RNY vs DS

To know what surgery would be best for you, we'd have to know your  medical history.  Even if we had access to all your medical records, I'm not sure many people here are qualified to make that kind of determination.  What surgery does your doctor recommend?

RNY is called the gold standard because it's been done for a long time and it's been done more often than other types of WLS and it has good results (most of the time, anyway).

 

Hi Kelly -  I started out thinking Lap Band would be good than I started reading stories and videos about problems. So I’m pretty much turned off with Lap Band. What do you think?

 

Hi Lady – reminds me of my prostate cancer. The oncologist recommended hormone therapy, the radiologist wanted to burn it and the uro dr wanted to cut me. The gold standard of prostate cancer treatment is prostatectomy …so I said put it in a jar. Now my PSA is not detectable …knock wood.

Do not do a lap band.  I was a revision from a lap band to RnY.  I was bullemic and obese for a few years which is NOT fun.

Medicare ONLY covers RnY.  I have Medicare with BC/BS Medigap coverage.  Additionally, they will pay for a panniculectomy, but not a regular tummy tuck.

Thynnlynn, you are not right about Medicare. It at least covers VSG and Lapband as well as RNY. I know this because my surgeon considered all three to be choices for me until reflux raised its ugly head. They wouldn't even discuss an option they couldn't get paid for.

Angie in Missouri
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305 - high
253 - current
180 - goal

The statistics on weight loss with the band are abysmal and the rate of requiring additional surgery of some kind is much higher than with to other weight loss surgeries, so that would be my LAST choice!  RNY is a good "middle ground" between a restrictive-only procedure like the band or sleeve and the heavy-duty malabsorption of the DS.  That is why it s done so often and is considered the "gold standard".  It is NOT, however, a guarantee of any kind, and you can easily regain weight if you become complacent about what you are eating.

I seriously onsidered DS.  The sleeve wasn't available 6 years ago, so my two choices were RNY and DS.  I started out very heavy (BMI of almost 57), so the DS was what lots of people recommended just based on my weight.  The primary reasons that I chose RNY rather than DS were

1) I didn't even like the lack of vitamin absorption with the RNY, so was even more uncomfortable with the significantly greater lack of vitamin absorption of the DS (and the additional vitamins needed daily).  Even with RNY, I worry a out what will happen as I age and my body becomes less efficient at absorbing nutrients.  With the DS, I think the possibility for malnutrition a no vitamin deficiencies in the later years would be much higher.

2) when I looked at the potential complications/ "side effects" of each surgery, there were none associated with the RNY that I couldn't live with, but the one person I knew IRL at that time who had a DS had occasional terrible smelling gas and had oily diarrhea much of the time (so much so that she carried a change of clothes in her car).  Apparently that is pretty uncommon, but it was a possibility that I was not willing to live with.

3) I liked the fact that the post-op RNY diet is more balanced than that of the DS and does not  have the need for as much protein or fat.  It just seemed healthier to me.

It just really depends on what you want and what you can live with.  If I were making the decision now and sleeve was an option with my insurance, I would do the sleeve. No vitamin absorption problems, no restriction on taking NSAIDs (aspirin and ibuprofen (Aleve, Advil, Motrin, etc.) and you keep your pyloric valve do dumping (which only happens to 30% of RNYers, anyway) isn't a concern.

Lora