aloha!
i am fairly new here myself...i had RNY surgery about 5 years ago...it has worked well for me...i went from 386 to 204...the sleeve was not an option at that time...at least that i knew of...the only thing i have to take as a suppliment is a B12 shot which i give myself once a month and some cherry flavored little tiny pills under my tongue for even more B12...no biggie really...im sure the sleevers can give you more insight as to how that procedure has worked for them...seems like a great option though from what ive seen in here!!

todd

Hi.. I chose the RNY bypass because it was the better option for me. You really have to do the research on all 3 if you are not sure which one to get. Everyone has different reasons why they got what they got. What may work for one person may not work for you. From what I understand.. the RNY is the fastest in helpin you lose weight and the lap band is slowest. And the sleeve is in the middle somewhere. At least that is what I learned in the seminar. If you are still not sure after you research everything.. ask your surgeon. They will give you an insight of what may work best for you.

Thanks Todd,
So the only vitmain you take now is B12? I thought we would need to take a handful of diffeent things for the rest of our life. Did you t ake more types right after surgury?

no not really...just the b12..i do take apotassium pill once a day as prescribed by my heart doc...but your doc will run blood test early out to make sure you are getting all your vits!!

I have been struggling with this decision also. I have been told that I will need vitamins and calcium for the rest of my life and blood tests to be sure I have not developed a deficiency.
I think I will need to have bypass as I already have acid reflux which bypass will fix. Apparently with the sleeve that is a possible side effect.
(Wish I could get the sleeve, though.)

Another bit of information I heard was that the amount of weight you lose on the sleeve is not as great as with RNY. Also that there is not the much study information to back up the long term effects of the sleeve because it is so new. Ugh! Decisions decisions!!

ponymom...many people that have gerd or acid reflux get rid of the symtoms...but not all...im one that it didnt help..i still have had to use a presription antiacid for years..sorry...i hope it works for you though
:-)

TODD

Welcome to the group. I am about 4 months out from RNY, I went in initially thinking I wanted the sleeve for all the same reasons you mentioned. After discussing it with my surgeon we decided that the RNY was my best choice. It is the most restrictive but it has the greatest success for weight loss. Todd's lucky (and maybe the exception) that he doesn't have to take a lot of vitamins. My plan calls for me to take several different things a day. It's really not that bad, I feel great, have lots of energy and so far my labs have been perfect. In my opinion it's a small price to pay for all of the benefits I've seen so far. Do go in with all of your questions written down so you don't forget anything. You'll make the best decision for yourself in the end. Good luck

I'm preop and still trying to decide. I am leaning (as of today) towards the sleeve. This is in part because of the NISAIDS as I have arthritis. I know loosing weight will help with this, but sometimes my hands hurt so much I cannot imagine only being able to take tylenol and no ibeprophin, aspirin, etc.

My surgeon said regardless of which surgery I chose (rny or sleeve) I should take vitamins of various kinds, even for sleeve, possibly for the rest of my life. This is because I will be eating so much less that I might not get in all the nutrients I need. RNY of course it is even more so with the malabsorption thing.

I also like the idea of my body no longer being able to produce ghrelin, which is the hormone that makes us hungry. I figure this is the trade off for not absorbing as many calories as with the RNY. Again, according to surgeon, studies show that 5/6 years later people who have had sleeve are still producing very little ghrelin. For me, this seems like when I might need it most, is down the road, so I don't slip up so easily...

My surgeon told me that in her practice, people lose about the same % with RNY or Sleeve as long as they do what they are suppose to.

As my mother would say, 6 of one, half a dozen of the other... I am still on the fence and have almost 6 months to decide. :) Let us know what you decide!

P.S. I have about 130 lbs to lose to reach my idea of a goal weight (and my surgeons). But to be considered a normal weight on the charts I would need to lose another 30 or so on top of that...

Sorry! But one more thing... again, this is my surgeon talking... people who get the gastric banding tend to end up not losing so much or "upgrading" to sleeve or RNY later. In fact, she (my surgeon) says she is doing less and less banding as it does not have near the success as the others.

Luckily Walgreens now carries a gastric bypass multi vitamin that's chewable and tastes good - so its almost like a little treat : ) The worst is the liquid potassium i had to drink for a few weeks after surgery - tastes horrible but i am very glad I had the surgery! It's not all roses but I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I personally havent heard of sleeve people switching to rny. I heard that with the band though. The sleeve is supposed to be slower initally but it more or less even out. I obviously went with the sleeve with no regrets. My dr wanted to lose 97 lbs. I have already lost 83 lbs in 6 months.

My doctor has been doing the sleeve and RNY for years and he says that in his experience sleeve patients lose 60-70% of their excess weight while RNY patients lose 80-90%. He also said that if you are prone to acid reflux you can't have the sleeve.

I know some insurance companies still consider the sleeve "experimental", which may also be a factor.

I chose the sleeve because I already had vitamin deficiency issues before the surgery - also, I considered it less "invasive" ( not in the sense of surgery, it's still major surgery, but your intestines don't have to be re-routed) I am very pleased with it . I Have lost 45 pounds in 2 1/2 months( which is a little slower then I had hoped, but still not complaining) and I am feeling great!

No problems or issues and I am told that the surgeries are really very similar as far as weight loss expectations, diet, etc.