Making a decision

Hi! I just joined the group. I am 74 years old and will be 75 in December. My surgery is scheduled for 11/04/2015 and I am having trouble making up my mind if I want a Gastric Bypass or a sleeve. My doctor said I have still have a little time to think about it. Maybe someone can help me make a decision. I am worried about the lifetime diet after the bypass or gaining the weight back after a sleeve.

Go for the bypass.  Get the weight off as quickly as possible.  The diet is the same with either surgery, protein forward and low carb. 

If you were younger I would say go for the sleeve and revise to RNY if the sleeve is not enough for you.  At 74 you do not want to plan for another surgery.  The malabsorption will be a big plus for you.

Please choose the sleeve.  The vitamin and mineral deficiencies that most bariatric groups don't even treat can be fatal.   If you have a chance read my text about a vitamin deficiency that no doctor was aware of after having bariatric surgery caused cancer.  This has been proven,

by documentation of my labs every two months for 5 years.  I am also an RN and see pts. coming to our hospital with so many deficiencies

that after a while the problems caused by these deficiencies cannot be reversed.  I have many pts. and friends that has verified this very thing.

Where can I read your information?

You offer no proof of what you say.  You don't tell us the name of the "magic vitamin" that prevents cancer.  Until you do so, and let us examine the evidence for ourselves, you will not be taken seriously.

I am 5 years out from RNY and have been faithful with my yearly labs and vitamin supplementation. I have had ZERO deficiencies because when I see my lab numbers start to fall, I can adjust my vitamins accordingly.  If you don't stay on top of your labs you can develop deficiencies.  You have to become be your own healthcare advocate and not rely on others to tell you everything is great.  I use a spreadsheet to track my labs.  If I see a downward trend, I correct it.

To the OP:  I had RNY because I had severe GERD. RNY cured the problem.  I have not had a single episode of heartburn since I woke up from surgery.  If you have a history of heartburn, go with the RNY and not the sleeve,  The sleeve can make GERD much worse.

I had NO idea the sleeve can make GERD worse !  A lot of people overeat because of congenital deformity cased hiatal hernias with cause GERD and low grade constant internal pain rom stomach acid in the esophagus that goes away when we snack.  An unrelated hiatal hernia rewards you for constantly eating ... 

I had RNY and hiatal hernia repair and at first I wished i had had the sleeve or DS because i was very worried about the malabsorption ending ... my metabolism slowing with age and inevitable  creeping regain. I also did not want to drink the endless protein shakes I see a lot of RNYes live on lol.. but i actually was real life friends with  many people who ate a little of everything and were healthy as horses twenty plus years post RNY ... 

I'm very glad now five years post op that I chose RNY.  I have had no regain issues .  I don't just exercise - I do competitive sports ( I play in mixed very high level  softball league .. I run I hike up mountains , I dextrose sports like kiteboarding wakebarding and speed skating .  I love my ripped body and taut skin on most of it ( health and sun /weather exposure I think has a lot do with skin bounce -back )   Sure I dream of having the excess fat cells / remaining loose skin ( it dent look BAD but it could be tighter) surgically removed and that will help me lose and keep off the last ten lbs .  

Good luck with your decision- both surgeries are great ... its up to you how you plan to live post op .  I still go to buffets occasionally ...I'm still a bit of an overeater sometimes .  I'm very glad my RNY still malabsorbs a bit and I don't end up wearing the consequences of those buffets and catered events 

Those patients have deficiencies because they DO NOT follow the post op care.  They don't take their vitamins like they are supposed to, they go back to their old eating habits that DO NOT give them the correct nutrients. 

Bariatric surgery DOES NOT CAUSE CANCER.  Talk about a load of bull**** 

Sounds like your hospital's WLS program has a major problem with bariatric patients being lost to follow-up. Someone should get on that before your next Joint Commission visit.

There are a lot of toxins stored in our fat  cells .  When we lose fast post op these toxins get released into the bloodstream.  Exercise and sweating in general gets them out so they DONT end up acing as free radicals and damaging healthy  cells and possibly increasing the chance of cancer post op . Also vitamin supplementation and daily exposure to sunlight ( just 15 minutes  ) significantly lessens the chance of cancer for EVERYONE. 

I personally have been attending twelve step groups for overeating most of my life .  I did have friends who had surgery and got cancer regrettably .  Maybe they would have gotten it without the surgery- maybe it was because they refused to exercise take vitamins or modify their overeating based sedentary  their lifestyle in any way post op .  You'd be surprised how many people actually DO this - I think it really surprises the surgeons too . 

The fact is the people on OH who are taking charge of their health and bad old habits are the elite .  I believe WE here have dramatically less cancer and other health problems than the average population and its statistically proven that having bariatric surgery regardless of the degree of the patients self-care afterwards dramatically lessens the chance of getting all the big three killers - cancer, heart disease and is it stroke or coo0n cancer ? 

How much do you need/want to lose?