why did you choose the DS ???
(deactivated member)
on 7/26/11 2:00 am
on 7/26/11 2:00 am
i am just curious as to why you all chose the DS procedure for weight loss ??? i was told by my dr that i need to have a weight loss surgery done but i havn't decided which procedure i want to have done yet, any feedback would be greatly appreciated... even if it's negative feedback too.. thanks !
for me it was like this :
lapband: not enough weight loss, potential for vomiting too high , constant fills, too many negative experiences listed online
RNY: Vomiting, dumping, constant diet, blind stomach, no real stomach, some seriously ****** up negative experiences listed online.
DS: Honestly, i cant find any long term people that were miserable with their choice, the surgery makes more sense, you keep a stomach and have normal eating options open to you. Vomiting less likely.
I have issues with vomiting. Occasionally it happens to everyone, but i dont want to do anything to myself that makes vomiting daily likely.
lapband: not enough weight loss, potential for vomiting too high , constant fills, too many negative experiences listed online
RNY: Vomiting, dumping, constant diet, blind stomach, no real stomach, some seriously ****** up negative experiences listed online.
DS: Honestly, i cant find any long term people that were miserable with their choice, the surgery makes more sense, you keep a stomach and have normal eating options open to you. Vomiting less likely.
I have issues with vomiting. Occasionally it happens to everyone, but i dont want to do anything to myself that makes vomiting daily likely.
I know a few people who have had different WLS:
*One friend had the lapband. She has done magnificently well with it, having lost all of her excess weight and has kept it off for about five years now. BUT...she has to workout like a crazy person to maintain this. Me and working out don't really mix so well. She says she wishes she would have done a better job at researching before she had surgery because she wishes she would have chosen something else.
*My old NP had the RNY. She looks good now. For her first year, though, she looked like she had cancer and was sick all of the time. She says she wishes she would have chosen a different surgery type, and feels stupid as a medical professional for not doing a better job at researching.
*One of my employees has a lapband. She lost her insurance right after she had surgery, and has not been able to get a fill ever since because her surgeon charges $300 out of pocket for a fill. She has lost next to nothing, and when she eats too fast or the wrong things, she throws up.
*One of my customers had the VSG. She is two years out from surgery, and is still morbidly obese because she doesn't have that much restriction nowadays (our stomachs stretch the further out from surgery you get), and she didn't change her lifestyle (eating and exercising) to reflect what is needed to be successful with the VSG.
Sooo...sure you get the point. I was always struck by these peoples' stories, and by the tag line some people here on the DS forum use: "Think twice, cut once." I wanted to give myself the absolute best chances at living a "normal" lifestyle while being able to keep the weight off. So I started researching, researching, researching...meeting real life DSers to see what it was all about...and I finally figured out that the DS was going to give me the best of both worlds. I wouldn't change a thing. Life has been awesome for me ever since I had my DS almost a year and a half ago. I lost 100% of my excess weight and have quite effortlessly maintained that loss. I eat like a regular person, albeit in much smaller quantities, and have very few food intolerances. Yeah, I take a lot of vitamins, drink a lot of protein shakes, and get my labs done religiously - but to me, it's a very small price to pay in exchange for getting to feel normal for the first time in my entire life.
*One friend had the lapband. She has done magnificently well with it, having lost all of her excess weight and has kept it off for about five years now. BUT...she has to workout like a crazy person to maintain this. Me and working out don't really mix so well. She says she wishes she would have done a better job at researching before she had surgery because she wishes she would have chosen something else.
*My old NP had the RNY. She looks good now. For her first year, though, she looked like she had cancer and was sick all of the time. She says she wishes she would have chosen a different surgery type, and feels stupid as a medical professional for not doing a better job at researching.
*One of my employees has a lapband. She lost her insurance right after she had surgery, and has not been able to get a fill ever since because her surgeon charges $300 out of pocket for a fill. She has lost next to nothing, and when she eats too fast or the wrong things, she throws up.
*One of my customers had the VSG. She is two years out from surgery, and is still morbidly obese because she doesn't have that much restriction nowadays (our stomachs stretch the further out from surgery you get), and she didn't change her lifestyle (eating and exercising) to reflect what is needed to be successful with the VSG.
Sooo...sure you get the point. I was always struck by these peoples' stories, and by the tag line some people here on the DS forum use: "Think twice, cut once." I wanted to give myself the absolute best chances at living a "normal" lifestyle while being able to keep the weight off. So I started researching, researching, researching...meeting real life DSers to see what it was all about...and I finally figured out that the DS was going to give me the best of both worlds. I wouldn't change a thing. Life has been awesome for me ever since I had my DS almost a year and a half ago. I lost 100% of my excess weight and have quite effortlessly maintained that loss. I eat like a regular person, albeit in much smaller quantities, and have very few food intolerances. Yeah, I take a lot of vitamins, drink a lot of protein shakes, and get my labs done religiously - but to me, it's a very small price to pay in exchange for getting to feel normal for the first time in my entire life.
~Heather~
HW: 249/ CW: 130/ GW: 140
NoMore B.
on 7/26/11 2:28 am
on 7/26/11 2:28 am
I chose the DS primarily because it has the most effective results for weight loss and more imporantly maintenance of the loss long term. I did not want to go through the process and regain weight down the road.
I knew a restrictive only procedure (the LapBand or the Sleeve) would not work for me. I was a relatively healthy eater before surgery, and knew my metabolism was shot. I did not think I could get to my goal weight by purely reducing the amount of food I ate. I was pretty good at dieting and could not lose enough by just restricting intake, so I didnt think one of those "tools" would be helpful for me.
Eliminating restrictive only surgeries left me to choose between the RNY (gastric bypass) and the DS. There were too many negatives with the RNY: good potential for weight regain, horror stories of people vomiting and not tolerating foods, inability to take NSAIDS, etc. I did not want that.
The DS has literally been a life saver for me. I eat pretty much whatever I want, and maintain my weight (so far) at about 145 pounds. I do not have any bathroom issues, but white rice gives me cramps and too many simple carbs (like dessert) give me gas. I take lots of vitamins every day but it's a happy trade off for me.
As you do your research - this is very important - if you are interested in the DS you need to consult with a doctor who does the DS. (You can find them at www.dsfacts.com). There are many surgeons who say they do the DS and really dont, and then try to talk patients out of it. You really need to spend time here and get to know some DS'ers to get a good picture of what living with the DS is like.
Another thing I would recommend is to visit the revisions forum here. You will see a ton of posts about other surgeries and the struggles people have with them.
Also imporant to know - there are recent studies that show that weight regain after bypass is not necessarily the patient's fault. It has to do with glucose issues and the mechanics of the surgery with how your intestines get connected to your stomach. With the DS we maintain our pyloric valve and do not have the same issue. It's a sad mistake to think you can get gastric bypass and maintain control 100% yourself of weight regain. It's a real issue and not an easy one to deal with. There are more than a few people here that needed to revise from the gastric bypass (RNY) to the DS for either failure of the procedure to maintain their weight loss, or in other cases real physical problems caused by the RNY.
I knew a restrictive only procedure (the LapBand or the Sleeve) would not work for me. I was a relatively healthy eater before surgery, and knew my metabolism was shot. I did not think I could get to my goal weight by purely reducing the amount of food I ate. I was pretty good at dieting and could not lose enough by just restricting intake, so I didnt think one of those "tools" would be helpful for me.
Eliminating restrictive only surgeries left me to choose between the RNY (gastric bypass) and the DS. There were too many negatives with the RNY: good potential for weight regain, horror stories of people vomiting and not tolerating foods, inability to take NSAIDS, etc. I did not want that.
The DS has literally been a life saver for me. I eat pretty much whatever I want, and maintain my weight (so far) at about 145 pounds. I do not have any bathroom issues, but white rice gives me cramps and too many simple carbs (like dessert) give me gas. I take lots of vitamins every day but it's a happy trade off for me.
As you do your research - this is very important - if you are interested in the DS you need to consult with a doctor who does the DS. (You can find them at www.dsfacts.com). There are many surgeons who say they do the DS and really dont, and then try to talk patients out of it. You really need to spend time here and get to know some DS'ers to get a good picture of what living with the DS is like.
Another thing I would recommend is to visit the revisions forum here. You will see a ton of posts about other surgeries and the struggles people have with them.
Also imporant to know - there are recent studies that show that weight regain after bypass is not necessarily the patient's fault. It has to do with glucose issues and the mechanics of the surgery with how your intestines get connected to your stomach. With the DS we maintain our pyloric valve and do not have the same issue. It's a sad mistake to think you can get gastric bypass and maintain control 100% yourself of weight regain. It's a real issue and not an easy one to deal with. There are more than a few people here that needed to revise from the gastric bypass (RNY) to the DS for either failure of the procedure to maintain their weight loss, or in other cases real physical problems caused by the RNY.
Best CURE for Type II Diabetes which killed both my normal weight parents. I was on the fast track to that disease.
Best stats for LONG term maintenance. Who wants to loose weight just to gain it all back? Been there, done that.
If I had to have this surgery every year to have this success I would do it.
~Becky
Best stats for LONG term maintenance. Who wants to loose weight just to gain it all back? Been there, done that.
If I had to have this surgery every year to have this success I would do it.
~Becky
Once I read all the journals proving that the DS is the statistically superior surgery.. I was hooked.
Too many re-gainers with the RNY and there is no way in hell I'd have lost the weight I have lost, eating what I eat, with an RNY... Not sayin I'm a gluttonous pig... But I'm not starving myself and dieting hardcore!
Too many re-gainers with the RNY and there is no way in hell I'd have lost the weight I have lost, eating what I eat, with an RNY... Not sayin I'm a gluttonous pig... But I'm not starving myself and dieting hardcore!
448|180|199 5'10" 268 lbs gone!!
SW CW GW
Duodenal Switch
Surgery Date: July 30, 2010
Honestly, for me it really wasn't a choice between the DS and other procedures. Other procedures would have failed me, and I would have been unhappy with their limitations in diet and lifestyle. Given the superiority of the weight loss with the DS along with the superiority of the quality of life, other procedures were not serious options. My choice was between the DS or nothing. Easy choice.
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