SLEEVE VS BYPASS HELP PLEASE! WANT OPINIONS!

HI ALL ITS BEEN A WHILE...I HAD BYPASS IN JAN 08 AND REVISION IN 2010 BEC INTESTINES TWISTED AND HAVE NOT ONE REGRET.  I KOW MANY THAT HAD LAP BAND AND ONLY LOST ABOUT FORTY LBS AND ENDED UP REGRETTING NOT HAVING BYPASS. MY DAD IS DIABETIC, HEART CONDITION, HIGH BP AND SLEEP APNEA.  HIS DR KEEPS TELLING HIM HE IS A CANIDATE. BUT HE IS SCARED HE THINKS I AM TOO SKINNY. (I AM TOO SKINNY RIGHT NOW BUT THATS NOT BEC OF MY BYPASS LIKE HE INSISTS! ITS BEC I HAD BACK SURGERY AND ENDED UP ADDICTED TO PAIN MEDS AND TOTALLY LOST APPETITE...OFF ALL PAIN MEDS TWO WEEKS NOW AND GAINING WEIGHT SLOWLY BACK EVERY DAY)...SO HE IS TALKING ABOUT SLEEVE>>>> i KNOW ALL ABOUT BAND VS BYPASS...BUT CAN ANYONE GIVE ME A QUICK EXPLANATION ON THE SLEEVE...I AM TOO LAZY AND TIRED TO DO TON OF RESEARCH!  i DID ALL MY RESEARCH FOR MYSELF AND HAVE NO REGRETS...BUT WANT TO KNOW ABOUT SLEEVE IF ANYONE HAS IT OR WHY THEY CHOSE IT OR DID NOT CHOOSE IT OVER THE LAP  AND THE BYPASS AND ARE YOU HAPPY WITH IT IN THE END OR WISH YOU GOT BYPASS AND SORRY YOU CHOSE SLEEVE?  tHANKS ALL i KNOW i CAN COUNT ON YOU THIS THE BEST SITE ON THE WEB!

 
I've had a band, dumped it after 18 months for a sleeve.  I got the revision at goal, I had the revision 4 years ago.  I'm still at goal.

The sleeve, in a nutshell, removes the stretchy part of your stomach, the fundus.  They remove 60-85% of your stomach.  This also removes a hunger causing hormone called Ghrelin.  It is the safest surgery type long term, about the same or better long term weight loss stats than bypass, the long term risks are a Vit B12 deficiency and ... that's about it.

It's the only surgery type I would permit my father to have.  DS is more effective and fixes diabetes but the sleeve is safer for a higher risk person.

How old is he?  What kind of ins does he have?  If it happens to be Medicare I could be wrong but I don't believe they cover WLS after 65 but again, I could be way off on that.

DAD IS 66...HE DOES HAVE MEDICARE BUT I BEL HE ALSO HAS PRIVATE INS AS WELL. THANKS SO MUCH FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTION SO CLEARLY!  YOU HAVE BEEN EXTREMELY HELPFUL! KNEW I CAME TO THE RIGHT PLACE.

 
Your Dad might feed a little better about WLS if he takes a peek at my blog.  I'm sorry, the table of contents went away, not sure what happened to that part.

www.WASaBubbleButt.Blogspot.com

HE IS SUCH A PITA! LOL  I STILL HAVE YET TO GET HIM TO LOG ONTO MY BLOGS!  HE STILL SWEARS MY LOOSING WEIGHT IS THE CAUSE FOR ALL MY BACK ISSUES!  I WANNA SCREAM.  HE IS SCARED BUT I DID CALL HIM AND TELL HIM EXACTLY WHAT YOU WROTE AND I FINALLY HAVE HIM AGREEING TO GET A REFERRAL TO SEE A SURGEON AND TALK ABOUT THE VSG!  THATS A BIG START...THANKS TO YOU AND VALERIE THAT ANSWERED MY POST.  I AM GONNA PEAK AT YOUR BLOG THOUGH TY AGAIN!

VSG (Sleeve) is the removal of the outer curvtature (stretchy part) of the stomach.  The stomach is reduced about 75-80%, leaving stomach capacity of 2-6oz (depenidng on surgeon's preferences).  The stomach does stretch some over time, but never close to the original size.  An advantage of removing the stretchy outer curvature is that part is also where grehlin is produced (which gives us hunger pangs).  With this, the appetite is greatly reduced.  I can say from my own experience that the body finds new ways to inform you that stomach is empty, but those horrible pangs aren't there anymore even at 6.5 years out. 

There is no malabsorption with the sleeve, so weight loss is strictly related to eating less, unlike the extra benefit of metabolic change you get with the RNY and DS.

YOU LOOK FANTASTIC!  AND MY DAD WILL LIKE THE FACT THAT  THE IS NO MAL ABSORPTION UNLIKE MY BYPASS. NOW WHAT IS THE DS IS THAT THE BAND?

DS stands for 'duodenal switch'. The most effective, long-term, weight-loss surgery, the DS has the same stomach as the Sleeve plus an intestinal bypass. It's also the most effective WLS for resolving or preventing diabetes and high cholesterol.

 Oh, heavens no.  The DS is Duodenal Switch (dsfacts.com).  It's the sleeve combined with the highest level of malabsorption that never stops.  My overefficient body needed the kick in the pants to get me losing weight, for once in my life.  The DS is the most drastic of the procedures, but it yields the best long-term results and lowest rate of regain.  It also requires the highest commitment to vitamins and paying attention to your overall health.

Sleeve Advantages

No dumping
No loss of pyloric valve
Ability to take NSAIDS
Ability to be scoped all the way through, no "blind" stomach

Sleeve Disadvantages

some develop reflux or if they have it, it will get worse
permanent removal of the portion of the stomach
No malaborption
Risk of Leaks

Bypass Advantages

Faster weight loss in the first few months
Dumping, people that struggle with sweets this may be a good thing
Immediate resolution of diabetes in many cases
"Gold standard" for weight loss surgery

Bypass Disadvantages

Risk of marginal ulcers
Risk of reactive hypoglycemia
Surgery takes longer to recover from

He should really look at his eating habits and what he thinks will work best and than choose with the advice of his surgeon.