I'm afraid!

[ericaacire 4]

Hello everyone,

I am new to this site, and hoping for support. I have not had surgery yet- scheduled for 9/24/15, but I need to reach out to others who have gone through this. My surgeon's office has a support group but they are not meeting again until 9/13, and I would like some advice before then.

Last week, after my EGD, my surgeon told me I could not have the Sleeve like planned because of acid reflux, so I would have to have the RouenY. This change strikes fear in me! I have been going through this process for close to a year, and now I am second guessing myself! I wanted the Sleeve because I felt like it was less invasive ( and truth be told, that I would be able to process foods more 'normally'). The Rouen Y scares me.

Now I'm not sure if I should go ahead or cancel. I don't want to have surgery just to have it, especially if I don't feel right about it. At the same time, do I want to pass up this opportunity? I am ready for an extreme change in my life. People at work ( who I told because I need to have time off), and family, have been saying ' you dont need to do that (surgery), try this or that.' "I've lost weight by..." They make it sound easy. I am psyching myself out.

Any thoughts? Did anyone experience anxiety before surgery and second guess themselves?

[OutsideMatchInside 10,166]

I picked the sleeve because it was what I wanted. I have never had heart burn or acid reflux issues.

While RNY is scary. I think you should consider it. The benefits of weight loss are so great. Insurance is a pain in the ass, and if later on your decide you want to go down this path you will have to start all over, or maybe your life will be different and it won't be covered. RNY has greatly improved over the years.

You are only this young (not matter what your age) once. If you want, and have surgery later you will regret waiting and all the years you missed out being thinner and healthier.

You have to make the choice for yourself, but you started down this path for a reason, you should cross the finish line.

[Amylou 206]

First of all, fear is normal. I think we'd all be concerned if you joined saying "I'm not afraid at all!!". Deciding on WLS is a big deal. It's a gigantic life change. It's permanent. It throws your entire life out of 'norm' into a new normal.

I don't think that the surgical plan from sleeve to RNY should be a game-changer. You will still get amazing results from a RNY. I had mine 8 weeks ago and am down 31 pounds since surgery and 51 pounds since the pre-op diet. I had some extreme anxiety before my surgery - one day I'd be super excited, the next day I'd be freaking out and wanting to run and hide. However once the day came, I just did it. And I don't regret one single thing about it. Recovery wasn't bad AT ALL. Slowly introducing foods back wasn't horrible at all. The entire process has been so much better than I thought it would be. Yes there are moments of difficulty...but in the big picture, they are just that - Moments. Not hours, not days, not weeks of hating my body. They are mere moments of self-pity. I would have been way more nervous about the sleeve!! I was told that there's greater chance of leaking and infection in the sleeve procedure. The RNY is the 'gold standard' and the procedure that's been practiced for the longest period of time. Feel confident in that - hundreds of thousands of people have had it....and lived to tell about it!!

You will enjoy this forum - it's very supportive and there are hundreds of people who have been right where you are.

[IncredibleShrinkingMan 437]

Your weight loss will be slightly greater with the RNY, so from a success standpoint, that is an even better call. However, it is pretty clearly a greater sacrifice with greater potential complications, and if the basis of going with RNY is the unavailability of the sleeve, and not because RNY is what you want, I might actually postpone. It is a big decision between the two. I have awful GERD myself that has only gotten worse after sleeve, but nobody tried to block my surgery on that account. If you can, I would seek to have it treated so that it gets down to the level the surgeon will be happy with. If, in the mean time, you become comfortable with the RNY, do not second-guess it at all.

P.S., are you getting your surgery at Toledo Hospital? I almost had my surgery with Dr. Pat White there, and my family knows both him and Dr. Parodi. Great place, good luck.

[catwoman7 10,867]

do research on the RNY (you may not have had time to do much since you've been focused on the VSG all this time). I've been very happy with mine. I had GERD pre-surgery and it's gone now. YAY!!!

[Pinkgirl1234 761]

I am getting a revision..I have indigestion....going to see an gastro to see what is going on as a result of this band...it has caused me a lot of damage.i am also a breast cancer survivor..,.if the sleeve ain't right ...bring on the bypass...either or.....get it done!!!!

[sbg224 318]

I am only 2 weeks post surgery, but I had terrible gerd prior to surgery, and I discussed it with the surgeon and he said he was not worried about doing the sleeve with gerd, as did other people in the group. I was insistent on the sleeve and the GI doc after my endoscopy said it may get worse but it may not, and do what I feel and the surgeon feels is best So I did, I had the sleeve. I take pepcid every night and so far so good, but I am just starting to add regular food back into my diet. You cannot go by the GI doc opinion alone, listen to what yur surgeon says and get another opinion from GI doc if you really want the sleeve.

[Kari H. 22]

I too thought about the sleeve and hearing that it can make gerd worse and if you do end up with esophageal (sp) cancer there is not any stomach tissue to use to repair if surgery is required! That scared me more than having a RNY. On June 9th I had my lap band out (which had moved and was causing me tremendous pain) and had the RNY done. I have had very little acid reflux, before surgery it was actually a lot worse. I have had no complications and I would do it again in a heartbeat!

but, the bottom line is you need to do what is right for you and be comfortable with your decision, after all you and only you have to live with whatever decision you make!

Good luck to you my friend and take care.

[AngelaWilliamsMD 290]

Obviously both procedures are life changing. I wouldn't go forward with gastric bypass unless you seriously want it. You can always seek a second opinion if you are still contemplating the sleeve despite your EGD findings.

[Babbs 14,680]

I say go for it! Because of my terrible GERD, I sometimes wish I would have gone that route. My weight loss has also been a little on the slower side with the sleeve, and I sometimes wonder if it would have been a little faster with the bypass.

FYI, my husband had RNY 9 years ago, and has had ZERO problems. He has also kept 100+ pounds off (aside from a 30 pound gain after quitting smoking, but he then lost it again.) He says he would do it again in a heartbeat!

Good luck with whatever you decide!

[SleeveandRNYchica 1,155]

I had the sleeve 3 years ago. I have to have revision due to Gerd plus a couple other sleeve complications. I honestly wish I had opted for RNY initially. I must admit I am more anxious about having revision surgery than my initial procedure. I know many successful RNY'ers!

[Daisee68 2,493]

Totally normal fears. Exact same thing happened to me and I said I would not be pursuing RNY. That was January. i am not (almost) 11 weeks post-op RNY. It did take me a while to come around to it. Don't count it out yet. Read a lot of posts. Read some books (The big book of gastric bypass from this site is very helpful.) I still have some acid reflux but hoping it goes away soon. It does keep making me wonder how much worse it would have been with sleeve though. I'm really glad I did RNY (and oddly I was JUST thinking that on the way home!). As far as it being more invasive, I hear that argument a lot but just a reminder in sleeve, they completely remove from your body part of your stomach and it cannot be put back. Sounds pretty invasive to me. (At the very least certainly no less invasive than the RNY.) Good luck! You are the only one that can make the decision but just take a week or so to think about it before making a definitive decision.

[toasty 371]

I am 4 weeks away from my RNY surgery (on Sept. 11). About six months ago, I was still on the fence whether I wanted to get sleeve or RNY. To be perfectly honest, a part of me felt that if I got the sleeve, I would not have to worry about dumping syndrome, which seemed very scary. What if it happened when I was at a restaurant? I was thinking that yeah, with the sleeve every once in a while I would be able to eat "normally" and have a whole piece of cake or something similar, without worrying about throwing up. I was also freaked out about all of the malabsorption issues with RNY, having to be on Vitamins for life, having such a small stomach, etc. I was worried about being "normal".

For myself, I finally came to realize that the RNY was the way to go. I came to realize that the thoughts I was having were attempts to excuse continuing my poor eating behaviors. When I finally realized that, and I was able to look objectively, I concluded that the RNY was the best for me for a number of reasons.

1. It is the "gold standard". If I am going to do this, I don't want to fool around with anything except the approach with proven long-term results.

2. I am trying to see dumping syndrome as a positive: it will keep me from eating things I shouldn't. Just another POSITIVE tool for me.

3. RNY provides the most dramatic weight loss of any of the surgical techniques.

I am no longer worried about eating "normal". Normal for me will be having a BMI under 30. Normal is not eating cakes and candies...I can give that up.

This is a highly personal decision. Be sure you have a nice long talk with yourself about your motivations, and try to objectively look at which surgery (if any) will provide you with the best benefits for you. But be sure you are real with yourself, and not fooling yourself about your motivations.

[Djmohr 6,965]

@@ericaacire

I had the exact same experience as you. I had my heart set on the sleeve and was told and shown all the data on revisions because of redux/Gerd. I had a little more time than you so I ended up going to see another gastroenterologist for a second opinion.

My fear had everything to do with the idea that bypass might be more invasive and the malabsorption concerns. Everyone tried scaring me out of moving forward.

My bariatric specialist asked me the following questions:

1. Why do you have the opinion that bypass is more invasive that sleeve. I responded be caused of the rerouting. She reminded me that to remove 85 percent is very invasive.

Bypass is the gold standard of WLS. People who go thru the sleeve and suffer from Gerd after usually end up revising to bypass.

Bypass is in fact reversible. Once your stomach is gone, you cannot get it back.

2. What about the malabsorption scares you, after all it is designed to help you lose more weight.

I responded with some of the horror stories about people who didn't get their proper Vitamins.

She educated me about why malabsorption is a good thing and as long as I take my supplements: multi Vitamin, Calcium, Vitamin D and B12 and follow up with labs to check progress, I won't have any problems.

By the way, with the band and the sleeve you have to take supplements and go have labs regularly as well.

After that one session with her and lots of time on line, I was feeling so much better about having WLS overall. I got excited, I was not scared any longer and I knew my success was completely up to me.

By the way, I have not had 1 episode of reflux nor have I had to take any meds for it since 30 days post op, no more type 2 diabetes, no more high cholesterol, no more high blood pressure, no more sleep apnea, and last but the most important, no more stage 3 kidney disease.

Don't be afraid, do some research if you need to. See if you can get in sooner and talk to a bariatrician if you are worried.

You have worked way too hard to get to this place and you have to already know that the diet yo yo thing will only cost you more time lost down the road. Haven't you been there already?

[Pinkgirl1234 761]

This is helpful.The sleeve is irreversible and leakage is very dangerous.On other forums and blogs.I see people complaining years later that they wish they had gotten the bypass because the gherelin returned and they were regaining.I can't go through a third surgery...this revision from the band has got to be it.Sort of leaning to the bypass.