weeks even less. Also, the weight loss is significantly less with the band. I am opting for bypass surgery. I discussed both otions (sleeve and bypass) wth my surgeon and she recommended bypass because ofmy diabetes. She said the weight loss was fairly similar between sleeve and bypass, but the sleeve is the 'new kid on the block'
 
Dear NanaG67,
Thank you for the input. I know your day is coming soon. You will be in my thoughts and prayers on your day. Is the pre-op diet very difficult for you?
 
CarolElaine-Both the sleeve and RNY are excellent weight loss tools. With the RNY you are at a higher risk of malabsorbtion and will need to take vitamin supplements for the rest of your life, NO BIG DEAL. Just do some research and ask your doctor to go into more detail as to why he wants you to have the sleeve. Take your time to decide which one you feel the most comfortable with. Another thing you may want to do is attend a couple of support group meetings and talk to patients who have had each of the surgeries to get more information. Let us know how things are going and which surgery you decide on!!!
 
This place is such a great source of information, support and comfort. I have been rolling the two choices back and forth and now am leaning to the sleeve. I have the six month waiting period so there really is no rush to make any decision. I have focused researching more into the sleeve and it's pros and cons vs. the RNY. They are almost equal with the grand exception of not much need for follow up medically (if all goes well) post surgery. Mostly because it is such a simple surgery that leaves your intestinal tract mostly in place.

Of course I read in one Yahoo thread that eating lots of cayenne can aid in getting rid of abdomial fat because it causes the consumer to have less ghrelin. The very thing that the surgery is trying to correct. So who is to say that instead of surgery I should just be slamming red hot cayenne peppers? Somehow that seems almost as hard as the surgery!

In any case, thoughts and prayers out to Nana. I hope all goes well. I look forward to hearing from her soon!
 
Hi CarolElaine, Cayenne peppers and all kind of other hot chillies have been a staple with my meals for years, I wouldn't take to much stock in that study LOL I would never had considered tha surgery if the pepers would help keep me skinny:p I still eat a lot of spicy food though and it doesn't seem to bother me at all, but I did ease back into it when I started on regular foods. :cool: Tom
 
Well if figures. You know if they told me if you eat lots of chocolate and you could lose tons of weight and now that is something I could get into, but chilies! Wow that is one spicy meatball!

Well I won't be changing my mind after all. thanks Tom your the best.:cool:
 
CarolElaine-If cayenne was a magic bullet I would be stick thin by now *LOL* I used to put it on almost everything I ate for years, not so much anymore though.
 
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