Totally lost. RNY never worked. What do you do next?

Joyce, come on! You are passing on some pretty false info about the DS to this person! Nice to be an OH leader, huh? You get to say whatever pops into your head and not back it up with research? Putting in a weak disclaimer like "possibly" is pathetic.

To the OP, please come on over to the DS forum or visit www.dsfacts.com to get real info from real people who have lived the DS lifestyle and data from clinical studies.

Just for the record, here is a recent study on the subject showing just how wrong your OPINION is, Joyce:

Bowel Habits after Gastric Bypass Versus the Duodenal Switch Operation.
Wasserberg et al. Aug 2008
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18752029

BACKGROUND: One of the perceived disadvantages of the biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch operation is diarrhea. The aim of this study was to compare the bowel habits of patients after duodenal switch operation or Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

METHODS: A prospective comparative case series design was used. Forty-six patients who underwent duodenal switch (n = 28) or gastric bypass (n = 18) were asked to complete a daily diary for 14 days after losing least 50% of their excess body weight. Data were collected on number of bowel episodes, incontinence, urgency, stool consistency, and awakening from sleep to defecate. Background variables were recorded from the medical files.

RESULTS: The duodenal switch group was heavier (body mass index 53.5 vs 47.0 kg/m(2), p = 0.03) and older (47.5 vs 41.0 years, p = NS) than the gastric bypass group. Median time to 50% excess body weight loss was 22 months in the duodenal switch group compared to 10.0 months in the gastric bypass group (p = 0.001). Patients after duodenal switch surgery reported a median of 23.5 bowel episodes over the 14-day study period compared to 16.5 in the gastric bypass group (p = NS). There was no between-group differences in any of the other bowel parameters studied.

CONCLUSIONS: Although duodenal switch is associated with more bowel episodes than gastric bypass, the difference is not statistically significant. Bowel habits are similar in patients who achieve 50% estimated body weight loss with duodenal switch surgery or gastric bypass.

 Nicolle

 

You really have a hard on for the DS don't you?  I know.. you;'re just pissed off because someone got something better than you did.

I went to the bathroom once yesterday and twice, early this morning.  I don't think anyone could say that's being chained to a toilet.  Somehow you might be able to twist it around, though.  Have at it.

If it were me (and it was) I  simply wouldn't have another inferior surgery, which is why I refused to have my RNY "fixed" and went for the DS.

JRinAZ's blog for April 08 (4 mo out):

… I’d be a candidate for the most aggressive malabsorptive Revision. My common channel is just 50 Centimeters which is basically the same lower half as a Deudenol Switch, though many Dser’s are more like 100 Cm. This means that I have extreme malabsorption.  My bad news: I lost weight too quickly. I have had 3 months of diarrhea, a lot of gas pain, the "sharts" (don’t know if it’s a fart or something more!), horrible odors, even reeking out of my skin and mouth, a toxic mouth tasting like metal, dislike for food, dehydration, dizziness, depression, many prescriptions and new supplements, with labs often to check things.

JRinAZ's blog for APril 08 (4 mo out):

It's been a long year anticipating the return of energy...anticipating the reduction of gas and gas pain...anticipating the day when I wouldn't have to wear panty liners!  (TMI)! 

The Erny has brought more complications that I'd ever expected or that my research had ever uncovered. 

… battling fatigue, gas, frequent potty trips & some crappy labs!  ....  My Revision wasn't the golden goose egg …"

Do you actually think the ERNY you have is "like a DS?"  Because it isn't.  And your uninformed "warnings" about the DS are full of -- well, crap.  So do the pre-ops a favor and STFU about stuff that you know nothing about.

And you claim to represent OH??  Preposterous.

                                                                             

A yahoo support group of DS'ers I belong to has been helping me through my many issues.   They totally rock and prove that help can cross boundaries and come to many of us in spite of our surgery choices, or our post-op complications, and whether we have diarrhea longer than others or we don't.   I was personally invited to this group because they said my Distal/Erny was very similar to their DS (common channel).  Is your common channel shortened as mine is?  Do tell me the difference in our lower plumbing?

That you hate so much is sad.  If I have misinformed anyone truly seeking the DS with  "misinformation" then I truly apologize to them.  To you who feel the need to set the record straight with offensive posts?  Gheesh!  I'll bet you're fun to hang with!

Exploiting my complications and issues will benefit who exactly?  I'm sure newbies to this forum are very impressed with your vulgar language (speaking to the collective thread of DS posters in this thread) and your negative postings.  It probably makes them feel very comfortable asking questions of others and especially makes them want to jump right over into the hot pot of the DS forum!

As for representing O.H......I will continue to share my opinion and offer support to those who need it.  It seems that people respond well to kindness.

I'll be updating my profile in a couple of weeks so stay tuned so you have more to cut and paste

And, if anyone on this Revision forum has some questions of me then plz feel free to p.m. me.  I am happy to help whenever I can.

Joyce,
Your experience sounds like a nightmare, indeed.  I believe it's your 50 cm common channel that is to blame here.  I was just talking to my surgeon in January about this, and she said in her experience doing the DS alone and with her former partners, that those with shorterCC's had many more bowel issues.  Her standard CC now is 100 cm, which is twice what yours, and her patients post op experiences are much more favorable.  How many ERNY's has your surgeon done to determine your need for a 50cm CC?  I've seen only SSMO DSers get that short a CC, which really alarms me that he did that to you. 

I know another revision is the last thing you want, but if these problems are real, perhaps lengthening your cc to 100 cm would give you a better quality of life and still enable you to maintain your results.  Just a suggestion to ponder, because I couldn't imagine living with what you're living through.  

In the meantime, I'd like to respectfully ask that you take more care to dissuasions  to the DS,. for your CC length and experiences are NOT typical.  A better response from you (and even a fantastic stand alone post) would be about being educated about the effects of the CC length, which has been discussed time and again on the DS board. 

Your experience is a valuable subject to bring up, more on the fine details of the procedure, but not as a general downside of these malabsorptive procedures in a nutshell, because for most of us, we don't share your experience or your CC-- does that make sense?  I've seen many getting ERNY revisions coming up lately from docs who don't do the DS, but tell their patients that it's just he same but with a different stomach.  Well, it is and it isn't.  I'm worried that these same surgeons are getting too aggressive with the ERNY without seeing many long term results like my DS surgeon has and they're likely to have more patients just like you before they get the hint.  If a patient goes in knowing what to ask about and is able to show them people like you and their experiences with too aggressive an approach, it might make for a better outcome. 

Even my DS surgeon got a lesson in the Vitamin D needs of the DSer when I saw her last month.  They may not like to admit it, but they're not above learning from the real life experiences of their patients.

I wish you well and that you find a solution soon and can start enjoying life as a post op.

Ahhh Valerie!

You restore my faith in general support for all!  I will definitely follow your eloquent lead and will indeed encourage others to research the possible effects of a 50 cc .  I totally agree that the bulk of my issues are because of my "way too short" cc.

I will admit to hanging out with DS friends who have similar problems as my own (or who have been there, done that and found remedies) and so my views of possible DS post-op issues may be off of the standard.  I'm on a DS Problems support site and so I do know that there can be problems with "all" surgeries.  I'm sure the extremes are represented there and the happy campers are more likely to hang on the O.H. forum. 

I will definitely take your post to heart and appreciate the way you "educated" me and others -with class!

I'm truly sorry to hear about your problems - I agree with Val that the 50cm common channel is likely to blame.  I don't know of any DS surgeon who's doing them that short.  Most are at least 100, if not longer. 
But I hope you will take to heart the request that you not present your experiences, or those of your DS friends, as representative of the DS in general, when it's not the case for the vast majority of us.  It's human nature to want to be in contact with those who are sharing the same struggles we are, but you're right - you're only seeing the extremes.  How could it be otherwise?  Those of us who are happy with our DS's (and I describe myself as ecstatic), know that a small percentage have serious problems, and I'm glad there's a support group specifically for them.  But we're certainly not going to go posting on the DS Problems group, telling everyone how great we're doing!  That would be horribly insensitive, and completely disrespectful of the purpose and intent of that group.
I agree that anyone considering WLS should be aware of the possibility of serious problems, and the whole range of outcomes, but we all need to be sure they get the "big picture", and not just the extremes. 

Hey Stephanie,
I appreciate your post and especially noted the phrase "it's human nature to want to be in contact with those who are sharing the same struggles we are"

Many of us came to this Revision forum for that exact thing:  to learn, get opinions and hear other's experiences.  I took much with a grain of salt while i was gathering my info and appreciated all experiences.  I think if we share only that which is seen through Rose colored glasses then we may be doing a dis-service.  Many of our surgeon's buffaloed us the first round and sometimes even the 2nd round!

I'll continue sharing my experiences; however extreme they may be or seem to others.  In the sharing, I get many private messages from those who are in similar fixes and we do hang together to battle the issues.  I also get p.m.s from people who have remedies, diagnosis, recomendations, etc.  That's why we post on public "support" forums.

I will try to choose my words carefully if I ever mention a DS; though I'm sure I'll be corrected with the same warmth and kindness that has been extended here before.

I've looked and there aren't any "posting" rules limiting this forum to happy DS posters only.  I do recall the rules O.H. has us all agree to however, when we first signed up and set up a profile.  

My agenda is simple:  Cheer on those who are in the Revision process and encourage them to research EVERYTHING!  I don't recall telling anyone that an Erny is the best.  In fact, if the same researchers who like to dig up my posts would like to hunt around some more; they'll find me saying many times that I wish I'd had a DS the first time around.  I have also said countless times that people should consider a DS as their first surgery.  As their revision?  Well, that becomes a little more involved and perhaps medically impossible according to one's cir****tances or financially impossible!  That would be between them and their surgeon

....I'm babbling yet again....long winded for sure.....but your point was taken.  The "big picture" should definitely be considered and not just the fact that someone can reach their goal range by consuming unlimited calories.

As for pointing out that my length of cc is to blame.  I totally agree.  I sent out a post a few months ago on a large yahoo site asking if anyone out there had a 50 cc and was healthy.  I wanted to know if I absolutely needed a 3rd revision to lengthen my cc or not.  I was delighted to receive bunches of posts from happy "DSers" who have learned to live well with their short cc.  There were distals as well but the things that we have in common far exceeded our differences.  All of us have high maintenance livestyles: having to have 2 or more protein drinks a day, handfuls of vitamin needs that I'd never even heard of....all in dry form so they'll absorb, special brands, big prices, etc.

Kudos to those who were blessed enough to get a DS and are happily at goal!  Some of us may not have that option and it is to those folks that I share my experiences with.

Oh boo hoo.. everybody's always picking on poor Joyce..

I don't hate anyone.  I'm far too happy with my DS revision with my 100 common channel, pooping 2 or 3 times daily on average, 134 lb weight (perfect for 5"4"), eating anything I want, enjoying my freedom from the RNY, having perfect health and looking great,  to waste my time being a hater.

Off to ride with my husband on his harley.  Don't bother trying to redeem yourself to me.. I've known what you're about for a long time.