DS for a "Lightweight"

Hi,

I am awaiting approval from my insurance for WLS, and have been extensively researching RNY and the DS,as I am diabetic and have high blood pressure.According to my surgeon these options would be best in eliminating my medical issues. I am pretty much decided on the DS,as the pyloric valve is left in place which lessens the chance of "dumping syndrome'',and the chance of losing and keeping off the weight is better then the RNY. I just have two questions,Has anyone with a starting BMI of 36-37 had the DS,how has it affected your life?(in my research it seems as if most who have had DS have a higher BMI???) and Did you have major diarrhea or vomiting issues? I am very busy,I work a lot and take care of my family,so constant or severe vomiting or diarrhea has me scared to death!! This is the major issue that I am constantly thinking about.

My BMI when I had a revision from RNY to DS was 40, so not much higher than you asked about.  I know there are a few here that had it at that BMI.  I do not have diarrhea or vomiting issues at all and never had (since the revision).  

I wasn't a lightweight so can't speak from personal experience on that issue, but definitely we have seen lots of lightweights here and on other websites who chose the DS for very much the same reasons you did - best percentage of excess weight loss, best maintenance of that weight loss, best resolution of almost all comorbidities, including type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure (and also sleep apnea, high cholesterol.....). Dumping is rare with the DS, and the rate with RNY is not really known but definitely substantial. I've seen numbers from 30% to 70% which to means that no one really knows, but even 30% is a lot. Dumping is NOT a weight loss tool, but really a potentially very nasty side effect that some people with RNY have. Possible with any stomach surgery, but rare with DS.

Vomiting - a much more likely problem with RNY. With the DS, if you eat too much for your sleeve, yes you will vomit, but you will learn very quickly how to recognize fullness and avoid that one bite too many. And for me at least, the few times I've vomited it came on fast and resolved fast and was not severe, and then I went about my business. And that was early on, part of the learning process. Diarrhea for most people is very much diet related and can be brought on by carbs or by excessive fat, or by milk. Many of us become lactose intolerant. We can generally handle cheese but not milk itself. For myself, I use small amounts of milk in cooking without a problem and have no problem with cheese. I don't know whether or not I could drink a glass of milk, and I don't miss it.

I think you've done a good job with your research and made a great decision!

Larra

Lightweight here and loving my DS. Sounds like you've been reading the scare tactics spouted about. Docs that don't do the DS love to do that. Hang tough!

--gina

Lightweight here....the scare tactics are just that. I LOVE my DS and as others have mentioned, vomiting can occur while you're adjusting to how much you can really eat but it's really fast then you go about your business and diarrhea is a non issue for me. Don't be scaredoff that easily.

Good luck!

Another lightweight here...my starting BMI was 35.2 (I JUST barely squeaked in).

Wouldn't change my choice for ANY other option...LOVE my DS.

And yes, those are scare tactics. I won't lie, I did have diarrhea the first few weeks...but being on nothing but liquids was most of that. NEVER vomited...but I did stay hydrated. Honestly once I was on real food and my vitamins, constipation is far more common...which I handle by having lots of fat in my diet now. But eating fat HAS to be done slowly...new systems have lots of trouble handling fat.

For anyone with type 2 diabetes the DS is the best option.  Diabetes is a progressive disease and you will be doing yourself a great favor to get rid of it now.  The DS is the best wls out there today and you get to eat pretty normally postop.

When you are brand new, you may have some issues with diarrhea and vomiting till you learn your new system.  Treat them!  Imodium is your friend.

Wls is something you do for you.  For a while, the DS will take over your life.  You need to concentrate on you for a while and let the others take care of themselves.  The reward down the line is that you will be active, healthy, and be able to enjoy your family longer!

Thanks all for the encouragement and your "true to life" experiences. This just solidifies that I am making the best decision!!