questions

I love my ds, my quality of life is so much greater now than before! Dry skin and dry hair are both easily controlled things, a good moisturizer and conditioner have worked for me. My vitamins average out to maybe $100 a month, I buy when things are on sale and usually do a bulk buy off of amazon on my d3 and others I can't buy in the dosage I want at the pharmacy. Gas problems? You will get that with the rny too, I have two family members with rny and if they don't eat the way they should they have smelly gas too! Leaky bowels? I've never had a problem with that.

It's not hard to live the the ds life. As for protein supplements, a lot of people do very well after the first 6 months with no protein powder supplements, they can easily eat their 100-120grams of day in food form. Personally, I do 2 shakes a day (because I don't like eating first thing in the morning and use one as a 'snack' in the afternoon), not because I need to, but I figure if I'm putting food into my belly this is a better choice for me. 

A lot of people choose to revise to the ds because it does have the best long term success rate of all the bariatric surgeries. 

This decision is totally yours, and a personal one. It's up to you to decide what you can live with. 

I can appreciate your concerns. but keep in mind that people often post when they are having a problem and want help and suggestions, and that the vast majority of DS'ers are not posting because they are out there living normal lives and enjoying the health and quality of life benefits of the DS.

I respect everyone's right to post their personal experiences, but what I thinkk you are seeing is the extremes. I personally have never spent the amounts of money on vitamins that people are talking about. I buy the "dry" stuff from Vitalady (best prices around) as well as most of my calcium citrate, get regular multi-vits at CostCo, use regular drug store zinc and have actually had to cut back on zinc because my level was too high, have never had to supplement any of the B vitamins (which you would with RNY), etc. As far as protein goes, I get almost all of mine from real food and you can always be on the lookout for a good sale. Keep in mind that one of the advantages of the DS is that you don't have to worry about the fat content of your meat, so are not limited to, for example, just chicken breast or just 96% fat free ground beef, etc.

Dry skin - haven't had it. Hair falling out - yes, this will happen with ANY rapid weight loss, not just the DS, and it will come back. Gas? Depends what you eat, and I have a good friend with RNY who has gas poblems depending on what SHE eats as well.

You are already looking at a revision, I'm guessing from lap band. Do you really want to try another operation with a substantial failure rate? The DS has the best statistics of any wls for percentage excess weight loss, for maintaining that weight loss,and for resolution of almost all comorbidities. Yes, you can regain weight with any wls, but the regain issues are far less with the DS. You are fortunate to have a surgeon who is offering you this option. Many don't.

Larra

What Larra said!

I am 7+ years post op, and you see me respond to many inquiries, but make few posts of my own.  Why?  I have very few issues, and my life is pretty ordinary otherwise.  I've regained 15 of the 145 lbs I've lost - that's a mere 10%, and it came with fuller boobies, so who's complaining?  

My vitamins cost me around $40/month.  I get my dry vitamins online, and shop local banking on BOGO sales to stock up on.  I'm  able to eat the protein I need, so all is well.  (note:  You need to take many vitamins with RNY)

As for health issues, I enrolled in a life insurance policy, which required a physical and bloodwork as a condition of coverage.  The results came back with me being SO stinking healthy, that they sent me a check for partial reimbursement because I was changed to the super healthy lowest risk category.  How's that for health problems?

I get gas when I eat too much of some simple carbs.  The only time I've had leaky bowels was my first couple of weeks.  The only time I get diarrhea is when I eat something with raw milk or soft ice cream.  I can tolerate almost all dairy, but a glass of milk kills me.  Much of this is very similar to those with RNY as well.  Eating full fat is very liberating, and when people make comments about what my cholesterol must be, I'm happy to see their jaw drop when I share that my last read was only 120.

Now, you're getting a revision...and I'm guessing it's from LapBand.  If you're revising because of poor results, then I would recommend against the sleeve, for the method of loss (restrictive eating) is the same, and if it hasn't worked for you yet, I wouldn't expect much of a difference in results.  The malabsorption of the RNY and DS give you a definitel edge in changing your body's metabolism, which is why the success rates are higher long-term.  The RNY malabsorption changes after a year or two where you cannot count on it as much, however the DS is there for you in the long haul.  

Think long and hard about the nutritional requirements of the RNY and DS.  Both require you to be very diligent about your health.  If you don't think you can take it, then perhaps this is not a good time for you to be seeking a revision at all.

I'm 9+ years out from my DS, and it's improved my quality of life tremendously. Pre-op, I had oily skin and hair---now I have 'normal' skin and hair. My bowels have never 'leaked'. I did have some pretty substantial gas the first 6 months or so, but then things settled down, and I learned what gives me gas and what doesn't. (And this is a VERY individual thing---you'll have to learn it for yourself.)

I wouldn't say that most people who have a DS revised to it from other surgeries---but yes, a LOT of  people who are getting revisions now are revising to the DS from other surgeries. Is it possible to regain with the DS? Absolutely---but the odds of maintaining a significant weight loss are far, far better with the DS than with any other form of WLS. No WLS is a completely free pass---but the DS comes the closest.

I eat 2500-3000 calories a day. I eat a high-protein, high-FAT, moderate-carb diet, and I actually absorb around half of those calories---which makes maintaining a loss of 170+ pounds pretty darned easy.And tasty, too! (*grin*)

I have been very lucky in the supplement department so far.  I must have an awesome store of vitamins in my body, or I am eating very well.  I haven't had to supplement anything other than a twice daily multi-vitamin, twice a day calcium, and potassium because I take a diuretic.  I also take Vitamin D.  I was taking it pre-DS and could NEVER get it up (even doing therapies of 50,000 units per day for periods of time).  Now I take 2,000 units per day and my Vitamin D is great.  That's not to say I won't need to add things later, since I am only about 5 months out, but as my reliance on other meds to fix my co-morbidities goes away, I will most likely have to turn to the vitamins/supplements instead.  I think that's a much better trade-off.

And one of the best things about DS surgery is you get to (actually you need to) eat meat meat meat and fat fat fat.  I miss carbs - sometimes really bad, but I think I'll be able to manage on beef and pork and chicken and bacon and cheese and butter and....yummmmm

That's great, allegedlylisa!  You must have a longer common channel than I to be able to do that.

Mine is 75cm and I am highly malabsorptive.  If I don't mega-dose, I don't get enough to keep me away from deficiencies.