Revision from VSG to RNY

No I had no problems but I never stopped seeing my surgeon. He sees his patients every 6 months and when I started having acid issues I saw my surgeon rather than my PCP. Sorry I can't be more help

I had an EGD due to severe GERD. My gastro referred me to a Bariatric surgeon since the EGD showed a hiatal hernia due to the VSG. I too haven't seen the surgeon who did the previous WLS for 4 years. So far the question has only come up once as to why I never followed up with the first WLS MD. I am pretty sure you can ask any doctor ( like your gyne) to give you a referral to a Bariatric surgeon. Good Luck? 

Hi Stacy,

I am six years out from sleeve and have been very happy.  I never wanted to consider RNY, mainly due to stories I have heard of vitamin deficiencies.  I am very curious to know how it is going for you and how recovery has been compared to VSG.  Also, am curious to know how eating is different with RNY versus VSG.  It really scares me that I will be forced to do the RNY and any info you can share with me, or anyone else, would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Deby

Hi.  I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.  My recovery was actually easier than with my sleeve.  My surgeon had me follow the same food progression, but at my 1 week follow up he allowed me to progress to the next stages a few days early.  With my VSG I was able to eat about 4-5 oz of really dense protein (like beef or chicken), now (I'm 2.5 months post conversion) I try to stay around 2.5-2.8 oz.  If I go beyond that, I get incredibly full. It just means I eat 6 small meals a day (which my surgeon prefers).  I'm dealing with some lactose intolerance that I didn't have before, but my surgeon thinks it will pass.  He has me use Lactaid and it sometimes it helps/sometimes it doesn't.  I find I feel better when I eliminate dairy (which has been a hard adjustment since I was a cheese and yogurt and latte girl)  Now if I want. daily, I take my lactaid, but also know it may hurt.  Lastly, I never had a problem with any food with my sleeve.  I could eat anything.  Now, I've been sick one time . . . on quinoa.  It got stuck and I had to throw it up to feel better.  I haven't tried it since, but I probably will try again in a few weeks and see how it goes.

I go for my first set of labs this week, but I'm very diligent with my supplements and don't think I'll have any problems.  There are many reasons that I didn't want RNY initially, but I wasn't worried about vitamin deficiencies since I knew I'd be diligent.  It took me a while to agree to do the conversion, but now I can say I'm happy.  Would I be happier if I didn't have issues with dairy?  Sure.  But on the other hand, I haven't had a bit of acid since I woke up from surgery.  That alone made conversion the right choice for me.

Can I ask why you're thinking of converting?

This helps me feel so much better, I'm glad to hear everything went well.

Thank you