Deciding between RNY and DS

Hi Patrice,

I had surgery just a year ago, I am 5' 6" and at my highest was 255, I am now 132 I still can't believe it when I looked in the mirror. I have had no issues since having the surgery you do have to stay on top of your blood work and vitamins. I also take NSAIDS and wanted to be able to continue taking them if I needed to. I also liked that people seem to keep the weight off with the DS. Good luck continuing with your research.

Trish

I chose the DS specifically for the metabolic changes it gives...and darned glad I did. 

I was insulin dependent and fought Kaiser for my DS 6 yrs ago.  It sounds like you are already in Kaiser's Bariatric Program, that's the first step.  Once you are in, you ask for the DS, you'll get a local denial letter telling you the RNY is the absolute best and you don't need the DS, then you'll get the regional denial letter stating the same thing.  That's when you do your Independent Medical Review (IMR) with Dept of Managed Health Care (DMHC), it can all be done over the network now I think.  If not you fill out the forms and a short write up about why the DS would be better for you.  For me it was the 98% cure rate for Diabetes.  It was a no brainer for me.  I didn't want to be on a constant diet and as most RNY fail at some point unless you are uber strict and watch everything you eat, the weight comes back.  

I know a couple of ladies in Sac who just asked for the DS and they were sent to Dr Rabkin for surgery.  Of course several of us fought our way and Kaiser generally lost except for 2 times that I knew of and they just had to refile.  We have a support group that meets in Sac on the 19th from 6-8pm at Golden Corral.  All the protein that you want and crave!  

I'm a little over 5.5 yrs out and it was the best decision for me.  I'm in the same jeans 5 yrs after my surgery.  My breast lift does allow me to wear some M instead of L.  I was a light-weight.  I eat my protein and take my vitamins and have my labs done!