What's the diff in self care between DS and Sleeve?
I am the most unmechanical person around and it was easy for even me to install.
I have had one of these for years and I wish I had gotten this instead.
WLS 10/28/2002 Revision 7/23/2010
High Weight (2002) 240 Revision Weight (2010) 220 Current Weight 115.
1. 2-3 years ago we took a poll here, and determined that the 'average' DSer poops twice a day usually in the AM. Some days I have my normal 2 in the AM, and a small third one in the late afternoon/evening. And occasionally I am constipated, which I HATE.
2. For the first 3-4 years after my DS, I ate about a half-pound of bacon for breakfast, 6 days out of 7. (Now I only eat it 2-3 days a week, because it's gotten expensive!) The other day I counted, and I have 11 different kinds of cheese on hand. It is just barely possible for me to eat so much fat it gives me the runs, but that hardly ever happens.
3. You will need to take vitamins no matter which form of WLS you get. Just make up your mind that this is something you are GOING to do, each and every day. (Calcium also helps firm up your stool.)
4.The Band fails a lot of people. Basically, it's a diet with a choke chain. To ME, the Sleeve would be about the same. I have no doubt that without the malabsorption of my DS, I'd be big as a house again.
5. Pre-op, I was ALWAYS hungry. Even after stuffing myself, there was something inside saying "One more bite! One more bite!" Removing most of my stomach changed that. I still get hungry, but I can eat a small amount and feel full and satisfied.
6. I chew just like I always have. There's no 'getting stuck' because you have a fully-functional stomach, not a pouch and stoma.
7. I don't really have any annoying side effects. If I throw caution to the wind and pig out on simple carbs, I get gassy, but then, I did pre-op, too.
The DS actually makes a dramatic, permanent change in your metabolism. No other form of WLS does that.I'll be 11 years post-op come December, and I'm still 'in love' with my DS.