Needing some honesty please! ALL info on DS
Read everything you can find about both of the surgeries. There are huge risks with both surgeries.
Search for the cons of both. We all know the pros. They are what we are looking for in the first place, weight loss and better health.
I traveled 6+ hrs by car to have my surgery done. There are alot of people who travel alot farther. It is important to get a good surgeon.
Be sure and don't make your decision based on what a surgeon tells you. Educate yourself.
Kathy
You are less than 200 miles from Dr. Daryl Stewart in Denton, TX. Many of us in Houston went there for our DS, and I have never heard of anyone who was unhappy with him. He is very experienced in this surgery - which is critical when you are talking about a surgery that is, yes, diffiult and potentially dangerous when done by an inexperienced surgeon or performed on a non-compliant patient.
I know people from all over Texas, as well as all of the surrounding states that have had their DS done by him. Call his office to schedule an appointment where you can learn more and meet Dr. Stewart, so that you can have him address your concerns.
Hi,
I'm a Okie from Midwest City. You are right there are no DS surgeons here in OK. I'm fixin to call Monday, Dr. Daryl Stewart in Denton, Texas. He has been recommended to me by some folks here on this forum.
Best Wishes!!!
Virgie Tschirhart
Lap Band - 2008, Sleeve - 2009, RYN - 2017
Started Program Weight July 13, 2017 - 194.2
Before Surgery Weight December 27, 2017 - 185.0
Current Weight - February 2018 - 161.0
The nearest DS surgeon is Dr. Stewart in Denton. Again, as others have suggested, you need a consult with a surgeon who does all the procedures.
Travel is a hassle, but doable. I had an RNY and traveled from Oklahoma to California for a revision,
Please weigh your decision carefully. As I am in OKC, feel free to PM me if you are interested in getting together for coffee to discuss your concerns.
-Gail-SW 257 CW 169 GW 165
Read this material for yourself, so you can make this crucial decision based on the facts and your personal needs, not on the basis of somebody else's financial considerations or ignorance. (And ignorance about the DS is rampant in the health care industry.)
My experience: I lost all my excess weight rapidly, along with co-morbidities associated with obesity. I had a rapid, painless recovery, don't even have surgical scars, and feel absolutely wonderful. I have had no bad side effects. I have no gas or bowel issues, and can eat any foods I want.
Of course, I am diligent about getting in enough protein (had steak and eggs and cheese, along with fruit and coffee, for breakfast today) and take all the supplements I need to maintain my health. But that's easy. Real easy, in fact. I do loosely limit my simple carb intake, but that doesn't stop me from being able to eat like a normally fit person.
Except for some excess, empty skin (hidden by clothing), nobody watching me eat and live my daily life would ever know I used to weigh twice as much as I do now. In fact, I feel so normal, that it's hard to remember my former life as a fat person.
The people I personally know who had the DS about the same time I did seem to have had the same results. Almost all of them have disappeared from this site, as I also have, for the most part, because we are too busy living our lives now. There are people here who have faced challenges, sometimes of their own making and sometimes because things don't always go perfectly with major surgery of any kind. But I believe the DS is the best way to go.
I was on my way to an RNY, and I was not happy because everybody I met at the RNY support groups had a list of complaints about it. Eating seemed like an ordeal for them. Life remained a big dieting challenge, along with fighting weight re-gain. Finding this Board kept me from the RNY, and that's why I occasionally visit it and respond to newbies seeking real-world info.
Good luck...and please read the science for yourself. I'm sure you can find a lot of it here.
Michael
1. My poop stinks. Does yours?
2. My farts stink. Don't yours?
1 and 2 are almost entirely ameliorated by avoiding foods that make them happen more often and stink worse. Once or twice a year my gut gets out of balance with the bacterial population. For that I take Flagyl for a week and then repopulate with "good guys" from probiotic therapy. Easy peasy.
3. I have a persistent vitamin D deficiency. That's just one chronic condition, which could have long term effects on my bones and teeth, compared to the fact that I was 240 pounds overweight and dying.
In my world, none of these things are problems. You just need a real DS surgeon. The closest one to you is Dr. Daryl Stewart in Denton, TX. You'll have to travel for a DS. That's fine, many if not most of us had to travel. It's not that hard.
In October, I will be three years post-op from the DS. I live on the border of Kansas and Oklahoma, so I'd checked with surgeons in Oklahoma regarding weight loss surgery and had come to the conclusion that I wanted the gastric sleeve. All my family lives in Oklahoma, so that's why I was looking there (for post-op ease of family care).
I decided to check with a surgeon who was instate - in Topeka - and she was the one who told me about the DS. She would have allowed me to have the RNY if that was my decision, but she strongly recommended the DS, so I started doing my research. Her name is Dr. Bernita Berntsen - Tall Grass Medical Center in Topeka.
What I discovered was that there were LOTS of people who had the RNY ---- and failed. It worked for awhile ... but there were significant reasons for me to consider the DS. I liked that with the DS, the pyloric valve is still in place ... and that I could still take the medications that I needed (at that time) for pain. The scariest part to me was that in the DS, they would remove the part of the stomach that is no longer used, but it also made sense to me.
I was extremely obese and my surgeon was not only willing to do the surgery (which many were not willing to do at my weight) but she was also willing to do it lap and she did --- with NO complications. As of today, you have to search to even find where the incisions were.
Someone posted once that the RNY is the "gold standard" of weight loss surgery ... but that if so, then the DS is surely the "platinum standard" ... I have NO regrets for making this choice. I have an entirely different life than I did three years ago. I've begun the process for reconstructive plastic surgery, and I weigh less than I've weighed in 30 years.
The MOST significant reason to have the DS are the stats on losing and maintaining weight loss. I'd lost before -- even 150 pounds at one point - but I'd been totally unable to maintain weight loss - ever. I am truthfully stating to you that since I've had surgery, I have not regained even one pound. Even when I am most non-compliant, the worst that has happened to me is that my weight loss has slowed or maybe I've stayed the same that week. I cannot tell you what a psychological relief this is ... to know that it would be "nearly impossible for you to regain the weight" after this procedure.
I have NO regrets. Any side effects are easily controlled by diet ... and I never FEEL like I am on a diet. My focus has truly become "what do I need to eat today to get my protein" instead of "what am I craving that I can never have".
Do the research. Topeka is not that far from where you are.
You can contact me here if you have more questions. I will try to check back soon.
Jc
