Hello OH. (Surgey choise flip-flopping)

Hi GL,

Thank you so much for your post.  You have experience with VSG and now new experience by adding the DS.  You stated that with the VSG you lost 100 lbs.  Could you please answer some questions?

1.) Is it that you wanted to loose more weight and that is why you added the DS?

2.) Has the DS helped you loose more weight as you had hoped?

3.) Did you have regain issues with the VSG after 4.5 years?

4.) Why do you say you wish you had gotten the DS from the beginning?  Is it because you endured the second procedure?  Or is it because you feel the VSG failed you in some way?

5.) Since your VSG was well healed for years before having the DS, did that make the recovery a bit easier or harder?  I hear it's a pretty rough time with the new VSG stomach for awhile.  Is it as bad with having the DS part done?

You input is very valuable.  I thank you in advance with anything more you can share.

Tim

yes,I. Had about 50# more to. Lose and simply couldn't get there. I lost about an additional 12 # after the DS but I believe I was given a single loop procedure which I don't recommend

i wish I had know pre op that I was going to need  the malabsorption component of the DS  and that the sleeve was not going to take me all the way. The sleeve failed In no way, in. Fact it still works great with restriction,I think for some us, the metabolism issue plays  a factor.  I would rather have not had two surgeries but needed a hiatal hernia repaired anyway so was heading back to surgery for that. 

I recover well for surgeries I general. My recovery from the sleeve was almost pain free after a week,and I was able to drink just fine and I. The appropriate amounts as soon as I. Was cleared frommy leak test. No nausea,no vomiting,no problem.my sleeve is awesome. 

I was able to.  Tolerate my food stages on target and could eat a variety. Of things onmy list right off. 

Recovery from the DS was a bit. Harder but not inthe way of pain. Or problems. I healed just like I did from the vsg with the DS. The difficulty came withlearningthe DS lifestyle,eating many more calories on a still small stomach( the sleeve made at the same time as the switch is.   Typically made a bit larger than a stand alone sleeve.)getting used to my. New bowel habits and getting my vitamins on track were the hardest for me.

i would see a little regain with the sleeve if I ate carbs,from the water the body has to hold to process hype carbs,butno real weight regain. I have had virtually no regain since the DS and that is with eating terribly over the last 6 months. I had plastics in January and my compression gRment was so tight icould only eat sliders so my carb monster woke up. I. Am still trying to get back on plan but even with the bad eating,I am maintaining,not regaining. I credit that to the DS.

it is a known fact that two part DSers don't lose as well as one partners. I think I would have gotten to goal if I had had the DS as a one part surgery instead of two parts.

glad to answer any more questions

holly

Hi Tim Im am an almost seven year old RNY patient. My only suggestion is to live daily in each moment and make the best decision that through your research will be best for your individual body given the current issues that you now currently are facing. Unfortunately everyones body will react either with conformity or rejection to each surgery differently. Best of Luck to You. 

Thanks diamondsparkle08.  I'm working on exactly what you are saying...

Congratulations on your seven years of success!

Hmm.  I was just talking about this with my Mom this morning.  She had a good point that I hadn't thought about: 

The two surgery plan is twice as dangerous.  Every surgery has risks, just taking the drugs and being in a hospital add up.  It will also be twice the pain and depending upon how you count it, twice the rehab time.  She also said "the old gray mare doesn't heal like she used to." :-)  And I think she was also trying to remind me not to take my health for granted.  Right now I am strong, very fat true, but strong.  In 5 years I could be fighting skin cancer or a car accident or ... (knocking on wood).   

I think I will take her advice.  Full ds.  Find a surgeon that knows what they are doing and then let them decide the rest. 

HI Tim!  I will be having a DS with Dr. Ungson in August, so let me know what you think of the hospital, the doc, and everyone if you don't mind?!   Anyways, my story is, I had just the VSG in 2009, did great with it! Lost 100 pounds, kept that for about a year, then, as the VSG has expanded, so has my waistline!  There is no more restriction for me, at least nothing that is going to aid my weightloss.  I started at 287 got down to about 190 and now I'm 267.  I didn't do the DS back then, because I was scared of it and VSG sounded appealing.  Truth is, back then, there was no 5 year data, now there is, and that data shows regain in large numbers. 

I can deal with the bathroom issues if they happen to me, I can be good about the vitamins, all that I can handle, what I cannot handle, is knowing that obesity is going to shorten my life by at least 10 years.  Not okay by me! 

Anyways, good luck on your journey whichever way you choose!  Anna.

Hi Anna, 

Thanks for sharing your situation. I'm sure you will be happy with the DS.  Most people are.  My surgery date is on July 29th.  I'll send you a message about how it went.  If you do not hear from me please do message me directly.  I may get distracted depending on how I'm feeling.  Thank you for your kind words.

Best Regards,  Tim

Hi, and no worries!  This is such a personal journey and a personal choice that it has to be comfortable all around.  I cannot wait to hear from you how it all goes!  Especially on your choice of surgery.  Good luck!! anna.

You do realize that the DS is a very customizable surgery, right? Most surgeons give their light-weight patients a longer common channel.

Also, you do absorb protein and carbs in the alimentary limb. It's only fat that can't be absorbed until it reaches the common channel and gets emulsified by bile. Protein and carbs don't need that---they break down just fine with chewing and gastric juices.

For me, I've always found it easier to DO than to NOT DO---in other words, it's a lot easier for me to toss back some pills 4 times a day that to resist temptation all day every day. And there's no WAY I could be happy eating 800 calories a day! I eat closer to 3000. Thanks to my DS, I only absorb about half of them, since I do eat a high-protein, high-fat diet.

I'm 10.5 years post-DS, and I definitely still have restriction. Some days I can eat more than I can on others, but on an 'average' day I can eat a small salad, a 6-ounce ribeye, a couple of bites of baked potato, and a yeast roll. I also have a glass of iced tea, and a little bit of dessert. I am actually more satisfied by this meal than I EVER was pre-op. I do experience hunger---and believe me, I'm glad, because on the dew days when I DON'T get hungry, eating is a real pain in the keister. But if I don't eat, then I get sick, so...

I was born with a VERY efficient metabolism. I swear I think my body was capable of storing 4 out of every 5 calories I ate. Dieting didn't really work for me---it just cranked my metabolism up to be even more efficient. The VSG absolutely would NOT have worked for me. The problem wasn't what or how much I ate, the problem was how my body handled that food. Without the change the DS caused, I would no doubt have regained every pound I lost. (BTW, I have had NO regain---and I eat every 2.5-3 hours, all day long.)

Bowel-wise, I'm VERY pleased. Pre-op, I was often constipated. Now, most days I poop twice in the early morning, and that's also when I pass 90% of my gas. Yes, it does stink---but then, it stank pre-op, too. (*grin*) The first six months I spent getting to know what my designer guts did and didn't like, and there just isn't anything that I can't have in moderation.

You may have wonderful success with the VSG, but...the things you have told us about your previous diet attempts make me think you WILL have to live on a starvation diet in order to keep the weight off long-term. I had been 'on a diet' for 35 of my 45 years when I decided on WLS, and I didn't want to live that way any longer.

Good luck, and keep in touch. Oh, and I absolutely would NOT get the SADI-S.