New Here - Intro

Hoooray!! Shan you are gonna be a WINNER!!!! oh wait ... You are gonna be such a LOSER!!!   You have made a great decision. I have NEVER regreted my decision to have this surgery. I applaud you on your upcomming date. I was goin to have a RNY a few years after my wife had hers but on this OH web blog I got the knowlege on the DS. Learned a lot.... Dumping .. seeing the wife do it freaked me out. Also I had Osteo arthriis bad on my knee so I was thinking that in case it re occured on me again I could still take anti inflamatory meds. Those were the two big factors,all the rest are extras. So I informed the Doc ( same as the wifes) that I wanted to try and get aproval for DS first. I was shocked it went thru in two weeks.From initial consult visit to surg date it was only 4 months....... My oldest daughter( 27yrs) is also a RN. Im so VERY proud of her. She is currently working a cardiac floor and lives in Dearborn MI. She is STILL taking more classes to upgrade her career.   Welcome Shan .. please stay in touch with us here...   All the best to you...

Maybe I missed something, but the surgeon you have listed under your name does NOT do the DS at all.  Who is doing your DS?

If you've been lurking for awhile, you've probably heard of the "Bait and then don't Switch" doctors.  They tell you the DS is an option, but they leave out the fact that they don't perform it.  Then you end up with just the sleeve, or worse yet, wake up with a RNY.  Then they tell you "well, RNY is the Gold Standard".  Yeah, but, um, DS is the platinum, dude.

The surgeon she has listed does the DS and there are some of his patients here.

He is also listed on DS Facts as a vetted surgeon.

Oops. She changed her surgeons name after your post!  Sorry, I was thinking, whaaa??? LOL

Welcome! Stay around and learn from us all you can. It will make the DS so easy that you will feel guilty when people congratulate you on your "great work at losing weight" when it is the DS working for us. If you haven't already, read all the information on DSFacts.com. Keep us informed of your progress-we care.

So happy for you! Lots of us in Mn to support you on your journey.

I have not figured out how to change my doctor.  The one I have listed if from the Unity program where I started.  Now I am with Dr. Ikramuddin ath the U of MN and he surely does them! 

Nice to MEET you shan129...  
I am a fellow July-switch-sister... My surgery date is the 7th...
Congratulations....

Sounds like you've been through a hell of a lot on your road!  I'm sorry the TOGA didn't work for you - it would be nice if there was a minimally invasive procedure that actually WORKED, but I think that's still years off, sadly.  I'm glad you are getting the DS after all that.  I know several Dr. Ikrammuddin patients and they're slim and trim or on their way there, and healthy.  Just so you know, almost all of us who got DS at the U of MN take a somewhat different vitamin schedule than the clinic recommends.  The surgeons are great, but they don't recommend enough of many of the vitamins DSers need and those who stick to the U's schedule often end up with deficiencies.  The U will give you the basics, but expect to tweak it on your own sometimes too.  

Dr. I is a stickler on the pre-op loss, but hang in there, it's worth the struggle!  

Welcome, Shan!  I also started with Dr. Johnson at Unity, planning on having RNY, then learned of the DS through this site and switched to Dr. Ikramuddin.  I had my surgery at Abbott Northwestern (he performs surgery there two days a month).  I have had no complications and overall a very positive experience.   I really respect Dr. I.  You are in great hands!  I think you are right, things happen for a reason and you have made a great decision!  Good luck....your day will be here soon!

 Welcome and congrats!