Don't know what to do

To me there is NOTHING worse then living with reflux/GERD. I've been there and I hope I never go back! It's a miserable existence. I would definitely go with bypass. Mine has never come back since surgery. Eating a piece of cake is so trivial. Honestly there are always options. I just make sugar free now for those special occasions. Really you don't miss it as much as how great you feel from losing all the weight :)

I had GERD too, and the idea of possibly having even worse GERD after the sleeve made me decide on RNY.  I also dumped once at about a month post-op (hey, it was Easter!).  I can honestly say that for me, the GERD was worse than the dumping incident.  The feelings of pain from dumping lasted me about an hour and a half.  A GERD attack would put me in agony for an entire night and into the next day.

I've had zero GERD issues since surgery and I'm glad for that.  I didn't always know what would cause the GERD to flare up and attack me, but the dumping I can can control.  As others have said not everybody dumps.

I agree with all of those who said the fear of reflux should guide you more than fear of dumping.  I'm 23 months post VSG and currently discussing conversion to bypass with my surgeon.  I never had reflux before surgery but have a horrible case of it now.  I'm now on Protonix in the AM, Dexilant in the PM, carafate 4x a day and zantac (300 mg) before bed, and I still have heartburn and reflux every single day.  I know there are those who believe that the sleeve can cure GERD, but that was not my experience.  I would think long an hard about how bad your reflux is and the chance that it may get significantly worse post surgery.  Knowing what I know now, if I had reflux prior to surgery, I would have gone with bypass.

Stacy, have you checked food allergies?  There may be something you are eating that may irritate the lining really bad.  

I have RNY and ..I developed bad GERD. I am now on Dexilant, plus I take zantac, and chew antacids as needed (calcium carbonate).

I have food allergies...and intolerances.  If I eat food that I am allergic to,  the next day it- my acid is really bad. Even with all those meds. And the burn can last for 2-3 days...  even after I  resume a very clean eating...

any alcohol - the GERDis bad for atleast 2 days... (I drink very rarely now) 

I also react to some "fillers " in daily meds I need to take. So now I have to be careful when i refill my meds...  It is PITA... 

I haven't been checked for food allergies.  I tried keeping a log to see if there was any correlation between food and acid "attacks" but we couldn't find one.  I can have an acid spike drinking water and I swear sometimes its worse if I don't eat at all.  When I had my 24hr pH monitoring, my acid was recorded at 409% higher than normal.  I had an appt. with my primary care doctor earlier this week and they're testing me for a gene mutation that results in metabolizing PPIs faster than normal.  My dr. said if I have the mutation, taking PPIs will do nothing for me as there will never be enough medication available in my system.  I have an appt with my surgeon in 2 weeks and I'll bring up the food allergies.  He's pretty progressive and open to alternative approaches so it can't hurt.  Thanks for the suggestion.

Check out the five year studies on both and compare those.  That was what helped me know RNY was the best for me.  The outcomes over time are much better.  You will make the best choice for you.  Trust yourself.

~Elizabeth

Terrible gerd pre op. Not once in 13 years have I had an episode of gerd after RNY. If I dump which is rare, I asked for it 

Hi,

Yes, you are stressing. I had Open RNY in '99, and dumping is your bodies way of telling you to behave. It has rarely been a long term problem for anyone I know. Everyone will test themselves at the beginning of their journey, and you will learn fast. It doesn't last long, but it does stink. Everyone thinks this is my last pizza, cake, ice cream, etc. That isn't the case. For a while you can only have small amounts. Eventually you become "normal" as anyone else. This is a tool. Your mind and body hopefully learn how to eat correctly. But remember, your insides will always be different, and you will forever need to educate and remind your doctors of your WLS.

When you stroll to see a new doctor in 5, 10 or 15 years, you will need to educate them, don't ever assume they know how to treat you.

I never had heartburn, acid etc.before surgery, but I do know. Everyone is different. Choose the surgery that will work for YOU! If you don't get the procedure you want, you can be sabotaging yourself. The brain is an amazing thing. I think you already know which road is best for yourself, take the wheel.

Happy Trails!