PRE-OPS ONLY! Post-ops, read about the DS at your own risk.

If you have not THOROUGHLY studied the benefits of the duodenal switch (DS), you cannot make a fully informed decision about which surgery is the best one for you:

1. The DS has by far the best average weight loss of any of the surgeries – a statistical fact
2. More importantly, the DS has by far the best average LONG TERM MAINTENANCE of weight loss of all surgeries– a statistical fact
3. The DS has by far the best CURE RATE FOR TYPE 2 DIABETES, including LONG TERM CURE, even with weight regain (the others have substantial rates of diabetes returning, especially with the far more likely weight regain) – a statistical fact
4. The DS is suitable for ANYONE who qualifies for bariatric surgery, and not just SMOs, which has been recognized by the ASMBS, ACE, Medicare, and most insurance companies, even for BMIs >35 with a serious co-morbidity (especially if that is diabetes or hypercholesterolemia – a statistical fact
5. The DS has the easiest post-op dietary regimen of all of the surgeries – FAT IS YOUR FRIEND.  Little to no restriction on eating delicious high fat, high protein foods, because you don’t absorb much fat – and your cholesterol and triglycerides will plummet, without meds
6. Good DS foods include marbled steak, crab legs with butter, chicken WITH the skin, cheeseburgers with all the fixings (but hold the bun), scallops sautéed in butter, cheese of every sort, eggs – and BACON!
7. No dumping, no food getting stuck, no limitations on drinking with meals, no sliming or “productive burping," no fills and unfills, no stoma blockage, no marginal ulcers, no restrictions on taking NSAIDs

However, you should NOT consider the DS if you

1. Are too stupid to follow the simple rules of the DS: eat high protein, take your supplements, get your labs done diligently and adjust your supplements as necessary
2. Are too lacking in self-control to manage/time your overall intake of refined carbs to avoid weight gain and gas
3. Are too sheep-like to argue with your PCP or surgeon for the right to have the most effective WLS
4. Are too passive to fight your insurance company to get the DS, when most of them will LOSE on appeal
5. Are too cowed by doctors to stand up to them in the future, to explain what surgery you had and how your treatments need to be tailored
6. Are too submissive to advocate for yourself
7. Are too weak to be certain that you will ALWAYS ensure your access to necessary protein, supplements, lab tests and other medical care
8. Are too dim-witted or so brainwashed by Judeo-Christian “morality" to understand that eating delicious flavorful food that you enjoy and which is right for your anatomy is not sinful or gluttonous – it is wonderful!
9. Are so self-loathing that you feel you need to suffer to atone for your sins in order to enjoy life with weight loss surgery

Remember:

1. Insurance coverage for the DS is expanding all the time, and even if your policy does not cover the procedure you have a good chance of getting it covered on appeal
2. Only a qualified DS surgeon can help you figure out if the DS is for you - if you see a RNY surgeon, he is going to tell you to have a RNY
3. If you see a surgeon who SAYS he offers the DS, but then tries to talk you into something else, odds are you’ve gone to a “bait-and-don’t-switch" surgeon – check the surgeon list at DSFacts.com before you go.
4. WARNING: More and more insurance companies are instituting a “one bariatric surgery per lifetime" restriction on their policies, no matter WHO paid for the first surgery – and you may not get a second chance to have a revision if you pick a surgery that doesn’t work for you in the first place
5. Revision patients lose more slowly and lose less on average
6. Revisions are MUCH more dangerous surgeries than virgin surgeries
7. Think about the psychological damage it would cause you to work your ass off to work your ass off with a less effective surgery – only to have it fail

THINK TWICE, CUT ONCE!

For more information, please come over to the DS forum here, or go to www.DSFacts.com

I posted the below answer to the same thread this poster put on the RNY board...why she had to post it all over the boards...pure spite I'm thinking and nothing more......

This was not "paying it forward" by any means.  If I was pre-op and read something like this, it would have the opposite effect....I would run far away from having the DS!!  But I guess even bad press is good press...well I'm guessing over this post.

Again..why does it have to be a competition?  Why does one have to be superior over the other?  Tell me what positive comes out of all this high school behavior.

This post was malicious...period.  And yes..I will make full use of that block button because I can't stand people who behave this way.  I don't tolerate it in person and won't tolerate it here.

So getting your word out in this type of manner....definitely NOT supportive, positive nor paying it forward in any way, shape or form.

This post was not malicious. The superiority complex comes straight out of medical literature. If you hang around the revisions forum, then you will understand why People like Diana make these posts.

Posting to you because the HazelNutJob has blocked me.

I can only read the first few lines of her post in my email, but I can guess - she's got her knickers in a twist because she's a POST-OP (note: not my target audience) who is not happy to feel like her surgery has been dissed.  Obvious reading comprehension issues.

Why do I make these posts from time to time?  This is why: http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/DS/3484967/Who-benefited-f rom-DSers-posting-on-other-forums/

I copy and pasted this to the 20's forum also. I agree that it's ok to offend a bunch if it helps one person like myself to have a better surgery. I didn't even know that I could get revision to DS to fix my complications until I came across "rabid" DSers like you. 

And again.

Actually I haven't blocked you yet...I just chose to stop reacting based on my emotions because that is childish.  You enjoy calling me "names" such as Hazelnutjob....only proves my point further.  It takes away any credibility you may have had.

I don't feel my surgery has been "dissed" per se...I just feel that competition and down your throat tactics in an aggressive manner is never successful.  I do agree with you that ALL pre-ops should do their research and choose what is best for them no matter which procedure.  If there was basic information provided without calling someone "stupid" etc., the point would have come across as "paying it forward" and providing important information.  For many, it has the opposite effect and drives more away from DS. 

Again...I suppose even bad press is good press to some extent.

You "stirred the hornets" successfully I say congrats on that.  That feeling of self-satisfaction and feeling superior must really fulfill whatever is missing in your life. 

I weed aggressive, mean-spirited and childish people from my "real" life.  I don't have time nor do I want the negativity. 

This is the last post I'll make on this topic.  I'm going back to actually supporting people who need it, continue to learn things that I didn't know and avoid threads like these.

Uh, dearie, unblocking me this morning doesn't mean you DIDN'T block me last night.

Now, for the umpteenth time, this post wasn't written for you (unless your RNY fails you and you need to consider a revision, of course).

And thank you for helping to bump the thread with your oh-so-helpful comments on my posting style.  I'm sure I'll take them into consideration the next time I make one of these posts, and the time after that, etc.

Oh wait.  No I won't.  This tactic works.

Please feel free to block me again, because trust me, I have nothing to say that you want to hear.

 I seriously doubt Diana is motivated by spite.

I think you need to realize that most people don't have the full facts when making a decision.  If you make a fulling informed decision knowing EVERYTHING there is to know and still choose the RNY or the Band, great!  I hope it works out for you.  BUT I see wayyy too many people posting on the DS board saying "I was never offered this option - and I know it would have been a better fit for me."  All she wants is people to know what the options are.  

The fact that you are threatened by this says a lot about you.  

Quoted for posterity.