Sean_B
10/14/06 - better late than never I guess
Oct 14, 2006
well... I've been researching WLS for about 5-6 months... I've been here on OH for just over 1 month... and today is my first ever "blog" type post... or really the first post on my profile of any kind.
I'm still pre-op, though I'm starting much later at blogging than some I've seen. as long as all goes well with my insurance approval, I only have about a month to go before I'm "SWITCHED". I've seen some people posting for almost a year before their surgery. That's cool, but I just don't (or can't?) plan that far ahead LOL
just a couple days ago, I got my tentative date for 11/14/06... it was either the 14th or the 21st... though the extra week would have been nice to make preparations, I just couldn't put my family through that... having a close family member in a hospital 3 hours away during a family-oriented holiday.
yes, I said 3 hours.... my best time was 2:45, my longest time was JUST shy of 4 hours (lots of crosstown traffic)
as mentioned up in my intro, I live in Schenectady (just outside of Albany). I'm having my surgery at Lennox Hill Hospital in NYC.
Why Lennox Hill, when Ellis Hospital is right around the corner? well... Ellis DOES have an excellent bariatric program... and if I were looking to have the RNY or LAP-Band done, I would go see Drs Lirio and Clarke in a heartbeat... I know people who have had them do their RNY and they've been fairly happy and (at least so far) successful... even the one who had several complications, said she would still do it again.
above, I added the "at least so far" because one of them is only 18 months out, and the other is just shy of the 2-year mark (about 20-22 months)
I'm not going to get into a pissing match with anyone over which procedure is better in general... I just know which is best FOR ME. of course, everyone is going to say that THEIR chosen procedure is the best... and FOR THEM, it is. fine. What I've written below is not intended to bash RNY per-se.... only to give insight as to WHY I chose to seek out an alternative that looked better to me.
anyway... the reason I'm not going "around the corner" is that they do not perform the DS there. My closest choices for DS were either Adirondack Medical Center in far-upstate NY, or one of the groups in NYC.... my intro explains why I chose NYC over Adirondack.
Why DS.....
pretty much the same you read in any other DSers profile...
first and foremost I guess is pure statistics....
excess weight lost... high-to-low: DS (75-90%), RNY (60-80%), LAP-Band (50-70%)
average regain after inital loss: DS (25-30 lbs), RNY (30-40 lbs), LAP-Band (40-50 lb)
DS has highest cure rate (or resolution) of type 2 diabetes (98.9%)
------- Sure, you can look up, and possibly come up with some different numbers, depending on the surgeon or group doing the testing.... but what WON'T change is that DS will have the most weight lost, least amount of regain, and higher cure rate for T2-Diabetes
functionally complete stomach.... from esophagus to pylorus, I will have a fully functioning stomach.... except that it will be a shape and size of a thin banana.... rather than it's current shape and size of a huge eggplant.
What this accomplishes, is that I won't have many (if any) restrictions on WHAT I can eat, only how much.... yet the quantity restriction (to me) is much more reasonable than that of the RNY. The DS relies on some restriction, but mainly relies on malabsorption.... where RNY is only slightly malabsorptive, and relies greatly on restriction.
also, being "functionally complete", my new smaller stomach will have it's "factory original" intake and exhaust LOL (ok, so I'm a slight gearhead too)... the pylorus (pyloric valve, pyloric sphincter... different terms, same thing) is the valve which regulates the emptying of stomach contents into the intestines. keeping this, I will be able to have a beverage with my meals... something which is a big NO NO to RNY.... RNY are supposed to wait 30 min or more before and after meals before drinking anything, otherwise the beverage can flush out the food in the pouch too early, which is one potential reason you hear of so many RNYers who have massive regain (massive meaning more than the typical 20-50 lb after bottom-out).... drinking with meals is one of several ways to "out eat" the RNY.
Also with the pylorus kept, there is no "dumping" from sugar or excessive carbs. Sure, those are bad things IN EXCESS... but jeez... if it's my birthday, I want a damn piece of cake and not have to be punished for it. Some RNYers and even WL Surgeons will say that dumping is a GOOD thing... that it acts as a deterrent to eating sweets and high carbs, and will help in behavior modification. uh... ok ;) and a kick in the nuts every time I light up will help me quit smoking... no thanks, I'll take the patch
I have GERD... which many (of course, not all) MO and SMO people have... it's just one of the things that eventually goes along with being fat, I suppose. with the DS, the vertical sleeve gastrectomy portion of the procedure takes care of this problem with one cut.... removing the greater curvature of the stomach removes the greatest portion of acid-producing tissue... plus, it is also where Grehlin (sp?) is produced... this is the hormone that triggers hunger. no hormone, no hungry.
Then there's the post-op diet... without going into too much detail (as I have above)...basically, the DS progresses from liquids to solids much faster than other procedures... also, the overall quantities after all is said and done, is more realistic.... a SMALL normal meal, rather than a miniscule portion. let's face it... we all love food, which is at least PART of what got us all here to OH. of course post-op, it's not a major part of our lives anymore... I look at it like divorce... you can have RNY which I view as a bitter divorce... hou hate the sight of each other, and even the slightest taste can make you puke (of course I'm exaggerating)... or the DS would be more like an amicable divorce... you just "fall out of love" but you still LIKE the person, hell, even hang out once in a while. LOL ok, so maybe it didn't come out typed as clear as it is in my head... but that's just me I guess.
Yes, there are absorption issues... which are easily handled by maintaining proper diet, and getting the proper supplements.... but you know what? RNY has that same issue... yes, there is less malabsorption than DS, but with RNY, it's an issue of WHERE that malabsorption takes place... the stomach, and the particular segment of intestine. RNYers tend to have more of an issue with Iron and B12, where DSers tend to have more of an issue with calcium and ADEK (fat-soluble vitamins)..... BOTH DSers and RNYers have to take mutivitamin supplements for life... and protein supplementation for all at least in the first few months to a year, while everything stabilizes... then regular monitoring (bloodwork) is essential for all.
holy crap, I just realized how much I typed... I better stop before OH starts charging me for bandwith.
not every post will be like this... but being the first, I wanted it to be extra special :p Some (believe it or not) might only be one line to give weight loss progress once I'm post-op
bye
I'm still pre-op, though I'm starting much later at blogging than some I've seen. as long as all goes well with my insurance approval, I only have about a month to go before I'm "SWITCHED". I've seen some people posting for almost a year before their surgery. That's cool, but I just don't (or can't?) plan that far ahead LOL
just a couple days ago, I got my tentative date for 11/14/06... it was either the 14th or the 21st... though the extra week would have been nice to make preparations, I just couldn't put my family through that... having a close family member in a hospital 3 hours away during a family-oriented holiday.
yes, I said 3 hours.... my best time was 2:45, my longest time was JUST shy of 4 hours (lots of crosstown traffic)
as mentioned up in my intro, I live in Schenectady (just outside of Albany). I'm having my surgery at Lennox Hill Hospital in NYC.
Why Lennox Hill, when Ellis Hospital is right around the corner? well... Ellis DOES have an excellent bariatric program... and if I were looking to have the RNY or LAP-Band done, I would go see Drs Lirio and Clarke in a heartbeat... I know people who have had them do their RNY and they've been fairly happy and (at least so far) successful... even the one who had several complications, said she would still do it again.
above, I added the "at least so far" because one of them is only 18 months out, and the other is just shy of the 2-year mark (about 20-22 months)
I'm not going to get into a pissing match with anyone over which procedure is better in general... I just know which is best FOR ME. of course, everyone is going to say that THEIR chosen procedure is the best... and FOR THEM, it is. fine. What I've written below is not intended to bash RNY per-se.... only to give insight as to WHY I chose to seek out an alternative that looked better to me.
anyway... the reason I'm not going "around the corner" is that they do not perform the DS there. My closest choices for DS were either Adirondack Medical Center in far-upstate NY, or one of the groups in NYC.... my intro explains why I chose NYC over Adirondack.
Why DS.....
pretty much the same you read in any other DSers profile...
first and foremost I guess is pure statistics....
excess weight lost... high-to-low: DS (75-90%), RNY (60-80%), LAP-Band (50-70%)
average regain after inital loss: DS (25-30 lbs), RNY (30-40 lbs), LAP-Band (40-50 lb)
DS has highest cure rate (or resolution) of type 2 diabetes (98.9%)
------- Sure, you can look up, and possibly come up with some different numbers, depending on the surgeon or group doing the testing.... but what WON'T change is that DS will have the most weight lost, least amount of regain, and higher cure rate for T2-Diabetes
functionally complete stomach.... from esophagus to pylorus, I will have a fully functioning stomach.... except that it will be a shape and size of a thin banana.... rather than it's current shape and size of a huge eggplant.
What this accomplishes, is that I won't have many (if any) restrictions on WHAT I can eat, only how much.... yet the quantity restriction (to me) is much more reasonable than that of the RNY. The DS relies on some restriction, but mainly relies on malabsorption.... where RNY is only slightly malabsorptive, and relies greatly on restriction.
also, being "functionally complete", my new smaller stomach will have it's "factory original" intake and exhaust LOL (ok, so I'm a slight gearhead too)... the pylorus (pyloric valve, pyloric sphincter... different terms, same thing) is the valve which regulates the emptying of stomach contents into the intestines. keeping this, I will be able to have a beverage with my meals... something which is a big NO NO to RNY.... RNY are supposed to wait 30 min or more before and after meals before drinking anything, otherwise the beverage can flush out the food in the pouch too early, which is one potential reason you hear of so many RNYers who have massive regain (massive meaning more than the typical 20-50 lb after bottom-out).... drinking with meals is one of several ways to "out eat" the RNY.
Also with the pylorus kept, there is no "dumping" from sugar or excessive carbs. Sure, those are bad things IN EXCESS... but jeez... if it's my birthday, I want a damn piece of cake and not have to be punished for it. Some RNYers and even WL Surgeons will say that dumping is a GOOD thing... that it acts as a deterrent to eating sweets and high carbs, and will help in behavior modification. uh... ok ;) and a kick in the nuts every time I light up will help me quit smoking... no thanks, I'll take the patch
I have GERD... which many (of course, not all) MO and SMO people have... it's just one of the things that eventually goes along with being fat, I suppose. with the DS, the vertical sleeve gastrectomy portion of the procedure takes care of this problem with one cut.... removing the greater curvature of the stomach removes the greatest portion of acid-producing tissue... plus, it is also where Grehlin (sp?) is produced... this is the hormone that triggers hunger. no hormone, no hungry.
Then there's the post-op diet... without going into too much detail (as I have above)...basically, the DS progresses from liquids to solids much faster than other procedures... also, the overall quantities after all is said and done, is more realistic.... a SMALL normal meal, rather than a miniscule portion. let's face it... we all love food, which is at least PART of what got us all here to OH. of course post-op, it's not a major part of our lives anymore... I look at it like divorce... you can have RNY which I view as a bitter divorce... hou hate the sight of each other, and even the slightest taste can make you puke (of course I'm exaggerating)... or the DS would be more like an amicable divorce... you just "fall out of love" but you still LIKE the person, hell, even hang out once in a while. LOL ok, so maybe it didn't come out typed as clear as it is in my head... but that's just me I guess.
Yes, there are absorption issues... which are easily handled by maintaining proper diet, and getting the proper supplements.... but you know what? RNY has that same issue... yes, there is less malabsorption than DS, but with RNY, it's an issue of WHERE that malabsorption takes place... the stomach, and the particular segment of intestine. RNYers tend to have more of an issue with Iron and B12, where DSers tend to have more of an issue with calcium and ADEK (fat-soluble vitamins)..... BOTH DSers and RNYers have to take mutivitamin supplements for life... and protein supplementation for all at least in the first few months to a year, while everything stabilizes... then regular monitoring (bloodwork) is essential for all.
holy crap, I just realized how much I typed... I better stop before OH starts charging me for bandwith.
not every post will be like this... but being the first, I wanted it to be extra special :p Some (believe it or not) might only be one line to give weight loss progress once I'm post-op
bye
About Me
Schenectady, NY
Location
21.8
BMI
Surgery
11/14/2006
Surgery Date
Sep 03, 2006
Member Since
