Don't mind me I'm venting...:(

I am soo sad....all over the news you see them talk about how the nation is so obese and we have to take care of this...but then when an obese person such as myself decides to fix the problem does the Ohio Medical card want to help...oh god no....I was seeking the Duodenal Switch surgery not to knock the RNYers but with the DS I have researched and it seems there are SOO many more advantages, just to name a few the overall excess weight loss is greater WITH little or no regain...the RNY after the 'honeymoon' period look out because then the weight battle begins again...I have a friend who had this done and she battles constantly, with the DS there is no battle...but the med card doesn't have a code for this so from what I understand they don't cover it...soooo I guess maybe I'll look into financing the DS if that's possible...sorry about my mini vent... ~Tema~

Tema - I've seen banners/ads for the Duodenal Switch, but can you tell me exactly what it is and how it differs (surgically) from the RNY? I had never heard of it before visiting this site. Thanks!

I will tell you what I know but if you want to know more there is a forum for the duodenal switch and it shows the diagram. With the duodenal switch the surgeon can do lap or open usually they do lap and they usually remove the gallbladder while they're in there for you, they remove like 80% of your stomach and leave your stomach in the shape of a banana-I read somewhere that the outer curvature is where the 'hunger' pains come from so that is nice, you can take your meds in pill form- I have heard that most rnyers usually have to do liquidform or could block their opening, dsers do have to take vitamins but do not have to do protein shakes as I know that some rnyers do, dsers do not dump and can handle food better than rnyers, the amount of weight loss is like (based on different sites) 80-95% loss of excess weight with little or no regain permanently (how great is that?), after the stomach is reformed the surgeon takes the last 75-100 cm of intestine and attaches that to the stomach so there is alot less absorption. Here are some things I have found out from people on the ds message boards profiles, one lady went bad and was eating like only bad things like junk, candy stuff like that and she had gotten down to a size 8 well she ate whatever she wanted as much as she could handle whenever she wanted and do you know what the repercutions were? She got up to a size 10 and had alot of gas and diarhea..so that was nice to know what happens but the thing is sugary foods will absorb faster so they are really bad but greasy foods go like straight through you so you get diarhea and gas. So if you do go bad for a while that's the worst that will happen and that's not horrible, with RNY you go bad and you throw up from what I understand, well until you get further out anyhow then you just put on weight more and more and more and that is awful..That is all I can think of with the ds but check out the forum it is so interesting and from what I understand it is like a new and improved RNY and I don't really understand why ins. companies don't like refuse the rny and only do the ds, it's easier on you as far as getting sick so it makes me wonder...I hear all the time about rnyers (not meaning to offend) gaining their weight back and I feel bad because of all they've went through to be back at square one when they could have had the ds from the start and be set...I have tried and tried and tried to find anyone with something bad to say about the ds and I can't find a single bad thing from anyone anywhere....well unless they haven't researched it and don't know much about it, those are the only ones with anything bad to say..and then there's the people who are like 'OMG you're having that wls done? I know of a lady who died JUST the other day from that!!!' I say 'Welllll how old was she? Which surgery did she have done? How much did she weigh? Did she smoke? Was she on oxygen? What health problems did she have?' Of course you know their answers were 'I don't know but....um surgery is dangerous' well yah but the death rate is the same with all surgery and it all depends on the patient and what was going on with them....those are the people with the bad things to say....but I don't knock the RNYers I just wish more people were informed about the DS and more surgeons did it and more ins. companies would research it...thanks for asking though!!

Thanks for the info! I think it will be very interesting to see what kinds of advancements are made in this field in the next few years.

I would love to hear some more views of the med profession about this. I was sold on it at first too. It just seemed too good to be true to me and was what I wanted. I ran into blocks as you did. I have heard however tht the gas and diarrhea can be debilitating. That some people actually can't leave home because of it. That would put me back to square one. But what are the chances? I really would like to hear more. Good luck! PJ

I've heard a lot of tremendous things about the DS, but the one bad thing I heard was very bad. Since your intestine is soooo much shorter there are serious and sometimes life threatening malabsorbsion issues. I know that the doctor who did Carnie Wilson's RNY stopped doing the DS because of all the malabsorbsion issues his DS patients were having post op. Other than that everything else about the DS is true, you do lose more weight and you are much less likely to gain it back. There also is no dumping to deal with (however I am of the opinion that dumping is a good thing, its behavior modification therapy that most of us morbidly obese people need to avoid that which we shouldn't be eating in the first place) Also I wanted to correct something you said. Many RNYers can take whole pills. I was required to crush mine for the first six weeks, but now I can take anything that is a 'normal' sized pill, like say the size of a tylenol. If its bigger than that I break it in half, I don't even have to crush and I definitely don't have to take anything in liquid form. Something else I wondered about the DS... a friend of mine has had it and she said she has to get in 80-100 grams of protein a day, I was told to get in 50-55grams a day. Does she need more because less is being absorbed?? I don't know how the eating thing goes with the DS, but there is no way in HECK that I could get in that much protein. Sadly I often fail to get in the 50-55 grams a day that I am supposed to. I usually get to 40-45 when I have to quit for the day. Just wanted to present the other side .... now having said all that, i think its terrible that they won't let you have the surgery of your choice because there is no 'code' for it. that is the lamest excuse ever!! Jen 345/285/180

The intestine thing from what I hear is usually not a problem but there have been cases I have heard about that were and in that case the patient just goes in and has a revision done and they I believe give them more intestine, I think first though they may tell them to up their calories. The protein I'm not sure of but can't you just take a pill that may have protein in it? My friend Melissa from the DS message board said that if I just go and get an obesity attorney that I shouldn't have any problem that they'll fight the ins and it should be able to be taken care of for under $1000, totally worth it to me!! Isn't it crazy how this surgery is like the new and improved version but the surgeons don't push this one and the ins companies don't only approve this one? Maybe more people (docs and ins co.'s) should do more research...why not make things as easy as possible?? Makes sense to me..

I am not cetain if you have done enough research on RNY. I had an open RNY in February and have lost close to 90 lbs. I am required to get in at last 60 grams of protein a day. My scar is only 2 1/2 inches long. My stomach was also separated rather than stapled. I also heard that because I had my stomach separated - I would have to work very very hard to gain weight because they believe that the complete separation interferes with the production of grelin (a hormone that controls appetite). Also the secret weapon was the intestional by-pass that was done along with my separation. I only absorb about 40% of the nutrition I take in. So of course I try to make wise choices. I have heard that there is a greater risk of gaining weight back with the stomach stapling even with by-pass. Also know that the staples can be popped. I would not have wanted to be stapled. Your explaination of DS sounds a lot like my RNY with complete stomach separation and by-pass. No matter what surgery: water, protein, and vitiman supplementation are essential for the rest of our lives. Good luck in your search.

Tema... just to let you know, the human body will udjust to ANYTHING you do to it. Be it RNY, the band, or a switch. It will adjust and fight to remember the former size and former metabolism speed. The weight loss battle never ends. You must always be conscious of how your body is functioning and how stable your weight is. Tammara Faye

you are beautiful,Cindy