Hi Anne,

Count me as one who never knew the DS existed before I came to OH. Not one of my doctors let me know it was an option for wls; that includes my pcp, pain management, gastro, pulmo, and eventually, the wl surgeon himself.  That is inexcusable to not tell a potential patient what all their options are, whether you, as a doctor, agree with it, practice it or not. To me,that borders on malpractice. If you had cancer and there was another treatment out there and the doctors treating you never told you about it, wouldn't you be just a wee bit put out? I'd be spitting nails. I'm so grateful to the DS vets who pay if forward. Without them, I would have never known I had another choice.

When I went to my nutritionist for  RNY counseling, I realized I was not going to be able to be compliant with all of the recommended diet restrictions. It scared me and I thought I would be a failure within the next two years. I enjoyed eating and her recommendations did not appeal to me at the time. I continued to try to convince myself this was just a sacrifice I was going to have to make to keep my health.
Then I started looking at the revisions board and how many people wanted to revise. It was scary. I kept searching for something else. The revision to DS was mentioned on the revisions board several times. Then I found an article about Jessie Jackson Jr having the WLS and it turned out  to be the DS. It shocked me because he looked so confident, slim and fit at the Democratic Convention. 
The option of the DS was on the Dr.'s website but they only mentioned the RNY and Lap band in the seminar. I was excited and wanted to learn more but when I called the  Dr.'s office they told me they no longer did the DS.  Later I found the Dr's that did the surgery moved their practice to Brooklyn. I found the DS board and got the encouragement to change Dr's and never looked back.

I heard about it right here on this board. BLESS YOU ALL who pay it forward here.

I found out about the DS a few weeks before I was scheduled for RNY surgery... Already had my pre op testing done.

I remember I made a post on the main board, mad as heck that I couldn't take NSAIDS after RNY... Rena and a bunch of other's came to my rescue and told me about the DS.

THANK GOD for OH and all the wonderful DS'ers who saved my life!!

The seminar I originally attended did not cover the DS (surprise surprise the surgeon doesn't do the DS!!)

I still feel like the luckiest person ever for getting the DS!

40 days post op I lost 67lbs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The #'s will speak for themselves!

I knew about it before going for my initial consult with my surgeon.

During that consult (it was a group thing), all he said about the DS was that it made you have really smelly gas. That was it.

I had to go with the RNY because I needed the weight loss as soon as humanly possible and that was the one I could go with according to the insurance I had at the time.

I've done well with my RNY but we'll see what happens once this baby is born.

I had no idea what the DS was till I learned about it on the main board through some surgery war a while back. Even then when I saw DS I was like duodenal what? I thought lapband, rny and then I learned about the VSG and I really liked the VSG but I was still concerned till I finally saw so many people mention DS that I looked it up and then started to research and lo and behold I discovered it was perfect for me.

I havent read the other responses in this thread yet, so I will share my opinion, sorry if its been said 30 times already but there are only about 2 dozen DS surgeons in the WORLD. When you have so many bariatric surgeons and so many people looking into bariatric surgery they arent told that the DS exists or are fed lies about how they will lose too much weight, suffer from malnutrition, have uncontrollable foul gas or other bowl problems, risky surgery and other nonsense and its troubling when statistically DSers lose the most weight, maintain that loss over the long run, have better resolution of comorbidities, lose all the complications that arise due to banding and pouches, can take nsaids, don't really need more supplementation (number of pills per day) than RNY patients and the risk profile for the DS is really the same as the rny. In addition to all of that, we also have a greater variety in our dietary choices since essentially with the DS no foods are off limits.

For many people this is as close as it gets at the moment to a miracle surgery and yet people are not told about this option, are lied to by medical professions whom we entrust our lives to and some doctors even go so far as to advertise and claim to perform the DS and when the patient comes in requesting one, they tell them the procedure isnt right for them. So we, as a DS community, take it upon ourselves to spread the good word and let people know that there are other options out there.

Whenever I tell someone I had the DS they automatically assume rny, even people who are researching wls and I have to try and explain to them the surgery and they are immediately interested.

Another reason we like to share... When I went for the seminar with my surgeon (who performs all 4 surgeries) during the q&a portion at the end someone asked which group of people seems to be happiest with their surgeries and he said generally the people who are the happiest are the people who lose the most weight, don't have constant difficulties with foods, can eat the most variety and live as close to a normal life as possible and those would be the DSers. It really hit home when he said that but I believe it to be true. We tend to be happier because for the most part we have greater success and a normal life. We arent losing weight because we are eating 500 calories a day and limiting fat and carbs and exercising like crazy and vomit and deal with stuck food. We are losing weight because we have a fantastic surgery that resets our metabolism and allows us to eat like a semi-normal person. I no longer feel like food is an issue for me and I can focus on living my life.

I did not know about it until i came to OH as a "lurker" back in 2006.I did not have an account set up at the time.Really it was the surgery wars that peaked my interest.I thought that the dsers were being mean.I see now why they are all so passionate about this surgery.It is good to get the info out there.Once I studied the surgery wars more and lurked over to the Ds boards I then discovered how awesome this surgery would be for me.Unfortunately I was unable to get it. My  insurance will cover it but I could not afford the traveling expenses.So I ended up getting the RNY.It is unfortunate that all surgeons do not perform this surgery nor will they tell u about it if they do not do it.My surgeon only did RNY and lapband and the time.Now she is doing VSG! When I asked her office about the DS.They said "What is that surgery" I am like WTF!!! All I have to say to everyone is to research all WLS before you make a decision.
Stephanie

I didn't know about it until a surgery war. Like most other people when a thread get really high views, I want to know what's so interesting!

The seminar I went to (after learning about DS) had a jackass of a surgeon there who went out of his way to tell me all about how terrible the DS was. I mean the ass hole sat with me for 30 minutes after the seminar telling me all about how bad it was & how there was no way I would even be able to get Kaiser to pay for it. The sad thing is that he's at a teaching hospital "teaching" his bull**** to others.

NEVER heard ANYTHING about the DS........except on OH and dsfacts.com.....

I did alot of research/studying.... beginning with WLS (in general) I started out...thinking "lapband" then read all the crap involved with that....then "RNY"....then heard about the "dumping" (which I have experienced "like" symptoms for years thru diverticulitis...DIDN'T want anything to do with THAT BS...) Then found OH...and began reading and studying...did comparison charts...statistical long-term effects study...etc. The overall results...along with ability to continue NSAIDs... TURNED me into a DS'er.....

I am about 2 mos out from my surgery....I am beginning to LOVE MY DS.....(just about...kinda...almost there)..... lol

As far as "lack of information"....THAT'S FOR SURE.... Out of all the people...medical field and otherwise....I HAVE NEVER run into ANYONE that has heard of the DS....period.

....that those that say otherwise....don't know...because they haven't walked in a DS'ers shoes....and the MIS-INFORMATION...and LACK of information....about the DS...