I appreciate what you had to say and find it very helpful. I know kids are off the table for years, that's why I want to get it sooner rather than later. I've talked to my ACT team to see if there are any programs for cheaper bariatric supplements (they have a lot of resources and often find things I never knew existed) but if they can't find anything my dad and boyfriend have stepped up and said they would cover the cost because they understand the importance of them. I've been on mental health medicine since I was 14 and I've been on blood pressure medicine since 5th grade so I'm very compliant and understand the importance of life saving medicine. I also already get labs done twice a year, so getting even more done doesn't bother me and is something I know I can handle. As for the boyfriend moving in and feeding him, I was in college on grants living in an apartment where I could have someone live with me for free. I wanted him to go to university with me instead of our crappy community college, which meant he had to leave his job. I was younger, caring and didn't put myself first but I've learned from that experience and I've already expressed to him that if we ever live together again, I can't be there to support him because I need my protein first and foremost and he was more than understanding. When I was scoped they said my first surgery was messed up and that's why they referred me to a surgeon, so I think I will need to be re sleeved. Do you know what's the shortest CC they normally allow? This has all been really helpful and has brought up questions that I will be asking my surgeon when I meet with him! Thank you so much.

Keep on researching. You have a lot to learn. First of all the waiting to eat and drink thing is for RNY patients. They have a pouch. Dsers have a fully functioning stomach. You may find it easier to get your protein in at first if you restrict yourself but it is not necessary long term.

Next, no you can't get your supplements in a shot. You have to take the pills. Lots of them. And they are not cheap and are usually not covered by insurance. You can count on spending at least 1K per year on supplements and at least in the beginning, protein drinks. Our protein requirements are real. Without a proper diet, you will die. Your needs have to come first. You can't do without your supplements and protein to support an unemployed BF. Doing things like this is a recipe for disaster for a DSer. You have to be in a place where you come first and you are willing to do what you have to do to survive and thrive. If you can't do this, the DS is not for you. I know this sounds harsh but you need to hear the unvarnished truth.

Kids... Forget that for now. Many of us do 2 types of BC. You will be told, no kids till the weight is gone and you are at least 2/3 years postop with NO problems. And pregnancy is considered high risk for most of us. And you will need a lot of monitoring. You will have to be very careful to avoid pregnancy for years.

The VSG is just another diet with a smaller stomach. The DS is much more powerful because it adds in malabsorbtion. This is the combination that lets us take the weight off and keep it off. It works better than anything else you could possibly do to control your weight. It has the best results long term. But the rules are not optional. You can't just not do it whenever you are having a bad day!

Make sure you know about the surgery variants. There is the standard DS, 2 anastomosis, and the SADI/Loop. Since you have a lot of weight to lose, I would encourage you to get a standard DS from a real DS surgeon. Does your sleeve need to be redone? Find out. What will your Common Chanel be? In your position, I would opt for as short as they are willing to go. Shorter means more malabsorbtion more sustained weight loss, and more chances for deficiencies as well.

You know you. Do a lot of thinking and reading about this.

Hi! I'm 27 (28 in March) and female. I had VSG at 23. I was 430 and I'm 5'8. A year after surgery I had lost 135 lbs and was in the high 200's for the first time since I was 13. Then my boyfriend moved in with me and had no job (I'm a college student and in an intensive psychiatric program so I have Medicaid and food stamps) I went from being able to afford my healthy proteins, to buying junk because $194 to feed 2 people a month doesn't exactly allow for healthy options. I slowly started back with bad habits and now 5 years later I'm 425 lbs. I recently went for a colonoscopy a week ago and what should've been a 25 minute procedure took them over an hour. This led them to refer me to their WL surgeon for the DS. Before a week ago I had never heard of this procedure and being that I'm a future teacher, I've been researching obsessively because I want to be successful this time around. With my VSG I lost A LOT of hair, even taking my vitamins religiously. Does this procedure come with a lot of hair loss as well? My appointment to meet my surgeon is Feb 24th. He accepts my Medicaid but I'm scared they won't let me have a second surgery, even though I have high blood pressure that's so bad I take 2 meds a day and it's still high (I've had high blood pressure since 5th grade so it's something I've lived with for a while and was temporarily off for 2 years after my VSG) I'm looking for any tips, advice or questions I should ask my surgeon when I meet with him in 2 weeks. From my research I've read about waiting 15 minutes after drinking to eat and 45 minutes after eating to drink. Is this correct? I've recently been starting to do this now, so that I have that healthy habit developed well before surgery. Has anyone had to get their vitamins in a shot form? What's the typical first year of vitamins look like until you get your labs back? With my Merakey/ACT team for my mental health, I get labs done every six months, so I know I can keep up with doing labs for this once a year. I just feel down that I failed my first attempt that if I can get the DS, I will fail again, so I'm really trying to learn as much as possible so I can better educate myself and prepare for it so that I can be successful. I'm still young, I have an amazing man who loves me for me and I really want to start a family with him some day and I feel like this is my last chance to get to be my healthiest self so I can live out my dreams. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated!

WLS is just the tool and I believe that unless you change your eating habits along with having surgery (no matter what type of surgery you choose) it won't work. You may lose weight but you may not be successful (if you know what I mean). I went all in - including therapy, learning about my body, my vitamins, exercising and finally taking care of my whole body. I really don't believe I would have been as successful as I've been had I not done that. I'm the one who defines my success - it's not just the number on the scale. It's how I see and treat food and myself.

I too have failed. I really believe that I will not succeed until I deal with my compulsive eating addiction. It is 100% more persistent than any WLS.