Gastric Sleeve to Gastric Bypass

[Im4miracles 2]

Hello!

Just a short story of how I got here! 8/2012, I underwent the Gastric Sleeve. I went from 230 lbs to 140 lbs. I had a hiatal hernia repair during this surgery in 2012 and again in 2021. Every since I had the sleeve in 2012, I have had reflux. Within the last few years, it has increased, severely. It did a little better when I had the hernia repair in 2021. However the hernia has returned and the GERD is even worse. I wake up quite often gagging on stomach acid. Sometimes waiting to go to bed three hours after my last meal/snack, will help SOMETIMES. A lot of times, I have to sleep sitting up. I am taking Protonix 40 MG twice a day for many many years. If I skip a dose, I regret it!

I, unfortunately, have gained quite a bit of my weight back. Once I started gaining, the front desk clerk at my Bariatric doc's office told me I didn't need to come back. I kind of felt like I got kicked out of the program!! So it just got worse after that.

Because of the severe GERD I am having, I bit the bullet and went back to see my bariatric doctor. I was ashamed because I lost 90 pounds after my surgery but have gained 60 of it back. He didn't seem to say much about that. However, he suggested that the best way to get the GERD under control was to revise my surgery from the Sleeve to the Bypass.

I have concerns! I am worried about the diet and will I screw up again? I am worried about mal absorption, dumping syndrome and all the other complications that can come from the Gastric Bypass. I worry about how the Vitamins will taste (silly I know, but if things taste nasty, I have a hard time eating/drinking). What if I can't stick with it like I did the Sleeve? This is a permanent surgery! I am scared but I feel like it is necessary to relieve me of this terrible GERD. I could end up with Barrett's Esophagus and worse, cancer of the esophagus.

Would really appreciate outlooks and suggestions!

Thanks in Advance,

Michelle

[Ninabnina77 18]

Hello!
Just a short story of how I got here! 8/2012, I underwent the Gastric Sleeve. I went from 230 lbs to 140 lbs. I had a hiatal hernia repair during this surgery in 2012 and again in 2021. Every since I had the sleeve in 2012, I have had reflux. Within the last few years, it has increased, severely. It did a little better when I had the hernia repair in 2021. However the hernia has returned and the GERD is even worse. I wake up quite often gagging on stomach acid. Sometimes waiting to go to bed three hours after my last meal/snack, will help SOMETIMES. A lot of times, I have to sleep sitting up. I am taking Protonix 40 MG twice a day for many many years. If I skip a dose, I regret it!
I, unfortunately, have gained quite a bit of my weight back. Once I started gaining, the front desk clerk at my Bariatric doc's office told me I didn't need to come back. I kind of felt like I got kicked out of the program!! So it just got worse after that.
Because of the severe GERD I am having, I bit the bullet and went back to see my bariatric doctor. I was ashamed because I lost 90 pounds after my surgery but have gained 60 of it back. He didn't seem to say much about that. However, he suggested that the best way to get the GERD under control was to revise my surgery from the Sleeve to the Bypass.
I have concerns! I am worried about the diet and will I screw up again? I am worried about mal absorption, dumping syndrome and all the other complications that can come from the Gastric Bypass. I worry about how the Vitamins will taste (silly I know, but if things taste nasty, I have a hard time eating/drinking). What if I can't stick with it like I did the Sleeve? This is a permanent surgery! I am scared but I feel like it is necessary to relieve me of this terrible GERD. I could end up with Barrett's Esophagus and worse, cancer of the esophagus.
Would really appreciate outlooks and suggestions!
Thanks in Advance,
Michelle

I am a gastric sleeve patient who is looking into getting the mini gastric bypass or the full
gastric bypass as a revision surgery. I a have all the concerns that you just mentioned too.

Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

[I♡BypassedMyPhatAss♡ 804]

I had Lap Band, developed GERD and due to overuse of Protonix, I developed a kidney stone. So it was then that I decided that I had to move on the GERD issue. I had the band removed in April 2021 (no regain, but I didn't get to my goal weight with the band) and now I'm revising to RNY soon. I was fearful of RNY when my surgeon told me it was the best way to resolve the GERD. And after watching a video, I realized that my fear was based on Lap Band marketing. In order for Lap Band to be successful, they had to make their competitor look bad. So Lap Band took old data about RNY (before surgical improvements were made) and used complication rates of the older style RNY surgery that was from I believe the 1980's?

So when you say that RNY is a permanent surgery... are you aware that RNY is reversible? You went forth with sleeve surgery and they removed about 80% of your stomach, do you not think that's permanent? It's more permanent than RNY. Sure things are rerouted, but nothing is removed. So it can all be rerouted to "normal" if necessary.

There's many, many people on this forum that have revised from other wls (Band, Sleeve) to RNY and are happy and thriving. I hope to be one soon.

[paradigm7 0]

9 hours ago, Im4miracles said:

Hello!

Just a short story of how I got here! 8/2012, I underwent the Gastric Sleeve. I went from 230 lbs to 140 lbs. I had a hiatal hernia repair during this surgery in 2012 and again in 2021. Every since I had the sleeve in 2012, I have had reflux. Within the last few years, it has increased, severely. It did a little better when I had the hernia repair in 2021. However the hernia has returned and the GERD is even worse. I wake up quite often gagging on stomach acid. Sometimes waiting to go to bed three hours after my last meal/snack, will help SOMETIMES. A lot of times, I have to sleep sitting up. I am taking Protonix 40 MG twice a day for many many years. If I skip a dose, I regret it!

I, unfortunately, have gained quite a bit of my weight back. Once I started gaining, the front desk clerk at my Bariatric doc's office told me I didn't need to come back. I kind of felt like I got kicked out of the program!! So it just got worse after that.

Because of the severe GERD I am having, I bit the bullet and went back to see my bariatric doctor. I was ashamed because I lost 90 pounds after my surgery but have gained 60 of it back. He didn't seem to say much about that. However, he suggested that the best way to get the GERD under control was to revise my surgery from the Sleeve to the Bypass.

I have concerns! I am worried about the diet and will I screw up again? I am worried about mal absorption, dumping syndrome and all the other complications that can come from the Gastric Bypass. I worry about how the Vitamins will taste (silly I know, but if things taste nasty, I have a hard time eating/drinking). What if I can't stick with it like I did the Sleeve? This is a permanent surgery! I am scared but I feel like it is necessary to relieve me of this terrible GERD. I could end up with Barrett's Esophagus and worse, cancer of the esophagus.

Would really appreciate outlooks and suggestions!

Thanks in Advance,

Michelle

Greetings @Im4miracles - Michelle,

I got my sleeve surgery in 2016. I lost around 130 lbs During the time from 2020, I had gained some of the weight back. I also had severe GERD (where the GERD was so severe that I was vomiting my food almost everyday). I went back to my Bariatric surgeon in February, 2020 to revise my sleeve surgery to a Gastric Bypass with hernia surgery I have to admit that I had similar concerns about the Gastric Bypass that you do. I was concerned about the dumping syndrome and wondering if I could keep the weight off with revision to the bypass surgery. I got my Gastric Bypass surgery with hernia surgery in March 2020.

It was the best decision I ever made for myself because in hindsight I don’t have this severe GERD anymore. Once I was released from the hospital, I didn’t have much pain and didn’t have to take my narcotic pain killer. At my 6 month post op appointment, my bariatric surgeon was extremely pleased with my weight loss progress because I had lost 124% of my original body weight. My current body weight is in the mid 130’s. I was really scared that I would experience dumping syndrome after my bypass surgery - which I did not. In my experience, I haven’t had malabsorption of my daily nutrition in my body. My bariatric Vitamins don’t taste horrible (I take my bariatric vitamins daily). Fortunately, my tastebuds haven’t changed because of the bypass surgery. I can eat all foods that I had eaten before I got my bypass surgery. I no longer have to take the Protonix 40 mg because the bypass surgery cured the GERD for me.
Lastly, the weight that I had lost from my bypass surgery hasn’t returned because I use my Lose It application (food journal) to budget my calories, I walk everyday for 30 minutes at a minimum, and I use the nutritional plate method (that my medical nutritionist told me about). The plate method is where you divide your plate in to three sections: first section is 50% of the plate is made out of fruits and vegetables (I typically have 25% of fruits and 25% of vegetables in this section), second section is 25% of Protein food, and the third section is 25% of carbohydrates foods. Using the nutritional plate method I make sure I’m getting the proper nutrition.

Michelle, I hope that what I’ve written has given you food for thought. I have successfully gone from a sleeve surgery to a bypass surgery without any complications and i am extremely happy about my weight loss journey, thus far

[Im4miracles 2]

3 minutes ago, paradigm7 said:

Greetings @Im4miracles - Michelle,

I got my sleeve surgery in 2016. I lost around 130 lbs During the time from 2020, I had gained some of the weight back. I also had severe GERD (where the GERD was so severe that I was vomiting my food almost everyday). I went back to my Bariatric surgeon in February, 2020 to revise my sleeve surgery to a Gastric Bypass with hernia surgery I have to admit that I had similar concerns about the Gastric Bypass that you do. I was concerned about the dumping syndrome and wondering if I could keep the weight off with revision to the bypass surgery. I got my Gastric Bypass surgery with hernia surgery in March 2020.

It was the best decision I ever made for myself because in hindsight I don’t have this severe GERD anymore. Once I was released from the hospital, I didn’t have much pain and didn’t have to take my narcotic pain killer. At my 6 month post op appointment, my bariatric surgeon was extremely pleased with my weight loss progress because I had lost 124% of my original body weight. My current body weight is in the mid 130’s. I was really scared that I would experience dumping syndrome after my bypass surgery - which I did not. In my experience, I haven’t had malabsorption of my daily nutrition in my body. My bariatric Vitamins don’t taste horrible (I take my bariatric Vitamins daily). Fortunately, my tastebuds haven’t changed because of the bypass surgery. I can eat all foods that I had eaten before I got my bypass surgery. I no longer have to take the Protonix 40 mg because the bypass surgery cured the GERD for me.
Lastly, the weight that I had lost from my bypass surgery hasn’t returned because I use my Lose It application (food journal) to budget my calories, I walk everyday for 30 minutes at a minimum, and I use the nutritional plate method (that my medical nutritionist told me about). The plate method is where you divide your plate in to three sections: first section is 50% of the plate is made out of fruits and vegetables (I typically have 25% of fruits and 25% of vegetables in this section), second section is 25% of Protein food, and the third section is 25% of carbohydrates foods. Using the nutritional plate method I make sure I’m getting the proper nutrition.

Michelle, I hope that what I’ve written has given you food for thought. I have successfully gone from a sleeve surgery to a bypass surgery without any complications and i am extremely happy about my weight loss journey, thus far

Thank You for that insight!

[redhead_che 824]

I was just revised to a bypass from sleeve on 5/6 for reflux with regain. No more acid reflux. Currently in the mushy food phase. Lost 18lbs so far. Not too shabby. I too had a decent amount of regain prior to my bypass—surgeon says if I do all the things our guidelines say I can get back to my lowest of 125. It was the right decision for me.

[paradigm7 0]

1 hour ago, Im4miracles said:

Thank You for that insight!

Michelle, it’s my distinct pleasure.

[shriner37 249]

I had the sleeve in 2015. I lost about 90 pounds from my highest weight which was still a ways from goal, but over 7 years managed to gain back about 25 pounds. Early this year my hiatal hernia worsened and because of that and GERD my surgeon told me I really needed revision to bypass. My revision surgery was three months ago. I've done well with recovery with no complications. I've lost about 33 pounds since surgery and am about 19 pounds from goal.

I will say that weight loss for me has been slower with the revision, possibly because I didn't have as much to lose. The surgery did take care of my hernia and GERD issues. I have not pushed the envelope with high fat or very sweet foods to see if I have any issues with dumping, but I'm told only about 1/3 of bypass patients do. Because of the change in the way your pouch works (less stomach acid and such) I have experienced a couple issues with dry or very tough foods causing what is called frothing or 'foamies'. It's very uncomfortable but passes in an hour or so.

All in all I'm glad I had the surgery. I was having significant issues from the hernia and really didn't have a choice, but it's nice to be down in a weight range I never made it to with the sleeve.

[JaJor0430 3]

Wow. I literally felt n as though I was writing you story for myself. I decide to do the conversion from sleeve to bypass as I can no longer handle the GERD. it scares me because I was choking bad in my sleep with reflux and could not catch my breath, then I started regurgitating my food really bad. I'm scheduled for the 19th. They are going to repair the hernia and do the bypass. GERDS has made daily life to hard and I can't handle it.

Sent from my SM-G996U using BariatricPal mobile app

[mrs.melmcc 18]

Thank you for the responses. Came here because I am experiencing the same. Eight years out from the sleeve and have had GERD ever since. I had an Upper Gi this morning and hernia was confirmed. Endoscopy this Thursday but prior to today doc had already discussed converting to bypass. This is not the quality of life I want for the rest of my life so I plan to do the bypass if my doc feels it is the best course of action.

[Tomo 1,191]

On 5/13/2022 at 11:33 PM, Im4miracles said:

Hello!

Just a short story of how I got here! 8/2012, I underwent the Gastric Sleeve. I went from 230 lbs to 140 lbs. I had a hiatal hernia repair during this surgery in 2012 and again in 2021. Every since I had the sleeve in 2012, I have had reflux. Within the last few years, it has increased, severely. It did a little better when I had the hernia repair in 2021. However the hernia has returned and the GERD is even worse. I wake up quite often gagging on stomach acid. Sometimes waiting to go to bed three hours after my last meal/snack, will help SOMETIMES. A lot of times, I have to sleep sitting up. I am taking Protonix 40 MG twice a day for many many years. If I skip a dose, I regret it!

I, unfortunately, have gained quite a bit of my weight back. Once I started gaining, the front desk clerk at my Bariatric doc's office told me I didn't need to come back. I kind of felt like I got kicked out of the program!! So it just got worse after that.

Because of the severe GERD I am having, I bit the bullet and went back to see my bariatric doctor. I was ashamed because I lost 90 pounds after my surgery but have gained 60 of it back. He didn't seem to say much about that. However, he suggested that the best way to get the GERD under control was to revise my surgery from the Sleeve to the Bypass.

I have concerns! I am worried about the diet and will I screw up again? I am worried about mal absorption, dumping syndrome and all the other complications that can come from the Gastric Bypass. I worry about how the Vitamins will taste (silly I know, but if things taste nasty, I have a hard time eating/drinking). What if I can't stick with it like I did the Sleeve? This is a permanent surgery! I am scared but I feel like it is necessary to relieve me of this terrible GERD. I could end up with Barrett's Esophagus and worse, cancer of the esophagus.

Would really appreciate outlooks and suggestions!

Thanks in Advance,

Michelle

I had the revision from sleeve to RNY last August due to severe gerd. Have lost all my excess weight and I can finally sleep restfully all night long. No severe gerd. I can't say whether you will screw up again but I assure you, with the RNY, it'll be much harder to slide back into bad habits. I'm in my 10th month and it's been a lovely journey for me so far. I am still elated that I can get full on 2 eggs. Unfortunately, complications can happen with all surgeries. I had a complication with the lap band and the VSG. No fault of my own. RNY is no longer a permanent surgery, but it is a risky procedure to reverse it. The sleeve is considered permanent. As for Vitamins, I had a complete bloodwork 2 weeks ago and I was not deficient in any vitamins, minerals or Protein. Cholesterol, triglycerides, sugar, all perfect. I only take a Vitamin Patch by PatchAid. It may not work for others but it sure works for me.

I hope this helps.