to have or not to have

I was thinking about having the lap band done but a nurse told me to have the roux-y done. Can anyone tell me which is the best? Or any experinces bad or good about either?

Those who have DS almost never dump, have fewer nutritional deficiencies with much less malnutrition, and... best of all... don't have to count calories or fat. In fact, fat is *free*, you can have carbonated bev's, FINALLY...there is little significant regain in the long term WITHOUT having to go back on diets or follow any severe restrictions. Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch (DS for short) is another wls option, and one that, IMO, should be carefully considered. So, just to keep things interesting, I have a whole 'nother thing to suggest: Instead of either, how about DS? I'm having DS and will not 'settle' for anything else. I came to OH and other wls places on the internet seeking a permanent solution to my weight problems. It was great at first, but then I noticed a terrible trend: there was a tremendous amount of complaining from those two years out and over about either regaining or huge battles to prevent it. They were back on the diet/exercise wheel that had defeated them long before they even had wls. When I mentioned being appalled by this, I was blasted left and right about how wls is only a 'tool' and you have to 'use your tool to make the most of your honeymoon period while it is working'. Well crap. My bottom line is that I need a PERMANENT tool that will help me forever, because I *know* what the result of diet/exercise is. Furthermore, we like LOTS of different kinds of foods and I don't want to live for the rest of my life on a diet. Post-DS only requirements ( your stomach may vary LOL) are protein first and save high-glycemic carbs for last. That's it. Many DS-ers don't have to drink protein because 1) they can tolerate meat better than RNY and 2) the bigger stomach sleeve allows them to eat more volume so they can get their protein allowance from food. The restrictive stomach of DS isn't a pouch; the stomach is 'trimmed' into a banana shape, which not only restricts volume but removes the ghrelin-producing tissue - ghrelin is a hormone thought to be responsible for inappropriate hunger. There are no stoma issues or dumping because of them; the pyloric valve remains intact and upper digestion takes place the way God intended it. With the bottom of the stomach and duodenum intact, there is more nutrient absorbtion. There's no stoma to get clogged; the pyloric valve doesn't get plugged. With no stoma, marginal ulcers are nearly nonexistent. You can drink with meals. But of course, the very best thing of all is that, despite no restrictive diet, the stats for regain are a lot lower than for RNY. Here is a set of links - when you look at the one for the comparison table between RNY, DS, LAPband, and VBG, you can see that DS is statistically the best. http://www.dssurgery.com/generalinformation/comparison_table.pdf http://www.dssurgery.com/aboutus/Research/safeoperation.pdf http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15990935&query_hl=2 Anyway, I'll be glad to talk to you about anything else, or you can check out the DS forum at OH. Denise in FS

There are pros and cons for each procedure. Whatever you choose, use a doctor that is skilled in that particular procedure. I went with RnY because of reports of faster loss, and my belief that the weight loss was likelier to be permanent (it has been so far!). I also was not comfortable with the band that might need maintenance in the future. Actually, I think the incidence of complications is comparable and more related to the doctor than to the procedure, so do your homework. Joy