I have been on this journey for almost a year now. I had jumped through the insurance hoops only to have my insurance company change right before a date could be set! So then I went through all of the requirements for the new company. I was approved immediately over the phone last week!! Now I'm starting to second guess my decision for RNY and am thinking more along the lines of sleeve. My reflux has improved greatly over the past few months and that was my main reasoning for RNY to begin with. I have an appointment on 5/23 to set my surgery date. I have a EDG scheduled for 5/11 and will have an UGI on 5/23 as well. What are some things you considered when making your choice between the two surgeries. My doc does think I'm a good candidate for RNY.

36 minutes ago, jennmonterrozo said:

second guess my decision for RNY, doc does think I'm a good candidate for RNY.

@jennmonterrozo

glad things are resolved w/insurance

i'm happy your reflex has improved so much

but..........i've always heard that if you are

prone to heartburn/reflex stay away from

the sleeve - sleeve can initiate or make

heartburn worse.

RNY supposed to be more invasive!!. doc gave you

his opinion between the surgeries. of course it's

your decision - get more info from doc ask more info from doc

have him explain his reasoning between the two WLS

btw - i have been a happy sleever for the past 5+ years

(no pressure here)

ball is in your court - i know you will win - for yourself, that's

who counts.

good luck - speedy recovery

kathy

i was so happy with my band... never a days trouble. Then after 8.5 years i got a stomach bug, threw up one too many times and it slipped.

I've been around for quite a few years, have seen the pros and cons of most all of the WLS. For me, if i had to do it over again..... I would still do the Band. It (tina) taught me very valuable lessons on how and what to eat. Now i can still look at my plate and know exactly what and how much i can eat to stay where i am now.

The MGB would be my second choice.... Then the GB, then the sleeve.

After failing a 10 year history of lap band, I chose to have a sleeve instead of RNY. the sleeve was always the first step in RNY and then the rest of the bowel was redirected. Research has shown that the sleeve is as effective as RNY with less bowel correction to be performed. The hormone ghrelin is reduced 75 % in both sleeve and RNY which causes hunger. Both help Diabetes control. but when you have RNY which causes major changes in the anatomy, there can be problems. Ask your surgeon about dumping syndrome. I have known a lot of RNY people including my bariatric nurse coach who suffer from this problem many times. With gastric sleeve, you have all the benefits of RNY without dumping syndrome and you keep the rest of the anatomy intact. I go a whole day without any hunger pangs. I have to force myself to take the proper amount of protein and fluid as required in both surgeries. I have lost 30 pounds since December and am six weeks postop from the sleeve. That's my two cents.

1 hour ago, shots95 said:

After failing a 10 year history of lap band

might i ask what happened that your band failed?

I chose the sleeve , for me it seemed like the best option. I had 75% of stomach removed and rarely feel hungry. I am six weeks out now and down 30 pounds I had occasional reflux before surgery but now I do not have it. I think each procedure has pros and cons. Good luck to you.

I chose the sleeve , for me it seemed like the best option. I had 75% of stomach removed and rarely feel hungry. I am six weeks out now and down 30 pounds [emoji4] I had occasional reflux before surgery but now I do not have it. I think each procedure has pros and cons. Good luck to you.

Sounds awesome to me, I'm also having the sleeve because I need meds for my bipolar issue. Just waiting for insurance approval. I'm getting antsy and I'm gonna be all over my insurance company to get my surgery done.

In response to the question of why my lap band failed after 10 years, I have to say I do not know. It was never effective and i was able to cheat. but I had a bad time with it. I would vomit and wretch for hours at times when I over ate. And recently, the cheating foods did not pass through. The surgeon thought there may be some narrowing from all the vomiting. We could not find any slippage. I elected to have the band removed and sleeve done. It was the best decision. No more hunger. No vomiting no wretching and down 30 lbs.

6 hours ago, shots95 said:

the sleeve was always the first step in RNY and then the rest of the bowel was redirected.

This is incorrect. The shape of the sleeve it totally different from RNY. The Sleeve is the first step for DS not RNY. RNY has a pouch at the top of the stomach and the Sleeve and the DS both share the banana shape. One reason I chose the Sleeve over RY was because I know if I didn't have success with the sleeve I could revise to the DS. If you fail with RNY you have no where to go unless you are going to go out the country and have more of your intestines bypassed which is risky.

Also important differences beyond shape is the sleeve leaves the pyloric sphincter in place and the stomach still functions normally, just smaller. In addition a properly formed sleeves removes almost all of the stretchy part of the stomach, RNY does not, it uses part of the stretchy part to make the pouch, thus people with RNY can get a lot of stretch in their pouch. The only way a sleeve is grossly stretched out is medical malpractice.

Back to OP. If GERD was anywhere on the table, I think RNY is the only option. GERD with the sleeve is pretty terrible, if you are already prone, then don't risk it. I never had GERD in my life before having the sleeve which is why I felt it was a safe choice for me.

The research I've read says that RNY is more effective than VSG for the surgical treatment of Type 2 Diabetes. And long term weight loss results are better with RNY over VSG (EWL 80% vs 60%).

But more importantly for the OP, VSG is not indicated for people with GERD. As well, some people who don't have GERD prior to VSG surgery develop it afterwards.

After failing a 10 year history of lap band, I chose to have a sleeve instead of RNY. the sleeve was always the first step in RNY and then the rest of the bowel was redirected. Research has shown that the sleeve is as effective as RNY with less bowel correction to be performed. The hormone ghrelin is reduced 75 % in both sleeve and RNY which causes hunger. Both help Diabetes control. but when you have RNY which causes major changes in the anatomy, there can be problems. Ask your surgeon about dumping syndrome. I have known a lot of RNY people including my bariatric nurse coach who suffer from this problem many times. With gastric sleeve, you have all the benefits of RNY without dumping syndrome and you keep the rest of the anatomy intact. I go a whole day without any hunger pangs. I have to force myself to take the proper amount of protein and fluid as required in both surgeries. I have lost 30 pounds since December and am six weeks postop from the sleeve. That's my two cents.

Sleever here and I dump unfortunately.

I chose the sleeve. Best decision of my life. It is well known that people have gastric bypass often have more serious long-term complications. Trust your "gut" and do what's right for you!