Undecided

I had my 1st consultation with my surgeon today.   I went in thinking I knew what type of surgery (VSG) I want but left thinking DS would be a better.  I am 28 and healthy (other than being obese).  My only concerns are recovery time & malnutrition.  Any advice?

BMI: 49

Keep reading and doing research. Dsfacts.Com is a great site if you haven't checked that out. You might also want to check out vitaladys site many of us that have had the ds follow her plan, it might give you a better idea of the vitamins we take. Best of luck.

 

Trish

Malnutrition is completely controllable by YOU.  Are you able to follow a plan to keep healthy, or will you forego taking vitamins and eating what you should?  If you cannot do that, then you need to second guess wls altogether.  Recovery times varies by person, from a few weeks to a couple months.  Plan on a month off to be safe with a window for more if you need it.  It depends on whether you want to be coddled at work or if you want them to think you're as tough as nails, showing no weakness when you return.  It's more inconvenient to need a second surgery because you didn't get the results you hope for from the first, yanno?

Hi there. I just had the DS switch done on 07/08.  I am also 28 and "healthy" besides being overweight (BMI 46-47). I went with the switch because I felt it had better long term results, it has been around so long it has been thoroughly studied as well. Our main goal (besides loosing weight) is to have a baby, and there have been numerous studies on babies after the switch. I was in a ton of pain after surgery, but I've never had surgery before and it should hurt - they moved all my insides around! However I was able to leave the hospital after one night and have been doing ok at home, I have even been able to drink all 48oz of liquid like they want. Regarding the malnutrition, we have to take our vitamins like medication - it isn't optional. I picked some chewables (they taste like the kid flinstone ones) and they are high in fat soluble vitamins (A D E K). We also have to get blood work yearly.  Let me know if I can help you at all, im just sleeping and walking round the clock :)

I was 28 when I had my DS last year. I'm almost a year post op now and couldn't be happier. I've lost 162 pounds in almost a year. I could never have done that without my DS. I have not had any health problems since surgery. Keep up on your labs, take your vitamins, and keep up on your protein. My labs are not perfect. I've been trying to get my vitamin A up the entire year, but that is manageable. I hope to continue losing to reach my goal, but honestly if this is it for me still 100% worth it.

 

I have before and after pics on my profile.

The deciding factor for me was looking back at my weight gain. On many different types of diets I was able to lose
weight but always ended up gaining more back. At the time of my surgery I had a BMI of 61 and that wasn't my highest
weight. I felt that with the DS I had the best chance to take it off and keep it off. So think about that when you are thinking
about the differences between the VSG and the DS.

There is a bigger percentage of people that gain back after VSG. Not everyone but you have to do some soul searching about 
what caused your weight gain and what you really need to keep it off.

As for recovery. I had a lap DS and if  pushed I could have been working in 2 weeks but I still got pretty tired in the afternoons.
I think 3 weeks before thinking about going back to work. I had no complications so mine was a straightforward recovery.

It took a little over 2 months to completely heal up. I started to get comfortable that I had a handle on eating and vitamins by
6 months but I'm still learning and gaining confidence at 15 months out.

Good luck.

Pete

The DS has the best statistics of any bariatric surgery not just for percentage excess weight loss, but also for maintenance of that weight loss. We see more and more people who have other operations and either never lose as much weight as they want, or regain after a couple years, or both.

Pete made a really important point about soul searching. Each operation has different requirements for longterm success, and it's so important to be honest with yourself about what you can and can't do for the rest of your life. With the DS, we have the most requirements for vitamins and protein. With the other operations, whether RNY or sleeve, you are required to follow a low calorie, low fat, low carb for the rest of your life (and some vitamin requirements also). Is that something, realistically, that you can and will do? These requirements rely initially on restriction, but the restriction wears off in time, and then they rely almost entirely on behavioral changes.

So do your soul searching. Be honest with yourself. That, along with your knowledge about the different procedures and how much benefit you can expect from each, will guide your decision.

Larra

Thank you all for your advice.  I am definitely doing my research and trying to decide what I best for my lifestyle. 

Knowing what I know now, and all that I went through and will go through, I'd definitely get the VSG.