RNY VS DS

So if I stick with the decision to have the rny,  my surgeon is local and established. If I decide to go with the DS, I have to travel and get to know a new surgeon.  The office I am with is so nice and supportive and thorough.  I am so struggling with this decision and it is keeping me up at night.  For so long I thought the RNY was the best way to go, but now I am wondering if the DS is the better option.  At this moment I believe my BMI is 54.  They say the super obese do not do as well with RNY as to DS.

I feel like the 18 - 24 months of malabsorbtion should be enough to kick start me into a healthier life and then the smaller belly should help with portion control.

Uggggggg.

You FIRST should decide which surgery is the best for your lifetime of weight control and THEN select your doctor. 

I would not have my guts rearranged with my "second choice" surgery just because I like the doctor.  But that is just me.  RNY and DS are both excellent procedures for the super obese, but remember, no surgery is a miracle cure.  They all require lifetime commitments and all have pros/cons and risks.

Make a list, pros and cons for each surgery.  Then decide based on your individual needs which is best for you long term. THEN go find the best doctor to do that surgery.

My highest BMI was 53 and my current is 21. My RNY was 4+ years ago. So it is possible. RNY works for me, but a lot of people who had surgery the same time as me have gained. I am determined not to.

Keep researching. Good luck with your decision.

You are going to have to live with this surgery the rest of your life. If you know in your heart the DS is right for you - my advice is to take the extra steps to get it. My starting BMI was 51, and I am doing very well with the RNY, and would not choose a different surgery, but that was for my own unique/individual situation. Best of luck to you no matter what you end up doing - please keep us posted!

I'm a DSer, so I hope I don't upset anyone by replying to a post in this forum.

I believe that people should choose their surgery first and then find a surgeon. I also believe that everyone is different and should make a choice that works for them.

Here's why I chose DS for my surgery

• working pyloric valve, no blind stomach, normal working stomach
• best statistics for long term weight loss
• most attractive diet for me (high protein, high fat)
• no dumping (no problem with occasional sugary treats)

I lost 170 pounds in about 18 months and I have maintained my weight loss for the past year. I went from around 300 pounds to hovering around 130, size 28 to size 6/8. My diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are a thing of the past. I take about 30 pills a day (vitamins). I drink 1 or 2 protein coffees per day and allow myself 1 bottled diet coke. My other fluids are G2 or Crystal Light, plain water does not work for me. I throw it up every time. (go figure...)

I eat mostly high protein with a few carbs thrown in. Yesterday I went to a restaurant and I ate: a salad with blue cheese dressing (I ate mostly the toppings cheese dressing carrots etc and very little of lettuce. Waitresses always think that I didn't eat any when I get a salad), a small steak which I finished, broccoli which I ate a couple of pieces of and sweet potato casserole which I indulged in and ate about half. My meals are mostly meat-based although I have added back more carbs as I've gotten into maintenance. 

I'm much more of a sugar person than I used to be and I eat too much of it!! So far, it hasn't caused any weight gain, but it does give me bad intestinal problems (gas,dhr that hit at night usually). Let me be clear that I could mostly control this if I ate more cleanly. I make the choice to be bad way too often, but I fight the sugar **** as much as I can. My family appreciates it when I do. :)

I have been very happy with my decision, but again...I truly believe that everyone should make the choice that's right for them. There's no one right answer.

I can see the advantages of DS, but for me personally, I am glad I dump with the RNY. I was a carb-a-holic! Not to mention my chocolate addiction! Now I can walk away from chocolate and I have much better restraint with bread. There are somethings I can't have in the house now, but for the most part I am doing well. Glad to hear you are doing so well with your DS. Everyone is different.

My BMI was 54.3 going into this, I am now 9mths down and 150lbs I would not trade my rny., It will take work, there is no majic bullet, however you can do it no matter what procedure that you have. My suggestion would be to go and see the other surgeon and talk to him about it, and then make a decision, you must be comfortable with  both the procedure as well as the surgeon in order to be happy with the procedure.

Both procedures have their good and bad points.  You just have to pick your poison, so to speak.  With the RNY there is dumping, reactive hypoglycemia (if you don't know about this, do a search.  It's not pleasant), a risk of nutritional deficiencies and a greater chance of regain.  With the DS there is a greater risk of nutritional deficiencies due to the increased malabsorption, gastro intestinal problems, especial after refined carbs like sugar or white flour (so basically sugar isn't a free food no matter which surgery you choose, besides which simple carbs will be absorbed 100% no matter which way you go).  You can regain with a DS.  I am living proof it that, if you manage to out eat it (which I did) or it isn't done correctly (which mine may not have been).  You have to make changes in your eating no matter what.  It's just a matter of what you can live with.

If you know yourself to be responsible with your health and proactive you can do every well with the DS, but if you know yourself to be forgetful with taking pills, not financially stable enough to afford what can get to be very expensive supplements and labwork (for either surgery) then you might be better off having the sleeve, which still requires supplementation but not at the level of a malabsorptive procedure.  With the DS it is important that you are assertive enough to get the medical care you need since very few medical professionals understand the DS and don't have a good opinion of it.  

WLS, no matter which direction you go, isn't a walk in the park.  I had a light bulb moment when, after a large regain I finally accepted that in order to lose weight and keep it off after WLS you have to eat the same as you did before WLS as far as avoiding sweets and breads (my downfalls).  The big difference is that with WLS you have some help in being able to make better choices.  You are still responsible for what you put in your mouth and you still have to pay a price, whether it is weight gain, dumping or intestinal issues.  There is no free ride.  You just have to decide what you can live with.  For many being able to eat unlimited (except by capacity) amounts of protein and fats is a lot easier then living with the more restrictive eating of the RNY.  For others the elimination (or reduction) of comorbidities and less chance of regain is worth whatever the downsides may be of the DS.  For others being in closer proximity of their surgeons and having a more popular and better understood procedure is worth the downfalls of the RNY.  Just keep your eyes open, research as much as possible and be completely honest with yourself about what your own limits are.  

I have to agree don't settle because the doctor was nice.  The surgery choice you want to live with and can live with is the first priority. 

You can get to a healthy weight loss, more than likely with either surgery choice IF you work it to your full potential.  Surgery is not a magic wand that will automatically allow you to lose weight AND keep it off.  The small pouch early out helps along with the malabsorption so you'll definitely want to optimize the honeymoon period.

Gosh, thank you so much everyone, your words are so helpful in so many ways!!!!  What a tough choice.  I am good about taking meds, taking all the pills and vitamins would not be a problem for me at all.

I will definitely keep everyone updated.