Heard Some Crazy Stuff About DS - Questions!

Hi All,

I have been researching WLS in general and read that DS is the highest percentages of loss, no dumping, NSAID friendly and allows stomach opening to remain intact. These things sound so positive! In my province the surgery is not performed as it is said to have major malnutrition issues and have a high rate if major complications. Can you tell me a bit about why you chose it and how it has affected your quality of life / side effects.

Thanks!!

Welcome to ObesityHelp.com 

We are sure our DS members will share all they know with you  

Good luck!

Hi Melanie, The positive things you read are all true. Some surgeons still steer you away from NSAIDS but most say they are fine. I think for some it is a hold over from what they learned about gastric bypass.

My surgeon told me it gave me the best chance to lose all the weight I wanted and to keep it off. From there my own research led me to the part about keeping your pyloric valve, hence no dumping and that sounded great to me.

I think the studies have shown that vitamin deficiencies are almost always due to non compliance on taking vitamins. That is one thing you have to be prepared for. With the DS you get into serious trouble if you don't take your vitamins. You also have to get regular labs to see if you need to change your vitamin list. You may feel good and decide you get enough vitamins from food but the malabsorption does not go away. Stop taking vits and you are in for some serious health issues. You may have enough stored in your body for a while but not forever.

I was pretty worried about having to go to the bathroom a lot. For me this hasn't been the case. I usually go twice a day. The first couple of months was more often but as I healed it all settled down. I do have to watch what I eat but I am still early out and do mostly protein. The Doctor told me that I might expect to go 4 or 5 times a day. I'm glad he was wrong on that one but even at 4 or 5 times a day I would still have done it.

I wanted to stop taking insulin and pills for my diabetes. Luckily I was one of the people that walk out of the hospital no longer needing medication for my diabetes. I still take pills for high blood pressure but I am hoping as I lose more weight to get rid of those too.

I love the DS and as I lose more weight I find I can do many things that had long been denied me. Either by my own embarrassment or just being physically unable to do things.

As for the complications there are people that have problems. It doesn't seem like there is a large number compared to other surgeries. It is a complicated operation so you need to look for a Dr. with experience or one you think is a very good bariatric surgeon. That alone should help avoid complications. My Doctor doesn't do many DS operations but had a great rep as a surgeon and everything worked out well for me.

It's a hard decision to make. Good luck.

 

I'm only 6 weeks out, but I'm feeling great. I didn't have any complications from the surgery (so far).

It's true -- if you don't take your post-op diet and supplementation seriously, you could get in trouble. But as long as you take all your required vitamins, eat enough protein (about 100 grams per day), and get regular blood work done, malnutrition isn't a huge problem (from what I understand).

All the positive reasons you listed are the reasons I chose this surgery. It also has the most "normal" diet post-op than the other two WLS. 

I see lots of messages posted here about people regaining weight with the RNY and lots of people wanting RNY to DS revisions. I don't think I've seen anyone wanting to revise from the DS to something else.

I know that with the DS, eating too many carbs (especially simple carbs) will cause very smelly gas and possibly diarrhea. I haven't run into that problem yet since I've been eating high protein/very low carb since surgery. I haven't introduced carbs back into my diet and don't plan to until I've lost a significant amount of weight. I get a few grams here and there, but nothing like the carbs I was eating before surgery.

I am amazed at the amount of food I eat now vs. what I used to eat. Now, ONE scrambled egg is enough to satisfy me, whereas before, my favorite breakfast plate at Studio Cafe would be: two large pancakes with melted chocolate chips spread on both of them, two fried eggs, two pieces of toast, and 2 slices of bacon. And I would always clean my plate. 

Another benefit: I am off my blood pressure medication! (I stopped taking them 2 weeks after surgery per my surgeon's advice. I had an apppointment with my PCP yesterday and my bp was 118/76. I am amazed!!) And my chronic acid reflux has completely disappeared.

So far, I love my DS! I am so happy I did it and I wish I would have done it sooner!

At nearly ten years post-op, my quality of life is far better than it was pre-op. Yes, I have to take pills four times a day, but I can also eat all the bacon I can afford. (*grin*)

The thing about this DS is this---you will have to educate yourself, and probably your doctor as well. Very few doctors understand the DS. You will need to educate yourself about vitamins, supplements, and how your 'new' guts work.

I'm 2 1/2 years out (THANKS to MsBatt and Majormom, I decided to go with the DS...they got my head screwed on straight)

I chose the DS because I wanted to be able to take NSAIDs (severe arthritis of the spine...and other aches are joining in as I get older). I was an insulin pump dependent type 2 diabetic...stopped the pump less than 2 weeks after surgery and all insulin 11 days after that.

While I wasn't hypertensive, I had always had high normal readings, now I am LOW normal. I was on the highest dose of lipitor, last cholesterol was 143 with NO meds and I GENEROUS with my fat intake.

I was already eating a fairly close DS lifestyle due to my diabetes...so that part was easy.

I LOVE food....esp cooking Southern style with LOTS of bacon/bacon grease! Perfect fit.

I have found that pasta and I do not like each other anymore but I don't need it anyway. And drinking milk has been an issue since I got home from the hospital...I became lactose intolerant and still remain sensitive to drinking milk. I CAN manage yogurt, half & half and cheese.

My better half is 5 weeks ahead of me (also a DS'er) and we have no kids at home so it's fairly easy to cook for both of us.

Would I do it again...IN A HEARTBEAT!

Liz

From everything I read the DS had the best long term results. When I went to my surgeon's info briefing he called it the bazooka of weight loss surgeries....I heard the angels sing.  lol

--gina

 

When I was looking at weight loss surgery, I was focused on what would give me the highest quality of life and the best long term results.  The statistics at the time showed the highest percentage of success for long term weight loss with the DS.  I believe it was 90% maintained EWL at 5 years out.  The RNY was 60% maintained EWL at 5 years out. I had yo-yo'd up and down the scale too many times.  I was looking for long term results and the DS offered the best.  

At 10 1/2 years post op, my quality of life is better than it ever was pre-op.  I do have to pay attention to protein, vitamins and hydration.  The only side effect is my bowel movements are a little more predictable and a little more urgent.  Small prices to pay for no longer being morbidly obese and yo-yo'ing up and down the scale by 70 - 100+ lbs. 

I am only  five months out but I am happy with the DS. I call it my Miracle. The first two months are really really rough but you settle down and adjust. I started out with some serious BM issues but after adjusting my calcium I am at one to two a day now. If I eat something bad then of course I pay for it but then that is my fault. I love having a normal tummy. Just stick with your vitamins, protein and water and you will do fine!

I'm 8 years post DS and yes, the positives are all true.

As for the cons you discovered:

Major complications have to do with the health of the patient prior to surgery and the skill of the surgeon.  It is the most complicated of all the procedures, but in the hands of a skilled DS surgeon, the risks are no more than the RNY.  You definitely don't want to be anybody's learning model - for then those risks would be real.

Malnutrition is on the patient themselves.  Unfortunately, few docs or nutritionists hand patients a vitamin regimen that they can survive on.  What we share is what many of us learned on our own.  It's a system of a good start, and followup with bloodwork to make sure you're in good shape, tweaking as needed.  If you walk out with a bottle of Flintstones and a roll of tums and think you're good to go - then yeah, malnutrition will be ugly.  A patient interested in going through the effort to learn how to best care for themself won't be in any danger.