I had RNY with no complications and not a single regret. I had over 100 to shed so I needed something more. RNY also took care of my sugar craving. I knew if I got the sleeve that I would still be able to eat too much or eat crap for food too easily. I wanted to keep my stomach as well with all its natural functions. I'd researched for years before I went in so I knew what I wanted. 173 lbs later and I am a very happy camper! I blew the percentages out of the water!

I wasn't sure at first but decided on the sleeve. I am 6 months today and less than 20 from my goal, having lost 76 lbs already. If you exercise and eat right, you can lose just as fast as the bypass. I feel great with no issues and no regrets. I belong to a gym, play softball, and just started crossfit.

I looked very closely at all three options offered by my surgical team. The lap band seemed to have a few more issues as far as the port slipping and the constant adjustments needed, RnY left me worrying about malabsorption of vitamins and minerals. The sleeve seemed to offer the fewest complications and with the exercise counseling along with the nutritional counseling I felt that I would have the best chance. I have not regretted the choice.

Good luck on your journey.

Michael

Hi, I went with the rny and so glad that I did, my insurance would only cover this or lap-band. I knew I didn't wanted want lap-band because it wouldn't give me the results I wanted. I have not had any problems and happy to say that I started at 294 lbs wearing a 3X shirts and 24 pants.. today I am 198 wearing L shirts and 14 pants!! My surgery was 4 months ago! oh and do your own research too, good luck with your decision!

Thank you all for your responses and your own individual success stories they are truly helping me narrow down my decision. I hear feedback on all and all seem positive the bottom line, it seems is what you prefer and can deal with. If I may ask, why exactly is the RNY, and how does it or does it differ from the gastric bypass, sleeve and or lapband.

RNY is short for Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass, so RNY is gastric bypass.

It can be done in three ways that I have heard of: Open (incision), Laproscopic, and daVinci (laproscopic done by robot). My surgeon only does laproscopic and daVinci. Many hospitals don't have the equipment for the daVinci method yet.

The RNY is permanent it is not reversible and leaves you with a 1.5-2.0 oz stomach.... i had the surgery in January 2010. I went from 336lbs to 125lbs. That is from a size 26 4X to a size 6 small. The Sleeve is more forgiving than the RNY it is more reversible and it is slower weight loss. The Lap band is reversible however has greater complications and is slower weight-loss. However the most important thing in the world in this situation is your Doctor!! Ask questions and here is the BIG one speak with other patients of the doctors. Make certain that this is the type of doctor that listens :) and have a look at this chart it may help

http://surgicalweightlosssolutions.com/documents/swls_bariatricsurgerycomparison.pdf

Thank you Survivor and Anastacia. I looked at the chart and after my questions, research and feedback from you all, I am leaning more towards thebypass. I don't want the slightest chance of putting back on any weight and with the bypass massively reduced stomach capacity and lifelong committment to eating healthy i think its my safest choice. Much love to all who have chime in and oh by the way the chart definitely helped.

Survivor,

How can they reverse a sleeve? My doctor told me that when they do a sleeve they remove the unused portion of the stomach so there is nothing left to reverse. With RNY the unused portion of your stomach is left in your body connected to your small intestine providing digestive juices.

The sleeve is reversible because :P with more stomach left you have can re-expand it and they actually have a greater chance of regaining weight. The RNY can be done lap that is how mine was done and they can remove the flap or leave it on surgeons choice. I would again caution you to talk carefully with your doctor, make certain this is someone you can work with :) ... I would also say :) make certain you have all your questions asked and answered before your surgery so you are more comfortable with your choice.

Thepbourn, this is not a silly question! This is one of the most important decisions you'll make in your life, so no question about it is silly. I'm 8 months post-op. I thought I wanted the lap-band; the surgeon is the one who suggested I go with bypass. She sees a lot of cases where the band slips, malfunctions, and sometimes erodes the stomach and has to be reversed. It is also slower weight loss. She indicated that the sleeve is relatively new - there isn't a lot of long-term data on patients who get the sleeve, and every doctor can do it differenty. The bypass has been around for over 20 years, is done in a more "standard" way, and there is a lot of data on long term effects. My insurance covered the lap-band or the bypass, so it was bypass for me.

Thank you youngtesty I appreciate you input and i have just about made my decision now to go with the bypass surgery. All of you have been extremely helpful - the last and most important person i have to consult with now is the surgeon. God bless and happy holidays.

Before I had my sleeve surgery I asked my surgeon if they had ever reversed anyone's RNY and he said no. So the point of anything being reversabe really isn't that important. With the sleeve you could have the RNY if for some reason you needed to. Lapband is the only one that is reversable since they can remove the band.
I asked my surgeon what WLS would be best for me,sleeve or RNY. He said sleeve and I had already pretty much decided on the sleeve. Some feel the RNY you loose quicker but really it depends on how much weight you need to loose totally. The more weight you have to loose the quicker it comes off. Sleeve is restrictive, RNY is restrictive and malaborption too. I didn't want them reconnecting anything in my gut or messing with my bowel so I choose the sleeve.
I lost 47 pre op from 2/2012 to 6/11/12. I weighed 223 on surgery day on 6/11/12 and as of today weigh 152.4 pounds so I have lost 70.6 pounds in a little more than six months post op. The sleeve can have less complications I feel also.
Good luck with your decision.

I went to my first meeting thinking I was going to get the Lapband. Now months later and 2 weeks to surgery im decided on the Bypass. For my weight and height now I think the bypass is the best route for me. I dont want to be able to cheat myself as the surgeon said. She recommended the bypass for me.

I am 22 months out from Sleeve Surgery and feel it was one of the best decisions I have made for myself. I was wearing size 4x or 30/32 and now wearing an 18/20. My surgeon and I discussed my options and it was determined that sleeve (laparoscopic) was best for me in order to get off some of the weight and then if I decided to I could continue on to full Gastric Bypass if I wanted to lose additional weight. Sleeve is sometimes done as stage 1 to full Gastric. To date I have stabled off and losing more slowly but have lost 178 pounds - over 60% of my body weight. You can lose the same amount of weight with sleeve & gastric just depending on how you follow your plan - everybody loses at different rates. I am very happy with my decision and have had no complications at all since having this surgery. Also consult your PCP who knows you very well in helping with your decision. I trusted my surgeon as this is his craft and he knows what may be the best situation for you.