Advice prior to possible conversion

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Sorry you are having so many problems. At your current weight, would you be eligible for the bypass? I have only thrown up 3 times in 3 years.  I've felt like I might throw up many times but it passes.  My husband has probably thrown up 20-30 times in 4 years.  For both of us, the experiences were "self-inflicted" by not paying attention to chewing well enough or overeating.  Also, throwing up is preceded by the foamies which is thick saliva.  No bile involved. I get dumping syndrome and my husband doesn't.  For me, I get lower abdominal soreness and that is dumping (per my surgeon).  I do not get cramping, sleepy, diarrhea, etc. I've had post-op issues and my husband hasn't.  I've had trouble with bloating and abdominal pain.  I had lap exploratory surgery and an adhesion was found but I still have issues.  I recently went to a gastroenterologist and we are thinking it is bacterial overgrowth in the intestines and I'm on antibiotics and probiotics.  Hopefully that will improve things.  Also, I found that too big a vitamin will trigger esophageal spasms (got chest pains) - so I resolved that by using capsules or by cutting any pills into smaller pieces. Hubby and I both take a fair amount of vitamins daily.  This is based on labs.  We have had to up Vitamin D, calcium and iron.  I've had to add selenium. Hope this helps!  There are quite a variety of experiences out there. Kathy

Kristy, I've vomited 3 times in 3 years all due to not chewing well.  I've had no aversions to any food; some do but I guess I'm a lucky one.  Eggs I don't care for because they sit heavy but other than that I eat whatever I want.  I do dump, I guess somewhat but it's more nausea than anything.  I've also had some bouts with reactive hypoglycemia but I have been fortunate to control with eating. No other problems at all.  As Kathy said, vitamins are necessary for us so it is very important to have your labs run and to monitor what is happening.   Good luck!

I've been pretty fortunate in that I haven't thrown up at all since RNY, but I do make myself sick sometimes and have to be real still until it passes. I'm lactose intolerant now, and I think that's real common. I've been trying Lactaid and for some reason that even makes me sick. I can eat a cookie or a Hershey's kiss and nothing happens, but if I have more than that I feel awful. I get nauseous, rapid heartbeat, and sweaty, and it lasts anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour. What's cool is that I usually only get sick off the things I'm not supposed to eat. My worse experience came from cornbread. I like to make pinto beans or 15-bean soup from ham bones (I'm in Georgia), and I can't indulge in that anymore for sure. Oooh, it makes me sick remembering how it felt. I guess that's just too much fat. My digestion has been a lot better since RNY, probably because I eat so much better and don't stuff myself as much. I have been happy with my RNY so far, but I'm not quite 2 years out and I have noticed it getting harder to maintain. I went from diabetes to reactive hypoglycemia from the weight loss, and I have to eat several times a day to keep it regulated (something I love), but every month or so I find myself wanting to add anoher meal/snack in there, and my calories are getting out of control. So after all this, I'm having to use self control to maintain my weight, and even though I knew it was coming, it stinks. I don't mean to bash the RNY, it's a great tool and I sure couldn't be successful without it, but it's still going to take some hard work to stay this way.

Will any surgeon perfrom a RNY on you with a BMI of 32 should be your next question.   In the US, you can basically only get the RNY if you ahve a BMI over 35 and even then only if you have comorbidities. Because the band is causing you to throw up (very common issue) perhaps you should look into having a revision to the verticle sleeve gastrectomy (VSG).  It will give you all the restriction you need to lose that last little bit of weight, and none of the malabsorbtion or dumping issues of the RNY, which you fear.  It's just a throught. Scott

My insurance company used to only do RNY surgery. Now they also authorize lap band. But when the client goes for consultation, the factors are considered. Based on the amount of weight to be lost from surgery, the RNY is generally the one recommended. Lapband in the US is normally considered OK for 60-80 pound weight loss, whereas 100 pounds or more is more suited to RNY.  I had RNY in May, 2006, and went from 345 to 202 this morning. I've never had dumping, only thrown up twice (my fault for eating or drinking too fast) and found very little foods that bother me.  But not every patient reacts the same exact way to RNY surgery. Some have trouble eating bread, pasta, or rice. Some cannot eat beef. Some even had difficulty eating chicken. Some dump easily, some only dump on specific types of foods.  If you have a substantial amount of weight to still lose, and your insurance company offers a revision, then you might decide to go forward with the revision. It's your decision.

I've had a lapband for two years, but eventually found that it is not compatible with my esophagus.  I got along fine the first four months and then had my first fill, which was a very small amount.  I then started having problems with food sticking.  To make a long story short, after several fills and unfills we discovered that my esophagus became spastic with the addition of the lapband which in turn caused me to vomit once or twice a day (no bile, only slimey).  That got old fast.  I was afraid to eat anything remotely solid when away from home.  I didn't care to explain to people why I took so long in the restroom waiting for the food to dislodge.  The doctor removed all fill and said the band needed to be removed. I am scheduled for removal of the band and a revision to a Lap RNY June 11.  Initially my doctor urged me to get a RNY too, but I didn't like the idea of the malabsorption.  After losing weight with the band, my BMI was on the low side, but the doctor assured me that it would not be a problem since the band had failed for me.  Insurance did ultimately approve the revision. My daughter had a band also, which started causing her problems about six months later.  It took several months for them to determine what was going wrong for her and only after extreme pain , much of it located in her back between the shoulder blades, and many visits to the emergency room did they decide to do surgery to remove the band.   It was a big surprise to the doctor to find that it had prolapsed.  She ruined his perfect record of no prolapses!  It was later that I started having problems with mine and when we realized what was going wrong for me, the doctor said it finally made sense to him as to what had happened to my daughter to make her band prolapse.  He figures that the esophagus problem is hereditary. I don't want to go back to having no tool to help me.  I've struggled with weight gain since I was 15 and I don't want to do that anymore.  I wish you luck on your decision.  It isn't something to take lightly.  My daughter is thrilled with the RNY and says she certainly doesn't miss the food sticking!  She sees the trade off of taking extra vitamins worth it to have an active life that allows her to play with and enjoy her children.  This Saturday she is even running in a mini marathon her husband.  She feels good about herself now and I'm looking forward to the same. Take care, Deb