closed topic

I'm not here to argue with anyone so I quit this thread.  Good luck to all of you.

I know there have got to be more of us Utahns out there, but they don't seem to come this way too often.  I'm waiting on getting the Duodenal Switch.  Now that I've made the decision to have surgery I am hating the "wait" period to get things going.

Have you chosen a doctor as yet?

I am going to be having the Duodenal Switch (DS), and Dr. Steven Simper with the Rocky Mountain group is the only surgeon in Utah that does this type of surgery.  I faxed in my paperwork around the 27th of December.  I called the office the 9th and they said they hadn't submitted it to my insurance as yet ,because the insurance person was on vacation.  So...I sit and wait.  

Have you gone to the educational class about the surgery?  Have you met your surgeon as yet? 

Oh, one other thing.  You mentioned getting the lap band but your surgery type in your profile is VBG.  I really thought I might do that too, but felt I needed the malabsortion with the DS (the VBG is the first part of the DS surgery, cutting away the stomach and leaving the sleeve).  

Wishing you well on your journey!

Just wondering why you want a Lap Band?

From reading the revision board it sure sounds like Lap Bands are a nightmare. I sure hope you have researched the other options like RNY & DS. My personal experience is that I had gastric bypass WLS back in 1980 and at that time I didn't really look into any other options; I just took my doctors word that it was the thing for me. The staple line broke down during the first year and I almost bled to death; you can read the whole story if you want to on my profile.

Anyway, the point of this post is just to encourage you to really research the other options if you haven't done so yet and make sure the Lap Band is what's right for you and what you really want. Like I said, the revision board is full of failed Lap Banders looking to get a revision, so that's a good place to lurk; I would also read the DS and RNY boards to see how those people are living with their WLS post op. Remember, you will be living with your decision for a very long time.

Best regards,

Kerry 

I agree with you about the bypass. I lived with it for 28 years and it was overall a bad experience; there are so many problems associated with it; ie dumping, ulsers, nutrititional defeciencies etc. The difficulty of living with a bypass coupled with the failure to keep the weight off was what led me to look into a revision and ended up with me getting a revision to DS.

From your post, I get the impression you think the DS is a bypass similar to RNY; which of course it is not.

But like I said in my earlier post, the purpose was just to make sure you were aware of the other options and what living with them all would be like.

Best regards,

Kerry