ds

A few people asked that maybe the ds would be better for me, just wondering if you was ever thinking about the ds  and why you did not get it? 

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the ds?

Duodenal Switch. It's a restrictive and malabsorptive surgery which isn't performed by many surgeons. Visit the DS forum here for links and more information. It's great to do research on all 4 modern WLS methods before choosing the best for you. 

I planned for the sleeve, and regarded the DS as a back-up in case restriction of the sleeve wasn't enough. When I found out the sleeve wasn't appropriate for pre-existing acid/bile reflux, that nixed the DS, too.  Also, DSers enjoy eating a lot of high fat, high calorie foods. That, along with the higher reliance on vitamin/mineral supplementation than even RNY didn't appeal to me personally. Good luck making your decision!

my insurance did not cover the DS and i wasn't as fully informed about the DS as i am now. knowing now what i didn't know then, i would have probably opted for the DS because it has higher long-term weight loss statistics, and to me, that's what this whole thing is about. but it also requires diligent nutritional supplementation, and i'll admit i'm not always the greatest when it comes to my vitamins so in the end, i'm not dissatisfied with the RNY. 

there used to be a whole bunch of really fabulous and educated DS'ers on here, but unfortunately a couple years back there was a shake-up and this site has never been the same IMHO. don't get me wrong, alot of wonderful vets (DS'ers and otherwise) are still around giving great advice, but alot of knowledge was lost with those who left the site. 

I seriously considered the DS because of my high starting BMI (56.5).  The reasons I did not go with the DS were

1) I didn't even like the vitamin malabsorption of the RNY and there is even more with the DS (what will happen when I am in my 70s and 80s and my body has more trouble absorbing nutrients simply because of the aging process??), and the is therefore more risk of nutritional problems with the DS 

2) The only person I knew IRL who had the DS had terrible problems with foul smelling stools and oily diarrhea no matter what she ate (so much so that she carried a change of clothes in her car).  Apparently Devrom can help with the smell, and oily diarrhea that is not controlled by changing what you eat is uncommon, but I was prepared to live with any and all possible side effects of the RNy but wasn't willing to risk being one of the few who had the issues my friend did.

3) I was a little nervous about losing the remnant stomach with the DS.  Even though I know the chance of ever needing it is VERY small, I was more comfortable sacrificing the pyloric valve and keeping the remnant stomach by having the RNY instead.

Part of me hoped that I would also have dumping from the RNY to help keep me away from sweets (I did not know that the number of people who don't dump is so small (about 30%), but I don't dump unless I eat a LOT of sugar (more calories than is acceptable).

Lora