"While we are citing facts here lets hear your factual take on which wls surgery has the MOST vitamin and nutrient deficiencies associated with it. Unless you are vigilant to the point of obsession you can get into vitamin trouble. How's that for a bit of truth?"

That would be the distal RNY.

"Rnyers have issues with absorption as well but nothing compared to DSers. We still have all of our intestine from which to absorb nutrients. The ones we miss are the vitamins which are absorbed from our stomach. "

Wrong again. Do you not understand what "bypassed" means? Each and every RNYer out there no longer absorbs vitamins in their duodenum, and part of their jejunum., because those parts of the small intestine is BYPASSED, and the vitamins and nutrients never touch them.

"Neither DS nor RNY is the best out there. The best out there is whichever is BEST for you"

I agree---and in order to decide what is best for oneself, one needs to KNOW THE FACTS about all the available options. Do you somehow disagree with this idea?

"I did not want pieces of my anatomy removed. If medically necessary, I can be reattached. Nothing is gone."

*I* did not want a redundant, un-'scopable pouch, nor did I want to cease to have a fully-functional stomach. There is no medical reason I can think of that would EVER cause me to need more stomach than I have now.

I doubt very much that all Canadians appreciate that you speak for them when it comes to qualifying for WLS.... especially the Canadians in all the provinces other than Quebec, where the ONLY DS surgeon in all of Canada practices.  ALL other Canadians must pay for the DS out of pocket (and go out of country for it) or settle for RnY.

That is the FACT, and you have once again proven that you are not credible in the BS you spew.

Thanks Kimberley, I could not have said it any better : )

Hi Kimberley,

Just an FYI, we now have a surgeon in the province of New Brunswick who is qualified to do the DS.  He has started with lapbands this Summer because they are the easiest for him to do with a completely new team.  Then he is going to send his staff to Quebec to train and when they come back he will be doing DS and one other that I'm not sure of. 

I have been researching for a long long time and was going the RNY route because it was the only option as I didn't want a band.  Once this surgeon moved I quickly had my referral sent and now am waiting for news.

The arguing on this topic will forever be a sensitive one.  Some people managed to work their chosen surgery.  It may have been easy for them, or not.  Some may regret it, some are happy with it.  Some may not succeed.

I could still have a RNY and succeed.  But I have seen people fail, and that scares me.  I know myself, dumping isn't something I want to take a chance on.  THIS IS ME!  I decided on the DS because I see it as being a better choice long term.  I have to say that if threads like this didn't happen, someone who knows nothing about the DS could have missed it completely.  I am thankful for the information no matter what choice I make for myself.

As far as the after-care of the different surgeries, people are going to either follow the rules or not.  I just don't like to hear anyone whine that they haven't lost, or labs suck etc etc if they won't even listen to people who have been living with these wls for years.  You would think that people can be educated without having fifteen degrees.  I think a sensible approach is to take advice with a grain of salt.  You can discuss with your doctor if you wish...once your surgeon gets the hint that you're knowledgeable with your surgery and your after-care, you can work together. 

After all, the point of having wls is to finally succeed where we've failed for years right?  Does it matter which surgery we have as long as we succeed? 

Please forgive my English, my first language is French and I sometimes get things mixed-up.

VERY good news, that I obviously was not aware of.  I do hope that this surgeon is able to provide the DS to the residents of New Brunswick, and also other provinces that do not have a DS surgeon (I know people in Ontario are still screwed, but others could still benefit with this surgeon in Canada).  The wait for the only DS surgeon in Quebec (who is excellent, BTW) is years long, with people from other provinces continuing to be dropped to the bottom of the list when someone from Quebec requests his services.  I doubt anyone outside of Quebec will ever get into the OR with him, and many just decide to self-pay out of country.

The after-care is complex... in that the "rules" from the surgical practice are often not sound, and really dangerous in most cases.  You will likely get the best after-care advice (on nutrition, potential bowel issues, etc...) on the DS Forum, so please hang out there and absorb EVERYTHING you can.  You seem to get that!

I do not shovel "tons of food" into my mouth and I am a successful DSer. Lost 200 pounds.

In fact, because I have restriction (which you would know if you bothered to learn about the DS), I cannot shovel tons of food in my mouth. I don't even shovel lots of greasy food in my mouth.

As to Diana not demonstrating that YOU should have had the DS, as you said in an earlier post, why should she? You have demonsdtrated by your inability to care for yourself after your RNY and your naive "I only trust my medical team" belief that you would not be a good candidate for the DS. 

You are making yourself look very foolish.

Nicolle

Whats the war on the surgeries for anyway???

In my opinion, the surgery wars help those that are researching WLS know that there are more than 2 types of surgeries available.  I had never heard of the VSG or the DS before finding out about them here on OH.  I would wager that 98% of people who are looking for a surgical solution to obesity are in the same boat.  While the message may not be tied up in a pretty little bow, it does get people to thinking and talking and researching, which I believe is the whole point.

Almost 3 hrs to get from page 1 to 14!  Missed this one yesterday.

Why I had the DS:
#1 - With a 98% cure rate for my diabetes, it was my only choice.  After researching and a nice little surgery war directed me over to the DS forum I learned that there was a cure for diabetes.  I never found it on the diabetes site.
#2 - I was pretty sure that I couldn't live with a thumb sized pouch and all the problems that could arise with the RNY.  MY OPINION - FOR ME ONLY.  If you love your RNY that's absolutely wonderful. 
#3 - Never even considered the lapband
#4 - I really believed in the measure twice cut once.  Take a look at the revision board, it's pretty scary.
#5 - Cured my diabetes - oh yeah I said that already.  The weight loss was a benefit, that I do appreciate.  But I was terrified with the diabetes.

Pros:
My diabetes is gone, my bp is normal, my cholesterol is down w/o meds, my kidneys are no longer leaking protein.  I eat 100+ grams of protein daily, drink at least 64oz of water, and take all my vitamins.  I'm very disciplined with my labs and fixing any values trending down, until they are up where I want them.  I supplement more than my surgeon's recommendation.  My latest labs had all my iron levels trending up, it's taken 12 months of work.  A big thank you to Michelle (Vitalady), for those who may need her in the future.  Michelle is a wealth of information and it's not only my labs that are looking great, but there are a bunch of us out there that can attest to her knowledge and making us healthier with great labs.
When I go out to dinner, I generally take 1/2 of my dinner home, because of the restriction.  I also compensate by adding butter, mayo, olive oil etc into my food choices because I can and it makes the food taste better.  This is a positive. 

Cons:
I had bowel issues for a few months, chia seeds took care of the loose bowels and they are healthly.  Flagyl killed the bad bacteria and horrid gas (that I'd had all my life).  I still have 4-8 BMs daily, but that's my body, it was like that before surgery too.  My body is very intolerant of lactose, whey and sugar alcohols which I avoid.

Research - Why do you want/need WLS?  What comorbids do you have?  There was research paper that I read, that gave statistics that Diana has quoted over and over about the surgeries, EWL, comorbids etc.  I'm not sure what one it is right now, but I know that it's posted on dsfacts.com (and I'm too tired to go and find it). The DS had the best results for all the surgeries and for resolving comorbids.  I was sold.
I my DS.

I honestly have a question - without trying to start anything, I promise.

My main reason for having surgery was because Type II Diabetes had killed several of my immediate family members and having been diagnosed with it myself, I didn't want to die. I originally wanted the DS for the reasons you've mentioned, but when I was told my insurance did not cover it and that I would have to appeal under a process that could possibly take two years or more, I decided to go with the RNY. My diabetes was killing me: I had diabetic sores up and down my legs. I had diabetic neuropathy in my legs, feet and hands. My last a1c prior to surgery was 10.5. My PCP (not my surgeon, because I realized he would be biased as to what surgery I should have and when) whom I have known since I was a baby very strongly recommended that I have the RNY done immediately. We both knew that the DS had better statistics as far as Type II Diabetes goes, but the weight loss is what I needed more than anything.

Well, since my RNY, my a1c has dropped down to a 4-something. I am no longer on my diabetic meds (woo!!) and the sores have healed - although the scars will always be there on my legs.

My question is: I know that if I gain back the weight I've lost that I will be diabetic again. Is this true with the DS as well or is yours really 100% cured and gone forever?

I've said over and over that if and when the RNY stops working for me, I will have a revision to the DS, so please don't take this the wrong way.

Diabetes is an evil little *****! Sadly, there are some post-op RNYers who were actually diagnosed AFTER they had their RNY and lost almost all their excess weight! There are also RNYers who see their diabetes symptoms return even without significant weight regain.

The DS is more permanent due to the greater amount of small intestine that is bypassed. This is why the intestinal portion of the DS alone (without making the stomach smaller) is done in Europe on type 2s who are not even overweight as a cure for their diabetes.

That said you're certainly not exactly doomed to live through diabetes hell again in the future. For those whose diabetes has gone into remission post-RNY, I believe it's about 10% who see it return in 2+ years.

My diabetes is certainly NOT cured, even though I have technically had a DS. I attribute this to my ridiculously long common channel (which my surgeon lied to me about, stating that when they do the "switch" in Europe for diabetes, they do it very proximal - WRONG; it is actually typically done VERY distal with preference toward a VERY short common channel, like 50cm). I mean, I'm well controlled - my last A1C was 5.1 - but if I have a milkshake, I will still see my glucose levels spike out of normal range and possibly take more than 2 hours to get back down to normal. I may seek a revision in the future to a NORMAL DS with a 100cm common channel as opposed to what I like to refer to as the "half assed" DS I have now solely for the purpose of better addressing my diabetes.