Question for Lightweights

I had my appointment with my surgeon Monday.  All my hoops have been jumped thru, they are now submitting to insurance.  I had my mind set on having RNY, which my surgeon says he will do, but he wants me to look at the Sleeve again.  He said since I'm a lightweight, he thinks that the sleeve would be as affective for me without the malabsorbtion problems the RNY gives.  I started this at 220 pounds and I'm 5'2" tall.  I lost 20 pounds and I'm now 200.  I have sleep apnea.  I have had heartburn and reflux problems in the past but his scope does not show the esophagus problems, but I do have a small hernia.  He said that if I do decide on a sleeve and had the reflux problem down the road he could convert to RNY.  I'm still swinging toward the RNY.  I'm just curious what other lightweights experience has been with RNY or sleeve. 

I went with RNY for the simple fact that I liked that everything stayed IN my body. I wasn't comfortable with the sleeve removing 75% of my stomach completely. Plus RNY is commonly referred to as the "gold standard" of the bariatric surgeries so I figured I would go with that since it seems to be what people go to when they have to get revision surgery. For me I'd rather have one surgery and not have to risk a second if I still had issues. Plus, RNY is reversible if it HAS to be. Obviously it would have to be serious and reversing could cause issues but I liked that it was out there as an option. I haven't had any issues with malabsorbtion but to be fair I'm only 3.5 months post op. That was just my thought process when deciding on this. Good luck!

Those are my exact reasons for picking the RNY.  Thanks for your feedback!

I am 6+ years out with my RNY.  Love, Love, Love it!!!!   Any surgery can be worked around and can be unsuccessful but it seems like our sleevers work a little bit harder to be successful.

I had no choice, RNY is all my Insurance would authorize, and I really didn't want to self-pay...That said I do Love my WLS!!! I think its called the gold std because its been around for a long time, and the sleeve is the more modern version of WLS, so it doesn't have the history. 

If I did have a choice, im not so sure id go with RNY.  Everything I have read says RNY'ers get to goal a little sooner due to the mal-absorbtion (yippee for us), but...we have a life time of vitamin issues as a result.  I was just looking at my labs today and I have a lot of border line lows...Entirely my fault, I hate taking Vits 3 times a day and often forget the later ones.  I have got to refocus my energies!!! (Entirely my issue) But there is something to be said for not having this issue, and again from what ive read, Sleevers do get to goal, it just takes a little longer.

Good luck with however it works outfor you.  I think they are both awesome options!!!

I wanted a sleeve but insurance wouldn't pay for it.  Knowing what I know now, I should have gotten a DS.  But I have a RNY and am very happy.  I do think the sleevers have a harder time getting to goal and staying there.  Yes, you can eat around any surgery and yes, maintanence is hard no matter what.  The vits/mins are no harder than all the meds I was taking.  Almost 5 yrs out and my only regret is not doing it sooner.

my multi vit, iron, D3, Colace, Calcium and B12 are not that big a deal to make sure I am taking. So far, I have to say I am glad I had R&Y. I wanted the best I could get. I figured I might not get a second chance to get this later. I was thankful my insurance would pay for it this go around.

Thanks ladies. I feel pretty good about my decision.  I'm going to stick with my decision.  Fingers crossed on the insurance stuff now.  

Since you asked - and only since you asked, because I don't like to give unsolicited advice - I would put a lot of weight in my surgeon's recommendations. 

Not to say you shouldn't do what you feel is right, but your surgeon is an expert in his field.

Best of luck with whatever you decide.

I opted for the RNY after years of planning on the sleeve specifically because of my GERD. My doc said GERD and diabetes are the two main reasons he recommends the RNY for someone over the sleeve, and I had both. He said he'd do either and support my choice, and said the same thing about the sleeve being able to be converted to an RNY down the line, but that possibility made him urge me to choose the one that would cut out the middle man and save me a possible surgery. That said, my husband had sleeve 2 weeks after my RNY, and our recoveries have been nearly identical.