Sleeve to bypass NOT for weight loss

[Allie_Shannon 15]

I am having my sleeve converted to RNY tomorrow due to chronic GERD which I have had for years. I was sleeved in 2017 with great results. Very short surgery recovery time, very easy moving from one step to next with diet and have kept the 80 lbs off. I am a lot more nervous about tomorrows surgery. More then likely because I keep reading post of people’s 6-9 months out still in pain, barely able to tolerate food ect. I am really hoping to jump back into exercise very quickly. Because I am not doing this for weight loss I am also hoping to be able to eat normal food by Thanksgiving (same portions as now of course) since my MD said he will make my pouch the same size as my current sleeve since I do not need to lose weight. I am also hoping to have our traditional champagne as we put up all our Christmas decorations. My question is... Are their any of you who have had a good experience with the bypass and was able to transition pretty easy in 3-4 month period? I know sugar will be problematic so are you able to tolerate a glass of wine or champagne? Thanks for any good stories you can share!!

[catwoman7 11,212]

I think those stories are more than the exception than the rule. I have a virgin RNY, not a revision, but I've been hanging out on this and other bariatric sites for several years. Most people's revisions, from what I can tell, have been very successful.

not everyone with RNY surgery dumps - I never have. The usual stat that is thrown around is that about 30% of us do, although Tek checked some peer-reviewed articles recently and estimates in those were anywhere from 20-50%. So...still not everyone. Even if you're one of the ones who dumps, you can control it through limiting sugar (even most of those who dump can tolerate SOME sugar - just not a lot of it).

I can drink wine and champagne, but it hits me really quickly. I've never been much of a drinker, even before surgery. I used to have many five or six glasses of wine a year. Now I probably have two or three. No problems with it other than, like I said, it hits me a lot quicker than it did pre-surgery.

[Foxbins 625]

I had my revision for GERD on 6/29 with a BMI of 22. I did not have much pain and resumed walking (starting at a half-mile) as soon as I got home. I walk about 3 miles a day at a quick pace and I'll go back to the gym when it's safe. I never had any problems drinking or eating while in the hospital and my surgeon said that I could have whatever I could swallow, so I did a couple of days of shakes and then moved to purees for a week, then regular food. I lost ten pounds during the liquid/puree days. I became lactose-intolerant, which was a surprise, but I can eat fat and sugar without dumping. I can eat scrambled eggs again, too, my sleeve hated them. I have not had any alcohol, I'm not much of a drinker. I think you'll be fine by Thanksgiving.

[Allie_Shannon 15]

Catwoman7– Thxs for your reply! That is also how it affected me after the sleeve so i usually only have 1-2 glasses slowly and not often. I’m glad to see there are some positive outcomes!

[Starwarsandcupcakes 2,051]

I had my RNY revision for severe GERD (was causing intractable hiccups) on 8/11 and eat a pretty normal diet now. My portion sizes are definitely small but my sleeve was made into a pouch so I expected that.

Very early on I did dump on some weird things though- whey Protein blends that aren’t 100% isolate or collagen (not sure of plant-based ones), a couple broth based Soups can’t remember which ones, and jimmy dean egg white scramble cups which has made me leery of trying real eggs.

All the pain I had post-op is pretty much resolved aside from some random shoulder pain if I skip meals. (Surgeon was super confused! 🤷‍♀️)

As to the alcohol, I don’t drink so no clue what that’s like or when would be ok.

[dorkyfaerie 14]

I revised primarily for severe GERD, though there was also a lack of weight loss due to maladaptive eating to avoid GERD symptoms. I woke up from sleeve with severe GERD that never really went away. I woke up from bypass with zero GERD and have not had any symptoms since surgery on 9/18.