Anyone else considering having BDP/DS done?

I REALLY want the Duodenal Switch! I've done a TON of research over the past decade looking into bariatric surgeries and it is the BEST and most effective. The only pressing point is you must be RELIGIOUS about your vitamin and mineral supplements and getting in required protein due to the issue of malabsorption. 

If I had health insurance that covered it (I'm going to be a self-pay gastric sleeve)...I would do it TOMORROW! There is a great book, an Oprah bestseller, called 'Stranger Here' by Jen Larsen. She went from over 300 pounds to a slender 140 and she did the DS. The book is about her experiences as the weigh came off and how it affected her and her relationships with friends, lover, family. Great book by a woman who actually had it. She's now published a second book and is becoming famous! 

Oh Thank you for the information about the book. I will have to read it. I'm pretty set on the vitamin and supplements since I already take so many medications now. I'm hoping to replace the medicine with the vitamins and supplements. Plus, I need to have a knee replacement, back fusion and heel spurs removed. But no one will do those surgeries without have gastric bypass first. So now that it's a major health concern, I'm looking into the surgery. Because I was looking at gastric bypass as a cosmetic surgery and not medical instead now.

All weight loss surgeries are life-saving surgeries. They have nothing to do with vanity. Liposuction is 'vanity surgery.' But not any form of bariatric surgery. If your insurance will cover it, find someone in your area or a drivable distance who does the DS in a Center of Excellence. It will revolutionize your life! 

I'm having the BPD/DS done as soon as the authorization number comes in.  Financing is in place, hospital is in place, and my doctor is one of the best in the area. He actually teaches other bariatric surgeons how to properly do this procedure, so I'm in pretty good hands.  I chose this type of surgery because of the ability to take medications, including NSAIDS, and the relatively low regain rates.  I watched as my mother and brother killed themselves by overeating.  My parents punished us if we didn't eat enough--and enough was about 3 to 4 times more than what we actually needed.  We all have weight issues in my family and I refuse to be a victim of obesity.  For the record, my mother was against me even thinking of having this, or any weight-loss, procedure done.  The doctors tried to get her to have it done and she refused.  She's dead now.  She literally died from obesity.  It was horrible--she couldn't walk because she weighed too much and her bones would literally break anytime she tried.  She had diabetes, lost her eyesight to diabetes related macular degeneration, had a heart attack with open heart surgery, and became bedridden.  She took over 30 medications a day just to try to stay alive.  She was miserable and begged God for death many times, yet she refused to follow a diet and only ate what the doctor told her she didn't need to eat.  My father had her cremated because there simply wasn't a casket large enough for her body.  My brother committed suicide because he had so many weight related health issues.  Gout, diabetes, heart disease with heart attack--you name it, he had it.  I watched as he ate an entire 30 pound brisket by himself.  When the doctor told him he was going to die like my mother did, only at an earlier age, he killed himself rather than go through what she went through.  He weighed almost 700 pounds at his death.  Don't worry about nay-sayers--lots of people have negative opinions about surgery.  Do it for you.  Don't look back--just do what's best for you.  Live your life and be happy.

11 years post op DSer here. In short I regret nothing. Im at a weight I havent been since 5th grade. And actually holding at 105% lost, yes Ive had a few swings in there but it wasnt my eating causing it (rare genetic problem). 

Yes staying on top of vites and labs is crucial. Making sure you eat right. And have no problem being your own advocate.

And BPD/DS is an old outdated version & way to express the DS. Unless they truely are doing the BPD/DS to which I would be concerned but can lead a healthy life with it to. But now it is usually referred to as the DS, sometimes VSG/DS or GR/DS (gastric reduction).