RNY vs. DS
I had the RNY in 2006 and want a revision to the DS. I already have my doctor picked, Dr. Husted. With my darn insurance, I have to go thru a whole YEAR of seeing my PCP before I can be eligible for the surgery.
Can anyone that has gone from RNY to DS tell me how it went and how you are doing? Also, how long did you have to be off work? I don't want anyone to know about this except for those that were supportive of me the 1st surgery which only leaves my husband and my best friend. I have extremely low metabolism and Dr. Husted said in one of his seminars that the DS is for those with metabolic syndrome. I did not know that when I had the RNY under another doctor.
Thanks,
Cherri
Can anyone that has gone from RNY to DS tell me how it went and how you are doing? Also, how long did you have to be off work? I don't want anyone to know about this except for those that were supportive of me the 1st surgery which only leaves my husband and my best friend. I have extremely low metabolism and Dr. Husted said in one of his seminars that the DS is for those with metabolic syndrome. I did not know that when I had the RNY under another doctor.
Thanks,
Cherri
Cherri-
I had a revision with Dr Husted in May. I will admit, it was definitely tough...way tougher than the 1st go around. Post-op I ended up with a seroma that then got infected and I ended up in the hospital for another week. Then I had to have a wound vac (as bad as it sounds) and then I ended up with a stricture. All in all I had planned to be out of work for 4 weeks but all in all will be out of work for 11 weeks. If you have a desk job, you may be able to return sooner but I am a pharmacist and I stand for 14 hours a day. A great person to get in contact with is Cathi or Gayla from the Commonwelath Bariatric Center...they are both great. Dr Husted makes himself very accessible to his patients but it was still hard for me to have all these complications and then live 1200 miles away in Arizona. I had the mindset that everything would be textbook post-op and I was rudely awakened. Just prepare yourself should you choose to go through with this. I have my good days and my bad days. I have lost 45 lbs and am excited about that but I put my family and employees through a summer of hell. Also the stricture is not resolved so I am still only able to eat pureed food. I go in for ANOTHER endoscopy with dilation next Wednesday.
It is good that you are on here and asking questions. I think that sometimes I went in with blinders on thinking that everything would just turn out peachy for me.
You should see if your PCP won't look back into your at the first time they "suggested" you lose weight or that your weight was an issue. I would assume that is your start date for the year. Your PCP could write a letter saying they have see you for over a year with concerns over your weight....there are ways around the YEAR thing. Hopefully you have a good PCP who is behind you for getting this revision.
Also, keep on top of Ellen......I will leave it at that.
I had a revision with Dr Husted in May. I will admit, it was definitely tough...way tougher than the 1st go around. Post-op I ended up with a seroma that then got infected and I ended up in the hospital for another week. Then I had to have a wound vac (as bad as it sounds) and then I ended up with a stricture. All in all I had planned to be out of work for 4 weeks but all in all will be out of work for 11 weeks. If you have a desk job, you may be able to return sooner but I am a pharmacist and I stand for 14 hours a day. A great person to get in contact with is Cathi or Gayla from the Commonwelath Bariatric Center...they are both great. Dr Husted makes himself very accessible to his patients but it was still hard for me to have all these complications and then live 1200 miles away in Arizona. I had the mindset that everything would be textbook post-op and I was rudely awakened. Just prepare yourself should you choose to go through with this. I have my good days and my bad days. I have lost 45 lbs and am excited about that but I put my family and employees through a summer of hell. Also the stricture is not resolved so I am still only able to eat pureed food. I go in for ANOTHER endoscopy with dilation next Wednesday.
It is good that you are on here and asking questions. I think that sometimes I went in with blinders on thinking that everything would just turn out peachy for me.
You should see if your PCP won't look back into your at the first time they "suggested" you lose weight or that your weight was an issue. I would assume that is your start date for the year. Your PCP could write a letter saying they have see you for over a year with concerns over your weight....there are ways around the YEAR thing. Hopefully you have a good PCP who is behind you for getting this revision.
Also, keep on top of Ellen......I will leave it at that.
On July 30, 2009 at 9:40 PM Pacific Time, lizp100 wrote:
Cherri-I had a revision with Dr Husted in May. I will admit, it was definitely tough...way tougher than the 1st go around. Post-op I ended up with a seroma that then got infected and I ended up in the hospital for another week. Then I had to have a wound vac (as bad as it sounds) and then I ended up with a stricture. All in all I had planned to be out of work for 4 weeks but all in all will be out of work for 11 weeks. If you have a desk job, you may be able to return sooner but I am a pharmacist and I stand for 14 hours a day. A great person to get in contact with is Cathi or Gayla from the Commonwelath Bariatric Center...they are both great. Dr Husted makes himself very accessible to his patients but it was still hard for me to have all these complications and then live 1200 miles away in Arizona. I had the mindset that everything would be textbook post-op and I was rudely awakened. Just prepare yourself should you choose to go through with this. I have my good days and my bad days. I have lost 45 lbs and am excited about that but I put my family and employees through a summer of hell. Also the stricture is not resolved so I am still only able to eat pureed food. I go in for ANOTHER endoscopy with dilation next Wednesday.
It is good that you are on here and asking questions. I think that sometimes I went in with blinders on thinking that everything would just turn out peachy for me.
You should see if your PCP won't look back into your at the first time they "suggested" you lose weight or that your weight was an issue. I would assume that is your start date for the year. Your PCP could write a letter saying they have see you for over a year with concerns over your weight....there are ways around the YEAR thing. Hopefully you have a good PCP who is behind you for getting this revision.
Also, keep on top of Ellen......I will leave it at that.
So good to hear that you're on the "healing" end of things and that you have a plan to recover completely!!
Sooooo, if you weren't able to return to Dr. Husted for the post-op care then who did you find that would take another surgeon's emergency? Are you being treated here in AZ?
Good luck with your journey and congrats on the weight loss!!!! I hope the stricture fix goes without any hitch's!!!
Joyce Rny 2/11/03-> ERny 12/26/07-> Duodenal Switch 5/12/2010
www.dsfacts.com , www.dssurgery.com , & www.duodenalswitch.com
I second this one..."Keep on top of Ellen" IF YOU CAN CATCH HER ACTUALLY IN THE OFFICE!!!
I could have went back to work @ 4 weeks (Accounting)....but I took 6 weeks to make my boss squirm. I wanted her to go through 2 month ends w/out me! Evil, I know, but that's how I roll! HA!
No problems with my surgery.
However....I did end up getting carpel tunnel from swelling so much during surgery. But I don't consider that to be a "surgery" complication.
It was very, very painful....it over shadowed the pain from my surgery. I still have pain today, but it's down to the last 2 joints in my index finger. Thankfully it's healing on it's own and I didn't have to have surgery for it.
Just know complications are possible...it's a leap of faith thing...and having faith in your doctor. IMO, Dr. H is awesome...and not bad on the eyes either. I'm totally in love with him! How his brain works blows my mind! I could listen to him talk all day. Of course I wouldn't understand what the hell he was saying most of the time....but I'd listen with stars in my eyes!! HA!!!!!!!!!!!!
I could have went back to work @ 4 weeks (Accounting)....but I took 6 weeks to make my boss squirm. I wanted her to go through 2 month ends w/out me! Evil, I know, but that's how I roll! HA!
No problems with my surgery.
However....I did end up getting carpel tunnel from swelling so much during surgery. But I don't consider that to be a "surgery" complication.
It was very, very painful....it over shadowed the pain from my surgery. I still have pain today, but it's down to the last 2 joints in my index finger. Thankfully it's healing on it's own and I didn't have to have surgery for it.
Just know complications are possible...it's a leap of faith thing...and having faith in your doctor. IMO, Dr. H is awesome...and not bad on the eyes either. I'm totally in love with him! How his brain works blows my mind! I could listen to him talk all day. Of course I wouldn't understand what the hell he was saying most of the time....but I'd listen with stars in my eyes!! HA!!!!!!!!!!!!
Diana DS Revision from '99 RNY
UHC Denied Jan'09/APPROVED Feb'09
DS-SW287; CW/190 GW/152
Adoptive mom to 3 children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders 
Hi Cherri,
I got a revision to DS from a 1980 gastric bypass / RNY; you can read all about my experiences on my profile if you want all the details.
I had some complications from all the scar tissue and adhesion's and my recovery was pretty rough; I was away from work for about 2 months. That being said, the DS is worth it in every way; I would go through all the misery again and again if I had to in order to have the live I have now. I just never thought life could be so good for me; it's almost unbelievable.
I would also suggest you spend some time on the DS Forum, there are a bunch of revision patients there; and I'll bet they will be happy to give you their opinions and experiences too.
Kerry
I got a revision to DS from a 1980 gastric bypass / RNY; you can read all about my experiences on my profile if you want all the details.
I had some complications from all the scar tissue and adhesion's and my recovery was pretty rough; I was away from work for about 2 months. That being said, the DS is worth it in every way; I would go through all the misery again and again if I had to in order to have the live I have now. I just never thought life could be so good for me; it's almost unbelievable.
I would also suggest you spend some time on the DS Forum, there are a bunch of revision patients there; and I'll bet they will be happy to give you their opinions and experiences too.
Kerry
Thanks to everyone for your replies. Actually, I did post on the DS forum but I'm getting more response on this board than there. Go figure! lol I appreciate all of the honesty, which is what I was looking for. Of course, now I'm more scared. haha! Like one of the posters, I was thinking of it being a text book procedure. My 1st one went off without a hitch except for some breathing problems which were the result of me having slight COPD from years of smoking and alot of nausea (my dr's words were "we love nausea!"). It's been almost 5 years now since I quit smoking.
The insurance thing doesn't bother me because I'm am now on my 7 month visit with my PCP and, with things that are going on at work, this year would not be a good time to have the surgery anyway.
I was really hoping that I would only be out for a couple of weeks. I do have a sit down job (Accounting). My 1st surgery, it was hell getting someone to fill in for me and it would be even tougher now because we have a job freeze and trying to cut down on costs because of the economy. I could have come back to work after 2 weeks during my 1st surgery, but I stayed off for the entire 6 weeks because I needed a break from there. But things are better with my co-workers now than they were 3 years ago. That part bothers me more than the surgery itself. Plus, I'm not planning on telling anyone about the revision except for those that were supportive during my 1st surgery, which only leaves my husband and a close friend. I'm not even planning on telling my mother. A week after I had my 1st surgery, she told me that I better get my butt in gear because she could have been in Florida instead of waiting while I had surgery!! :(
As far as Ellen goes, I understand where you're coming from. When I was trying to find out what my insurance required, by the time I got the answers from her, I was completely worn out from all of the emails and phone calls to her office. I'm sure that she thought I was a bothersome ole nitty but it took forever. I know that she is very busy. But that doesn't help when you are anxious. haha!
Thanks again and God Bless!
Cherri
The insurance thing doesn't bother me because I'm am now on my 7 month visit with my PCP and, with things that are going on at work, this year would not be a good time to have the surgery anyway.
I was really hoping that I would only be out for a couple of weeks. I do have a sit down job (Accounting). My 1st surgery, it was hell getting someone to fill in for me and it would be even tougher now because we have a job freeze and trying to cut down on costs because of the economy. I could have come back to work after 2 weeks during my 1st surgery, but I stayed off for the entire 6 weeks because I needed a break from there. But things are better with my co-workers now than they were 3 years ago. That part bothers me more than the surgery itself. Plus, I'm not planning on telling anyone about the revision except for those that were supportive during my 1st surgery, which only leaves my husband and a close friend. I'm not even planning on telling my mother. A week after I had my 1st surgery, she told me that I better get my butt in gear because she could have been in Florida instead of waiting while I had surgery!! :(
As far as Ellen goes, I understand where you're coming from. When I was trying to find out what my insurance required, by the time I got the answers from her, I was completely worn out from all of the emails and phone calls to her office. I'm sure that she thought I was a bothersome ole nitty but it took forever. I know that she is very busy. But that doesn't help when you are anxious. haha!
Thanks again and God Bless!
Cherri
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