Lets discuss the duodenal Switch!

Have you heard about the Duodenal Switch? 

If you have and haven't had surgery yet and have any questions about the DS that you would like answered I ask you to post them here. And I ask the veteran DS'ers to help answer some of the questions.

People with the DS, tell me how you feel about your DS and how its changed your life in anyway.

I post this because I haven't seen a post about the DS lately here on the main board and I know before surgery I loved reading the "wars" or any post really about weight loss surgery comparison's.

I am in no way trying to start a "war" but I do want the true information about the DS to be spread for others thinking about WLS to see. So add your input and your stories! 

-Jessy

Also here is a lovely website to check out with facts about the DS- http://www.dsfacts.com/

I choose the DS in 2002 because I heard it had more success in keeping weight off then the RNY.  I am one of those that didn't change my habits and although I lost 120 lbs total I regained 100 lbs.  I blame no one but myself.  I also found the diarrhea a lot worse then I expected.  I recently had my common channel lengthened (yeh, no more diarrhea and gas) and my stomach made smaller because I found that by nearly 8 years out I could eat as much as I did pre op.
I'm not trying to talk anyone out of the surgery, just that I wish I had used the tool more wisely.  At the time I got it it was touted as a miracle surgery that allowed you to eat as much as you wanted.  Or maybe that is just what I choose to hear.  I remember when I had a stall I was advised to eat a Krispy Kreme donut and people posting recipies of Krispy Kreme bread pudding.  I did lose weight for the first 2 years and then I started regaining about 10 to 15 lbs a year. 
I also know other DSers that have had regain after several years.  It is a good surgery for those who can live with the diarrhea and follow the guidlines.  Not everyone I know that had the DS had as severe diarrhea as I did.  My surgeon said that some people just have a bad reaction to the malabsorption.

Do you think your unwillingess to change your habits may have contributed to the diarrhea issue? I know some DSers who get diarrhea and/or gas from eating certain foods, so if you didn't change your habits, maybe that played a role in your situation. Were you taking a good probiotic? tried a round of flagyll to possibly correct an intestinal flora imbalance? tried an elimination diet to see what types of foods might have been causing the diarrhea? You very well may have tried each of these things before resorting to a revision, but I just want others reading to know that these problems are usually (not always, but usually) solved by non-surgical means.

No doubt my bad eating habits contributed to my diarrhea.  I was consuming a large amount of food, not very good food and what comes in must come out.  I tried all the probiotics and was on Flagyl many times.  I even got a rare disorder, arthritis dermatitis syndrome, which was due to an overgrowth of bacteria in my intestines.  It caused an autoimmune response where my joints were attacked.
In the end I was just so sick and couldn't really do anything because I needed to be near a bathroom.  I tried watching what I ate and it helped but I still was having problems with fecal incontinence and frequent bowel movements.  In the end I choose the have my common channel to be lengthened and I am glad I did.  I decided to have my stomach reduced to force myself to eat less.  I realize that I have a bad track record and may not succeed with this but I feel it is my best chance to at least not gain any more.  Again, I don't blame the DS, I blame myself for not following directions and changing my eating habits.  I have a diehard food addiction and did not address that as I should have.  All WLS is a tool, not a cure.

" live with diarrhea"    uhhh no diarrhea here, and rarely do I find that people have this problem.  I know plenty of DSers and none of the are "living with diarrhea"

Oh, Lady. I am sorry to hear of your story.

I honesty read your story WITHOUT looking at your surgeon's name and then looked--BINGO! It's him again. Did he do your original DS? Did he do your revision just last month? And did you really get your sleeve turned into a pouch?

Sadly, your listed surgeon's name is one I have seen many times attached to DS patients with these types of issues--not getting to goal, getting to goal and then regaining, diarrhea, etc. And you know what--he says it's the nature of the DS. Yeah, maybe the way he does them. I have had zero issues with diarrhea, gas, etc. I eat a wide variety of foods and

Have you kept in touch with his other patients? You may want to start a thread in the DS forum, asking his patients to PM you. I hear you blaming yourself and I can't help but think the blame lies elsewhere, since you are not alone in his patient list with these issues.

Take care,

Nicolle

I didn't realize that was the case.  I wish I could have done things differently but I can't go back in time.  I hope others have a better experience then I did and can choose a surgeon with a good reputation.  As I said before, by no means is my experience the norm and most people I know are very happy with their results,  although I have heard of people with very good surgeons that had regain.  I have heard that the body adapts to malabsorption, which I didn't realize.
I did have a pouch because I found that after surgery, over the years I must have stretched out my stomach and I could eat a large amount again.  I decided I really needed restriction.  My surgeon warned me I might not lose weight after my surgery and I didn't want to gain any more.  My sister and my cousin both had RNYs at the same time I had my DS and they have both kept off most of their weight 8 years later, which is more then I could say, so I decided to have my stomach made smaller.  So far I like having the restriction and the ability to feel full after a small amount. 

The current thinking is that the DS intestines do NOT regain their ability to malabsorb calories to the huge extent that the RNY intestines do (at about 18-24 months out). RNY intestines will continue to not absorb nutrients, though, so even if the caloric malabsorption fades, you still need to take vitamins for life.

If I remember correctly (and I might not be, so bear with me), the scuttlebutt about your surgeon was that he made stomachs very large (4-6 ounce volumes) and intestines very short. So, not as much restriction as most other DSes and more malabsorption (which could cause gas and poo issues). Sounds lilke that could be the case with you, too.

It sounds like you have a pouch now, not a stomach with a pylorus. Do you have a "blind" stomach off to the side now? If so, I assume he told you no NSAIDs for life, right? That seems to be something some RNY surgeons "forget" to tell their patients. I know--aaargh!!!!

I really hope you have success this time around.

Nicolle

I've never had ANY diarrhea. You had a crappy surgeon and you didn't eat right. I bet those two things combined to give you diarrhea, or at least to make it worse.

Fortunately, your surgeon no longer does his substandard DS. I'm sorry you had the misfortune to land with him before folks knew better :-( .

I'm glad you had a good experience.  As I said, I blame no one but myself.  I did not know that my surgeon no longer did the DS.  Probably for the best.  As I said, I did the best I could with what I had at the time.  I did not use this as a tool.  For people that do follow the guidelines and have a good surgeon this is the best choice.  It just didn't work out that way for me and for that I am sorry.