Lurker that has a date

I have been coming here and reading the posts for about a year now.I had attempted top get approval from united healthcare and was denied, appealed and was finally approved.I go for pre tests on aug.8th and surgery on aug.16th at the barix clinic in Belvidere,Il. I have a question that has been bothering me and i hope someone here can answer for me. Most everyone here has been overweight their entire life, lose and gain weight, i bet i have lost and gained 5000 lbs. in my life time. We all know you have to eat right and exercise. I read the posts here and i see the same thing diet and exercise after the surgery. So i guess here is where im puzzled, diet and exercise or have surgery and diet and exercise. I thought the idea of the surgery was to make the stomach smaller so you couldnt eat as much. Maybe someone could explain this to me. Thanks Larry

First congrats on your approval and surgery date. Exercise is important after surgery, just as it is now ... improve/maintain good strength and musculature, and cardiovascular health - not to mention it makes things a lot easier to maintain once you get to your goal. I wouldn't call the way I eat a diet anymore. I changed my lifestyle. The choices I make are now to fuel my body with food - not living to eat. I'm nearly 14 months post-op and I can tell you already that the further out you get, the more food you consume. Schools of thought on stretching the pouch vary greatly. Whichever the case may be, this surgery is most definitely a tool - the first months are a great behavior modification tool to get you to learn to eat properly. If you're an emotional eater, I suggest checking out some sort of cognitive-behavioral intervention (this is NOT a bad thing) to get to the root of it and help modify your behaviors. I have had a most excellent journey throughout all of this and wouldn't change a thing. Best wishes to you! Cathy

Larry, I generally just lurker, too, but those problems may just be part of the way things are with life after RNY - at least it seems so from what I have observed first hand from my sister and daughter, as well as on the OH boards. However, I am investigating surgery for myself, and am very interested in Duodenal Switch surgery. From everything that I have read and discovered, this option offers not only the best long term weight loss results (70-80%) vs RNY (60-70%), but has a much better track record for maintaining the weight loss with very little regain. It also has the best "quality of life" as far as eating is concerned as you are able to eat normal, though somewhat smaller meals. Also, instead of a small artificial pouch that is prone to ulceration and a "blind" stomach that is inaccessible to endoscopy in case of emergency, you have a normal, though smaller, stomach that retains the pyloric valve, allowing the food to empty normally. This also eliminates the need for excessive chewing. Also, part of the duodenum is conserved, allowing for increased vitamin absorbtion. The "backend" of a "DS" as it is called is like a distal RNY. A common channel of approximately 100cm is created. This distal bypass is the malabsorption part of the surgery that helps to keep the weight off long term. This is a technically difficult surgery, and is only performed by about 100 or so surgeons in the US today. There are also serveral outstanding surgeons outside the US available. For more information check out the Duodenal Switch forum here on OH, or check out www.dudensalswitch.com. Best of luck to you in whatever you decide!

Larry, Congrats on your surgery date. I too have been trying to get approval from United Healthcare. I was denied & have sent in my appeal. Good luck to you. hugs, Debi