DS in ARkansas

Has anyone in Arkansas had the DS and where did you get it, what doctor and how much did it cost? Rory

I don't believe anyone in AR is doing the DS yet. The closest I have found is in Covington, LA at least for me.

HI Rory. DH and I are planning to get a DS just as soon as we get some insurance to cover it. We will wait until we can get DS covered before we have surgery. I am in Fort Smith and have been researching this for about a year and a half. There are docs in Nashville, Chicago, Omaha, Covington (New Orleans). The doc in Nashville is the one that was featured in "Kathy's Story" on Discovery Health. We're planning to use Dr. Gary Anthone in Omaha. I am on his Yahoo Groups list and mentioned that there are hardly even any people in Arkansas (doctors included!) that even know about DS, much less have had it. Someone wrote back and said that there is a pretty good group up in the northwest corner. If you want me to find out more, then I'd be glad to do so. Denise in FS

Okay... I'm sleepy or just not with it... but what is DS? Margie

DS is a WLS procedure called duodenal switch. Just for SOME of what makes it better than RNY for me: almost nobody has to start dieting after 2 years to prevent weight regain, the quality of eating (no dumping, more things tolerated, carb. bev's ok, no fat restriction) is better, good nutritional status is easier to maintain, and long term complication rate is in some aspects much better. Although no one procedure is perfect for everyone, I can't imagine how anything else could be better. Check www.duodenalswitch.com and the DS area at OH. Denise in FS

I planned on RNY but got scared when I saw so many stories at the main board about needing to start restrictive diets, pills, etc after a couple of years because they were regaining. I was willing to put up with puking, etc, and worried about giving up favorite foods, but regaining??? NOOOO! Someone directed me to the DS board and, in 18 months of following DS posties, I've still not found anything I'd choose over DS. I'll wait as long as it takes. Denise in FS