Newbie seeking questions, please

Hi all,

I just saw Dr. Paul Macik in Atlanta this afternoon. Since I am a type 2 diabetic, he recommended that RXY surgery as I could stand to lose about 125-150 pounds.

I've got a lot of questions that perhaps you folks could answer

 - My wife was curious he does not  want to do the Lap Band. He told me that there is more of a success rate with diabetic patients with the RXY then the Lap band. Do you agree?

- I forgot to ask if this procedure limits me in terms of what I can eat (ie bread, meat, etc.) I told her that it was a good thing that I am limited, so that I control myself.

I guess I just don't know what to ask. If anyone can help me, please let me know. I would be more then willing to call you or have you call me.

Thanks,

-Corey

Hi Corey, make sure you also look into the DS.  It has a 98% cure rate for diabetes.  When you do some research and check the facts, you will find that RNY cannot claim that.

Check DSFacts.com and DuodenalSwitch.com

Lia

Thank you Lia ... from what I have read, the DS is more invasive, the recoup time is longer and that you are cut open from chest to belly.  Am I misreading this information?

Thanks!

-Corey

Thank you Lia ... from what I have read, the DS is more invasive, the recoup time is longer and that you are cut open from chest to belly.  Am I misreading this information?



YES! you are getting misinformation!  DS is no more invasive than rny, the DS surgery takes a little longer because it is a bit more complicated, but the results are better and the long term weight loss is MUCH better.  DS will have very little chance of weight regain.

The recovery time is about the same as rny.  You should be able to return to work in as little as 2 weeks.   Some people take more...

I have 5 tiny 1 in*****isions. I am 6 months out. Only 1 of them is really visible now, the rest I have to look for. 


Your post op diet is very reasonable with DS. You will concentrate on protein, and will not have any restrictions of things that you can't eat. Unlike rny, you CAN have sugar and carbs because is no dumping syndrome.    You will also be able to eat larger portions, and will be able to drink with meals.  You will be able to take nsaid medications like Aleeve.

I had my DS with Dr. Hugh Houston in Nashville.  A good local surgeon is Dr. Dennis Smith in Marietta.   Make sure the DS surgeon you choose does laproscopic surgery, otherwise you will have an ugly scar.

 

try searching dsfacts.com or  the DS forum for more info.  You would be doing yourself a disservice not to at least research it as an option before you decide.

 

And YES I agre with your surgeon lap band is not the best option for a diabetic with a lot of weight to lose.  I have not had to take Januvia since the day before surgery. The DS INSTANTLY cured it forever!  Unlike rny, where the diabeties can return later. DS cures it forever.
 

Hi Corey,
                I'm so glad you're asking the right questions rather than stumbling blindly into decisions that will shape how you live and interact with others for the rest of your life.

I was originally going to have the RNY because I thought it was the only real viable option for me.  I hated the fact that I would have a pouch that may or may not tolerate some of the basic foods that I considered healthy.  I also suffer from back pain and take NSAIDS for this which I could not do without a pylorus valve in my stomach.  With the RNY this is removed. 

Now the DS is a bigger operation because they remove the outer curvature of the stomach where the hunger causing gerlin lives and craft a stomach like a banana which will eventually stretch out and increase in capacity over time.  Nest they remove your gallbladder and appendix as a matter of course.  You'll be eating high fat, high protein so there is a real risk of future gallstones.  From here your bowel is resected under your stomach and reanastimosed into your large intestine.  This leaves you with a "common channel of 100cm to 150cm depending on the surgeons preference.  What this does is cause malabsorbtion so that initially you get restriction from your tiny belly and malabsorbtion of fats .  This surgery is done laproscopically not open in 99% of cases.

I chose this option because I'm a compulsive eater and became super morbidly obese.  Luckily for me I didn't have diabetes but if I did I would have had a 98-100% cure rate of that post op.  I didn't want to have to diet to make a surgery work as I know I won't be long term non compliant on any diet so going through surgical trauma only to fail was never going to be an option for me.  This way I get to eat as much meat as my body will tolerate, as much full fat dairy and animal fat/oils and some carbs (not a lot) and sugar is ok too just not bucket loads.  Nothing is off limits for me (except corn it makes me blow holes in the loo).

I went and had a good look on the revision board and realised lots of people were having the RNY and Lapband then getting a revision to the DS with loads of complications now due to scar tissue and ulcers in their blind stomach etc.  I decided I wanted only one surgery in this lifetime and it had to be a surgery that keeps working even if my stomach stretches. 

The DS surgery is more difficult and complex than RNY which is why only top shelf surgeons will do it.  The recovery time depends on your prior level of fitness.  Most take 2weeks to a month I am taking longer due to pre-exsisting clotting issues which were a pain in the arse.

I am 1 month out and I've lost 45lbs!  I am already almost a quarter of the way there and I'm barely out of the starting blocks.  All hail the honeymoon weight loss period!

Feel free to pm me if you want to chat.

Best of luck
xx Kirstin

Hi!

The DS surgery is not more invasive, both RNY and DS have the surgeon in there messing with your guts!  The DS surgery takes a more experienced Dr, someone who has mentored under a vetted DS surgeon.  The risks are the same with RNY and DS.

I was done open and have a tiny, thin white scar that you can barely see about 7 inches long.  My stretch marks are more visible than the scar.  However, I was more worried about saving my life than having a scar!

The DS has a 98% CURE rate for Type II diabetes, which is why I chose it.  My blood sugars went to normal the morning after the surgery and have been normal since!  I was on 3 medications for diabetes and my H1Ac was 10 something... It is now 4.8 and has been that way for 4 years.

HTH,
Michele

Uhhhh....no.....
I had five scars that are no longer visible from the lap DS.   I returned to work as a full-time music teacher and choral director at 2.5 weeks.
Did your doctor even provide ANY information about the DS, or did he just present it to you as if there are only two forms of surgery out there available - the RNY and the band?   

Hi Julie!

The Doctor just said that due to my height/weight (5' 7.5" / 301) that the RNY was the only option. He didn't mention DS until my friend Tara H (who is also on here)  mentioned it to me after I left his office. I called this am and he does NOT offer this service, so I have to look for another doctor in the Atlanta area.

I, too, am a teacher - but I teach high school special education. I would love to have the surgery over the summer and come back a new me!

-Corey

You're fortunate enough to have two surgeons in your area that do the DS:
Donald Maynard, MD
Email: [email protected]

Surgical Associates of Metro Atlanta
1612-B Milstead Rd NE.
Conyers, GA 30012
Phone: 770-602-1292
Fax: 770-602-1296
Contact: Donna Edwards, Practice Manager
Email: [email protected]

Dennis C. Smith, Jr., MD, FACS *
Email: [email protected]
 

Advanced Obesity Surgery Center
780 Canton Road, Suite 320
Marietta, GA 30060
Phone: 770-919-7050 or 1-866-535-0966 toll free
Fax: 770-919-7051
Email: [email protected]

I know that Dr. Maynard takes some insurances that Dr. Smith does not, but Maynard is open-only, but honestly it's no big deal.  I had my DS open and I was healed and sealed in two weeks on the outside glued all the way down (no staples or sutures).  I needed more time than that to catch up with all of the changes on the inside.  Any scarring left behind can be erased with plastic surgery, and as you shrink, the scar gets smaller as well.   If you can get your DS in June, you should hit the ground running for school to start in August.

Since you mention you are a high school sped teacher and live in Marietta, I will assume you are on the SHBP and work for one of our fine local school districts.  At last check, I don't believe you can use Dr. Smith or Dr. Maynard.  All of the SHBP people who have had DS have left the State for their surgery.

Also, in order to do it over the summer, you would have already had to start your 6 month process of going to support group meetings and 6 monthly check-in's with your PCP. 

Just some things to think about.