Has anyone heard from Donna L. since her revision?

Hope she's doing well!

I'll let her describe how she's doing. I can say though that she is alive and posting!

I can also say that I'm sure she'll appreciate your asking. You'll likely hear from her soon. =)

I've seen her posting on Facebook.

Aw, thanks for thinking of me, Mahonia. :)

The revision wound up being far more complicated, but it went well despite some complications.. I wound up having three hernias, and one was my sleeve was twisted into a corkscrew shape above my diaphragm and pushing into the chest cavity by quite a bit. That had happened since my last EGD, weirdly, and they were not expecting it. Nnnno idea how that happened, because my sleeve was textbook perfect on all previous scans and so forth. They had to repair that and two other smaller hernias I had developed. Even if I wasn't getting a revision I'd have needed surgery soon to fix the sleeve. I did have one wound infection, but it resolved in about a week.

The most amazing thing was that I instantly had no GERD. The GERD was pretty bad before, like having a sea urchin drop-kick you in the chest even on multiple PPIs. I feel the best I have for almost a year and a half, and wish I hadn't waited so long to revise in some ways. Zero regrets.

Hi Donna! Did you have a revision to a RNY or a LoopDS, DS or something else altogether? Many thanks!

I revised to a longer-than-average RNY. Not quite as long as distal, however it's longer than the traditional one.

I really wanted to revise to the original DS as that was the plan in getting a sleeve originally when my BMI was 78. The problem is that I was overproducing acid and having issues right after surgery even with a larger and perfectly-made sleeve. Chicago has some of the best traditional DS surgeons in the country, so to not consider that opportunity would have been foolish, given my history (I used to weigh over 750 pounds). I would have had no issues with the SADI/SIPS/whatever the heck they call it necessarily after doing substantial research about it, but I mean, the University of Chicago is right nearby. I also already follow what's somewhat similar to a DS diet, as I have eaten a ketogenic diet for several years.

After many tests and consulting with some of the best surgeons in the country, the RNY was determined to be the better option by more than one doctor. When even very pro-DS surgeons tell you to consider the RNY you tend to listen. My sleeve overproduced acid so it would not be fixed by more weight loss. The DS does resolve GERD, actually for a percent of people - that's because a top cause of GERD is pressure causing the upper esophageal sphincter to weaken. The problem is that if you retain acid overproduction, this will not necessarily work.

It was very difficult to abandon the idea of the DS, actually. As soon as I woke up from surgery though, I had zero regrets. The hoarseness has gone away, and swallowing is easier so far. We'll see how that goes with solid food in two weeks, though! However, I am 100% GERD free. This shot any lingering regrets in the posterior aside from one - I wish I had done it over a year ago and not waited doing so much research. Seriously, I can't describe how amazing it is to have no GERD. All the pain from surgery is like 1/20th of the pain that the GERD was causing even before the huge hiatal hernia developed.

That's because I was starting to get damage from the GERD long before the sleeve herniated, and the concern was long-term PPI use and the potential issues on top of the GERD damage. I have a family history of dementia and other neurological issues, and it was advised that I should never be on PPIs long-term, so that was a factor in my decision. I was in extreme pain for the past year and a half, had issues swallowing, and was hoarse. A hoarse counselor can't do her job very well sometimes, and the GERD pain was unreal.

I'm so glad to hear you are doing well! It sounds like you and your surgeons made the best decision for you.

Donna, I'm very glad to hear your revision has already been such a great success.

Thanks for explaining (as usual) your surgery and results so well. You're such a valuable contributor here. Thank you for that, too.

Continuing good wishes for your continuing recovery.

Ann