RNY or Sleeve

I can't decide what to get... I'm posting this in both forums to hopefully get some advise..  some info about me.. I really like to eat a variety of foods but i am very picky at the same time. im not a big sweet eater though i like them occasionally my weakness is breads and pastas. i am 5' 10" and i currently weigh 308. ive always been big, not this big, but overweight. i had a lap band put in back in 2007 and i worked hard and lost 80 lbs with that but then i had two babies and let the band out and gained it all back plus another 36 lbs...

i'm leaning toward sleeve because i want to be able to eat on occasion in small amounts bad for me stuff. saying that though makes me feel like i maybe should get the rny so i have more issues if i do eat bad stuff. i do know that eating things that are not as good for me is likely to not help with loosing weight. I am talking about once in a while things like if i go to a wedding and i eat a few bites of cake... or a bite of bread here or there. grains are important on occasion.

i know WLS is a tool and not a fix. I also know that as dedicated as i am to complying to the rules and regulations i am human and i will slip up from time to time.  Does either surgery help with that?

what do you all think? lol ideas?

Our stories sound very similar.  I had the lap band in 2008 and lost 115 pounds.  I kept the weight off for a couple of years and then my band slipped and my port flipped.  I gained every bit of weight back.  I weighed the options of the sleeve versus the gastric bypass.  For me it came down to the fact that the bypass has been around for years and is a tried and true method of weight loss.  I wasn't comfortable with the the sleeve because I didn't feel that it had enough history behind it.  That's just my own personal opinion because I've seen lots of success stories with both surgeries.  

If you're basing which surgery to have on whether you can occasionally eat bad stuff, maybe you need to think about all of this some more.  You know you've got to be in the right frame of mind or either surgery can fail if you're not utilizing your tool as best as possible.

Whatever your decision, good luck!! 

thank you! yes i know i wont be able to eat stuff that's bad for me very often and it will still take a lot of work to loose and maintain. I am ready for that. it is just that the Dr. that presented at the weight loss seminar said how miserable he is every time he eats ice cream for example. i don't eat a lot of ice cream maybe a bowl  every other month. i just don't want to have to never eat it again. The Dr. also said he likes the fact he gets sick when he eats it so he doesn't want to do it again.

i will succeed and i will use either tool to help me there are just a few things to consider on which one i want. that will help me the most. its easy at first but its a long term decision so its not the only factor i am considering by far.

There are healthy options for desserts, ice cream for example you can get a dessert bullet and make ice cream from fruits only without added sugars or fats.

You will be able to eat bad stuff with a sleeve or with RNY.  Most RNY patients do not dump and those who do need to eat a lot of the bad stuff. 

If you want to lose weight then you have to eat less food.  Either tool will help with that.  RNY gives you malabsorption which does get the weight off quicker.  Long range though it is all up to you and your commitment to eating healthy. 

We are all picky eaters.  For me maintaining my loss means a life without breads, cereals, rice, potatoes or pasta.  Sure I could eat them but then I would weigh more.

absolutely! and that's what i am wondering. i apparently didn't word my questions very well. I was wondering which surgery would be better. i know it is a lifelong commitment and it is only a tool not a fix. i also know that having surgery isn't going to magically make me not want food. it probably will at first with either surgery. i am just trying to understand the differences.

so its just a quicker weight loss but about the same with either option long term?

Successful people are in love with their surgery.  I am almost eight years out and currently at my all time low of 125.  RNY took away my hunger.  I have never been hungry again since surgery.  I don't care to eat and when I do eat I can only eat a small amount.  I would recommend RNY because getting that weight off quickly is very helpful.

Thank you!

I too had a lap band put in in 2011 and after a year of hell with it and not much weight loss, it slipped and I had to have it removed. To be honest I was glad to get it out of me - it was either not giving me any restriction or too much to where at times I could not even ge****er down. I was never able to get to that "sweet spot" where the band does the job it's supposed to do. Between the pre-op loss and what I lost with the band, I was able to get 80 pounds off - 30 pre-op, 50 with the band, and it took a whole year to do that. Some of that, at the end, was from starvation and dehydration - for two weeks prior to having it removed, I could not eat ANYTHING and barely get any fluid down either. I gained back 10 pounds almost overnight after removal surgery just from being re-hydrated! Over all I've kept off about 50 pounds in the years since the band removal (2012).

I am now in the pre-op process for RNY surgery. I was leaning toward the sleeve at first but after doing a lot of research, talking to others who've had both RNY or Sleeve, and at my PCP and surgeon's suggestion, I have decided to go for the RNY. For various reasons. I know 5 people who have had RNY surgery and all have been 100% successful at getting off the weight and keeping it off so far, with no complications except with one person who developed hypoglycemia, but she admitted she wasn't taking her vitamins nor eating properly. Now that she's back on track she has had no further issues with the hypoglycemia. I know 3 people who have had the sleeve. One reached her goal of losing 100 lbs and is very happy with her sleeve. One has had minimal weight loss and isn't very happy with the sleeve and wishes she'd had an RNY. The other lost about 1/2 of what he'd hoped to lose over the course of a year post surgery, but then started regaining and has gained back all that he lost plus more. Obviously he is not very happy. I also met several people at the WLS support group I attend that are hoping for revision to RNY from sleeve as they are not happy with the results from their sleeves.

I am still in the pre-op stage with a surgery date in late Sept. I am hoping that I am one of those that DO dump as I know that will keep me away from trigger foods - but if I DON'T dump, I know I need to stay away from those foods anyway. For me personally, certain foods are like heroin to my body and brain - once I take a bite, I'm likely to end up on a binge for days. I'm addicted to carbs, fats and simple sugars. I hope after surgery that I will be strong enough to not test the waters to see what I can tolerate, but rather just stay away from those triggers all together. The psychologist I saw for my psych eval told me of a man she knew who weighed over 400 pounds, lost 250 to get to goal weight, and then through testing the waters, found out that he could tolerate eating a bit of chocolate covered raisins. He started out just eating a few but soon enough he was snacking on them every day and even tho he followed the recommended diet in every way but that one cheat, in a year's time he'd gained back 70 lbs before he finally got a grip and cut out the chocolate all together!! I do not want that to be me!!

I am also one who has a very slow metabolism, so I know I NEED the malabsorbtion from the RNY. Also I believe you can eat less with the RNY than the sleeve and that is appealing to me too. I already have to keep my calorie counts very low just to struggle to lose weight, so the idea that I can only eat a wee bit with the RNY is appealing to me. Lastly, I am older (64) and the clock is ticking for me - for however many years I have left on the planet I want to get this weight off as soon as I can so I can enjoy those years to the fullest! So, all of that taken in to account, I decided to go for the gold, and since the RNY is the gold standard of WLS, I'm going with that. Best of luck to you with which ever surgery you decide on! Just remember that either is only a tool - not a magic bullet, and if you start eating "forbidden" foods again you are likely to be one of those that eventually regains!!

Catherine

thank you so much! that was so helpful! i hate my band too. i never got the sweet spot either. i lost the weight by working it off with the band and it did help me keep it off but i don't think it let me loose anything! it was 2 years before i was down the 80 lbs. i've also had it seem fine but then its suddenly to tight to even swallow my own spit! i also have a very slow metabolism...

wow i had just talked myself into going with the sleeve and now im not sure again lol. great info thank you!