RNY vs DS
Vanessa...please educate yourself fully on the DS before you count it out. A lot of what you said is not totally true.
1) You are correct that there are not as many surgeons that perform the DS. You will have to be an advocate for yourself. You will need to become an expert on your 'condition' and be able to relay that information to any doctor that you come in contact with. Many of us have DS emergency info cards/papers in our purses/vehicles in case of emergency.
2) You have to take vitamins with RNY as well. Some RNYers take more than DSers. You have to watch your labs and use that to tweak your vites. A lot of DSers start with the Vitalady list and adjust per labs. Having a RNY does not exempt you from taking vitamins. A lot of us use pill minders to set up our vites for a week or a month. That really helps!
3) I had a RNY and then revised to DS. Make sure that you are totally educating yourself on the RNY as well. It will not help you change your eating habits. YOU have to do that yourself. You may run into reactive hypoglycemia or dumping syndrome that will limit the foods you eat. After the 18 month honeymoon period, you will no longer malabsorb calories, however you will always malabsorb vites. It becomes very hard to keep the weight off with anything resembling a normal diet. With the DS I am able to eat savory satisfying foods in smaller portions (because of the smaller stomach) and be totally satisfied. I have to watch my carb intake (too much can cause gas) and make sure that I get enough protein and fat. You will be able to eat NORMALLY with the DS.
Read, read, read. Please, think twice and cut once.
1) You are correct that there are not as many surgeons that perform the DS. You will have to be an advocate for yourself. You will need to become an expert on your 'condition' and be able to relay that information to any doctor that you come in contact with. Many of us have DS emergency info cards/papers in our purses/vehicles in case of emergency.
2) You have to take vitamins with RNY as well. Some RNYers take more than DSers. You have to watch your labs and use that to tweak your vites. A lot of DSers start with the Vitalady list and adjust per labs. Having a RNY does not exempt you from taking vitamins. A lot of us use pill minders to set up our vites for a week or a month. That really helps!
3) I had a RNY and then revised to DS. Make sure that you are totally educating yourself on the RNY as well. It will not help you change your eating habits. YOU have to do that yourself. You may run into reactive hypoglycemia or dumping syndrome that will limit the foods you eat. After the 18 month honeymoon period, you will no longer malabsorb calories, however you will always malabsorb vites. It becomes very hard to keep the weight off with anything resembling a normal diet. With the DS I am able to eat savory satisfying foods in smaller portions (because of the smaller stomach) and be totally satisfied. I have to watch my carb intake (too much can cause gas) and make sure that I get enough protein and fat. You will be able to eat NORMALLY with the DS.
Read, read, read. Please, think twice and cut once.
RNY to DS Revision 4/29/2011
Dr. Henry Buchwald
"Think twice.....Cut ONCE"
The parts of "DS" that scare you are the parts that aren't such an issue with VSG. Have you considered the Sleeve? There are plenty of experienced surgeons who do it, particularly here in Florida (I had mine done by Dr. Kim in Celebration). It is part of the DS operation (the restrictive part), and became a standalone operation after patients who were at extreme high risk (60+ BMI) were sleeved as stage 1 of a 2-stage DS successfully lost weight.
There are any number of individuals on various VSG boards successfully maintaining in the 3-5 year range who started at quite high BMI's. In studies, the long-term success rate of VSG is simliar to RNY, but there's no lifelong malabsorption of nutrients, you get to keep your pyloric valve, ghrellin is greatly reduced, and IF you decide you've not lost adquately or maintained adequately, revising to DS is much easier than with RNY.
Just as a disclaimer, I'm 8 months post-op, but quite happy so far. The rubber meets the road at 2-3 years out, though. the VSG Maintenance forum is a good place to ask questions of vets, though.
There are any number of individuals on various VSG boards successfully maintaining in the 3-5 year range who started at quite high BMI's. In studies, the long-term success rate of VSG is simliar to RNY, but there's no lifelong malabsorption of nutrients, you get to keep your pyloric valve, ghrellin is greatly reduced, and IF you decide you've not lost adquately or maintained adequately, revising to DS is much easier than with RNY.
Just as a disclaimer, I'm 8 months post-op, but quite happy so far. The rubber meets the road at 2-3 years out, though. the VSG Maintenance forum is a good place to ask questions of vets, though.
Carolyn (32 lbs lost Pre-op) HW: 291, SW: 259, GW: 129.5, CW: 126.4
Age: 45, Height: 5'2 1/4" , Stretch Goal: 122 
I should add, with the RNY you will need to take a variety of pills for the rest of your life.
With my RNY, these are the meds I need to take daily, which is specific to my specific physiology. This regimen is what keeps my labs golden.
AM:
2 Multivitamin with Iron
2 Sublingual B12, which I need to let desolve under my tongue
1 Vitamin D3
1 Magnesium
NOON:
1 Calcium
1 Magnesium
PM:
1 Calcium
1 Magnesium
With my RNY, these are the meds I need to take daily, which is specific to my specific physiology. This regimen is what keeps my labs golden.
AM:
2 Multivitamin with Iron
2 Sublingual B12, which I need to let desolve under my tongue
1 Vitamin D3
1 Magnesium
NOON:
1 Calcium
1 Magnesium
PM:
1 Calcium
1 Magnesium
(deactivated member)
on 9/27/11 6:12 am - Woodbridge, VA
on 9/27/11 6:12 am - Woodbridge, VA
When I thought the RNY and band were the only WLS options, I was scared ****less! Then I discovered the DS and never looked back.
Vitamins: please don't be fooled for one second into think you can't have permanent damage caused by deficiencies after the RNY - you absolutely can, and I can name at least 5 frequent posters on this forum off the top of my head who could share some pretty scary stories. And most of them followed their surgeons' supplementation recommendations and had problems anyway. DS or RNY, either way, the vitamins (and labs) are to be taken very seriously.
Food: YOU change your eating habits, not your surgery. If you eat a bunch of junk even after the DS, YOU WILL REGAIN YOUR WEIGHT. There is NO surgery that results in the malabsorption of simple carbs (sugar, white flour, etc.).
The RNY scared me because of the potential issues associated with bypassing the pylorus, including dumping syndrom and reactive hypoglycemia. According to actual studies, the DS has better initial weight loss, better long-term maintenance of weight loss (important to me since I had surgery when I was in my 20s), higher rates of resolution of most comorbidities (type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea)...oh, and this didn't matter for ME since I'm allergic anyway, but being able to take NSAIDs after DS is an important consideration for some as well.
Vitamins: please don't be fooled for one second into think you can't have permanent damage caused by deficiencies after the RNY - you absolutely can, and I can name at least 5 frequent posters on this forum off the top of my head who could share some pretty scary stories. And most of them followed their surgeons' supplementation recommendations and had problems anyway. DS or RNY, either way, the vitamins (and labs) are to be taken very seriously.
Food: YOU change your eating habits, not your surgery. If you eat a bunch of junk even after the DS, YOU WILL REGAIN YOUR WEIGHT. There is NO surgery that results in the malabsorption of simple carbs (sugar, white flour, etc.).
The RNY scared me because of the potential issues associated with bypassing the pylorus, including dumping syndrom and reactive hypoglycemia. According to actual studies, the DS has better initial weight loss, better long-term maintenance of weight loss (important to me since I had surgery when I was in my 20s), higher rates of resolution of most comorbidities (type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, sleep apnea)...oh, and this didn't matter for ME since I'm allergic anyway, but being able to take NSAIDs after DS is an important consideration for some as well.
I miss my NSAIDS. If i could have found a DS doctor in my local area I would have gone for a DS...
I am only two years out from RNY and while I love the results I worry constantly about regain....
I think I would have less worry with DS.
other than that it's about the same for me of course I can't take NSAIDS....
I am only two years out from RNY and while I love the results I worry constantly about regain....
I think I would have less worry with DS.
other than that it's about the same for me of course I can't take NSAIDS....
Nessa
Ticker is from Day of Surgery.. weight goal is personal preference as I've MET my doctor's goal
--
HG/SW/CW/GW
286/253/150/151
Ticker is from Day of Surgery.. weight goal is personal preference as I've MET my doctor's goal
--
HG/SW/CW/GW
286/253/150/151
I was scheduled for an RNY when I learned about the DS. Once I did, I cancelled the RNY and never looked back.
I was 45 when I had WLS, and I knew the DS was the best choice for me because I knew I was terrible at dieting, and I was tired of the struggle. As someone said in a recent thread, I knew that I would behave pretty much the same way post-op as I did pre-op---I'd been on enough diets to KNOW that I was incapable of making PERMANENT changes to my eating patterns. I needed a WLS that would work with those behaviours, not try to force me to change them.
It's worked out very well. (*grin*) I'm coming up on eight years now, and I've had zero regain. I don't count calories, and I eat what I want, without guilt. Life is good.
I was 45 when I had WLS, and I knew the DS was the best choice for me because I knew I was terrible at dieting, and I was tired of the struggle. As someone said in a recent thread, I knew that I would behave pretty much the same way post-op as I did pre-op---I'd been on enough diets to KNOW that I was incapable of making PERMANENT changes to my eating patterns. I needed a WLS that would work with those behaviours, not try to force me to change them.
It's worked out very well. (*grin*) I'm coming up on eight years now, and I've had zero regain. I don't count calories, and I eat what I want, without guilt. Life is good.
Most Active
Recent Topics
