MORE INFO PLEASE!

I looking to lose 200+lbs and before OH never heard of DS. I have been looking more into DS surgery instead of bypass however Iam still unclear of some of the "cons". I did see oths posting that you have to take 20+ vitamins is that a day?? 

Malabsorptive surgeries--the RnY (gastric bypass) and the DS (duodenal switch and other names)--work by making the body unable to absorb certain things.  If you have those surgeries and do not take supplements and vitamins, you are committing suicide.  (The band and the sleeve will also require supplementation because you won't be able to eat enough to meet the minimums you need to be healthy...your stomach just won't hold enough.)

With 200+ pounds to lose the band would just waste a couple of years of your life...until you figure out that it ain't working and move on to the next surgery.  Many, MANY people on OH had the band and now have something else...or are waiting for something else.  And the VSG (the sleeve) hasn't been around long enough to know for sure, but imho, most likely will prove to be more effective and cause less damage to interna organs than the band and less effective than the DS.

So it's a trade off.  And how many pills a day do you think you're going to eventually need if you DON'T have wls?

IHMO?? NOT 20+ A DAY...

In my humble opinion.

So, you are 200 pounds overweight, and you think at some point, you won't be on medication of SOME kind? Vitamins are a breeze compared to being MO. I'd happily take 40 a day if needed.

Not counting vite and supplements, I take four pills for my bladder issues...daily, forever...and if the interstitial cystitis (also bladder) acts up, I'm good for another 6-8 pills or more to stop spasms and then maybe 6-8 pills of the stuff that makes us pee orange if I'm in REAL pain...and then there are 6-8 pills per day just for the edema...and I inhale one capsule and sniff drops up my nose to breathe.

So I hit twenty for chronic, non-wls surgery **** before I even start counting the other things. 

Probably close to thirty.  And I forgot the pills to keep the kidney stones at bay.  That's another three a day.

Then you should probaby get the LapBand.  It most like will help you lose about 60 pounds and then someday, because your mmorbid obesity will continue to make you sick and closer to death than you are now,  you'll be taking way more than 20 vitamins/supplements per day...but it will relieve you of any current responsibility for your health.

Well I traded in multiple prescription meds including insulin for "a lot" of vitamins and supplements.....not counting, but probably at least 30. BUT...it's worth it to me.



We must be extremely diligent on keeping up on labs, proteins, fluids and vitamins and be our own health care advocate.

 I take like ....60 a day.....don't mean to scare you off.     
To me, it's worth every single freakin' vitamin I choke down.

Well, I was taking 19 prescription medications every day and was tethered to an oxygen hose 24/7 before I had my DS. So the couple dozen supplement pills I swallow per day is a pretty minimal issue for me.

If you get RNY you'll need to swallow that many per day, too. Or chew the disgusting chewables since your stoma might let pills through. (Just because MOST RNY'ers don't take that many supplements doesn't mean you won't need them. MOST RNY'ers get no education about their nutrition, don't want that kind of education and just go about their lives believing all is well....Until it isn't.)

 You say you have 200+ lbs to lose and you aren't taking alot of meds?  Consider yourself blessed....I'm from VERY healthy stock, "fat people" stock, we (the fam) are all short and round, and we all have had low blood pressure, good cholesterol....nothing wrong at all.  THEN we hit our 40's....and some of us it takes til the 50s....ALL of us have developed insulin dependant diabetes, blood pressure probs, conjestive heart failure, most have been on oxygen, everyone that's still alive need hip, knee replacements, sleep apnea....you name it.  I take wayyyy more pills per day JUST for my co morbities, than what is the general daily dosage of vites for most.  I'm just 44, I feel like I'm 80, with a bmi of 57.6.  IMO, the DS has won out on ALL the researching I've done for WLS.

The lap band is a TOTAL joke...my sister wanted to do less invasive, and she had over 100 lbs to lose....she's gained back the small amount she lost, and has just found out the band has completely eroded inside of her.