Mixed bag

I saw my PCP today to discuss getting the DS. She was supportive of my decision, agreed to order labs, and learn more about living with the surgery. When I brought it up, she said she preferred the RNY. Get this- her sister lost 500lbs with RNY and has begun regaining. She is currently 250 lbs. I told her that outcome wasn't good enough for me, I want to succeed in attaining a normal BMI.

I gave her the list of labs you all recommend, and she went ahead and ordered them so that we can get a pre-op baseline. The lab rats were tripping out on the amount of labs ordered. It took them 30 minutes of research and gathering supplies before they stuck me. They only took 25cc of blood, and filled 5 vials. This doesn't sound right, right? I guess I will have to wait for the results to see if they actually got enough for everything. I will post my results and hope you vets can help me figure out if I need to start supplementing pre-op.

I am still surgeon shopping. Two of my very close friends used Anthone for their DSs several years ago. From his profile on OH, I see that he is exclusively a DS surgeon. My friends highly recommend him for my surgery. Who would you consider to be a DS Surgeon rockstar? I want the best. I hear Kesheshian is awesome, but I want to make the most informed decision I can. I have checked out the vetted list on dsfacts, but feel the need to hear testimonials and opinions. I know I can learn a lot from you all.

I will have to travel for surgery, as there are no DS surgeons within 6 hours drive. I still have quite a bit of time to make my decision, as I want to do this on my summer vacation from work. I started the 6 month supervised diet today. 1500 cals is what my PCP recommends. Should I do 1500 cals of Atkins style diet to wean off the carbs?

Thanks for reading this long, rambling post. I appreciate your wisdom.

Kristen

Do you have insurance that will let you go to either of those doctors or ...?

If you are in Arkansas you should also consider Dr. Stewart in Texas.

My annual labs take about 11 tubes of blood, but I'm post-op, and I don't know exactly what was ordered for you. Somehow 5 sounds inadequate.
      Different surgeons do the DS a bit differently. Dr. anthone is known to make a very small sleeve and longer common channel. I think he places a feeding tube routinely, which most DS surgeons don't do (mine does this only for revisions). Dr. Keshishian makes a larger sleeve and shorter common channel, in keeping with the through process that MO is a metabolic problem. Dr. Rabkin does the "classic" DS with usually a 3-4 oz sleeve and roughly 100 cm common channel, though he may have switched to the Hess method of measuring the length of the small intestine and deciding based on that. So they are all excellent surgeons, and your choice may depend on what approach you think is best for you.

Larra

 If you want a rock star,  and you can go anywhere and don't have to worry about program fees and such, I'd go with Rabkin or Keshesian.   I love my surgeon too, Dr. Kemmeter, and he's a fantastic DS surgeon.   Stewart, who someone else pointed out, is close to you and is very highly regarded these days in the DS world.