Help me choose wisely: RNY OR VSG?

I am 31 and other than being 100lbs overweight, am in fairly good shape. I am a runner and also do hot yoga.

Please help me choose between VSG and RNY.

I am most concerned with recovery time, life after surgery and reversing infertility.

Why did you pick RNY ? How long we're you out from work? What's life like now (especially if you are more than a year out from your WLS).

Since you don't have any medical issues to take into consideration, what it really boils down to is whether you are willing to trade the ability to take NSAIDs (a no-no after RNY), the need to take a significant number of vitamin supplements for the rest of your life (we are not talking about just an extra pill or two, we are talking about taking some kind of vitamins at three times a day every day), and the potential for dumping (only 30% do) for the temporary advantage of caloric malabsorption and the somewhat faster weight loss that it brings. (You will lose the vast majority of it by 2 years out, so it will primarily be a restrictive surgery after that in terms of calories. The lack of vitamin absorption with RNY is permanent, however.)

It may or may not matter to you that you would keep your remnant stomach with RNY but would not with VSG. Some people also want to consider that the sleeve doesn't have the long history of medical studies that RNY has.

The amount of weight lost and the statistics on regain appear to be about the same for the two surgeries. It takes a LOT of sugar to make me dump, so I eat pretty much the same way that I would if I had the sleeve.

FWIW, if I were doing it over again, I would opt for the sleeve so that I would not have to take all the vitamins (and have to have routine lab work to check nutritional levels), and so that I WOULD be able to take NSAIDs for my arthritic knees. (I overestimated how much pain relief I would get from losing the weight and underestimated how difficult it would be to not be able to take Motrin or Aleve and the Celebrex.)

I had open RNY, so my recovery was very different than it would be for lap surgery.

Lora

For some reason I cannot edit my previous response... but I wanted to add that the reason that I did not have the sleeve is that it was not being done by any of the local surgeons over 5 years ago when I had my surgery (and wasn't covered by insurance even if there had been a surgeon doing it).

Lora

I too was 100 pounds overweight.I had a BMI of 40 and sleep apnea, but everything else was fine luckily. I am only 5 weeks out from surgery. I had RNY. I have done really well, with no complications, was walking a mile on day 5 post op( on bad knees) but for the most part I feel great. My insurance did not cover the gastric sleeve so it was not an option for me. I initially went to my doctor wanting a lap band, ( at University of Washington Medical Center) and my surgeon said although he would be willing to do it, he  is taking more out now than putting in and he advised RNY. I got my head around it and I am so glad I did. Lora is right about the vitamins, I am only just learning about balancing that. My friend had the sleeve procedure and had a complication post op where her remaining stomach swelled and caused all kinds of issues, but she healed and has since lost 130 pounds and is riding her bike 15 or more miles a day!  Research and look at what your goals are. RNY has been the industry standard for 25 years or so I think and the sleeve is new, but it certainly has advantages. I have no regrets about RNY. Good luck!!!

Many long terms post op RNY would pick VSG if we could do over.
I had RNY and I wish I had VSG. My doc did not do VSG at the time I had my surgery.
4.5 years post op RNY I deal with reactive hypoglycemia - very typical long term post op RNY side effect. I have to follow a very strict low carb diet to avoid low blood sugars and weight regain. That and problem with vitamin - mineral absorption - even if I take them - is really difficult to deal with. I.e I had to have iron infusions 2 years in a row, even though I don't get periods. I take iron by I just don't absorb it. The last one , this year is costing me over 2500 after insurance pay their portion.

Don't rush the decision, and read/do as much research as possible.  Only you can decide.

A couple benefits for having VSG is being able to take NSAIDS.  That is a great benefit.  The other is the VSG is the first stage to the DS.  My surgeon told me in the event the weight returned, the VSG can be converted to the DS.  He said with the RNY that's it...there is nothing else.

I chose the RNY over the VSG because I was 54 at the time of surgery, needed the benefit of malabsorption  and knew this was my one and only chance to hopefully lose and maintain once and for all.   I loved the idea of knowing DS was a future option, but I concluded if it was something I needed I would probably  be in my 60s by that time  and therefore needed to choose RNY make my RNY work for me at all costs. 

At 31 you are still very young and mentioned your infertility.  There are alot of unknowns for you.  I will tell you after having a 3 day non-stop pounding headache last week that left me laying around with ice packs, I would have given almost anything to have been able to have taken NSAIDS to have eliminated that headache the first day instead of 3 days later.  Nevertheless....I love my RNY and am grateful for it.

This is simply a decision you will need to think about, pray about and not rush.

Everyones needs and issues are different.   ANY weight loss, regardless of the method)  will help with infertility  (I am an OB nurse so we see this a lot)

I chose RNY because my choices we limited by insurance.

Things I like about it are:

• I lost my weight  :)
• I cannot eat sweets aside from 1 small bite or I get terrible consequences (not everyone has this happen)
• My portions cannot be large or I am in pain

Things that are a pain in the butt:

• I am not supposed to take NSAIDS...and I have arthritis.  I do take them when my pain is bad, but I risk forming ulcers
• My eating patterns are weird. I am not able to eat what I cook for my family.  I almost always eat a spinach saled with chicken of beef...every meal...every day.  breakfast is greek yogurt.  Not everyone is so limited....but I am.
• No drinking with eating.  I can live with this...but it takes getting used to

My daughter had the VSG..the down side is that she is capable to significant "cheating" as she tolerates everything in small portions.... and her weight loss has slowed to almost mothing. 

Good luck with your decision

 

 

 

RNY .. my vsg failed