Uber-Noob to gastric sleeve

[WhatTheFreud 0]

Hi there! I am super new to this forum and the idea of weight loss surgery. I recently had consultation for upper endoscopy and surgery for a hiatal hernia. The doctor says my valve to my stomach is completely eroded away and I have bleeding ulcers of the esophagus due to my GERD. I also have a hiatal hernia that he won't do surgery till I lose weight due to the pressure. I have tried everything to lose weight and it's just not working. I never thought about surgery until he asked if I had thought about it. I currently weigh 280lbs and I am 5'7". I guess my curiosity is whether I am a good candidate and what others think about it. I am ready to lose weight. The research I have done has made me believe that the sleeve surgery would be better for me than the bypass. Had anyone ever found themselves in a similar situation in the contemplation phase before surgery and what do you think about my situation? Thank you in advance.

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[laceemouse 631]

From everything I have read the sleeve is not a good choice for those with GERD. Did your doctor discuss the options with you?

[WhatTheFreud 0]

No they didn't at all. I guess I should definitely look into that. The specialist just asked if I had ever thought of weight loss surgery in general. I feel so lost. Are their pill options I should try first before surgery?

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[JamieLogical 8,710]

I was going to say, that if you have GERD, bypass or mini-bypass would be a better option. VSG has been known to cause GERD or increase the severity of GERD in people who already have it. Also, if you have that much damage to your esophagus from GERD, may surgeons wouldn't perform VSG on you.

[KristenLe 5,979]

@@WhatTheFreud I'm confused about your surgeon not repairing the hiatal hernia until you've lost weight. Did he recommend how you should go about losing weight? Your issues with your esophagus and stomach will need to be seriously considered prior to any weight loss surgery. I would worry about resolving those issues before considering getting weight loss surgery (unless they can repair everything at the same time). I'd schedule an appointment with a bariatric surgeon to discuss and see what they recommend.

[WhatTheFreud 0]

He didn't recommend how to lose weight except to tell me that exercise doesn't work and I should just "skip that extra piece of bread". I'm not sure if they could do it all at one time. He also didn't say how much I would have to lose. He just said there wouldn't be any point to doing the hiatal hernia surgery unless I lost weight to relieve some pressure.

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[Frenchie1977 262]

I would definitely recommend talking to a Bariatric surgeon, however he will likely recommend gastric bypass because of the Gerd issue. Sleeve would not be recommended. And as for the hiatal hernia he will likely repair that during your surgery, but I'm not sure about the esophagus issues so a consultation is definitely needed.

[WhatTheFreud 0]

Thanks for all your input! I'm obviously new to this and we don't have anyone local who does this type of surgery. I believe the closest is like 4 hours away. I just am so ready to get heathy...whatever it takes. Diet alone is just not working.

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[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

He didn't recommend how to lose weight except to tell me that exercise doesn't work and I should just "skip that extra piece of bread". I'm not sure if they could do it all at one time. He also didn't say how much I would have to lose. He just said there wouldn't be any point to doing the hiatal hernia surgery unless I lost weight to relieve some pressure.

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It may sound flippant, but skipping the extra piece of bread is a good strategy.

One thing that helps me is to minimize starches (bread, Pasta, rice, potatoes, etc), added sugars (especially high fructose corn syrup), and fried foods. Even cutting back on bread by trying an open-faced sandwich instead of a full sandwich is a good start.

[WhatTheFreud 0]

He didn't recommend how to lose weight except to tell me that exercise doesn't work and I should just "skip that extra piece of bread". I'm not sure if they could do it all at one time. He also didn't say how much I would have to lose. He just said there wouldn't be any point to doing the hiatal hernia surgery unless I lost weight to relieve some pressure.

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It may sound flippant, but skipping the extra piece of bread is a good strategy.

One thing that helps me is to minimize starches (bread, Pasta, rice, potatoes, etc), added sugars (especially high fructose corn syrup), and fried foods. Even cutting back on bread by trying an open-faced sandwich instead of a full sandwich is a good start.

Yes! The low carb thing has worked in the past for losing some weight but it's been like 20 lbs tops and then I plateau out. I guess I will just try that first and see if that is enough weight for him to fix the hiatal hernia. But at 280lbs, he said I needed to lose 150lbs in order to be considered "normal weight". I just haven't had that type of success with the low carb diet in the past. That's why I wondered if there was medication or something to help kickstart or maximize the weight loss.

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[laceemouse 631]

He didn't recommend how to lose weight except to tell me that exercise doesn't work and I should just "skip that extra piece of bread". I'm not sure if they could do it all at one time. He also didn't say how much I would have to lose. He just said there wouldn't be any point to doing the hiatal hernia surgery unless I lost weight to relieve some pressure.

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It may sound flippant, but skipping the extra piece of bread is a good strategy.

One thing that helps me is to minimize starches (bread, Pasta, rice, potatoes, etc), added sugars (especially high fructose corn syrup), and fried foods. Even cutting back on bread by trying an open-faced sandwich instead of a full sandwich is a good start.

Yes! The low carb thing has worked in the past for losing some weight but it's been like 20 lbs tops and then I plateau out. I guess I will just try that first and see if that is enough weight for him to fix the hiatal hernia. But at 280lbs, he said I needed to lose 150lbs in order to be considered "normal weight". I just haven't had that type of success with the low carb diet in the past. That's why I wondered if there was medication or something to help kickstart or maximize the weight loss.

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No way at your height would you need to get that low. Search healthy weight charts, I am shorter than you and 150 is high end normal for me.

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Edited September 30, 2016 by laceemouse

[laceemouse 631]

Hi there! I am super new to this forum and the idea of weight loss surgery. I recently had consultation for upper endoscopy and surgery for a hiatal hernia. The doctor says my valve to my stomach is completely eroded away and I have bleeding ulcers of the esophagus due to my GERD. I also have a hiatal hernia that he won't do surgery till I lose weight due to the pressure. I have tried everything to lose weight and it's just not working. I never thought about surgery until he asked if I had thought about it. I currently weigh 280lbs and I am 5'7". I guess my curiosity is whether I am a good candidate and what others think about it. I am ready to lose weight. The research I have done has made me believe that the sleeve surgery would be better for me than the bypass. Had anyone ever found themselves in a similar situation in the contemplation phase before surgery and what do you think about my situation? Thank you in advance.

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I should add, I feel bad that your doctor isn't helping you more. Do you have a nutritionist you can see? Have you tried Weight Watchers? It actually has the best track record around for people losing weight and keeping it off. And you can go low carb even on their plan.

However, the average person who loses 50 pounds only has about a 2% chance of keeping it off for 5 years. And most of us have much more to lose than that.

I wish you could see a bariatric specialist. My surgeon actually does offer medication to help with weight loss. He says there is pretty much zero chance anyone will keep it off with meds, the will regain as soon as they stop the meds, he only advises it to people who have 20 or 30 pounds to lose (those people would be be candidates for surgery)

But, in your case, if you really DO need to lose weight prior to any surgical intervention, weight loss meds would maybe help you lose a little to get ready for surgery??

Most people do several months of nutritionist visits and a supervised diet before surgery (my insurance doesn't require it) and most do lost weight during that time, at least some anyway.

Search for bariatric specialists in your area. Good luck!!

[sarahjane89 5]

Hi there! I am super new to this forum and the idea of weight loss surgery. I recently had consultation for upper endoscopy and surgery for a hiatal hernia. The doctor says my valve to my stomach is completely eroded away and I have bleeding ulcers of the esophagus due to my GERD. I also have a hiatal hernia that he won't do surgery till I lose weight due to the pressure. I have tried everything to lose weight and it's just not working. I never thought about surgery until he asked if I had thought about it. I currently weigh 280lbs and I am 5'7". I guess my curiosity is whether I am a good candidate and what others think about it. I am ready to lose weight. The research I have done has made me believe that the sleeve surgery would be better for me than the bypass. Had anyone ever found themselves in a similar situation in the contemplation phase before surgery and what do you think about my situation? Thank you in advance.

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Hello!

I'm in a similar situation right now. I explained to the surgeon on my first visit that I have extreme GERD when he suggested the sleeve. I had done my research prior and knew the sleeve and GERD did NOT mix very well. He explained that he would do surgery for my hiatal hernia AND the sleeve at the same time which would fix my reflux issues.

Hopefully that helps!

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