DS question

I've had both, lol, and wish I had done the DS first. I would have gotten to goal, and I wouldn't have had the problems (vomiting, esophageal erosion) that necessitated the revision.

I would like to invite you to read about my surgery story on my profile. It's in November and December 2006 and January 2007. You can read a lot about my progress in subsequent entries.

The ds in my opinion is the best.  I went in on a wednesday and was home by friday I had it done lap and was not in too much pain.  It was uncomfortable to sleep for awhile but I found out that sleeping in a recliner worked miracles the first two weeks.  I went shopping the saturday after I got out of the hospital so on the third day I was out shopping.  You will be tired but thats what naps are for.  I have had no problems no uncontrollable bms no terrible gas none of the so called horror stories other non ds folks will tell you about.  Eating is wonderful beside the fact you cant eat much but the variety is good and not having to worry about fat or calories is a true blessing.  I do drink protein shakes because I cant get all my protein in from food and take my vitamins religiously and so far so good. 

I've had both Stacee; I got the original gastric bypass / RNY back in 1980. It was a little different than what's done these days, but the results were the same; the difference was that my pouch was made by just stapling off a pouch instead of cutting the pouch away from the rest of the stomach. I had all the pouch problems; I would dump on anything sweet or with milk in it, dense proteins like steak or roast beef would stick, as would raw veggies, anything stringy or foods like rice; any of those would stick and I would end up puking them up.

But I did lose the weight and at first thought it was great, but after a couple of years, I could eat enough to gain and started having to really work to keep the weight off. I was always on a diet and I exercised pretty much every day. I kept this up for 15 years, then I got sick and couldn't exercise for a year and I lost control of my weight. From that point on it was one yo yo diet, loss then regain after another until I had gained all the weight back. 

As I was gaining the weight back I really grew to hate what had been done to me, I felt deprived, I would dump, food would stick and I was gaining weight, talk about sucking, man that really sucked rocks.

In 2008, I finally decided I had to get serious and do something about my weight, I had gained all the weight back, plus hypertension, sleep apnea and gout, I was a mess and I didn't like my life at all. I went to see a local bariatric surgeon who did an upper GI on me and found I had a staple line disruption and he agreed that I needed a revision and that I should get revised to a modern RNY. When I asked him if that would fix the dumping and food sticking he said, "well no" that would probably be the same. When I asked his if the new pouch would stretch out like the old one did, he said yes it would. Basically it would be the same thing all over again and in a year or two it would be diet and exercise to keep the weight off. I had had all the RNY I could stand, so I declined and started looking for what I could do. I had never heard of the DS, but I knew I didn't want any more RNY.

I found this site and started asking questions on the main board and on the revision board, didn't get squat, was getting discouraged and then someone suggested I check out the DS Forum. I lurked here and could not believe what I was reading; OMG!!!! People were eating like normal people, normally thin people and they were losing weight!!!!! OMG!!! This was just too good to be true, was it even possible I could get a revision to DS? I started asking all kinds of questions and reading everything I could find about the DS. I became convinced; I wanted the DS and there was nothing else that would do. 

I started looking for a surgeon who could revise me and the first three DS surgeons I spoke to said it would be too dangerous and that I should get revised to a modern RNY. Then I spoke to Dr. Anthone and he said it was possible, but that he couldn't guarantee he could do it, but that he would do his best, but I may wake up with RNY.... Then I spoke to Dr. Rabkin and I knew I had found my man, he said no problem, he could do it and had done a number of revisions like mine! He said it was just a matter of taking the time to get through all the adhesion's and scar tissue, but that he would take the time to do it right.

Thank God for Dr. Rabkin!!! My first surgery took 8 1/2 hours because I had so much scar tissue and adhesion's and even then, there was a scar tissue flap inside my stomach he didn't see and that flap kept anything from getting through my new sleeve. So it was back to the OR for another 4 1/2 hours to take my stomach apart, fix the problem and put me back together again. But I was fixed, and although I had a lot of pain and a long recovery, I would do it all again in a heartbeat. Getting the DS was the best money I've ever spent and one of the best decisions of my life and I've made some dandies. 

Here''s a link to my 1 year out post; I think you can get the idea:

www.obesityhelp.com/forums/DS/4024505/One-year-ago-today-who -could-have-known/action,replies/topic_id,4024505/page,1/

The long and short of it is that RNY sucks rocks, the DS just plain rocks. I can't think of any reason I would get RNY instead of the DS, I can think of a dozen or more reason to get the DS instead of RNY.

Kerry


 

Welcome!

You have already gotten a lot of great responses and and a link to a great thread.

I really honestly don't think that there is a question/choice to be made between DS and RNY after you look at the success rate of each and the lifestyle of each.  With the DS you get the best success and the most normal eating lifestyle post-op.  In my mind the DS is the platinum standard for WLS.  BUT if you aren't ready, willing, and able to do what you need to do post-op to keep yourself healthy - then it isn't for you.  Actually if you aren't ready, willing, and able to do that then WLS in general isn't for you.

My DS was open, I went into the hospital on Friday and was released to ride 4.5 hours home on Wednesday afternoon.  My recovery was smooth and uneventful with a small infection in 1 small section of my incision.  No vomiting, no excessive diarrhea, no excessive gas if I don't eat simple carbs, and GREAT weight loss.

Here's a great website, just in case no one mentioned it before - www.dsfacts.com

Good luck!

Hi Stacee,

DS was the right choice for me. I have lost 184 lbs and I know with the DS I have the best chance of maintaning the weight loss. I had open surgery and the recovery was no problem. Pain was managed by med for the first week then I was off them.

Here's some info on DS vs RNY if it helps explain the difference for you http://www.dsfacts.com/Comparison-of-DS-and-RNY.html

please choose the RNY please because you need the malabsorption

and the ds they remove 85% of your stomach and they staple it and its very dangerous please

Please honey, get a clue.

You obviously don't know the first thing about the DS if you think there's more malabsorption with an RNY.  Do some research before you type.  You look like an idiot.

Im also A fool for Christ

Saved By his Precious Blood and heaven Bound plus I am also a soul winner I tell people how to get saved

Words dont hurt me You can ask any doctor he will tell you the ds is less malabsoptive

and yuo loose weight slower

You clearly possess no understanding of the DS. That's ok though, Jesus loves you anyway. Everyone else thinks you're an asshole.

BTW, "any doctor" is not necessarily male. I would suggest that you read "any" peer-reviewed scholarly journal article regarding the facts of the DS. Since I doubt you will do that, why don't you just run along back the RNY/main board.

ETA: Since your starting BMI is 58, it's rather unfortunate that you're so dismissive of the surgery that would give you the BEST chance--possibly your only chance--for the highest possible degree of excess weight loss and the least chance of regain down the road (because of the malabsoption).