Howdy!

[Meep]

Hi there!

My name is Donna and I live in the Chicago area. I had the VSG in 2015 after a several hundred pound weight loss. Lost 130 pounds. Now at 295-ish I may have to get a revision due to GERD (and also to guarantee future weight loss). Going to shoot for the DS if at all possible, as I have a hernia which may be causing the GERD, though the surgeon says the GERD is worse than a teeny hernia should make it.

Anyway, it's nice to meet you all

 

[hilary1617]

Hi and welcome @Meep! Dr. Alverdy at U of C performed my DS and is very proficient. Nice to meet you!

 

[Meep]

Hi and welcome @Meep! Dr. Alverdy at U of C performed my DS and is very proficient. Nice to meet you!

Thank you! It is nice to meet you. My surgeon who did the VSG does not currently do the DS, however he was trained at the University of Chicago for his surgical residency. I'm definitely going to take a peek there. I have an endoscopy the last week of the month because of the crushing GERD chest pain (gallbladder and heart are textbook perfect). Might also be severe candida. Fun times. We'll see what that says and then talk about options and if I should head to U of C. Hoping I don't need the RNY, and that fixing the hernia plus weight loss post-DS will resolve the annoying GERD. I'm still (very) slowly losing, at least.

 

[galaxygrrl]

Welcome

 

[DSRIGGS]

Please do not compound the mistake of not getting the DS the first time by getting a RnY GBP. Why risk dumping syndrome and an RnY will very, very likely not give you the weight loss you desire.

By the way welcome..

What PPI are you taking now and how many times a day and at what dosage? I had Barrett's esophagus prior to the DS so I was already on 40 mg 2 per day of Omeprazole. The hiatal hernia and or stricture may be causing your GERD. That is why my surgeon doesn't recommend the VSG. That and it doesn't have a great record of people getting to goal weight and staying there, or resolution of diabetes. Some surgeons believe a tiny sleeve gives better weight loss, but data shows that isn't true and ot can cause severe gerd and stricture.

First step I would recommend is making sure you are at max dose of a good ppi, then look into the DS where you can get the hiatal hernia fixed and the switch added to give you the long term result you are looking for.

Best wishes

 

[JuliaDS]

Hi there!

My name is Donna and I live in the Chicago area. I had the VSG in 2015 after a several hundred pound weight loss. Lost 130 pounds. Now at 295-ish I may have to get a revision due to GERD (and also to guarantee future weight loss). Going to shoot for the DS if at all possible, as I have a hernia which may be causing the GERD, though the surgeon says the GERD is worse than a teeny hernia should make it.

Anyway, it's nice to meet you all

Hi and welcome @Meep! You'll find lots of quality information here so read, read, read! Looking forward to following your journey.

 

[Larra]

Hi and welcome! So glad you're here now. You'll get lots of good info here.

Regarding your "perfect" gall bladder, have you had a HIDA scan in addition to the standard ultrasound? Some people don't have gallstones but have a gallbladder that doesn't function properly. A HIDA scan is a nuclear medicine scan that would show this. Very safe and not painful. It would be unusual for someone who has both been so very overweight and also has lost so much weight to not have some gall bladder problem. Not impossible, but unusual.
Another thought is H pylori, and hopefully when you have the endoscopy they will do testing for this. Ask ahead of time, just to make sure. If you have it, it can and should be treated with a combo of PPI and antibiotics, and maybe this would help your symptoms as well, In other words, maybe at least part of your GERD pain isn't GERD at all.
I would hate to see you have an inferior operation that you don't really want for a problem that isn't really the problem.

 

[newanatomy]

Hello and welcome. I hope you are able to get the treatment that you need.

 

[southernlady]

Welcome @Meep

 

[aaa]

Hello.

 

[Charris]

Please do not compound the mistake of not getting the DS the first time by getting a RnY GBP. Why risk dumping syndrome and an RnY will very, very likely not give you the weight loss you desire.

By the way welcome..

What PPI are you taking now and how many times a day and at what dosage? I had Barrett's esophagus prior to the DS so I was already on 40 mg 2 per day of Omeprazole. The hiatal hernia and or stricture may be causing your GERD. That is why my surgeon doesn't recommend the VSG. That and it doesn't have a great record of people getting to goal weight and staying there, or resolution of diabetes. Some surgeons believe a tiny sleeve gives better weight loss, but data shows that isn't true and ot can cause severe gerd and stricture.

First step I would recommend is making sure you are at max dose of a good ppi, then look into the DS where you can get the hiatal hernia fixed and the switch added to give you the long term result you are looking for.

Best wishes

Scott aka @DSRIGGS she already had a vsg. This will be a 2nd surgery not first

 

[Charris]

Welcome Meeks I hope they figure it out soon for you to get some relief. Especially if your gallbladder is no good. Mines looked great but when they did the nuclear study it was bad....slow emptying.

 

[Meep]

Please do not compound the mistake of not getting the DS the first time by getting a RnY GBP. Why risk dumping syndrome and an RnY will very, very likely not give you the weight loss you desire.

By the way welcome..

What PPI are you taking now and how many times a day and at what dosage? I had Barrett's esophagus prior to the DS so I was already on 40 mg 2 per day of Omeprazole. The hiatal hernia and or stricture may be causing your GERD. That is why my surgeon doesn't recommend the VSG. That and it doesn't have a great record of people getting to goal weight and staying there, or resolution of diabetes. Some surgeons believe a tiny sleeve gives better weight loss, but data shows that isn't true and ot can cause severe gerd and stricture.

First step I would recommend is making sure you are at max dose of a good ppi, then look into the DS where you can get the hiatal hernia fixed and the switch added to give you the long term result you are looking for.

Best wishes

I am on 40mg of omeprazole 2x daily. I've tried them all, including Dexilant at varying degrees. Omeprazole actually worked better than Dexilant. Things have just been getting worse.

In my case, the GERD is not necessarily the sleeve - I also have Celiac (which can actually cause severe GERD - I recently found out my medications had gluten) and a hiatal hernia which I mentioned. They are doing an EGD to check for causes and see how bad the GERD damage has been, as well as to determine the damage from Celiac to the small bowel. I did not have symptoms of GERD pre-operatively, and the intention was always to get the DS long down the road after my health improved. You are correct - I believe the percent of sleeves total that develop GERD pre-op after surgery is between 20-27%, based on the studies I pulled from the school library. My sleeve is not super small, either.

I had the sleeve first because at the time my health was very poor for unrelated reasons (I have three autoimmune diseases and other stuff going on). So, I opted for the sleeve rather than nothing, hoping to revise later after weight loss. If it's not the sleeve's structure I absolutely won't revise to RNY, since I don't know that with my highest BMI that's the issue.