I can not decide between VSG and RNY!! Help

I just received the approval from my insurance and I will be receiving a date soon, and up until this point i have said I wanted the RNY!  However now I'm second guessing my decision and want to know how you all concluded on which surgery was best.  I'm just concerned that their are not enough long term stats on the VSG which is what led me to picking the RNY.  Are any of you 5+ years post op from the VSG and can tell me how you have done thus far.  My only concern with the RNY is losing weight too quickly, I want a more gradual weight loss believe it or not!! Please help !

First off, congrats on getting approved by your insurance company.  For many of us, that is a difficult thing to obtain so congratulations!

I had surgery in 2001 and the RNY was pretty much my only choice.  The Sleeve as a stand alone procedure wasn't done where I was.  If I were to have surgery today, I would definitely consider the VSG and the DS too. 

One of the concerns with the RNY is the weight regain.  Anyone can regain from any of the WLS procedures but the regain from RNY is pretty high.  I've had two regains - lost the regain but it was difficult.  I would have WLS again, no question.  I would seriously consider the VSG.

Being as far out as I am, I'm now dealing with some issues such as dental issues (calcium deficiencies) osteoporosis and others.  I've been compliant with my vitamins since three days post-op.  I can count on two hands how many days I haven't taken my vitamins in 13 years.  The issues I'm having aren't from non-compliance with vitamins.

I encourage you to strongly consider the VSG along with the RNY.  Make this same post on the VSG and RNY message boards and ask members from each board what they think. 

Hi, I'm also not abe to decide. From what I read, only a small ppercentage different on the weight loss between the 2 surgeries. But if you use your tool right you will still recieve the weightloss you want. The rny is just faster loss.with the vsg, you don't have to worry about your stomache stretching out. The ake the portion that. Stretches and makes ghrellin.hope the spelling is right. So , its basically a judgment call.you will have some stretching with both, but your somach will always be small. I watch a lot of dr.s talk on youtube about the subject. Maybe you can look there for more clarity. I hope you find it.and good luck too you!

A lot of my decision came down to my individual health issues. I had GERD, hiatal hernia, pre-diabetes, etc...and the sleeve can make reflux worsen which I wanted nothing to do with and the pre-diabetes/diabetes can be cured (and is gone) with rny so that was my choice. So much of your decision should be individual and based on the pros and cons of each surgery. 

Deanna - please don't let anyone tell you that RNY "cures" Type II diabetes.  It does not.  What both RNY and VSG will do is put your diabetes into remission so you can go off your meds and control your blood sugar with proper food choices and exercise.  I am (and will always be) a Type II diabetic.  I was on 2000 mg of Metformin a day and 10mcg of Byetta twice a day.  I had VSG and went home on NO meds and have had fabulous A1c tests ever since.  My last one was 5.4 with my lowest one being 5.1.  

However, and make sure you understand this - your body will NEVER process carbs/sugar after WLS the same way as someone who was never diagnosed with diabetes.  Meaning that my husband can eat a couple cookies and his blood sugar will go up a bit...but when I eat two cookies my blood sugar sky-rockets.  And yours will too and then probably crash.  So you have to be very, very careful with carbs and make certain you understand that no WLS will make your body "normal" or "cure" it of diabetes.  Our bodies will always be more insulin resistant and sensitive to carbs than other people.  

And if you start eating bad carbs again on a regular basis you will absolutely knock yourself out of remission and put yourself back on diabetes meds.  I've seen it happen to one friend and a family member who both had RNY and then a year or so later thought they could eat like "normies" without the negative consequences.  Nope!  Both of them are back on insulin now.  

If your wish for gradual weight loss is due to loose skin - it will make no difference.  RNY and DS both have the longest statistics for success, and I can tell you that there are many sleeve patients getting revisions to DS (and RNY) when they don't get the success they'd hoped for.  WLS is not one-size-fits-all, so its important to know how each one of them works, and then compare them to your own weight history.  Many docs want you to make the decision because they cannot size up your medical and weight loss history in the 15 min of personal time they spend with you.  Do your homework and stop thinking what worked for one person is going to work exactly the same for you.