RNY or DS ?? help!

Hello everyone! I am new here. My current weight is around 300 my height is 5 feet 3 inches. So that makes my BMI I believe a 54? It is higher than 50 I know that much. I have read books, I have been stalking this website for months, looking on youtube, and a million other places for info.

 

Background : i have been heavy all of my life. I am 24 years old. I am done having children as well.

 

Okay. So I am stuck between RNY which my mother in law had and the DS which my grandfather in law had. My MIL has gain some of the weight back (about 30 pounds she got it done in 2005 ) while my GFIL has not gain noticeable weight.

I really would like the best results. I am trying to find out the difference in how many vitamins you have to take between the two. It seems like with either one I will be popping them all day so what is the difference. I am leaning more toward the DS because the rate of long term weight loss is greater. I have had my information session at my bariatric unit. I am currently waiting on the next step but would like to try and figure out what is my best option.  

Good luck on your journey. I am a VSG'er so I do not have any experiences with the surgeries you are leaning towards. I am sure both surgeries have people from both surgery experiences that have lost the weight and kept it off or lost the weight and gained it back.

The surgery really is just a wonderful  tool to help you lose the weight. Changing your lifestyle is the real way to stay a winner. Head hunger is real, and even though we aren't really hungry our old habits cause us to binge. Carbs are the enemy and the minute we start eating them again, we start to stop losing or worse, regain. That is the sad truth. Moderation is the key, along with exercise and portion control. 

My pouch gets very painful when I try to overeat. Have you thought about the VSG? 

I wish you the best in your journey. This has been the absolute best thing I have ever done in my battle of the bulge and I thank God and Blue Cross IL everyday for the opportunity to get fit and get the chance to be who I always wanted to be.

Best,

 

Sharon

I am about your height and I weighed in at 355 lbs, the day of my surgery.  I had surgery on 12/12/11.  I have lost down to 236.00 lbs.  I had gastric bypass.  I chose it on the advice of my doctor and because it has been around longer.  I do not regret it.  I wish I would have done it years ago, but am thankful that I had it done.  The difference it has made in my life is unreal.  I take vitamins twice a day and a vitamin b-12 shot every two weeks.  I am good with that.  Good Luck and Best wishes. 

I have to say, I wouldn't PERSONALLY consider either of them, but of the two, I'd probably do the RNY as the malabsorption of nutrients is less permanent and less drastic from what I've read.

Best results, IMO, come from the efforts you put in to change your habits, not from any one surgery over another. (thus speaks the pre-op)

I had RNY and am 16 months out.  I started at 320 (highest measured weight, I really dont know what my highest weight was) and I am 5'5".  My weight ranges between 158-161 and I wear anywhere from a size 8 to 10.   So far I havent had any issues.  I would have gone with VSG had I known my knee was so bad.  With RNY NSAID's are a no-no, and I do miss them.  I am not well educated about DS so I have nothing to offer as far as one surgery vs the other.  What has your surgeon said? Mine did tell me he thought VSG was going to be the new "gold standard" for WLS but he was not as comfortable doing that surgery and I was fine with the RNY.  Best of luck, its a tough road and I dont think its easy, but I am still so thankful for my surgery and the second opportunity I have to be active and dare I say it: an athlete.  :-)

Hi,

 

I personnally didn't really care who had what and when, when it came to make my final choice because I figured I AM THE ONE living with it, I AM THE ONE that will have to make it work.

They are all excellent surgeries.  Personnally I chose VSG to not change my internal function, with the possibility of going for a DS if, because lots of wrong (I now know they were wrong but didn't know then) people kept telling me VSG would only do half the job (I had 200 pounds to lose).

So wishing you to best decision FOR YOU!  Keep asking question, but do not just go for what MIL or FIL had, go for what YOU want, need, and feel good with!

 

Karine.

I think that if you know you want a malabsorptive procedure I'd go for DS.  Keep your pyloric valve.  It's one of the reasons I chose VSG.  DS will require a great deal of supplements and so will RNY.  You will have to be very diligent about taking them.  If you do get DS you need a good surgeon that has experience with this procedure.  I had a starting BMI of 62 and have done well with VSG (my BMI was 48 the day of surgery).  Lol DS was kind of my plan B.  I was going to have that if VSG wasn't approved for me.  You should talk to the people on the DS board they are a little like, "oh my surgery is the best surgery," but they mean well.  Just remember no matter what surgery you choose the work will be up to you.  It’s not magic!  Damn it!  I wanted it to be magic! Lol…The real factor of success and long term weight loss…well it’s you that makes the difference.

If I had to make that decision, i would 100 % go with a DS. Both require vitamin supplements for life. Yes, DS is more aggressive but that is why it has such great stats.

Do your own research. With a RNY, you are going to get a pouch that prohibits you from taking NSAIDS, you lose your  pyloric valve and replace it with a stoma which is succeptible to stretching...it leads to a relatively high rate of long term reactive hyperglycemia. You may or may not deal with dumping. You may have to worry about ulcers. 

 

The biggest kicker - after all those down sides - you ultiumately end up with a restrictive only procedure because you will after 18 mo-2 years start absorbing all of your calories again...just not vitamins. Not a very good trade off. For those of us starting with a high BMI looking for malabsorption as a tool - the DS is really the way to go. 

I had a VSG so I am not claiming to be an expert in RNY or DS...so its important to research research research. I do know from the few times ive peeked in the RNY forum, a lot of people only had the RNY because insurance didnt cover VSG. A lot of people would prefer to keep a normal but smaller functioning stomach. 

Im 27 and have also been overweight all my life... with a BMI of 52 and am currently having the DS done in 2 days.

Why I did i choose the DS?

-Pyloric valve is kept so less digestive issues

-Overall higher rate of success at losing weight and keeping it off ( i see ton of failed RNY stories... havent seen a DS story yey)

-Compared to the RNY the initial risk and post-op vitamin regiments aren't significantly different

Lastly...

I tried to find the best surgeon/hospital within reasonable distance from where I live... which based on my research and allot the reviews on this site was the Bariatric clinic at Lenox hill... and they no longer do the RNY because of the high failure rate when it comes to weight loss retention( only band, Gastric Sleve, and DS).