Dr. Rajan Sudan
My husband and I attended a seminar at the weight loss clinic (which Dr. Sudan happened to lead) where he outlined each of the surgery options. I went with the DS because it yields the best results over the other options. He said it was the most invasive, required a longer hospital stay, and some insurance companies didn't cover it. But there is a greater weight loss. Personally another reason I wanted it was it doesn't have the dumping syndrome that RNY has. When I first met with Dr. Sudan in February he asked me which one I wanted and I told him I was leaning toward DS. He looked over my health history and said I qualify for it. It did take months for my surgery - his nurse called me in March and said it was scheduled for July. I don't know if it's always that long, and maybe he is just that busy. He uses a robot to do the DS, which decreases the pain afterward. He even asked me at my pre-op two weeks prior to surgery if I still wanted DS and I said yes. He gave me plenty of time to change my mind if I wanted to, but I was determined to go with it. I felt he was letting me be sure of what I was doing. My husband will be having the DS surgery next year. Our insurance requires that we go through a six month period which is documented that we were following a regimented weight loss, such as Weigh****chers and that we exercized. I don't know what Medicare's requirements are.
I did a lot of Googling to find out more about this surgery, read various forums where patients wrote about their experiences - this forum in particular. I looked for any information I could find on it. I even watched a youtube video on the surgery process. Dr. Sudan does not require us to do the liquid diet before surgery - except for the usual day before surgery to clean out our systems, the same as if you are preparing for a colonoscopy.
Don't let the vitamin and protein requirements scare you. You are not required to be at full speed right out of surgery. We build up to it - I'm not even there yet! But you will be eating foods like cheese, bacon, yummy stuff that's full of protein. Think Atkins. Like I've said, I'm still working my way along, and many others who are further post-op than me can give better advice about their foods. You have to make your choice on your own and you are wise in getting input from others. I don't regret having had the DS option for myself.
