RNY or the Sleeve

[taterbum 20]

Heya all,

IMy clinic just called me and set a surgery date for the 29th of May. I'm excited/nervous and a bit of head spinning, it literally was 45 days from my first doc appointment to surgery. I tell you though, I'm excited for no more freakin testing....OMG I don’t know if I can handle any more poking, prodding, x-raying, ultrasounding and blood taking.

The next question they asked was "I see we haven't decided what procedure, the surgeon is saying you are a good candidate for either. Which one do you want?"

The surgeon is leaning toward the sleeve, due to the fact I use NASIDs for joint pain from sports injuries. I've read a ton, looked at sites, and read forums...and still am undecided.

The bennies vs negatives on each are clear...I'm just still undecided.

Anyone else in this dilemma?

Thanks,

-Jay

[SherB 220]

I am getting the sleeve. I decided I wanted to leave my intestines alone so I didn't want the reroute. I also felt it was safer and less issues. Just my opinion.

[LipstickLady 25,682]

I'd always side with the surgeon, personally, unless I had an inherent reason to choose differently.

[peteyrulz 82]

Hi Taterbum! I'm going thru the same thought process. In my situation either one would work, according to the surgeon. It's all up to me. The way I see it, each procedure has its pros and cons:

I hesitate that I may have 75% of my stomach removed and have it be irreversible, or having my intestines completely "rerouted". I'm still in the early stages, as my insurance requires 3 month PCP diet. Some days I'm full throttle with the sleeve, the other days I'm full speed ahead with the bypass. Have definitely ruled out the band.

so much great info here; I'm learning a lot from this great support forum.

Good luck & let us know what you decide. And give some pointers on how you came to your decision. : )

[taterbum 20]

Thanks Peteyruiz

Those are the exact concerns I have. At this point I'm not sure which way I'll go. In the end, I guess it's what I’m comfortable with and which one will allow me to keep the weight off.

[itsmekarenlee 129]

I was set on the sleeve. That was before yesterday. Then I talked to the surgeon. After telling him I was thinking abut the sleeve he said that was fine, however with my GERD and hiatal hernia he quickly encouraged the bypass instead. Threw me for a loop. Now I'm having to research that! My husband will be getting a sleeve.

So yes, pros and cons to both. I just want to do which ever one won't have the most trouble and not regret it!

[elfnow 277]

If the NSAIDs are a big part of your life, that basically means SLEEVE all the way! The RNY isn't "reversible" either, and if something goes awfully completely wrong, you can still change sleeve to RNY. You can't really change RNY to sleeve, especially not with insurance coverage and a LOT of really dramatic issues.

Most people say they only wished they'd gotten surgery sooner - for me, I am so glad I got the sleeve. I love this thing... I hate the idea of my guts being rearranged, can't stand the idea of a permanent plastic doohickey inside me.... But sleeve was like "oh, that's perfect!"

I'd leave it up to your NSAID use. If you can switch to another type of painkiller, that's one thing, but if NSAIDs are a big part of your world, definitely go with the sleeve.

[peteyrulz 82]

Thanks elfnow for the clarification on reversibility.

your comment "I hate the idea of my guts being rearranged..." , made me laugh so hard.

That's how I feel too. After reading your reply and several others, I'm pretty convinced on the sleeve.

[itsmekarenlee 129]

na. I'll just have to do w/o NSAIDs and hope my body aches go away

[peteyrulz 82]

I've heard & read somewhere here that they do after WLS itmekarenlee. wouldn't that be great.

No more meloxicam for me. Yay!

[elfnow 277]

I will say that even in the first 20 lbs my back and legs started to feel better.. BUT I had not had long-term joint issues... I was mostly around 300-330 lbs before getting pregnant, and then pregnancy and postpartum eating took me up past 380 (my first appt with the surgeon in June 2013, I was 392). I didn't take NSAIDs regularly or anything like that.... But I just FELT huge. And I ached all over. And felt like walking was a tremendous amount of trouble.

I lost ~20 lbs on my own (down to 375 on Jan 27 2014) and then when I did my pre-surgery diet (2 weeks) I lost another 20, so I had my surgery on 2/10 at 355 lbs. it's been 3 months and I'm at 285 now... And YES my whole body feels much much better... But I have actually STARTED regular NSAIDs to help me with exercise.

So there's that, too.

--E

[taterbum 20]

Thanks for the reply all

I've been taking Tylenol in place of Motrin that I usually take for the joint pain. So far it seems to be working fine. I wonder if NSAIDs are not an issue...would the RNY be a better option?