Changed my mind

For the last 3 months I was dead set on RNY! I go for my upper GI tomorrow and then my last clearance appt on Wednesday and lately I have been thinking I want the sleeve. I am just not so sure about the rerouting of my intestine with rny. If I use the tool given I will be successful either way. I f I choose to waste it I will fail. How successful have you guys been? Did you consider rny? Thanks!!
* Kellie*

Which WLS you choose is very personal. I can tell you some of the reasons I chose VSG over RNY. They are in no particular oder:

1. I didn't like the idea of my intestines being rerouted.

2. The idea of a blind stomach left in my body with no way to scope it just icked me out big time.

3. While the mal absorption of calories was appealing, a lifetime of mal-absorption of nutrients and vitamins was not.

4. The RNY uses the fundus (stretchy part) of your stomach to make the pouch.

And the biggest reason.......

5. With the sleeve I got to keep a functioning pyloric valve. The more I read about that and how important it is for long term satiety vs. reading about how the stoma in the RNY often increases in size over time (not always, but can) really worried me.

I am very happy with my choice of VSG. I can eat anything. I have no food intolerances whatsoever. I reached my goal weight and have maintained a healthy weight and lifestyle ever since.

That said, I have several friends who love their RNYs. They have no regrets and are very happy about their personal choice.

Good luck with your decision!

I was set on RNY and didn't even know what VSG was when I met with my surgeon. Once I did a bunch of reading, I preferred VSG but was worried that I wouldn't lose as much and I had a lot to lose.

But I'm now 9 & 1/2 months out, down 170lbs and I have my digestive system intact. I'm a very happy little camper!

I didn't want the re-route or the ghost stomach that could have problems but that couldn't be scoped.   I like that I can still take NSAIDs (you can't on RNY) but you can with the sleeve.  I didn't like the malabsorbtion.  I like that the part of the stomach that is stretchy is gone and the part that produces gherlin (the hunger hormone) is gone.

I knew I needed a surgery, wasn't aware of the vsg until I got to the seminar and then  when I heard immediately knew it was the right one for me!  I have not once regretted my choice - good luck making yours!

One response said with the sleeve you can still take NSAIDs.  This can be very dangerous to take with the sleeve.  NSAIDs have a known side effect of ulcers which are holes in your stomach.  In a big stomach a small hole may not be as bad as having a small stomach with a small hole.

I do not like it when people say you can have NSAIDs.  That is a decision that absolutely must be made by your surgeon.  Not all surgeons will aprove NSAIDs post op with the sleeve.  Mine won't.  These can really be very seriously bad.  In a lot of cases this isn't really a big deal as there are other meds that aren't NSAIDs that can be substituted out.  

As is the case with any medication after having surgery ... they absolutely should be surgeon approved.  Aspirin and ibuprofen are two common meds that will still need to be cleared with your surgeon.  

There are absolutely medical reasons where your surgeon may approve the use of NSAIDs but I can't stress enough how important that you clear all meds including something as simple as aspirin with your surgeon.  

Please be careful with all medication choices post op no matter which surgery you choose and clear with your surgeon.  I know that I have said this many times over in this one response but I feel it is that important.  Also as a teacher you learn that repeating something three times usually gets the point across.  Sorry for the rant.

I was 100% set for RNY until I went to my surgeons mandatory class.  I walked out of that class 100% wantig VSG.  I very much liked the idea of not being "rewired" so to speak.  And... pretty much everything else on Karik's list. :)

I didn't want the band and thought RNY was my only choice until I started to do my research for real. Then I realized that the VSG was a great answer to my concerns about RNY. I really felt like RNY was too drastic for me, that I didn't want to reroute my intestines, and frankly when I found out they would leave part of my stomach in there just dormant it kinda freaked me out. Also, I was very concerned about lifelong issues from malabsorption.

So I just got my sleeve 10 days ago. I guess 11 now. And I have had no pain, no problems, and I feel like I made the best choice for me. I hope that you get the answers you need from this thread. I found all the talk here very helpful in deciphering my own thoughts on the subject. Good luck to you!

Ellen

Thank you!!! My surgeon suggested the sleeve for me and said I was a great candidate. I have a friend with rny and figured since it was right for her it was right for me lol... I am defintely goingwith the sleeve :)

I am certainly not dissing the sleeve as it helped me lose a lot of weight initially. Had my sleeve in 2007 and lost almost 70kg (154 pounds). A slow gradual weight gain saw me regain 30kg (60 pounds) and went and had my sleeve revised (initial bougie was a 40) in 2011. Lost about 2/3 of the weight gained initially but unfortunately for me I have had ongoing weight gain.

I have had a taste of being thinner and can't go back to the size I once was so am now booked for a RNY next week. Perfectly happy to accept that surgical technique, lifestyle choices, etc have all had a role to play in this. I think when you are making this decision need to consider how much weight you have to lose- even with my initial weight loss I was still 20-25kg overweight and your lifestyle and how compliant you will be.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.

Cheers

Leisa

Should add that my ticker hasn't updated and that several of my friends who've also had a sleeve have done wonderfully and lost all their excess weight