I know you guys love the sleeve anyone for the rny?

I know everyone loves the sleeve, but are there any pros to the rny?  I am so confused now on my whole situation.  I just gained 6lbs back since last week I guess the stress of all this is taking a toll on me and I don't realize what I am eating.  This week was alot of lunchmeat sandwiches for work all this week.. Soda sometimes but I still put on the lbs...

I just need some pep talks thanks for listening.

   susan

Hey sweetie,  I'm so sorry that you are going through all this :o(   when i first joined OH a really sweet gal named JoAnne friended me when i was denied and she encouraged me to appeal.  She works for an insurance carrier and she was denied and decided to go with the rny as that is all they would approve for her.   She isn't on here anymore but we email on occasion and she is doing really well.   She is at goal and loving life.    I always said i would never do the rny .....but..... if  i had exhausted all my appeal options would i have had the bypass rather than do nothing?  someone else asked me this not too long ago,  she is going through the same thing you are.... so i thought about it and i think i would have.   I was in bad shape and getting badder quick so i would have done it.  I would advise you to appeal and do your damdest to get the sleeve,  but if it doesn't work out,  then i would probably do the bypass.  I love my sleeve and i wouldn't be where i am today without it, but it really is up to you to make the right food choices or nothing will ever work out. Whatever surgery we have its just a tool  and the hard work is on us.   So i just hope it all works out the way it should.   Try to stay positive,  i know it's not easy   I will be praying that this all gets resolved for you soon   :o) jeani

eta:  i would rather see you do the DS,  have you asked if that is an option for you?  maybe you should check out the other forums,  see what they have to say   xoxo

thanks i checked the rny forum only got one response.  I see the surgeon on Monday going to ask about the ds, see why my sleeve cannot be done inpatient and try to come up with the 1400.00 somehow for the sleeve.  

 susan

have you asked on the main forum,  a lot of rny and ds post on there  :o) jeani

originally I had wanted the bypass.. however I was impatient and the wait list was shorter on the sleeve, so I switched.. I am absolutly happy with the sleeve and I dont think i would change my mind if I could go back.. I know I would have lost more weight already with the bypass, however I know I will loose all the weight with the sleeve and my skin will be a little bit better.. it is still loose but it is starting to tighten... so I for sure cannot complain. with the bypass I would be walking on my tummy..

Hi Sweetie...I was originally scheduled for the RNY, until a couple of weeks before that surgery was set up and my upper endoscopy revealed that I had numerous gastric polyps.  My surgeon felt the RNY would render those polyps inaccessible, so immediately switched to the VSG.  Unfortunately for me, the insurance company was far less accepting of his switch, and wouldn't budge on their denial of the sleeve.  The surgeon wouldn't budge on the RNY because he felt the polyps could become cancerous, and could've created a tragic health situation for me.  The insurance co said I could have the band or the Rny...the doctor advised me to wait them out and see if they would change their position on the sleeve...in the end, I waited 18 months (from Sept, 2009 until my surgery March 28, 2011) for my sleeve...I have NO regrets that I have my sleeve, and that crop of polyps is gone from my body for now.  (If I could've afforded to pay cash, I might have done so rather than wait, but feel we pay enough in insurance premiums, we should get something back for that, & I didn't win the lottery, so just couldn't afford it) 

Each of the surgeries has it's good points, but I feel the sleeve has more pros than cons.  I now know I can eat almost anything, but in much smaller quantities, and I do make healthier food choices.  I don't have to worry about dumping syndrome or malabsorption, as major issues.  If I need to take meds for arthritis or other conditions, I can do so...

Best wishes as you are researching & asking questions...good luck with your decision! Viv 

thank you

Susan, I have not had surgery yet and have not yet been approved, I'm still jumping though ins hoops, but hope to have The sleeve sometime in July, my surgeon thinks that's a good choice for me, and I was not comfortable with the RNY but....... I think if the surgeon had recommended it or if its the only thing the ins approves, after Ive exhausted my appeals, I would have done it, as opposed to doing nothing. you do what is right for you, do the research and make an informed decision. good luck to you in what ever you decide......Connie

Originally I wanted the RNY, went with the sleeve for a few reasons...but these are the reasons I liked the RNY.

1.  Malabsorption (spelling anyone???).  Even if you do slip up and eat some bad stuff you won't absorb it all.  You do have to take more vitamins and supplements though.

2.  Dumping - again, if you eat some bad stuff your body will slap the hell out of you, the sleeve does this too to a smaller extent

3.  Established - been done for longer with good data than the sleeve as a WLS.  Proven surgery, difficult to fail with.

If you can't tell my mind was more on NOT failing than succeeding pre-surgery, plus I know several bypass patients who had awesome results and are healthy 5-8 years after.

I honestly can't think of one pro for RNY over VSG. I fought to have VSG for my revision when RNY would have been easier for insurance purposes. BUT, I refused. I'm sure you would get conflicting information from RNY patients, but for me, my lifestyle, my weight loss needs, for the rest of my life I had to make the decision I could live with permanently.

This is my standard reply when this question pops up every couple of days. I won't try to sway anyone one way or another, but I'll give you my reasons for choosing VSG over RNY for my revision from the band. You can also check out the revision, failure, and food issue forums on here to get an idea of some long term RNY patients. For me, it was never an option. The cons outweighed the pros.

The VSG was my 2nd, and final WLS. I could have easily had RNY, but I fought to have VSG as my revision from the band. Some factors I considered in deciding on VSG. The pouch that RNY offers is similar to the pouch with the band. Least to say, a pouch sucks, I love having a normal tummy, just less capacity and still fully functioning.

1) No blind stomach left behind that can be difficult to scope yet can still get ulcers and cancer.

2) 2 years max on calorie/carb/sugar malabsorption, but a lifetime of vitamin/nutrient malabsorption. This process is called adaptation, and it happens with intestinal bypass surgeries. After adaptation occurs, I would be left with just the restriction of a pouch. I figured if malabsorption of fats/carb/calories was temporary, just go restrictive from the beginning and skip all the rerouting issues with RNY.

3) I had a pouch with the band, and it sucked. I'm pretty fond of my pyloric valve and the sleeve let me keep it. I love having a normal functioning stomach, just smaller in capacity.

4) Regain stats and #of RNY patients seeking revision truly scared the poop out of me. Check out the revision board here for an idea on how many RNY patients are now trying to get revisions to either ERNY or DS.

5) I have too many friends in real life that struggle with vitamin deficiencies post-RNY, and most of them either never got to goal, or have gained back a significant amount of their weight.

6) The long term complications with RNY were too numerous for my comfort level. Pouch or stoma dilation, strictures, vitamin/nutrient deficiencies, ulcers,

7) I researched gastrectomies that had been performed for stomach cancer and ulcer patients, and found comfort in the long term results and minimal complications of patients that had lost most or all of their stomachs had dealt with over several years. Plus, the sleeve is the first stage of the DS that has been performed for 20 years.

8) I was a volume eater, and knew a restrictive only procedure would work for me. That was my thought process when I got the band, and I thought I could beat the odds on complications. Sadly, the band only lasted 8 months before I had to revise.

9) I did not want to have food or medication restrictions. I chose WLS to have a "normal" life, and I think it's normal to eat a couple of cookies. With RNY, I wasn't willing to go through the possibility of dumping if I wanted to have a couple of cookies, or a slice of cake on occasion. The big scare for me is medication restrictions for life. NSAIDS and steroids are a NO GO for life with a RNY pouch. I realize that I may never be diagnosed with a condition or disease that requires steroid use, but it is possible. I want the best long term results with the least amount of complications. Malabsorption is not anything to play with in my mind, and I was not willing to take that risk.

I lost all my weight in my ticker with the exception of 7lbs with the sleeve, and I did it in 10.5 months. The 115lbs fell off the first 6.5 months, and then the rest I lost as I was getting into maintenance over another 4 months.. It's been a fabulous journey, and I'm easily maintaining with zero issues for nearly a year at this point. I want to add that every WLS regardless of your choice will require discipline. Only a percentage of RNY patients dump on sugar/fat, pouches and stomas stretch, then you have the medication restrictions. I'm not trying to convince you, but these were my concerns when I knew I had to revise from the band. I started at 263 the day of my revision and today I weigh 127lbs. I bounce on the scale 125-130lbs any given week, and I couldn't be more ecstatic!

Best wishes in your research!

Edit to add: I wrote that long before the pregnancy. Since then, I've been diagnosed with a genetic disorder that causes a slow, blood clotting issue, and I have to take an aspirin a day for the rest of my life. With the pregnancy, myself and Sprout are both thriving. I have gained 8-10lbs in 16 weeks, and have not had any issues with my sleeve and the pregnancy. My labs are stellar, I feel great, and life is good.