I had my Duodenal Switch at St. Vincent's.  I was going with a surgeoon at Elkhart General who did the DS, but unfortunately, he passed away before getting to my surgery.

St. Vincent's is the only bariatric program in Indiana that offers the DS, and Dr. Margaret Inman is the only surgeon in the state who performs them.

If you're using insurance, most of them require the surgery to be done with a program that has the Center of Excellence certification.  St. Vincent's does.  Memorial (Now Beacon) does not, at least not yet.

I would go with St. Vincent's.  They've been doing bariatric surgery at least since the mid 1970's.  I heard about them when I attended college in that region of the state in the 1970's and 1980's, but bariatric surgery was not an insurance covered procedure for me at that time. I wi**** had been, because I was young and just starting my life.

All of their surgeons are experienced in their respective procedures, but Dr. Margaret Inman is the only surgeon who does *all* the surgeries, including the Duodenal Switch, which I have.

The DS, as we call it, takes a lot of work and a lot of commitment to remain healthy. 

I would suggest attending a general seminar, and then attending Dr. Inman's seminar on the Duodenal Switch. 

I have had *no regain* with the DS.  That's what made it attractive to me, plus th fact that I did not have to avoid a laundry list of foods.The only things that give me digestive trouble are white flour and products made with it, (depends on how much, though)  and simple sugars, such as white sugar.

St. Vincent's has the experience. and they don't just "cut and run".  There are support groups for St.Vincent's Bariatric patients all over the state.   I would go with them, no matter which surgery you choose. 

You may have already made your choice.  I live 2 1/2 hours from St. Vincent's where I had my RNY 6 years ago.  It was an awesome experience.  My bariatric surgeon and dietitian are always available by email and will see me when I need it.  It is well worth the drive and I would choose St. Vincent's again.  I have had to go to a local ER and be hospitalized and the ER physician has called my bariatric physician for consult.  It has never been an issue for me to be 2 1/2 hours away.  St. Vincent's also has a support group that meets monthly just 30 minutes away from me and I attended that monthly for the first 3 years after my surgery.  The support group is very helpful.

Best wishes,

Penny

Hi is there anyone from Fulton county Indiana that could take me to the support groups once a month in logansport hospital I don't have a car. I'll help with gas money I live in Rochester.

Thanks Stephanie. It was about what I expected and the check-off list was over half checked off that day. Things I'd already done. Sometimes I get discouraged because this and that are kind of slowing down the process. Found out I'm severely anemic and I have to take iron pills for month and if that doesn't work, I'll have to have infusions.  I had gained a lot of weight last year due to a medication I was taking. We (or I should say I, because I dug around trying to figure out why I gained 5-7lbs a month from April until around December) didn't know why I was gaining all this weight as nothing had changed, except that my BP was not being controlled well, no matter what I took (one main reason for the surgery). But I'm having trouble functioning at all now. It's painful and embarrassing and I really just want to get things moving along. I mean, I'm glad that they're working with me to get the anemia fixed, but everyday that I sit here at this weight reminds me of how sick I am. Anyway, I sure appreciate you reaching out to me! :)

Yvonne

It's been about a week, how are you doing now?  Hope everything has quieted down for you!

Stephanie