Remember me? RNY v. DS Surgery date 2/26

Hi All,

Just wanted to update you all.  I had questions regarding whether I should do RNY or DS due to diabetes, sleep apnea and high cholesterol.

I had a second opinion at Abington Bariatric Center with Dr. G.  This office is the one many recommended for DS to me. Dr. G was excellent in explaining the pros/cons and differences between the procedures and agree that he was concerned with malnutrition for me because of my size.  I have lost more weight and my BMI is now 38.

He said he could modify the DS but that with my relatively new Diabetes diagnosis and low BMI, he felt the RNY would resolve it.  He said that if I hadn't come into his office asking for DS he would have suggested RNY for me.

So after much thought, I am sticking with my plan to have RNY on 2/26 at Temple Hospital.  I'm very excited and nervous!

Deb

Congratulations and I wish you a good surgery and recovery!

So glad you got the information you needed and feel confident in your decision!  Congrats on your date!!!!

Congratulations!  I'm sure it is a relief to have that decision made and now you can move on to your new life!

I do want to say that I guess what could be called a modified DS.  I started with a DS in 2002 but with a big sleeve and a 100 cc common channel.  I had a lot of problems with intestinal issues and I ate way too much because I had no restriction and wound up gaining 100 lbs in spite of the malabsorption.  I had a revision in 2010 to a 200 cc common channel and a RNY pouch.  I have to say in hindsight, if I knew then what I know now, I would have done great with a longer common channel and a smaller sleeve.  I was a lightweight, too, and really maybe just restriction would have been fine for me, too, but now I have lost a lot of weight and have no issues at all.  My vitamin levels have been good and I have no bathroom issues but that is also because I no longer eat the crap I was eating before so I may have been able to solve those issues with just a diet change.  But I also know that I couldn't have stuck with the way I am eating now when I had no restriction and I was hungry all the time so I guess it worked out.  I also suffered from chronic bacterial overgrowth but I think that may have been the result of how my intestines were configured at the time.  I think my surgeon did something off to cause my issues.

I still wish I had gotten a smaller sleeve instead of the pouch but what is done is done, but I would recommend a modified DS over a RNY any day.  I eat whatever I want except sugar and gluten and my weight is very low in spite of the fact that I eat fat freely and lots of protein.  And the DS is much better for the resolution of diabetes, as well.  Dumping is no fun and reactive hypoglycemia isn't a day at the beach, either, but both are controllable with good eating habits, at least for me.

In any case, you are doing what your doctor believes is best for you and that is a good thing for you.  I am sure you will do great.

Thank you, Tazz. I wanted say some of the things you said too but I didn't want to come across as bashing the RNY. You speak from the experience of having both.

--gina