Need to Decide - Sleeve or RNY

I'm 4 months into my 6 month program and looking at surgery on June 6. I'm 99% sure I'm getting the sleeve, but I do find myself waffling. My biggest fears are:

1. being plagued with heartburn/GERD
2. not being able to take ibuprofen
3. not being successful in the use of my new tool.

This is absolutely my last chance to finally find the missing piece. I'm 59 years old and have been morbidly obese since my early 20's. I was fairly healthy and active and mobile until I hit 55 or so...and now it's all falling apart. My knees hurt, my feet hurt, my butt hurts, my back hurts, my thumbs hurt, I have high blood pressure, pre-diabetic, insulin-resistant, and for the last few months I've been plagued with plantar faciitis...I have NEVER experienced that kind of debilitating pain. It seems to be resolved now...after 4 injections in one foot and 2 in the other.

It's been the worst ever winter and spring for this old bag.

I'm a rapid volume eater, and I'm seriously trying to slow down and chew my food to mush. I'm very good at following a specific way of eating (avoiding processed and added sugar and most grains) and have been very successful at losing 25-30 lbs....over and over and over, regaining it all plus a few more each and every time. When I hit that inevitable plateau, I lose all motivation and make up for lost time by consuming everything I've been avoiding for the last 2-3-6 months. I seriously don't give a single f*@k at that point.

I'm going to consult with my surgeon again this upcoming Tuesday, to make sure that the sleeve is absolutely the right surgery for me. I have occasional heartburn...but it's usually self-inflicted. (Too big quantity of too much spice). I'm trying to cut down on the ibuprofen and take care of my physical and emotional issues before surgery (therapy, acupuncture, massage, chiropractic and about to start physical rehab to get my back and core strong).

I just want to know that I'm using this final chance wisely and will be successful, at last.

Of course only you can decide. Is your doctor leaning you one way or the other?

Lack of success can happen with either surgery. That's has more to do with mental preparation/dedication than type of surgery.

Ibuprofen is not recommended after either surgery really. But with the weight gone, maybe the aches and pains will be as well.

You're considering everything for the right reasons. Commit to something and don't look back.

No, from the first consultation I was planning on the sleeve. He agreed that it would be a good choice for me. But now I'm having second thoughts...after reading a LOT of posts from people who say their sleeve "failed" them. I'm second-guessing myself. My sleeve sister (bff who is doing this with me) has changed her mind from the sleeve to the bypass. That's why we're going to go and talk to our surgeon again. Maybe I'm just needing reassurance that I'm making the right choice.

The main thing I need is portion control and being forced to slow down. I know how to eat and I eat healthy most of the time, I just eat fast and in large quantities.

I'm really hoping that the aches and pains will be gone (at least most of them) when I've lost 100 lbs or so. My chiro and I are working on getting my back and core strong before surgery, and I'll be working with her regularly post-surgery to make sure everything's in its correct place as I lose. She doesn't "crack" me...she has tools she uses, and she's going to be rehab on me with TRX and kettlebells in a few weeks.

If there is any history or inkling of diabetes, I would say Rn y.

No ibuprofen with either surgery.

And any hint or inkling of gerd/heartburn, for whatever reason, should preclude the sleeve. Too many revisions to be a good idea

I will tell you why I chose RNY/gastric bypass.... I was 2 days before my 56th Birthday when I had surgery.

I had gotten to a place in my life that I had dealt with my food demons- I wasn't binging or going through drive throughs. But I couldn't undo the damage I had done. I would strictly go on diets but wouldn't lose more than 10 pounds of water weight. So I wasn't sure that a mainly restrictive procedure would work for me, I felt I needed the advantage of malabsorption to get me on my way. I wasn't going to go through this drastic surgery and not be successful.

Plus if you have any kind of GERD - even if you think it's your own fault- I wouldn't get a sleeve.

My 2 cents

If you start leaning towards the VSG, make sure your surgeon does a preliminary endoscopy to see if you have had silent GERD. If you have any esophageal damage, you should probably select to have RNY.

My story is quite similar to yours. I am 59, had RnY when I was just a month away from 57. I was: diabetic type 2, on insulin for many years and insulin resistant, had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, osteoarthritis in both knees and fingers. I ate 4 ibuprofen 4 times every day to get around, at my doctor's recommendation. It was the only way I was able to get through a day.

My surgeon told me that when a patient has any diabetes he will only do RnY. Malabsorption and I think re-routing of part of the intestine plays a part. Others can speak to the medical stuff, I remember what my guy said, which is that he would not even consider the sleeve. I love that my surgeon, at a teaching hospital, was educated about both, which played into my decision and I felt safe, most importantly.

I had RnY in September 2016, 18 months ago. I was certain that I was the person who would not be successful, because I was never successful. I think I could pull up posts from my first month on OH where I specifically posted that fear.

Fast forward. I have lost 115 pounds as of this morning and I have recently decided to continue until I do not know when but this does not feel like everything I have to give yet.

I hope that helps. Good luck in your decision. It is an important one.

*edited because I forgot to add that four weeks ago I had my right knee replaced! I cannot take ibuprofen but I do not need it now. My left knee is fine, my fingers are fine and I lost enough weight to be able to have a knee replacement. And, by the way, ibuprofen is terrible for you and your body.

What a story and new life, you must feel so good and proud of yourself!

My mother had RNY well over a decade ago, and I had the sleeve a little over 4 months ago. She lost weight much faster than I am losing weight, she dumps, (some think that is a plus as it deters the sweet cravings), she also is more prone to vitamin deficiency from malabsorption. Sleeve is a slower steadier weightloss, you can pretty much eat anything, GERD would be contraindicated, it is less complicated surgery due to your plumbing not being re-routed. I really think it's preference, and I believe the RNY is probably more popular with the higher BMI patients. I felt it was a little too drastic for me. I had a lot of apprehension with the Sleeve as well, and thinking about the RNY was just sending me over the edge. I have a higher BMI, but I was fairly healthy besides joint pain, and a very very mild sleep apnea. Long story short. My mom attributes the RNY to saving her life, as I do the sleeve. Both are great surgeries!