New here!!! Waiting on approval and can’t decide which surgery to have!!! Help lol

[Shauna]

Hello everyone!!! I am currently in the approval process. I have lupus and psoriatic arthritis and need a knee and hip replacement at 45 years old. Right now I’m 4’11 and weigh 245. I haven’t been able to do basic everyday things like go to the grocery store or walk around anywhere!!! I am extremely nervous and can’t make up my mind if I should have the bypass or sleeve. You give me hope and motivation!!! Thank you!!!!

 

[Brookiebean]

I have surgery the 12 I am getting the bypass I am 260 5'8 I chose that one because it had a less likely chance of having to have it redone.

 

[dianeseattle]

Hi Shauna, Welcome to the group.

I had bypass surgery in 2008, before the laparoscopic option was available, so it was an open procedure for which I had to be hospitalized for a few days. I also was accepted into a university study and was followed up on for many months to track my progress. I lost 110 pounds in that first year. In fact I lost more weight than I wanted to and had to gain some back. I'm 5'4" and for some reason I'm drawing a blank on what I weighed, but it was more than 200 pounds, and I remember at one point I weighed 260 pounds.

If you read through the posts here over the last 10 or 15 years, you'll find a lot of details from people who've had both procedures. I know a lot of them were successful in keeping the weight off. When that happens, people tend to disappear from the group, but in my recollection, it wasn't because they regained, but it was just them moving on with their lives.

If I was having the surgery now, I'd definitely go for a laparoscopic bypass procedure. This decision is based on my membership here, reading hundreds of posts about both procedures. I think people are so lucky to be able to choose the sleeve, but it sounds to me like it's not reliable in the long term. I was in my 50s when I had the bypass, and it was the best decision I ever made, relating to my health.

Of course, you can find hundreds of posts who benefited from the opposite choice. But in general, you can't really lose when choosing weight-loss surgery. The bottom line for me was an end to dieting and fretting and self-loathing, including an actual sense of acceptance of my body image, no matter if I gained or lost a few pounds here or there. It also resulted in my passion for hiking in the North Cascades, which I still do at the age of 74.

It changed my life in so many positive ways, I can't count them all.

I wish you the best on your journey.

diane

 

[francesca26]

Hello, my name is Francesca and I got the gastric sleeve done in July 2025 and since then have had on going dumping syndrome with whatever I eat. Does anyone have any recommendations

 

[dianeseattle]

Hello, my name is Francesca and I got the gastric sleeve done in July 2025 and since then have had on going dumping syndrome with whatever I eat. Does anyone have any recommendations

Welcome, Francesca. Dumping is generally related to foods your body finds hard to digest or tolerate.

Do you have a dietician or nutritionist? It's pretty standard to be followed up clinically by someone who can help you track your post-op diet. So the first thing I'd advise is to consult a professional. In tandem with that, you should keep a food journal and write down every crumb of food you consume, literally. When you eat, pay close attention to any response or reaction you notice. Dumping is most common when you consume something with fat in it, but also can be bad when you consume sugar.

And you might not even know the food you eat contains intolerable amounts of fat or sugar. It's very important to read labels. Nutritional labels are organized by highest to lowest percentage of the ingredient it tracks. So anything with the suffix -ose, which identifies all sugars (sucrose, dextrose, etc.) will tell you how much sugar the item contains, by percentage. This might help: Information from the Human Foods Program at FDA

You shouldn't be having dumping if you're not eating sugar. But most important is keeping a journal and having followup care that includes a dietician.

I hope that helps. It shouldn't be happening to you and you can get the help you need to make it stop.

diane

 

[GiantsLola]

Hello everyone!!! I am currently in the approval process. I have lupus and psoriatic arthritis and need a knee and hip replacement at 45 years old. Right now I’m 4’11 and weigh 245. I haven’t been able to do basic everyday things like go to the grocery store or walk around anywhere!!! I am extremely nervous and can’t make up my mind if I should have the bypass or sleeve. You give me hope and motivation!!! Thank you!!!!

Hi Shauna,

I think doing some research and looking at what you think fits you best is really good. For me, I decided to do the gastric bypass. It has been around longer and seemed a little more permanent. My surgeon also thought based on my history it was the best fit in my case.

 

[leftyrea]

I met my surgeon today. he suggested the gastric bypass instead of a sleeve because of my history with acid reflux and heartburn. I know it's not super informational. but hopefully a little helpful

 

[GiantsLola]

Congratulations!!

 

[Tokash]

Hello everyone!!! I am currently in the approval process. I have lupus and psoriatic arthritis and need a knee and hip replacement at 45 years old. Right now I’m 4’11 and weigh 245. I haven’t been able to do basic everyday things like go to the grocery store or walk around anywhere!!! I am extremely nervous and can’t make up my mind if I should have the bypass or sleeve. You give me hope and motivation!!! Thank you!!!!

Bypass. I had the sleeve and gained it all back on top of developing acid reflux