Went to the first seminar last night and did a complete 180!

I went to the two and a half hour seminar last night with my mom.  Luckily, my support group is awesome.  I was 120% for the sleeve.  I read about the bypass and the idea of moving stuff around just seemed too invasive to me.  

However, with that said.  After being at the seminar, I am thinking much more about the bypass for the following reasons;

-I have a major problem with sweets, this has always been my downfall

-My center of excellence has done over 300,000 bypass operations, and have a much longer history on the bypass because it has been around longer.

-Seeing the surgeries actually done last night, the sleeve seems just as invasive considering they completely remove the stomach and pull it out of a small incision.

-the staples across the entire length of the stomach are concerning to me as far as the possibility of leaks.

-I have acid reflux quite a bit now

So, I guess I'm coming here for guidance.  How likely is it that I will develop dumping from sweets?  Would other people mind sharing their experiences?  It would greatly help my decision process!

The statistic I've seen here most often is that only 30% of bypass patients develop dumping syndrome. So the likelihood of you having that problem is pretty low. However, for many people, the fear of it happening to them is enough to keep them "on the straight and narrow", so to speak. The possibility of developing dumping syndrome was also a factor in my choice, I have to admit, but it definitely wasn't the biggest one.

Although I'm just a know-nothing newbie and I did have a couple of mild complications, I do not regret my choice of the bypass one bit. I had moderate GERD before surgery which is completely gone now. My diabetes is in full remission. What really made me want the bypass is the 12 to 18 month period of malabsorbtion, which I felt would give me a much stronger "jump start" on weight loss than the sleeve. The one thing I miss out on by having the bypass over the sleeve is the inability to take NSAIDs, but I'll just live with that.

Good luck on your decision, it's not easy. Just keep in mind that the sleeve, bypass or DS are all tools, and you can be successful with any of them with the right mind set. It's just a question of which one you feel is best for you.

Having RNY doesn't keep you from eating sweets.  About 30% of RNY folks get dumping syndrome if they eat too much sugar, but most of them can eat small amounts, like an Oreo or two.  They can also eat sugar free sweets.  So don't choose RNY thinking it will force you to make good food choices.  That might be nice, but it just doesn't work that way.

However, if you have acid reflux, I would not have VSG.  VSG will likely make that problem even worse, while RNY will likely fix it.

It's a really hard decision.  I went with RNY because I thought it was safer, been around longer, stomach is still there, etc.  I don't think I dump, but I haven't tried to eat a lot of sweets yet.  I don't dump on a little.  It does stink not being able to take NSAIDS, so consider that.  It also seems to me (and I don't have statistics) that people have better success with RNY than the sleeve.  It seems many people don't get to goal with the sleeve. 

I know for me if the sleeve had been available when I had surgery, which it was not, I would not have gotten it based on the fact that you still absorb 100% of things like ice cream, which was my poison of choice.  I was diabetic for two years prior to wls and I have had a 100% remission, SO FAR, with rny, that is 9 years of perfect blood sugar.  I dump and get RH when I eat too many sweets, which helps keep me in check.  That means I can eat 1 cookie, not a box of cookies, but 1 without getting sick.  Two, iffy, three, omg sick.  Thankfully.  That said, my doctor said that it was 50/50 that you might dump, and that it appears like those who were already diabetic had an even higher chance of dumping.  So for me it sounded win win.  I can't eat a pint of ice cream, or actually more then a couple of spoonfuls of ice cream now without getting sick.  It's wonderful.  I didn't have reflux but it helps with that also.  Personally I don't think the sleeve is a viable option for long term success, but that is based on my personal observations and the amount of regain that is possible when you can eat more.  But that is MY opinion and not based on medical statistics.

What are NSAIDs?

NSAID stands for Non Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug. It includes aspirin, Aleve, Motrin, and a whole host of other drugs. They are known stomach irritants, and it's advised that RNY patients avoid them.

ETA Here's a list, which may not include everything but it looks to be fairly comprehensive.

Ah hah!  Thank you.  So, you can still take tylenol, I see.  That is kind of a pain in the butt.

When I learned about the no NSAID restriction, I was a little bit worried at first as at the time, I took ibuprofen for period pain which is serious business.  Since October, I've used only Tylenol and it's been fine.  I don't have a lot of chronic aches and pains, so I currently don't need to adjust or change any medications.

If you already have GERD, everything I've read about VSG indicates that it just makes it worse.  Funny story--I was getting my oil changed at the Subaru dealer and I overheard a conversation between a customer and a salesman.  The customer wanted to return the car they had just bought because the ride made their GERD worse!  I can't even imagine having GERD that bad that a bumpy car ride does you in!

Good luck!  :D

Jen

When I began my process towards WLS, I was RNY all the way. Then I met with my surgeon and a new PCP who works extensively with bariatrics and they both recommended I give the sleeve real consideration given that I am young and relatively healthy. The newest research shows sleeve patients losing on par or more than RNYers and the sleeve is a less complicated surgery and therefore has less risk (though both surgeries are relatively low risk). With this new info in hand I had decided to go with the sleeve. 

Then one of my tests showed reflux, which I was not feeling, but the surgeon wanted to follow up. One endoscopy later, damage was found in my esophagus and I was taking reflux meds. With this new information, my surgeon no longer recommended the sleeve for me, because many people who have the sleeve see increased reflux and as you might know, reflux and the resulting damage is the #1 risk factor for esophageal cancer. My surgeon was still willing to do the sleeve, but wanted to make sure I knew the risk factors quite clearly.

I'm now 3 weeks post-op after an RNY with no complications and I'm very happy and confident in my decision. I think with your reflux issues, having the sleeve is a real risk, one you might not want to take on.