Help! Problems after 12 years RNY

Hey Stacy's Mom....


So I found that revisioner I was in contact with who had a RNY to "stand alone" Sleeve Revision

I will PM you with the information....After reading further I don't think she was a true RNY....



Janie

With a DS, you`d need different supplementation then with a RNY - not necessarily more. DSers have a fully functioning stomach and because of this, they absorb serveral vits better then RNYers. And they can eat more and hardly ever have food intolerances. On the other hand, they have more malabsorbation, and need more of some other stuff. With an ERNY, you have the worst of both worlds - no stomach, but a RNY pouch, AND usually even MORE malabsorbation then a DSer. RNYers are also much more prone to food intolerances (red meat, for example) and this makes proper nutrition more difficult then it is for Dsers.

Intolerance for red meats?  Nah!  Not sure where you heard that but my revision group LOvES red meat (eRNY).  If it's fatty and juicy then even better!  We just don't absorb the FAT!!!  Yay!

And, the WORST of both worlds?  NOPE!!!!  I'd say we have the BEST of both worlds!  Restriction AND malabsorption!  .....  A handful of vites is lots cheaper than a bunch of co-pays for comorbids ever was and a lot less painful than insulin shots!

DS's rock!  eRNY;s rock!  Any WLS that works for someone rocks!

Joyce in AZ
Proxy Revised to eRNY 12/26/07
at Goal

PS...GRAD of AZ???  We meet for support group tomorrow evening (1st Tues of every month)  ALL are welcome!  Pop over to the AZ Board for details.....

I'm with you Joyce....Why do people think we have the worst of both worlds? I too say we have the best....Malabsorption!... and Restriction!....And if it gets right down to it....even more restriction than the DS....although that being said unless one is dutiful in taking their vits! you will have problems....but same with DS...

We do have some dumping....but not if I do as I was taught....some of us RNY'ers can have problems with red meat....but we should be able to eat enough to satisfy our taste for it without pigging out on it...I only have a problem, if I over eat it...

All WL Surgeries have their pro's and con's...Finding what will work for you is the biggest challenge...Some of us choose well and some of us don't....

I know I am going to raise some hairs on the back of the DS'ers necks after they read this but here is what I think...And I'm no stranger to WL Surgery...this being my 3rd procedure coming up in two weeks.

Show me 10... 25 year veterans of the DS....and let those stats...Stand true....as to whether or not it is the most powerful Weight Loss Surgery out there. We won't know this until we have 25 years of stats, will we? Dr.s say, 25 years of tracking progress is what it really takes to know if a procedure is truly successful, or not!

I have 30 years of WL Surgery behind me....I know my RNY surgery was successful, it was me who failed I overeat and overeat. And, I know without a shadow of a doubt that had I had a DS, I would have done the same with it....I'm sure of it....Because of who I am...I like to think I've grown up and can manage myself much better now...But I'm still a little skeptical when people say that the DS is the cure all....I don't believe it is...It is a tool and only that!!! If you don't seek support and educate yourself after WLS....you most likely will eventually fall short...

Go to support meetings...listen to your docs....educate yourself....Love Who You Are! Skinny or Fat!!!

JRolfson

I'm with you Janie!!  The biggest blessing, to me, is that there are so many more options now than when I had my stomach stapled in 1982.  I did fail...but I am a work in progress.  It is nothing short of amazement to me the way bariatrics has developed over the years and given options to many people (like me) who didn't even know there were any options.

Hooray for WLS...ANY WLS that gives someone a chance (or 2nd chance) at a new life!!

Sue

The usual surgery to fix GERD, or acid reflux, is to wrap the top portion of the stomach around the esophogus, after repairing any hiatial hernia.
This prevents the acid from entering the esophogus. The prolem here would be that you've had RNY. There is no available " top portion of the stomach" to wrap, because the top portion is in the form of a pouch and is very tiny. You would most likely need some other form of surgery, possibly a take down of your pouch first, before anything else could be done.
I am sure there may also be another surgery to repair a hiatial hernia, without the Nissen Fundoplication, which is the wrap. I just don't know what it is. Be sure you find a very experienced, knowledgable surgeon for yourself.
Best wishes!

If your reflux is indeed due to a hiatal hernia then the hernia could be repaired and all will be well there.  But, if your reflux is not due to a HH then the band can make your reflux 10x worse.  I'm guessing that is one reason why you might not be a good band person.

Or, there may be some other reason but banding can cause a great deal of reflux and you don't want to add to your current problems.

I had an upper Gi and Barium Swallow 5/5 and it reveiled REFLUX and HH.  I wonder if a HH repair acts like sort of a pouch revision since someone said that the repair involves wrapping part of the stomach around the esophogus?  Strangely enough, my pouch and connection to intestion does not look stretched after 12 years.  I don't know why I am gaining weight.

If you have a hiatal hernia that is repaired with 1-2 sutures.  What you are talking about is a Nissen Fundoplication.  That would be quite extreme for fixing reflux caused by a HH.

Now, if you didn't have a HH and nothing was resolving your reflux then a NF might be doable but I don't know if you can do that with a bypass stomach.  It would be tricky if even possible.

I had an open RNY in December of 1997.  I was approved for a revision (lap banding) of my pouch a couple of years ago.  I went in for surgery fully expecting to wake up and be banded but the attempt failed.  I guess since I had open RNY surgery there was too much scar tissues for them to safely get the band around my stomach.  They gave up.  They said they would never try to do that with a patient who had open RNY.  Laproscopic yes. 

As for coverage of the procedure I kept writing my insurance company and appealing their decision and I even spoke to the president of the insurance company and I got it covered...probably because I was a pain.

I currently am having stomach pains and other gastric problems so I will see the doctor soon.  I hope it is nothing.  If it is something I hope it leads to a proper revision.  Good luck to all of you.