Pre-ops: Make sure you learn about the DS before you chose your surgery!

I remember that thread! I was so glad to see you over on R&R. It was just too bad that the people on that forum couldn't see how genuinely excited you were about what the DS allowed you to do.

I couldn't eat last year, had just had my DS, but boy this year
I'm gonna party down, and lose 5 pounds in the process

Man I Love my DS!!!!!

Dream Weaver,

I just did as you said, I googled Duodenal Switch complications.  I didn't find anything that would be scarier than googling Gastric Bypass/RNY complications.  The stats are VERY similar and one the reasons I chose the DS over 2 years ago as the way to end my own obesity.  The risks were very similar, but the post op life is VASTLY different.  I've not only lost all of my excess weight, I enjoy eating foods that were once "taboo" for me.  I dunno, I think ALL WLS's have complications that you have to be willing to accept comes with the territory.  I have been very proactive in my care and have been forced to learn more about my needs and anatomy than I ever thought possible.  But now that I understand it all, it's opened a world of understanding for me with my body and health. 

Don't try to scare people about the DS, get it right.  ALL WLS can have a bad outcome. 

Lori

I tried to google for "DS complications" but my fingers are so fat that I screwed up and googled for "RNY regain statistics". You're right, I'm scared to death now! Glad I'm not having that surgery!

"I tried to google for "DS complications" but my fingers are so fat that I screwed up and googled for "RNY regain statistics". You're right, I'm scared to death now! Glad I'm not having that surgery!"

OMG you crack me up

Nice edit to change your words two days after the fact.  Its usually prudent to think before you post in the first place.

Kind of like Burger King touting how superior the Whopper is . . . . gotta compare it to something people recognize - like the Big Mac - to get the picture.  When you say the DS is best, it's worthless unless you can it's better than something else.  Compare/contrast - works for me :)

Diana, you are most certainly NOT a ***** and I respect you highly.

BTW, TOUCHE'!

~m

 Dream, you need to relax. No one is bashing the RNY, what is being stated is that there are alternatives to the RNY that most don't even know they have the option to consider. That being said, we have seen many a people who have had the RNY lose the weight beautifully  (or not so beautifully in many cases) only to need a revision 5-12 years later on down the road. What is being posted is a public service to those who contemplate all the surgeries and fully equipping them with information, that they should have the right to have as a weigh tloss surgery candidate.
It is unfortunate, but  many doctors would rather perform an RNY than a DS (because they can get more of those done in one day, rather than the voluminous hours it takes to do the DS). More importantly, they don't want to take the time out of their already busy schedules to be trained which is necessary in order to be able to provide the DS surgery as an option to their patients. What needs to be stated and as been stated so beautifully is that one must not accept NO for an answer should they seek greater and beyond what the RNY affords. Get it correct, this isn't about you. It's about those who are still weighing their options. 

 Showing the distinct differences between the RNY and DS is the whole point!   The DS is a superior, more "cutting-edge", modern and "natural" procedure than the RNY.    It allows the stomach to function the way its supposed to.   The RNY cuts up the patient's stomach into a  pouch with a man-made hole to regulate food going into the intestines, instead of the pyloric valve.  This  creates an unnatural configuration which eventually stretches out and weight gain ensues, creating the need for more surgery down the line. 

So, why if the DS is so superior, do so few MDs perform the procedure?

Most doctors do not want to take the time away from their RNY "factories"  to get the DS training, so they disseminate misinformation to patients about it, while pushing the RNY and lapbands down everyone's throats.   They do this for the $$$, not because they are concerned about what's best for the actual patient.

These doctors won't get additional training until informed patients put the DS on the agenda, by knowing how it works, asking for it and not taking "no" for an answer!   Once prospective patients stop allowing themselves to be "herded" like cattle to slaughter into these RNY factories, the doctors will be forced to retrain themselves and learn the DS in order to stay competitive in the WLS  marketplace.