I have mild GERD, should I get VSG or RNY?

[AchieveGoals 46]

Hi guys! I have my surgery in March, and my surgeon said it's still up for discussion in terms of which surgery I could undergo. I was thinking to do the VSG. I recently had an endoscopy done where it showed I have mild GERD. I brought this up to my surgeon and he said that either surgery done will be fine for me (VSG or RNY). But I'm wondering if thats the salesman in him talking because I thought even slight traces of GERD before VSG will get worse after. So I wanted to know your experiences. Any of you had mild GERD before surgery and how it is after the VSG? Right now I'd say I take tums 1-2x a week. Sometimes an occasional Pepcid. I do admit I have trouble with bulimia and eating disorders for a good 8 years which caused a lot of the GERD problems. Please no judging I'm really looking for help and insight from patients who have gone through something similar. Will my GERD become horribly worse after VSG?

[ClareLynn 153]

I've read here on this forum that RNY is better at reducing GERD. I had very bad GERD before surgery due to a hiatal hernia and at the time didn't know that RNY was better than VSG for people with GERD. My surgeon recommended that I do the loop duodenal switch (SADI) which is a VSG with extra intestine work.

My GERD is exactly the same after the surgery as it was before. It didn't change at all (though to be fair I still have the hernia). It's mostly controlled with 40mg omeprazole 2x a day.

I think it's nice to still have a working pyloric valve at the end of my stomach and would make the same decision again if I had to.

[AchieveGoals 46]

11 minutes ago, ClareLynn said:

I've read here on this forum that RNY is better at reducing GERD. I had very bad GERD before surgery due to a hiatal hernia and at the time didn't know that RNY was better than VSG for people with GERD. My surgeon recommended that I do the loop duodenal switch (SADI) which is a VSG with extra intestine work.

My GERD is exactly the same after the surgery as it was before. It didn't change at all (though to be fair I still have the hernia). It's mostly controlled with 40mg omeprazole 2x a day.

I think it's nice to still have a working pyloric valve at the end of my stomach and would make the same decision again if I had to.

Hey there! I see that we are both in IL, I just messaged you privately. Would to hear an experience with someone from IL. Thanks

[I♡BypassedMyPhatAss♡ 801]

I started out with Lap Band in 2013 and eventually developed horrible GERD. I was on Protonix 2x daily and it didn't help at all. My overuse of Protonix lead to a kidney stone in 11/2020, so at that point I decided that the band had to go, I didn't want another kidney stone. So the band was removed 4/2021.

So now I'm looking at revision to RNY. I wish I had never chose the Lap Band. I was going for the least invasive surgery. And now I have a permanently altered esophagus even with the band removed. I wish I would've known then what I know now about WLS's and the options. I would've chose RNY or Mini RNY from the beginning. My surgeon says that RNY is my only option now, thanks to my history of GERD.

[Arabesque 6,735]

I had reflux before my sleeve surgery but it is a stage before gerd. I also managed it with dietary choices & only had symptoms if I made poor food/drink choices. I still have reflux post surgery but it manifests differently. I take Nexium every day whereas prior to surgery I only took it as needed (months between taking one). It generally manages it except for a little throat burning late at night or early morning 4 or 5 times a week.

But this is a conversation to have with your surgeon as they will be best placed to assess the severity of your gerd & the possible risks of worsening your gerd having sleeve surgery versus RNY.

Edited January 23, 2022 by Arabesque

[catwoman7 11,011]

developing - or worsening - GERD is a potential complication with sleeve, but it doesn't happen to everyone. I had GERD before surgery and wasn't willing to take the risk, so I went with RNY. I guess it comes down to if you're willing to take the risk or not. It doesn't get worse for everyone - but it definitely does for some. I was just afraid I'd be one of those for whom it would get worse.

[GradyCat 3,693]

I had GERD before VSG and now I don't have it. It went away after I lost the weight.

[SleeverSk 628]

I had GERD also, had the sleeve as surgeon said weight loss would help it. 6 months out its hasn't got worse it seems to be better still on meds working to come off them

[Spinoza 1,236]

Same here. I have had reflux for years. Always improved when I lost weight so I gambled on it getting better (not worse) when I lost weight after my surgery, whatever that might be. And it did.

On paper if you have established GERD then RNY is a better choice because of the risk that GERD might actually worsen with VSG. My surgeon spent some time going through the risks with me pre-op. Just worked out OK for me I guess!

[blackcatsandbaddecisions 845]

I had reflux before surgery, had a sleeve, and now it’s almost nonexistent. I’d ask your surgeon. I was surprised mine still recommended a sleeve, but he said that since mine was controlled with Tums it was fine. Looks like he was right.

[southernbanded 4]

On 1/22/2022 at 4:28 PM, AchieveGoals said:

Hi guys! I have my surgery in March, and my surgeon said it's still up for discussion in terms of which surgery I could undergo. I was thinking to do the VSG. I recently had an endoscopy done where it showed I have mild GERD. I brought this up to my surgeon and he said that either surgery done will be fine for me (VSG or RNY). But I'm wondering if thats the salesman in him talking because I thought even slight traces of GERD before VSG will get worse after. So I wanted to know your experiences. Any of you had mild GERD before surgery and how it is after the VSG? Right now I'd say I take tums 1-2x a week. Sometimes an occasional Pepcid. I do admit I have trouble with bulimia and eating disorders for a good 8 years which caused a lot of the GERD problems. Please no judging I'm really looking for help and insight from patients who have gone through something similar. Will my GERD become horribly worse after VSG?

I had labband in 2012, due to severe reflux was converted to VSG in 2017. I now have Barretts Esophagus, GERD, and a Hernia. We are now working to convert to RNY, If I would have known that VSG has complications of severe acid reflux that only made my condition worse than the initial surgery, I would have not had VSG surgery at all.