Why do people bash the DS surgery?

SirSamAlot
on 9/5/11 3:35 am - Ellenwood, GA
I know this has probably been asked before, but I don't understand why many people, specifically adults, believe that the DS is the worst weight  loss surgery compared to all the other wls. I'm a teen and I know that it isn't bad as the other surgeries and is actually just as good. Yes it has its problems like any to other surgery or procedure in the world, but some of the problems you, the surgeriers (if that's a word) can prevent it. Mal-nutrition can be prevented by taking your vitamins everyday when it is time to and getting your labs done every six months to a year. You stop any weight gains or "damage" to the DS by not eating carbs, mainly simple carbs, if that is the sugary ones if I'm correct, and you usually gain weight back , because you are gaining muscle, if you exercise. And finally you get a bone density scan every 2 years atleast to see if your bones are weakening from not get enough calicum or other vitamins (I maybe wrong about this point). I don't know if some adults are more gullible to believe in things about a subject that is serious and can be life or death, than many kids are. If someone says the DS is bad, you should atleast spend a hour or more researching the DS and then comparing it to other surgeries. Though I'm young, I've decided that I will wait until my 20s to get the DS, because I spent hours researching the DS and comparing to other wls on ggole and on this forum, if there isn't a better procedure out by that time. All you have to do is research and you can get the truth. Don't believe everything you hear. Rant Over!

Samuel E. 
5'10
300 to 310lbs
A teenager seeking the VSG.

(deactivated member)
on 9/5/11 3:57 am
I don't really have anything to add other than your parents must be very, very proud of you.  I read your posts and I cannot believe you are only 15.  Blows my mind. 

Typically people bash what they don't understand - that applies to a lot of things in life.  If they studied, like you have, they would know that it is no worse, and in many ways superior to other WLS.

PS, glad you decided to wait.  You've still got growing to do.  Once your body has settled in, then make the decision. 
SirSamAlot
on 9/5/11 4:04 am - Ellenwood, GA
I kind of decided to wait, because I chicked out about telling my mom about what I want. I'll probably tell her my senior year about it, since then she will see me older, because to her, usually, older age = more maturity.

Samuel E. 
5'10
300 to 310lbs
A teenager seeking the VSG.

Mdae
on 9/5/11 8:54 am
my mom was dead set against WLS of any kind when i broached the subject of the DS with her.  (I am a grown woman, btw)

we have several relatives that went the RNY route, and ofcourse gained every pound back and then some, plus have other issues.  my explaining the DS and its differences did very little to convince her that it was a good idea.  then we went to a support group (I had been several times previously), where not only could she see several vets (and watch them eat/hear their stories), but she also got to hear Dr. Rabkin speak.  He explained very thoroughly why traditional diets fail, and the differences between most different WLSs.  she became such a convert, that after I had surgery, she encouraged my sister to have it as well.  We have a family history of pancreantitis and diabetes, that we're unlikely to have to worry about now. 

anyway, i just wanted to encourage you to try and talk to her, and if she's resistant, help to educate her about it as much as you can.



Gina1013
on 9/5/11 3:59 am - Canton, OH
 I initially was going for RNY..I have all of my pre-op requirements/clearances met..I was spending a lot of time on OH learning about it. Up until I came on OH, I thought that there were only 3 surgeries out there..THEN I learned about the DS. Deciding after much research that it is a MUCH better option for me given my extremely high BMI ...AND it is covered by my insurance! 
  NOW, I am in the process of trying to get the DS (if I can overcome a small financial hurdle) I think that if people really take the time to learn about the DS they will find that, with a skilled surgeon, it is a superior surgery in many aspects. 
  I haver seen posts that people who have had the other WLS would have preferred the DS, but their insurance didn't cover it or they couldn't travel.
  I saw your post the other day (I lurk and try to learn as much as I can) and I am very impressed with your maturity. You seem to be investigating things a lot more in depth than many people who have already HAD surgery. I wish you the best!




    
Weight at consult 7/14/11:  413
        
Twi light
on 9/5/11 4:03 am - NY
i once read on another forum that someone was getting divorced post DS because her husband could not stand the smell of her farts. And then i read that another woman had to be segragated from her  coworkers because of her toxic farts. .... I guess someone with a DS farted around a non DSer and rumors began that the DS is a toxic smelling fartmare.

Adults are really no better than children, jelousy probably has something to do with it, DSers have more normal diet post up and less sideffects. Many belive it is the easy way out i guess, people feel that you should have to struggle to get that weight off, struggle with a pouch, struggle with vomiting, struggle to keep it off. I am not saying that DS is a free ride, but incomparision to the other options, it sort of is.
        
PattyL
on 9/5/11 4:07 am
 People are afraid of things they don't understand.

For 15, you are way ahead of the curve.  Keep on and don't give up.  I believe there was a young man who was not much older than you when he had a DS and there was a Discovery Channel program on his story.  I think his name was John?  See if you can find the show.
SirSamAlot
on 9/5/11 4:13 am - Ellenwood, GA
I found it! The show was called Big John and Dr. Husted was featured on the show. He was only 17 when he got the surgery and was 400 pounds, but within 20 months he was down to 225 and was finally able and ready to be a teenager.

Samuel E. 
5'10
300 to 310lbs
A teenager seeking the VSG.

(deactivated member)
on 9/5/11 4:07 am - San Jose, CA

1) Surgeons who aren't competent to perform it ba**** because they don't want you to spend your money (or your insurance company's money) with someone else.

2) Patients who have another surgery ba**** because they don't want to believe that they might have made a bad or uninformed choice.

3) Insurance companies ba**** because it is more expensive than the other surgeries, and they don't want to pay for it.

4) All of this is aided and abetted by ignorant or deliberate confounding of the DS with the JIB and the BPD, which are never or rarely (in the case of the BPD) performed anymore, because they are crappy surgeries.  All malabsorptive surgeries are not the same - and I will repeat for the umpteenth time that we and the DS surgeons should NOT be calling the modern DS the BPD/DS because it makes it easier to assign the issues of the BPD to the DS.

newyorkbitch
on 9/5/11 5:05 am
I think this is too simplistic.  Things happen.  It's easy to say oh just take vitamins and eat enough protein....but that is not always enough for everyone.  Nor is it so easy just to "watch the carbs" - the DS works on the guts,  not the brain or the psyche. 

Try "watching the carbs" now to see how difficult it is.  Don't eat any sweets or simple carbs for 2 weeks and see how you do.

I think some surgeons (clearly not all) discourage the DS because they have simply seen too many people get sick, become malnourished,  anemic,  etc etc...
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