Any Regrets?

[DaisyAndSunshine 301]

Issue of GERD with sleeve is definitely there. There are also some surgical complications that would hover our heads. But that is the reason why surgeons and doctors opt for surgery on the "pros outweighs the cons" concept.

If you're worried of sleeve giving your GERD, look at the bypass option. Bypass is even used for long term GERD cure. There are also people on the forum who have had revision from sleeve to bypass because of GERD. So it isn't like you're stuck with having GERD for lifetime. You can do your research on bypass or if your mind is set on VSG, ask your doctor the options of PPI, revision to bypass etc etc etc if you end up with GERD-y complication.

Good luck.

Edited March 16, 2022 by DaisyAndSunshine

[carpeediem 6]

2 hours ago, KateinMichigan said:

AMEN. And women get if at a far higher percentage - so 35% is a bit low for us ladies.

My biggest mistake was coming on here before surgery and only wanting to hear the success stories. I wish I would have asked - "are you currently on any reflux medications?" You'd be surprised by how many people are on high doses of PPI's and singing the surgery praises. I'm a 17 year vet, I know the truth, and I was a lucky one - I didn't have it so bad that I had to get a bypass.

These early praisers might not have experienced the PPI side effects yet. The Iron infusions, the emergency room visits for kidney stones, the energy crashes, the daily nausea, etc. You can't undo or fix or medicate this...I've been searching for years.

Listen - my sister is "fat" like I was. She didn't have the surgery. She is still fat, and is prediabetic...but her last 17 years have full and happy. She's enjoyed life, traveled, enjoyed her career, found and maintained a loving husband, enjoyed life with her children, etc. Here laugh is real, and deep ... I miss having that.

I couldn't play with my kids a lot - too tired. I couldn't enjoy eating with them - not really. I was in the emergency room this christmas with kidney stones - again. Several times in the ER when my Iron plummeted and needed an infusion (I take all my Vitamins - doesn't matter). I vomited out the window on my husbands birthday because my PPI failed and I forgot my tums.

If I could trade my size 2 body for her size 24, I would in a heartbeat. I sometimes get someone saying "aren't you glad you got the surgery - you'd be like your sister if you didn't". They always get a shocking earful.

Now if you are unable to get out of bed, or walk, or function - get the surgery!!!! But be careful of the cheerleaders, especially those who are still trying to convince themselves that they "made the right choice." Many here are freshly out and still in the honeymoon stage. I remember that stage - lol.

Very well put!

I agree that if you physically can't function or get around, then, by all means, get surgery!! Though for me, at 30 years old kindergarten teacher who was medically "healthy." It wasn't the right choice!! I would take being a thick size 18 over all the complications from acid reflux. I just wasn't told the severity in which the complications could be. It pisses me off!!

[KateinMichigan 24]

2 hours ago, Robz said:

I remember my surgeon saying. That if they get the stomach too small. That's what can cause a lot of the acid reflux. So I guess they are aware of what causes it now?? I don't get acid reflux a lot now. I know what can trigger it. coffee is a big trigger. And going several hours not eating will cause it to. ( I'm a hairstylist and I don't take breaks.) the triggers are something I can fix. coffee is something I don't have to have. So I've stopped drinking it. I'll have to start taking breaks to fix that. Ive already noticed that cutting coffee out has already stopped the little I would get.

The acid has nothing to do which what you eat. It’s the shape of your new tube stomach that causes it to slide into your esophagus and also the pressure from the new shape (drop a stone into a narrow vase, and then drop a stone into a bulbous bottomed shaped vase. See how the narrow vase has Water splash all the way out? That’s acid on your new throat and esophagus.) A cup of water gives me acid reflux. I think it all depend on the elasticity and shape of the stomach after it heals. If your internal stomach is all stretched out like an old bag, you probably don’t have to worry. If it heals taunt- you’re part of the 40%. 6 day old cohort study fresh off the presses: https://assets.cureus.com/uploads/original_article/pdf/82323/20220310-21437-wv3yrx.pdf

Ask him about a larger final size. Ask him about bougie size and how he decides which size to use. Ask about what he does to ensure it doesn’t slide into your esophagus. Ask- because once it’s done, there’s no going back.

Lastly, please consider a second opinion from someone who leaves more of your stomach in tact.

My surgeon said it was a insignificant percentage and downplayed it when I asked. When I developed the problem, he pulled a Gerd specialists card out of his pocket - on the ready. Ask who he send his gerd patients to, make an appointment, and get the real story. If your surgeon is really that good- the gerd specialist will tell you how few patients he sees from him.