I've made my decision for the DS, NOT a hard choice!!!

I just want to drop by to say hello to all of you and take a second to introduce myself!  I have been researching for several months on which surgery to have, and I want to let you all know that because of all of you, my decision is an easy one!  I've read so many posts that they all melt together, but I know that I want to be a DSer.  After thorough research I personally wonder why anyone would have any other surgery.  (No hate mail please, I know it is a personal decision that everyone has to make on their own...this is just my opinion). I have already met with my surgeon and she agrees that this is a great option for me!  Dr. Inman is my surgeon and I will be having the procedure done at St. Vincent Bariatric Center in Carmel, Indiana.  I am still in the early stages, but feel very confident about being approved for the surgery.  UHC is my insurance company, and from the sounds of it, this is one of the easier companies to be approved by.   I have been to two support groups at the hospital, where I sat amongst a group of RNYers listening to how they had to adjust to a drastic new way of life and how hard it was.  My first meeting, NO ONE except the nurse even knew what a DS was, and at the second meeting there was a 6 month post-op DSer who dared say it was the easiest way she had ever lost weight in her life.  Not a safe thing to do when you have 50 post op RNYers shooting darts at you with their eyes.  She is definitely a success story as she has had no problems, but I'm making a note to myself to not make comments like that in a sea of people who have gone with the RNY!! NOT a great choice!   Anyway, I'm Lori and I live in Carmel, Indiana with my husband and three children.  I stay at home with my kids and have the best job in the world.  I have spent my life slowly losing the battle against weight loss.  I am your classic yo-yo-er.  50 pounds down, 60 pounds up.  Yada yada yada.  I really got behind in the battle after having our first son 9 years ago.  I gained a whopping 75 pounds with him and have never really recovered from that.  I have been in the 200-250 range since his birth, sometimes swinging a little lower, usually not higher.  I had gotten down to about 186 in 2004 before the birth of our 3rd child.  I gained another 75 pounds with him and have not been able to break 215 since he was born.  I was 215 for about 3 days before shooting back up to the 250 mark.  That is the weight where I currently reside, putting my BMI at 40.4.  I'm tired of the weight loss game on my own, and I'm prepared to make the necessary changes to join all of you DS losers out there!  I am inspired by all of your pages and stories.  I hope I will be an inspiration to others someday too.  You can't know how much your profiles help to give hope to those of us who are still pre-op.  Thank you for sharing yourselves on these pages and giving me what feels like REAL hope for my health for the first time in a long time!   I'm really excited about getting to know all of you!  Congrats to all of you post-ops on all of your successes! Lori Black

Hi Lori, and welcome!  This is an incredibly welcoming and warm board.  I love it here.  I stumbled upon some information for the DS when I was doing my research for whatever WLS I was going to get.  I have horrible problems with constipation (you should excuse the expression) and so when I was reading about the RNY, I was thinking if they could do it more distally for me, and get some good malabsorption going for me, I'd be a happy camper.  I was also concerned about not being able to sip water with meals with the RNY, as I have never been able to swallow food, no matter how thoroughly chewed, without a sip of water.  And the third thing was I was concerned about not being able to swallow pills, as I am not 100% sure that all my hypertension problems will be solved by the surgery and losing weight.  My grandmother had pretty bad hypertension and she was a teeny, slim, birdy little lady.  Sooo....   When I saw some short description of the DS, I fell upon it with glad little cries.  I somehow followed the trail here and Bob'syeruncle here I am. I'm in the process of sending the information to the new doctor as well as doing the 6 month physician supervised diet.  I hope to get the information in and approved quickly.  I'm optimistic about approval, also.  We'll jujst have to see how that works  out for me.  ANyway - Nice to meet you! Love Dennie

Dennie, Hello!  I couldn't agree with you more on your answer to why the DS is right for you!  At a support group I went to, a surgeon was there answering questions from the group, and made the comment that with the RNY you should never again in your life drink at the same time as you are eating!  I thought that sounded WAY out for me, I could handle it for a couple of months, but the rest of my life???  The DS just seems more normal to me, and I know that I need (close to) normal to be a success!   Nice meeting you!   Lori

Welcome Lori, we are happy to have you here. You will always get a wealth of advise and help from these wonderful people. Congrats on your decision, I think you will be very happy with it. Best wishes on your journey!

Welcome Lori, You were smart to do your homework before WLS.  I went with the flow, had an RNY without much success and  years later a revision to the DS.  I'm a slow learner.  If I'd known I'd of gotten the DS the first time and saved myself a lot of time and pain ( both physical and psychological).  Good Luck. Beth

Hi Beth!  I have read about lots of other patients who have gone the same route as you!  You are not alone....what matters is that you are successful now.  Congrats on your loss! Lori

Hi Deborah, I see that you just recently had surgery.  How is everything going for you.  Duh, I guess I could go look at your profile!  Sorry, still new at all of this.  Thanks for your warm welcome! Lori

I am doing very well thanks. It is definitely a different adventure :)

   Lori !  We are so glad you found us! Sometimes when you are on the Main Board here at OH, you have to really work to see over the crowd of RNYers.  Glad I was able to point the way!   This board has the bestest folks and they will answer any questions you can think of... of course, this means that sometimes we talk about strange topics, such as poop and farts and sex and panties and boobies, and various other body parts! It is always interesting! Take some time and go back and read a bunch of back posts (this will take about 2 weeks if you do nothing else in your life except read the back posts! LOL) But the wealth of knowledge that is just sitting there for the taking is amazing! W  E  L  C  O  M  E