new here, considering surgery, not sure which one

[Katie Loesch-Meyer 71]

So, about me. I'll be 39 in a few months. I'm 5'1 and 213lbs naked first thing in the morning, lol. BMI is right at 40. I have GERD (no hiatal hernia according to GI series done almost two decades ago) that I have to take nexium for or I'm in agony. My teeth are all messed up from the reflux (we assume that is what the issue is....no cavities until after I had my first kid and the reflux got bad, then 7 in one visit, since then multiple issues, etc). My feet hurt when I exercise. They cramp up worse than labor pains almost. I've had bouts of plantar fasciitis that flare up if I exercise too heavily, and I wear special shoes to keeep it at bay. My last labwork was about a year and 20lb or so ago, at the time I was blessedly still healthy on paper, ideal blood sugar and ideal cholesterol/trigs. (bad cholesterol was actually below normal, as were trigs). I eat healthy food, I just eat way too much of it. But I can't see how I can keep this up...if I keep gaining weight I'm GOING to end up diabetic, if nothing else.

The scariest thing is that my father and his twin and his father all had heart attacks in their 40's. That terrifies me. He also has diabetes now, barely controlled even with meds. And his mom (who I look just like) had type 2 diabetes as well. And was also morbidly obese and often super obese. She was a a tough, strong willed lady. That she couldn't win the battle with food shows me just how hard it is. If it was just "will power" she'd have been thin.

I've lost weight before, 70lbs once, but it always comes back, with more. Lately I lose 10 and gain 15 or 20. I started researching diets to see what has the best long term results and the answer is, none. None do. Nonehave good long term results. Then I looked at medication. But dear lord, most have horrid side effects and people only lose about 5% of their body weight! Which led me to the idea of surgery. I could put it off, I'm not that "sick" yet. But then I think, won't I heal better if I'm NOT sick? And if I wait until I have diabetes, won't that mean I end up with some permanent damage to my body? So maybe I should just do it. I have zero confidence anything else will work. I've been dieting since Jr high at least, and if something was going to work long term I think I would have found it by now. I've done Atkins, Paleo, WW, Vegetarian, Vegan, Jenny Craig, etc. I'm running out of diets.

Anyway, I started out thinking lap band, because it isn't permanent and is the least extreme. But I'm reading conflicting things about it and GERD/acid reflux. And stuff about esophogeal issues. I've had esophogeal spasms in the past and they SUCK. That feeling of nothing going down, and basically foaming to get the slime out of my throat that won't pass. Lap band seems like it will cause that in a lot of people, and that sucks. Also, the results long term seem iffy.....at best. 25% don't lose the weight?

Gastric sleeve seems like a good safe option, and reduces grehlin, so that sounds awesome. I see a lot of people with great results. But research tells me it isn't a good choice for people with GERD.

That leaves bypass. I went into this thinking, well, I won't do bypass. That's too extreme. But, it's the best option for GERD from what I'm reading. In fact, doctors that treat GERD patients are telling their patients to have bypass instead of reflux surgery, because it's a better cure. So that seems like the best option. But...it scares the crud out of me. Honestly, I got weirded out the first time I had a filling....the idea of my body being modified freaks me out a bit. But, i got over the fillings, and I assume I'd get over this.

Any thoughts?

Also, there are a few places near me that do this. Two hospitals claim to be centers of excellence, but when I look them up they are not listed? And if they both really are, how do I choose between them? One seems to have a better program in place, I think, but that's judging from a website.

Complicating things is my hsuband's fear of me doing this. His mother died from surgical complications a few years ago...after a back surgery her bowl ruptured. Now, she was in poor health anyway, a pill addict, had diverticulitis, etc that no one knew. But still. Also, she had bypass a long time ago, and she was an awful person who made awful decisions a lot of the time. Generally, we never do the same things she did, so this is a bit weird to him. But we can get past that, and he's supportive of me doing what I need to do. Just scared.

Edited to ask: if you did Laproscopic Roux en Y, how many nights were you in the hospital? I've never been away from my 2 yr old before, overnight. Or my 5 yr old, but she'd be fine. I know my local hospital uses the Davinci robot which shortens hosptial stay, but I don't know what that means. I'm hoping for only one night, if at all possible.

Edited February 27, 2015 by Katie Loesch-Meyer

[James Marusek 5,244]

In general for patients with GERD or serious acid reflux, they recommend RNY gastric bypass. I had RNY gastric bypass 21 months ago. I did it to resolve a number of health issues. The least of these problems was a few serious bouts of acid reflux. Most of my health issues were cleared up by the surgery including problems with acid reflux. These changes occurred within days after the surgery.

RNY is different than dieting. After surgery, I completely lost my appetite. It was not hard losing weight when hunger is not constantly gnawing at your bones.

[MichelleTN 169]

RNY is going to be your best bet because of the reflux. sleeve will almost always make it worse from what I've read. Good luck.

[Bufflehead 6,358]

Agree with above that you should at least investigate/consider bypass. Don't make medical decisions based on "that weirds me out" or "that scares me." I think if you can, it would be great to go to a couple of surgical support groups and meet people who have had bypass and talk to them. I see people with bypass all the time at my support group -- and my niece had it -- and they are all happy, healthy, perfectly normal and fine. They have all done great with their weight loss. I really think that if you get more familiar with the surgery and with people who have had it, it will seem like a more viable option for you. Good luck!

[Katie Loesch-Meyer 71]

Agree with above that you should at least investigate/consider bypass. Don't make medical decisions based on "that weirds me out" or "that scares me." I think if you can, it would be great to go to a couple of surgical support groups and meet people who have had bypass and talk to them. I see people with bypass all the time at my support group -- and my niece had it -- and they are all happy, healthy, perfectly normal and fine. They have all done great with their weight loss. I really think that if you get more familiar with the surgery and with people who have had it, it will seem like a more viable option for you. Good luck!

Thanks. That was a very logical way to phrase it, and you are right. "That's weird" is not a medical reason for or against surgery. And although it does freak me out a bit, dying from a heart attack freaks me out more.

Can anyone share how long they were in the hospital? Obviously, that wont' determine my procedure, but I'd like to know.

[Katie Loesch-Meyer 71]

Also, I'm assuming i wouldn't get so out of breath if I have this done, and lose the weight? Just now I had to dash to take the trash out (heard the trucks coming) and after a whole 3 minutes of exercise I'm panting like I ran 3 miles. Sometimes at night, too, when I'm trying to sleep, I feel out of breath when i lay on my stomach. I think the fat in my abdomen is compressing my diapghram, like when I was pregnant.

Or maybe I'm getting anemic again, from the stupid acid reflux meds. That does this to me too. I'm having a mini physical next week for life insurance purposes, and they will be doing some lab work so I'll find that out then.

[JamieLogical 8,708]

Well, I would meet with a surgeon to go over your options and get medical opinions, but just from what you said in your original post, it sounds like bypass would be the best choice. I had mild weight-induced GERD and heartburn before my sleeve. Nothing that I was ever on any regular medication for. I would just take Zantac as needed. It wasn't a problem at my lower weights (I was a yoyo dieter), but was more of a problem the heavier I got. Well, I had sleeve and now my GERD is severe enough that I need to take Prilosec twice a day to keep it in check. Even though I am now well into the lower weight range where I didn't experience GERD before.

That being said, I would rather take two pills a day for the rest of my life (hell, I already have to take like 15 Vitamins a day now anyway) than have the potential malabsorption issues and long term complications that bypass could have caused.

Also, I was self-pay and bypass is much more expensive than sleeve.

You need to collect as much information as possible and weigh all the pros and cons to make the best decision for yourself!

[James Marusek 5,244]

I was in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.

Generally individuals that lose significant weight are able to exercise better without getting winded. I found that in my case I had significantly more stamina after surgery. Some people describe it as more energy but I perceive it as stamina. Last summer I was involved in a building project. I moved 100,000 pounds of gravel and 50,000 pounds of concrete landscaping blocks by hand. I took my time and all went well. I found that I had recovered my stamina that I had when I was in my 30's. I am 66 years old.

That fact that you are getting winded might be due to a heart condition. Generally prior to surgery, you will undergo pre-op testing. This will identify any underlying existing medical condition. Generally these are rectified prior to surgery. One individual in our support group underwent pre-op tests and had his surgery date set. A couple days prior to surgery, his doctor called and indicated (as a result of the pre-op testing) he needed to get to the hospital immediately for surgery. He underwent a heart operation. A few months later after he recovered from the heart operation, he underwent gastric bypass surgery.

[Katie Loesch-Meyer 71]

I was in the hospital for 2 days after surgery.

Generally individuals that lose significant weight are able to exercise better without getting winded. I found that in my case I had significantly more stamina after surgery. Some people describe it as more energy but I perceive it as stamina. Last summer I was involved in a building project. I moved 100,000 pounds of gravel and 50,000 pounds of concrete landscaping blocks by hand. I took my time and all went well. I found that I had recovered my stamina that I had when I was in my 30's. I am 66 years old.

That fact that you are getting winded might be due to a heart condition. Generally prior to surgery, you will undergo pre-op testing. This will identify any underlying existing medical condition. Generally these are rectified prior to surgery. One individual in our support group underwent pre-op tests and had his surgery date set. A couple days prior to surgery, his doctor called and indicated (as a result of the pre-op testing) he needed to get to the hospital immediately for surgery. He underwent a heart operation. A few months later after he recovered from the heart operation, he underwent gastric bypass surgery.

Yikes, I hope not! It really feels like either I'm getting anemic again (totally possible....I tend to stay at the low end of normal on a good day, below normal otherwise due to the reflux meds), or the fat is just in the darned way, like when I lay on my belly. Or, I could just be out of breath from hauling around too much weight. I hope. It makes sense that exercise would be easier thinnner. I mean, i look at thin girls doing squats and laugh, because I'm lifting twice what they do when I squat. I'd love to be able to do say, Zumba and not have my feet hurt. Or, yoga, which I used to LOVE, without my belly being in the way.

[Bandista 7,466]

Hi there, I have no advice as far as procedure but congratulations on deciding to grab hold of your health issues now. Your kids are young and what a difference weight loss surgery will make to the coming decades. One thought reading your post is that you will want to check with your insurance company to be sure what they cover and whether there are any restrictions. I only had one -- my BMI had to be over 40. Also, I don't use my real name on the forum as it's all here on the Internet for the world to see and we share such private things.....

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

I never had reflux until I had a lapband. I could not keep any Fluid in it - I had elevated head of my bed, didnt eat close to bedtime, took pills etc and with the band, my reflux was actually not tolerable.

It was scary revising to sleeve, BUT what i knew is that with no Fluid in band I was okay and the 3 months after band was removed - no reflux - so i took that chance with the sleeve.

3 years out and KNOCK ON WOOD I don't suffer from reflux.

If you have a known, chronic problem with reflux, think very very hard about the band or sleeve as they can both cause reflux problems. It seems the RNY is a better choice.

A comment about weight loss statistics.... that is an average across large populations. Many of us DID lose 100% of our excess and keeping it off so those things are possible but may require extraordinary efforts.

[Djmohr 6,965]

Congratulations on taking the steps to educate yourself! Please make sure you go to a few Bariatric seminars using a center of excellence in your area. They can answer all of your questions and provide all the statistics for you on each surgery option.

I started out with the mindset that I wanted the sleeve, mostly because I was "weirded out about rerouting" after meeting with bariatric surgeons and them understanding my health issues I ended up getting RNY. I have not regretted it for even 1 second. I only wish I had done it sooner!

I had uncontrollable reflux that caused me to cough all day long, every day for almost 2 years. I was on max dose of nexium and lost so much sleep over that period of time that I could probably sleep for a month straight and still be tired. I also had type 2 diabetes although it was very controlled, high cholesterol, sleep apnea (which it sounds like u have), high blood pressure and the worst of all Stage 3 kidney disease.

Immediately after spending 2 very short days in the hospital, my diabetes, and acid reflux were both completely gone! At 8 weeks my cholesterol was normal and suddenly I no longer had high blood pressure.

Last week I went to my kidney doctor for the second time since surgery and my kidney function is normal!!! I was told I no longer have stage 3 kidney disease, I just have a past history of it.

I have to say, I would have loved to had this done before all the bad stuff happened but I am so glad I did it. I actually exercise regularly and can RUN up several flights of stairs without feeling like I can't breathe.

Good luck to you, do your research. It will help u decide.

[Katie Loesch-Meyer 71]

Thanks so much. It really helps to hear people's stories. I definitely will go to the information sessions. And they also have support groups that you can attend even before surgery to talk to people.

[PrincessDeb 43]

I did the RNY and for me there was never a question in my mind that I would choose that one. It's not that I had other health factors to consider, but rather that the RNY gives the chance for the most weight loss. My thought on it was, why would I not give my body the best chance at the most weight loss especially if it is likely that the stomach will stretch a little bit during the years post op.

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

Congratulations on taking the steps to educate yourself! Please make sure you go to a few Bariatric seminars using a center of excellence in your area. They can answer all of your questions and provide all the statistics for you on each surgery option.

I started out with the mindset that I wanted the sleeve, mostly because I was "weirded out about rerouting" after meeting with bariatric surgeons and them understanding my health issues I ended up getting RNY. I have not regretted it for even 1 second. I only wish I had done it sooner!

I had uncontrollable reflux that caused me to cough all day long, every day for almost 2 years. I was on max dose of nexium and lost so much sleep over that period of time that I could probably sleep for a month straight and still be tired. I also had type 2 diabetes although it was very controlled, high cholesterol, sleep apnea (which it sounds like u have), high blood pressure and the worst of all Stage 3 kidney disease.

Immediately after spending 2 very short days in the hospital, my diabetes, and acid reflux were both completely gone! At 8 weeks my cholesterol was normal and suddenly I no longer had high blood pressure.

Last week I went to my kidney doctor for the second time since surgery and my kidney function is normal!!! I was told I no longer have stage 3 kidney disease, I just have a past history of it.

I have to say, I would have loved to had this done before all the bad stuff happened but I am so glad I did it. I actually exercise regularly and can RUN up several flights of stairs without feeling like I can't breathe.

Good luck to you, do your research. It will help u decide.

This post just made my day.