ObesityHelp

FYI

Dr Peters is not practicing now.

The DS is often the vicim of bad press from doctors who don't have a clue on how to perform it. THE DS is not a controversial sugery amongst qualified surgeons who know how to perform it, only the naysayers with an agenda.

My DS has been great: DSers don't dump, I haven't had any problems with food getting stuck, and I eat like a carnivorous human being. I had a food porn thread where I took pictures of everything I ate on a cruise at 8 months out, I have removed the pictures because OH has been posting things to facebook without permission, but I can give you a quick list:

-Prime rib, venison, foie gras, crispy duck
-seafood of all kinds, scallops, lobster, shrimp in butter
-eggs benedict and bacon
-all kinds of cheeses
-breads (in moderation, with a DS you need to watch your carbs to so you don't slow down your weight loss)
-Rich deserts like panna cotta, creme brulee, custards (in moderation, gotta watch the carbs, but rich fatty desserts with offer the most bang for your buck since we only absorb 20% of the fat- however we absorb 100% of simple carbs like sugar)
- veggies and salads too! but I rarely had enough room after my protein

However the recovery can be tough- it was for me. Sometimes your stomach has mood swings when it's healing. Keep in mind the DS "recovery" period is A YEAR:  even though the stiches heal quickly, it takes months for your stomach to regain the ability to digest certain foods comfortably. Your intestines need time to adjust to the changes as well.  There are good days and bad days. While I was up and running with my normal daily routine in a few weeks, it took a long time for my stomach to heal and be able to tolerate those foods I mentioned above. I also experienced nausea in the early months. The worst part is the first 3 months, after that it gets much easier.

In short, it's great but the early recovery can be a ***** Compliance with protein and vites isn't hard, but you need to be comitted to them for the rest of your life. Vites and quality protein is expensive, make sure your budget is ready.

And that is a big reason why many doctors and surgeons are opposed to it.  And it's a good reason.

Actually no, no warned me about the DS before I got the band. I didn't know anything about it. I'm sorry if my question upset you, I'm just trying to do what's best for me. I didn't know the DS existed. My Doctor was about an  hour away from me and I got most of my information from him. He didnt' and doesn't to the DS so how could I have known about it. Obviously people have hurt you with their name calling, but one of them wasn't me, so please don't take it out on me.. I'm only trying to make a better and more informed desicion for myself.

Susan

Why, if the DS is so superior (and yes, yes it IS), isn't it more available?

1) By the time the DS procedure was developed and perfected, from 1988 to the mid 90s, the RNY was entrenched. Thousands of general surgeons had taken weekend courses and hung out their shingles, offering RNY-mill operations -- doing 4-6 surgeries/day, with little or no follow up. A money-making machine. The insurance companies got in on the act as desperate people demanded that bariatric surgery be covered, and drove the reimbursement rate down by leveraging the thousands of RNY surgeons against each other. If the surgeons wanted to get a steady stream of patients sent to them by the insurance companies, they had to contract with the insurance companies and their ****ty reimbursement rates.

2) The DS is a FAR more difficult surgery to learn. The duodenal anastomosis is a very tricky procedure -- the tissue of the duodenum is difficult to stitch. It cannot be learned in a weekend -- it requires being proctored by a VERY experienced surgeon. And most of the RNY hacks don't want to take time off from their high-throughput lucrative RNY mill practices to learn a new procedure when they've got plenty of RNY fish to fillet.

Also, there isn't to my knowledge a DS surgeon who does more than 2 DSs per day, and many spend lots of hours providing follow on care for their patients, because they CARE about them, and are providing not only follow on care but also collecting statistics to publish and provide scientific evidence of the superiority of the procedure for future patients to use to fight their insurance companies. These honorable practices have resulted in NUMEROUS insurance companies changing their policies over the last several years -- some of which policy changes I am proud to say I have had some small part in -- including BC of CA, Cigna, Aetna and Medicare.

Because of this economic disincentive, not many of the DS surgeons contract with insurance companies. They don't have to, in order to get their FULL fee, to which they are entitled. If they accepted the paltry rate of reimbursement the insurance companies offer for the DS (i.e., what they are willing to pay for the RNY), they would not be in business very long. In fact, many of the DS surgeons who DO contract with insurance companies have instituted mandatory non-insurance-reimbursable "program fees" amounting to several thousand of dollars that the patients have to come up with before surgery, just to make the surgery marginally profitable to the surgeon. This is a practice I find despicable, even if I understand why they do it.

3)
Insurance companies are in business to make money for their executive management and shareholders. Their managers are paid and retained on their ability to spend less in any given immediate time period than they collect in premiums. They have data showing that the average insured person changes insurance companies (through job move, job loss, or choice) about once every three years. The longer the insurance company puts off having to pay any amount of money, the more money they make in THAT time period. And the higher the chance that the sick person will LEAVE before they have to pay a claim. They don't CARE what is more cost effective in the long run -- they care about what is the cheapest in the current quarter. Period. They don't CARE about making you healthy -- they are hoping you change insurers or DIE before they have to pay a big claim in THIS quarter. Period.
Read more: http://weightlosssurgery.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=disp lay&board=dsdata&thread=2045&page=1#29877#ixzz1lrvjBYKM

I understand what you're going through. I had the same problems with my lap band. I got completely unfilled this summer & have been trying to get my insurance company to pay for a revision. At first, I was scared of how drastic the DS seemed. I read a lot of medical journals & decided that it was the best choice for me. Unfortunately, a lot of the really helpful DS vets don't post here anymore. I encourage you to do lots of research on the internet to get the best information.

Best wishes to you.