To RNY or not to RNY. I need your help.

I am a failed Lap Band, 5 years out.  I want this thing out of me.  Its not all the bands fault, I guess I had a really hard time all these years chewing mush and running to a bathroom everytime I ate.  My surgeon must have done 30 adjustments over the years and it was a guessing game. (  he did not use fluoro. )   I am now having a problem and have developed diabetes although my numbers are low, my weight is exactly where I started and am now thinking revision.  I am not sure what will work for me.  Im scared of RNY, I can't see myself thinking about food 24/7 again , planning every meal around bathrooms and mushing .  But I know that sweets are a big thing for me and maybe RNY by eliminating or dumping might help.  I am torn between sleeve and rny.  So.. help.  tell me the good , bad and ugly with RNY.  every detail you love and HATE about it. what are your meals like, how did you get past the sweet tooth,  etc..  Thank you. 

I had RNY in June 2013.  Best thing I have ever done.  I didn't get the Sleeve because I had issues with Reflux, and from what I understand, having the sleeve surgery makes it worse.  Why are you scared of RNY?  People react differently to whatever surgery. After two years, there are some things that I still can't eat without some discomfort (Steak, rice, oranges).  I have a sweet tooth as well; at first, I couldn't eat refined sugars (like cakes, donuts).  I can now, but they just don't taste the same, so I will rarely indulge.  I also don't want to be large anymore, so that definitely keeps me motivated to not eat crap food.  Believe me, it's STILL a struggle!

Some folks will dump with sweets; some won't...I only dumped one time...because I ate fish too fast...not fun at all.  I learned my lesson after that!

You will be working on your weight for the rest of your life...it's a commitment, but it can be done...

Good luck to you!

I am only 1.5 months out and RNY is the best thing i ever did for myself.  I feel great, no issues with the surgery or recovery.  I have my life back and i am only 1.5 months in.  Only regret should have done it sooner then all the diets i did over the years...

I am a failed band patient too.  One day it just started getting tight and uncomfortable.  I ignored it for a while and finally went back to my surgeon.  He unfilled the band about a year and half ago and slowly filled it again. Since then I have gained weight steadily (50 lbs total)!  I am miserable!  Some days I can eat whatever I want and then other days I can't eat at all.  I am pursing a revision too.  I saw my surgeon on Friday and he said that RNY is the best option after having the band so I'm starting the process.  I am so sorry that I didn't do RNY in the first place but I guess it's time to start over. 

I'm not sure what scares you about RNY. I'm three weeks out, and I have only experienced discomfort with eating a few times. That discomfort consists of pressure in my chest and sometimes burping or hiccuping. I have not vomited or dumped. I try to chew my food throughly, but I haven't had to chew as much as I expected. I am learning to satisfy my cravings with one or two small bites. The biggest adjustment is getting used to the tiny portion sizes. I did not want the sleeve because of acid reflux. 

I am almost two years since having rny. I had given up sugary things over six months before surgery. Not easy but doable. Hard to pass up that donut when everyone else is indulging. This Easter we went to a seafood buffet. Had some ssteamed shrimp, bit of crab and small bite of salmon. So I figured I could try a bit of cheesecake. Looked really good. Two bites was all I could do, just didn't taste good. From a sweet tooth kind of person that I was to now having something that I could say was too sweet shows me how much your tastes can change. Give me the shrimp over a sweet any day. Now at goal and maintaining makes this experience so worth it. I will always have to be careful, weigh myself nearly every morning and adjust my day accordingly but even then I don't make food my focus. Plan what I am going to have, put on my size six jeans and get on with life. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I would not have gotten the sleeve. Sleeve is restriction only and I needed more than that. I had restricted my diet and I still wasn't losing. I know the malabsorbtion may not last forever, but it is helping me to lose the weight. I realize I will always have to watch what I eat and exercise to maintain and stay healthy, but I would rather do it from a thinner place than overweight and have all those additional problems. RNY has a longer track record. The studies I have seen (New England Journal of Medicine) specifically look at RNY and the reversal of diabetes. The diet my surgeon gives is the same for both in terms of the stages. It is also a lot easier to 'eat around' the sleeve. I have a friend who had the sleeve in January, at one month she tried to eat a McDonald's filet o'fish and fries...and one of their smoothies. At two months out she told me she ate 2 white castle hamburgers. Yes the first couple of months are hard... A lot of it is in your head-thinking about what to eat and doing the right thing. I think they would be hard with either, I still am focused on it, because I think it is important to stay focused to lose the weight and be successful. I don't feel like I have to worry about going out to eat, or socializing etc. I figure it out. I can certainly eat more since I am further out now, so I do have to watch what I am eating. I am trying now to eat a salad every day for the fiber. The sweet tooth isn't really strong. I have taken a bite here or there. Tonight I ate 2 frozen Chobani yogurt tubes in Chocolate dust...yummy. Any struggles I've had, I don't think it's because of RNY, I think it's just because things change once you have weight loss surgery. Good Luck...

I'm curious, how is it easier to "eat around" the sleeve? One of my friends has certainly eaten around his, but I was originally planning on sleeve and am still trying to get my head fully on-board with the RNY since my surgeon said it was a better option for me...knowing the details of this might make me more confident in my decision for the RNY. But at the same time, my husband is planning sleeve a week after my RNY, and I don't want him to eat around it either.  :(

People that graze, do not do well with the sleeve. Some sleeves are larger than others, so not enough restriction. Weight loss is slower with the sleeve than the rny because of malabsorption. But at 5 years the stats are the same. RNY does lose it's calorie malabsorption after 18-24 months, but the nutritional malabsorption remains because that part of the small intestine was bypassed. No NSAIDS with rny due to high risk of ulcers in the reminent stomach.  

I think part of it is with RNY you are a little more careful for fear of 'dumping'. Only 30% do, but it is always a concern in my mind. People can be successful with both if you make the right choices. For me I knew I needed more than restriction. BTW it is my understanding that they no longer recommend NSAIDS for sleeves either.