Newbie here

1- Lost 120 pounds (for the second time) and despite doing what I could, 110 of them came back. Fact: only 3-5% of people with more than 50 pounds to lose with lose and keep it off after 5 years without WL surgery. At age 57, with decades of dieting failure, I finally accepted that I was not one of the lucky 3-5%.

2- BMI of 48.9

3- A1C was pre-diabetic

4-knees starting to have problems.

I only had 3 options, spend the rest of my life yo-yoing, do nothing (really gain 5-10 a year) or WLS. When I was honest with myself and looked at my options, I was ready to do RNY.

Wanted a healthier life!

Good luck with your WLS journey.

I had a family member and a coworker who had good results with rny so I went into this wanting that. I lurked on both forums comparing weight loss results, complication statistics and the comorbidities that each helped with.

Vsg-

1. Weight loss it seemed was slower in the first year but my doctor says over two years it almost balances out between the two. I didn't like the almost.

2. had less surgical complications but if I added in all the people who traded up to RNY I think it equals out. Especially since rny is done laproscopically now.

3. Doesn't cure reflux/gerd all the time. sometimes it makes it worse.

4. Less long term statistical information on vsg since hasn't been used as stand alone wls for as long.

For me the only downside to an rny was the fact that you can't take NSAIDs anymore or you risk ulcers. I only take Aleve and I can easily find something else instead.

There are more pluses and minuses to both surgeries but these are the ones that I was concerned with. I hear there's even benefits with rny when it comes to polycystic ovarian syndrome.

The NSAID rule is true for all WLSs, not just RNY. So that would have been a factor regardless of what you'd chosen!

Hmmm..... Not according to my surgeon. he was trying to push a sleeve surgery instead by saying I'd not be able to take NSAIDs ever again going rny route...these are the type of things that make me worried about using him as a surgeon...ugh.

ASMBS guidelines used to state that NSAIDs were acceptable for the sleeve, but current guidelines state that NSAIDs are to be avoided with all WLS types. (Some people here will still claim that NSAIDs are fine for VSG, but I'm inclined to go with current findings!)

I've never heard of VSG curing GERD; instead, I've heard the opposite, that people without it pre-op may get it post-op and if you already have it, it may get worse after VSG surgery. And taking PPIs (e.g. Prilosec, Nexium, Prevacid, Protonix) long term is very controversial due to possibly causing other health issues, but not taking PPIs when suffering from GERD can increase your risk for esophageal cancer. Tough choices. So do your research and work closely with your surgeon to make the best decision for YOU.

I chose to have gastric bypass because of my pre-existing issues with GERD and I no longer experience acid reflux or have to take PPIs. YMMV

You misunderstood. I said reflux and gerd are cured by rny but not vsg. Hmmm... I'll retead that and see if I wrote it in a way that was easily misunderstood.