Advice for someone looking at DS

Thanks for all of the feedback!  It's great to hear from others who have gone thru it already.  Any suggestions for what to do pre surgery for the next 5 months while I do my Medically Monitored Weight Management?

I wish I had started some of the vitamins pre-op (B12, D). I was never really into vitamins before. When I look back at the labs they ran leading up to the operation they ignored some things that were low normal at that time. It is a minor thing at this point because the surgery went fine and I had a smooth recovery. I love my DS - 4 months out.

7 years post-op and absolutely no regrets. Could have had gastric bypass at least a year sooner, but after reading extensively on OH and attending a local support group and meeting so many unhappy people with RNY who did great at first and then hit a wall, never lost as much weight as they wanted and instead struggled with weight regain, I knew RNY was not for me. Weight regain is a common problem with RNY, and the failure rate longterm is substantial.

The DS has the best statistics of any bariatric surgery for percentage excess weight loss, for maintanence of that weight loss, and for resolution of almost all coomorbidities. It works great for the "lightweights" of the bariatric surgery world but is esp useful for people with higher bmi's.

It's great that you're doing your research pre-op instead of having regrets post-op. I can't tell you how many posts I've seen from people who had other operations and wish they had known about the DS before they went under the knife. There is a lot of good info at dsfacts.com, including a list of DS surgeons. I've never seen the name you  have listed as a DS surgeon in over 7 years here. Choose your operation first, THEN choose the right surgeon.

Larra

The Surgeon I have listed works with Dr. Anthone who is nationally recognized for the DS.  So I have that on my side.  Dr. Anthone does not perform laparoscopic surgeries, and I do not want an open procedure.  Dr. Cronk is now offering DS laparoscopically  to  certain patients.

I have no co-morbidities so the risks of an open procedure do not out weigh the benifits.

When I went to my first information session for WLS, I just assumed that I would have the RNY.  I am ever so grateful to have learned about the DS that night.  I had never heard of it, and the few people I knew had had the RNY.  One of them is a woman I work with who had it about 10 years ago.  She has since regained every bit of weight she lost, plus some.  It hurts my heart to see her.  I just assumed (wrongly, of course) that she "let herself go", and just went back to old habits.  Maybe she did, maybe she didn't.  Not for me to judge.  I just know that that must be awfully devastating, to go through such a major life changing surgery, just to end up right back where I started.

That being said, I was still a victim of "buyer's remorse" my first month post op. BIG TIME.  3 months is definitely a turning point.  I can finally say, no regrets.  3 months post op, 62 lbs gone.  I'm seeing scale numbers I never thought I'd ever see again!  I was off my bp med within the first month.  And my back and knees pain is greatly improved.

So, yea, so far, so good.  And kudos to you for doing your research!

I am one of those who had the RNY first because not many Drs were doing the DS at the time. I wish I had it to do all over again because I feel so much time was waisted. Mine failed because of complications from a failed RNY. My surgeon who has been doing weight loss surgeries for many years says he now wishes he had done all of his surgeries using the DS as it is the platinum standard for weight loss. The success rate is so much higher with this surgery than any other weight loss surgery.I am not far enough out to recognize any long term side effects but do know you need to stay on top of your supplements. I am in the process of getting my protein levels up and vit A up a little higher but I believe that is pretty normal- especially fro a newbie like me.