mistysj

Anyone else still around? It’s been nearly 6 years! I’ve maintained well and had skin removal surgery last October. They removed 7 pounds of skin through a tummy tuck and breast reduction down to a B! I don’t regret anything about the surgery, though I would have preferred not to have to convert to bypass due to reflux and ulcers. Still no diabetes after all this time and I’ve really never had trouble maintaining my loss. I’m currently around 122 lbs and 4’11”, right in the middle of normal BMI.

And that is sadly understandable.

@@globetrotter regardless of your weight, you need to get the GERD seen to. A gastroenterologist or gastric surgeon will be your best bet, and you need to be very persistent. Get an endoscopy so they can assess the damage the GERD may have already caused, and take it from there. Honestly, who cares what your weight is or what surgery you had if you get esophageal cancer?

Globe, I know you asked for a PM but there seems to be general interest so I will put it out there. GERD can cause cancer. If you are not controlling it with a PPI you need to be proactive. The sleeve increases the pressure inside your stomach causing stress on the valves at the top and bottom. Some of us seem to be able to handle it and others not. I was not only having GERD but bile reflux from my intestine back into my stomach. Bile is caustic like lye and reacts to stomach acid sort of like vinegar and baking soda. I had ulcers in my stomach and intestines. In addition if bile and stomach acid reflux into your esophagus you can get Barret's Esophagus which is a precursor to esophageal cancer. Not trying to scare you but just to be real. The RNY splits your stomach or sleeve into two parts. An upper part which connects to your esophagus and your small intestine about 100 cm down from the normal place, and a small part that connects to the common bile duct and then connects to your intestine. So the food and digestive juices don't mix until they get together in your small intestine (which is where digestion happens anyway) and reflux is basically impossible. My surgeon said that the part of my sleeve that he used for the bile part is only about 10 ml (2 tsp) and I am already close to my pre-revision capacity a month out. I've had no issues. Even my poop is kind of normal for the first time since my sleeve surgery. I know most of us chose the sleeve because we were dead set against the bypass but I am sure seeing a lot of sleeve to bypass revisions now because of GERD, both here and on Thinner Times. I hope the word gets out to pre-op folks so they can make more informed decisions.

I just want to step in and say to Frumpy, regardless of the weight gain, please take the GERD seriously. I am just a month out from revision to bypass that was necessary because of multiple ulcers and inflammation that occurred despite me taking nexium since my surgery in 2013 and never actually feeling heartburn. We don't have much stomach left after sleeve and we can't afford for GERD to damage it. Gastric bypass makes GERD practically impossible because the bile duct is in a different part of the system from the esophagus and stomach after the bypass. I'm not saying you need bypass but you need to be monitoring the situation with your doctor.

It's tricky to say as it was "silent" reflux. I didn't really ever have proper heartburn. So I'll find out at my 4-week appointment. Because of the way the bypass works I was told it would be almost impossible for me to have reflux afterward. It's hard to tell with the diarrhea as well. It seems like it might be a smidge better but I am still on liquids so it's still not expected to be "normal" yet I suppose. So just waiting a bit longer to see.

Still doing pretty well. Bring on week 2 of liquids. Back to pre-op weight now. Not really trying to lose anything which is weird in a way!

I'm home now. Tolerating free fluids fine. My capacity is better than with the sleeve. I'm nursing a protein shake now. It's funny not to be so worried about the calories as I was the first time. To maintain I probably have about 1600 and I don't really count anything. So during the liquid phase it will be nearly impossible for me not to have a deficit. It's also weird to realize that this time my goal is to maintain, maybe losing a couple of kg but it's not a priority at all.

Thanks for the welcome back. I have to say I can't get used to all the ads though. Surgery went fine yesterday morning. It took two hours including a massive hiatus hernia repair (had it repaired as part of the sleeve surgery too but it came back). This morning I had clear fluids for Breakfast with no trouble (about 6 ounces total I would guess). The expected amount of pain. Everything seems easier this time around even though the sleeve was very easy too. I'll be out of the hospital tomorrow and on full fluids for two weeks, mushy for two weeks, then gently back to normal. I expect to be back at work (desk job, work from home) next week.

Thanks for that info! My biggest concern is what my pouch capacity will be compared to the sleeve now. My surgeon thinks I will not have any trouble but it is in the back of my mind as I have never really noticed a loss of restriction. I still don't eat more than 50 grams of dense protein at a time for instance.

I saw a section for band to sleeve and one from band to bypass but not one for sleeve to bypass. I will look again. Note that this is also different from sleeve to duodenal switch. Thanks!

I'm revising from sleeve to bypass next week because of severe acid and bile reflux. I am over two years out and at my goal weight but my stomach is full of ulcers that could cause permanent damage, and that is with a large dose of nexium every day since surgery. So do what you feel is right. A lot of people get the sleeve because they specifically don't want the bypass but then some of us seem to end up with it anyway.

It has been a while since I was posting regularly here. I had vsg in May 2013, reached my goal weight and a healthy BMI in about 16 months, and have had no trouble maintaining. I've been very happy with the sleeve overall. But I have had some trouble the whole time. Basically I dump (severe diarrhea and sometimes severe hypoglycemia too) after almost every meal. We are talking agonizing, clear-the-ladies-room, stuff. I actually experienced it right after surgery in the hospital and they said it was normal and would go away. It never has. I've worked with my surgeon, dietitians, other gastroenterologists, I've had all kinds of tests including numerous endoscopes and colonoscopies. I tried going dairy free, gluten free, low carb, low fat. I had my gall bladder removed after a severe attack and hoped it might help. I took Questran at 4x the normal dose. I tried calcium. I tried eating g things that tend to block other people up. I ate 120+ grams of low fat Protein a day. Nothing helped. Now I have another problem too. Despite being on nexium since surgery, I have severe acid reflux and bile reflux that have caused my stomach and upper bowel to develop severe ulcers. The acid reflux is a relatively common long term complication of the sleeve. The bike reflux is often genetic and doesn't cause a lot of trouble with a full size stomach apparently. My current gastroenterologist is going to revise my sleeve to a bypass, which will eliminate both types of reflux because it will be impossible for the acid and bile to reach the pouch from the blind stomach. He also thinks that the bile reflux is causing the dumping because it is impeding the break-down of food, which is passing through me only partially digested. So I will be having the revision Monday morning and I get to re-experience the joy of the 6 week post-op diet. My surgeon is confident that any weight I lose will only be temporary, since I really don't need to lose more. I may actually gain a bit because I will be absorbing more nutrients. I don't know how many sleeve to bypass revisions there are, so I wasn't sure where to post this. Hopefully it is helpful to someone.

My favorite is the Musashi High Protein (not the Low Carb -- it is confusing). I get the vanilla and add some instant coffee or some milo and make it up with Water. I still have some on hand even 15 months out from surgery. It's a quick snack now that I can drink quickly. The Optifast is a bit of a waste in my opinion. Low on protein and full of sugar. Yes it has some Vitamins but as soon as you are cleared you should be on a Multivitamin tablet.

It's not like on a diet when you are still hungry but stop anyway. You will be full, even almost stuffed. You want want to keep eating so it won't feel like a burden to stop. I'm 15 months out and this has been my experience the whole time.