Doing the DS&RNY TANGO!

I have an issue basically!

I have choosen the DS and currently waiting on a surgery date.There is a large probability it will get DENIED.So my next option is RNY and I can accept it if need be. Some questions have popped in my head and its making me quite confused.

Dilema #1
My husband is starting the process of going into the army. I was told having a DS may be a mistake if he chooses this. Due to the lack of knowledgeable PCP who are informed about the DS may cause an issue when traveling from base to base.

Dilema #2
Can I say Im a true advocate for my health now? Somewhat, I basically tell them whats wrong and leave it to my doctor to get right on it.Do I let mysterious pains bypass without seeking medical attention? Sometimes.Does the idea of being on top of my vitamin levels in depth overwhelm me ? Hmmmm a little.

Dilema #3
Which WLS fits my eating habits? Well lets see....
I have a sugar tooth like a SOB!
Im a junk food fein!(Chips..fast food...shakes )
I hate veggies(Dont eat them)
I love juices..not soda
No coffee...No tea...No alcohol(I may have a drink every two years)
Certain foods I eat in large quantities(Pizza,tacos,etc....)
So in that aspect which WLS makes better since?

Dilema #4
My comorbidities
-Sleep Apnea (stop breathing 30x in a sleep study)
-swelling (feet,legs and hands)
-Pcos
-high cholestrol(228)

Any advice would appreciated !

Thank you for reading

Dilemma 1: Never heard of it.  Army or not, you are almost certain to have to train your PCP, over and over again, if you have a DS.

Dilemma 2: This is a no-go.  If you can't stand up for yourself, get a VSG and leave yourself at your doctor's whim.  THIS IS NOT AN OPTION!

Dilemma 3: You're HOSED with any surgery if you can't change ALL of those self-destructive behaviors.
 - Sugar: you'll dump with an RNY - or, maybe you won't.  You can't count on it to give you the "negative feedback" so many people think it is going to give them.  And even people who dump, eat sugar anyway and put up with the misery.  The VSG + sugar is guaranteed failure.  The DS may change your metabolism so you don't crave sugar as much - many people say it does (and quite a few say it didn't help them, so there you go), but if you eat it, you will not lose and will regain.  Ultimately, it's on YOU to stop this self-destructive ****

- Junk food: depends - you can't eat it with abandon with any surgery, but the DS is the most forgiving of the high protein., high fat kind.  But NONE of the ones you mention - that crap has to get out of your life.

 - Veggies - you need them.  Period.  With the DS, you can hide them in butter, Hollandaise, cheese sauce, salad dressing - but you need to eat them.  You need to eat them with ALL surgeries, and you need to be eating them with NO surgery.

 - Juice?  Are you kidding me?

 - Large quantities of tacos, pizza - again, are you kidding me?

Dilemma 4: The DS has the best rate of resolution of comorbidities.

HOWEVER, if you are going to be passive in your self-advocacy, FORGET the DS.

I suggest you get the VSG - you won't lose enough weight, and will likely regain it, but at least you won't hurt yourself.

Thank you for responding Diana

You are absolutely right on everything you said. I just think fear is getting to me. In a way I feel I'm trying to talk myself out of doing this.Even though I truly need this and want it. As far as self advocacy...That's something I'm going to have to learn because I have always kinda been passive about it.(Except in emergency situations).The feedback you have given me is definitely an eye opener and I will definitely retain it.

 If you are trying to talk yourself out of it, you are not ready.  Plain and simple.  ANY surgery is a lot of work, mentally and physically.   Let me tell you - I am in the middle of it all and I can tell you that if you are not ready to make the changes and do the hard work, postpone it for a few years.  

Hey Bornleader,
Diana had some good advice for you for sure. I have never heard of anyone having trouble with the DS due to traveling base to base though. You just need to get your vitamin shipments and blood labs done, and that shouldn't be a problem. You might ask on the DS board for other military folks and their experiences though.

No WLS is going to fit anyone's pre-op eating habits entirely... I mean, you gotta change a lot when you get surgery. But having said that, I guess the thing is... which post-WLS eating style is something you can live with for the rest of your life? Go to the RNY and DS boards and look at their "What did you eat today" type threads. The one on the DS board is called "Bites Vites and Exercites" and it's posted daily. Look at some of the recipes and stuff.

You said on your youtube video that you did well on Atkins for a while right? That's good for the DS and VSG too.

As far as large quantities, well, kiss that goodbye for a while... and if you are prone to eating large quantities, you WANT a surgery with strong malabsorption in addition to restriction because otherwise you will fall back into that and regain a lot.

Sugar tooth isn't really a factor for any surgery. A lot of people got the RNY so the dumping syndrome could make them resist sugary foods but... not everyone with the RNY dumps, and for another thing... do you really want to experience dumping syndrome? I know I didn't. 

You can have some fast food with all sorts of surgeries. A lot of DSers do still eat fast food though it's modified. Like just the meat, no bun, a couple fries, etc, and in different quantities.

The DS has a high resolution for all of those co-morbidities that you described. I only had swelling/edema of the feet and lower legs before surgery, however after maybe... 4 days tops... it was gone. Completely gone. I was able to wear my hard-top sandals that I got last year for the first time.

And with the vitamins... yes it is pretty overwhelming at first. But you work up to it, and well, it's a good trade off from diabetes medicine and heart medicine and all that other stuff that might crop up down the road, you know? Yes it is freaky to be our age and to have a wad of pills to take, but in exchange for living a good healthy life? Hell yes, gimme that packet of pills.

Have you come over to the DS forum? I haven't seen many of your posts. Come on over and read some of the daily food journals and recipes, listen to the vets talk about their long term lives too. 

You are going to have to take plenty of vitamins, tracks your own labs, and direct/educate your pcp about your care no matter which surgery you get.

Being in the Army has nothing at all to do with it.

There has not yet been discovered a surgery that will allow you eat or drink sugar/simple carbs in abandon and still be successful. That said, i eat pizza and ice cream regularly without a problem. (2-3 slices a wek and a scoop or two in the same time)

With either surgery, your capacity will be reduced. But, kiss those sugar-laden juices goodbye. May as well drink full sugar sodas. And both will sabotage your weight loss.

The ONLY surgery that makes sense is the DS. It has the same risks, similar vitamin requirements, as the RnY, but vastly superior results. Both in excess weight lost and in excess weight loss maintained.

Check out the revision board. See how many Rnyers are asking about revisions. Compare that to the number of DSers.

Think twice, cut once.

I agree with Diana. My main concerns with your post are you must learn to be diligent about your vitamins. I have read horror stories (from DSers/RNYers) that didn't take their vitamins and had horrible consequences ... this must be taken seriously). Also, you need to be your #1 proponent with your health. If you have stomach or other type of pains, you need to err on the side of caution. Of course many times it is probably nothing, however, sometimes NOT listening to our bodies can result in a much more serious condition down the road. Not trying to scare you, however, you must go into this the right way. As my Nana used to say, "a stitch in time, saves nine". She also told me that girls that eat sweets take up two seats. Damn I should have listened more to my Nana growing up! :)

2. I am sure you can find a veggie that you like. As Diana pointed, you can add sauces or oil and the DS is very forgiven. There are so many veggies out there, did you really try ALL of them?

For your Dilemma #1. I think the main problem is the lack of knowledge with some emergency care workers and this is for ALL weight loss surgeries -- not just the DS. I believe it was Sue who had posted a few weeks back a very handy poster to have available. It tells the intending caretaker things that they should NOT do with people that have had the various weight loss surgeries. Hopefully one of the other OHers may have this handy or Sue might see your post. I thought I had downloaded the PDF, however, my archive files are a mess right now. But I can see if I can dig it up for you later tonight if no one else gives it to you.

You can see the poster here

Liz
 

Learn to love veggies or be unhealthy no matter what surgery you get.  The foods you named that you like are unhealthy for you now and will be unhealthy for you after surgery.

Junk food and sweet liquids go down with any surgery and will keep you unhealthy and cause you to regain any weight you lose with any surgery. 

It's the truth, sorry......

I just have one thing to add...

Before DS, I was a sugar-a-******holic! Seriously, I HAD to eat chocolate at least once a day. I also had/have PCOS and insulin resistance.

After my DS... I don't crave chocolate like I used to. The only time I eat some candy/choco is a few days before my period, and it is usually a TINY amount (like a few bites and I'll throw it away cuz I'm done with it - I have seriously taken one bite of a candy bar and threw the rest away because that is all I wanted, I've never done that before!!

This DS is an absolute miracle worker IMO. I feel like a NORMAL person. I feel like my sister who is 5'2 and 95lbs.

I used to eat a lot of food, because that is how much it would take to fill me up, now, I have this restriction and the amazing ability to feel satisfied.