DS vs RNY??

I was originally on track to have RNY back in 2002, but got derailed after preop testing revealed that I had pulmonary hypertension. It's a long story, but it's on my profile if you'd like to read about it.

Even though I was off the track for RNY, I continued to attend the program my then-surgeon required of all his patients. I'd paid for it, so I figured I could benefit from it anyhow :-).

I saw some disturbing trends there. This was a big group, as several surgeons sent patients to it. There was, of course, a cadre of very successful patients (all RNY). They finished their year of program and went on with their lives, and as far as anyone knew/knows, all is well.

There were a surprising number of people, though, who fought and fought and fought to comply with what was expected of them, and the weight didn't come off well. At every meeting, there was word of someone else in the hospital with this or that problem--usually an ulcer or a stricture.

I listened to stories of dumping episodes, of getting food stuck episodes, of the mental/emotional challenges of having to live on highly restricted diets.....and I thought, "There's not a chance in hell I could live with this." (I should add that I have a major vomiting phobia. I'll do just about anything to not vomit. Not a good thing in some cases.)

Well, time passed, I got fatter and sicker, and eventually (again, story in my profile), it came out that the pulmonary hypertension was caused by the fat on my torso squashing my heart and lungs. It went from, "You cannot have any surgery at all," to, "You must have surgery or die."

I came back here to OH, feeling desperate because the lap band wouldn't give me enough weight loss to have any real hope of curing what was ailing me, and the RNY seemed to me like foolish butchery for not enough good results.

Someone told me then about the duodenal switch, invited me over to the DS board, which at the time was pretty much brand new, and the rest was history.

What I like about the DS:

1. 98% cure rate for type II diabetes. This was a major biggie because I had very bad diabetes.
2. Normal stomach anatomy and function is maintained. The stomach is reduced in size, but the normal stomach outlet, the pyloric valve, remains intact and functioning. There is no "stoma" with the DS or the vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG).
3. The intestinal changes that are done in the DS "jump start" the body's metabolism. Mine was shot to hell from a lifetime of PCOS, dieting and other factors.
4. I'd already done many years of low fat, low carb, highly restrictive dieting and I knew I sucked at it. The DS gives an eating quality of life that I find easy to live with: eat a primarily animal protein based diet. I'm a happy carnivore :-). I had to learn to restrict my carb intake, but it was a lot easier to do when I could eat meat, cheese, fish, eggs, etc. with abandon, with little regard for fat content. (DS'ers only absorb about 20% of the fat they eat, so for most of us, fat is almost a "free" food.)

I felt so strongly about the superiority of the DS to any other procedure that I traveled and paid out of pocket to have it done, rather than have the RNY done fifteen minutes from home and covered by insurance. It's been three years, and so far, so good :-).

 

Everyone will/ has posted the main great points about the DS, like the long term stats, the pyloric valve, etc. Those are the things that sold me in the first place, so I don't want to just breeze over them.

Lately thought I have been pondering a little theory for those that are not SMO (they do better with the DS, no question). But the regular MO people often do very well with the RNY, so the weightloss itself doesn't have to be the deciding factor. In that case it seems to me the choice could well be about what kind of diet you do best on. Seriously- they just printed that article that there are people who do best on low carb (Atkins-ish) and people who do best on low fat (WW-ish). The DS is definitely an Atkins friendly op and lifestyle. So if you do best on Atkins, you don't need to look any further- you'll do best with the DS. However if you are a WW kind of dieter, and not SMO, ponder for a while. You might do better with an RNY or maybe a sleeve.

For someone in your shoes, first time WLS, I would definitely go with the DS, less chance, probably no chance of needing a revision. I had the RnY first and after a couple of years my weight started creeping back up so I went with the revision. REad "revision" board or "failed weight loss surgery" board. Those people are looking for that something else; well truth be told that 'something else' is the DS, the only other viable option. If you want to avoid to be cut a second time, definitely go with the DS the first go-round; I sure wish I knew of the DS before I had that crap RNY.

Type 2 diabetes. Period.

Because I lived with the damn pouch for 28 years and it sucked!!!!!

Here's some info http://www.dsfacts.com/Comparison-of-DS-and-RNY.html

Since puberty, I have been on diet after diet, seeing little or no results.  It would plateau my gaining, but never yielded much loss.  Once I stopped the diet, up-up-up I went some more.  I could diet like a champ, so I knew that my lack of results were not how much I ate, because I ate very little.  What I learned about the DS was along with malabsorption, one of the arrangements in the intestinal workup actually affects the body's metabolism.  THAT was my AHA moment.  I needed something to overcome my extremely efficient body that held onto every calorie with a kung-fu death grip.