Trying to decide between DS or RNY

I have just convinced myself to complete and submit application for WLS.  One of the questions is which surgery am I interested in?  I ahve been researching for months now and I still trying to decide.  Any opinions on surgeries would be appreciated.  I know an understand the decision is mine, but I am just wanting to hear from those that have had both.  Can you give me 3 neg/3positives. Thanks!

I think one of the DSers summed this up really well.......Lola posted this about a2 weeks ago: It never ceases to amaze me that one persons reason for getting a particular surgery, is another persons reason to NOT get that surgery. > > RNY - I got the surgery so I'd dump and the fear of that would keep me away from sugar. > DS - I got the surgery so that I wouldn't dump. > > RNY - I needed the restriction to correct my relationship with food. > DS - I didn't want the restriction because I want to enjoy my relationship with food. > > RNY - I wanted/needed to change my eating habits. > DS - I've dieted my whole life -- I want to quit dieting. > > RNY - I'm sick of dieting and failing. > DS - I'm sick of dieting and failing. > > RNY - I want a tool that I can work. > DS - I want a surgery that does the work. > > RNY - I didn't want to be able to cheat the surgery. > DS - I want to be able to 'cheat' from time to time. > > RNY - I want to be healthy. > DS - I want to be healthy. > > RNY - I didn't want someone cutting off my stomach. > DS - I don't want a blind stomach. > > RNY - I don't want to have to eat massive amounts of food. > DS - I want to be able to eat what I want. > > RNY - I needed to change my habits. > DS - I've been trying to change my habits my whole life! > > RNY - I never want to eat sugar or fat again! > DS - I don't want sugar and fat to be 'off-limits'. > > The best choice is an informed choice! To answer your question: I honestly can't think of 3 negatives that are exclusive to the DS.....I mean I have to suppliment (so do RNYers)...i have to track my labs (so should RNYers).....other then that ...i can't think of any.  Positives....I could go on for hours....literally.   The best thing for me at least is that I've had to chnage my eating habits very little to get such great results.  The DS gave me the  ability to eat normally and lose weight.   I was a bad dieter.....I suppose that isn't unusual...if any of us was a good dieter ...we wouldn't need WLS ....but I knew in my heart that there was no possible way that I could succeed with the RNY.....i never was able to diet, and the RNY really requires a life time commitment to diet and exercise.   The DS allows me to eat a pretty high fat diet....now that I'm at goal...i indulge in treats/carbs regularly.  Again lola's list above is a really good way to look at it.  Scott

Thanks Scott.  The list was awesome.  I guess it really is about how we look at it.....always in the eye of the beholder.  I think my anxiety about the whole thing coupled with choosing a surgery that is right for me is just stressing me.  I really believe I would prefer the DS, but I am afraid because it is an actually removal  of a portion of the stomach.  While I worry about the RNY because it alters the natural process so greatly.  Please just be prayer for me.  I still have completed the application.  I am thankful for this forum and people like you.  It has made it a lot easier to even begin thinking and discussing options.  Thanks again!

I think the scary part of the DS for me was the stomach removal......but in hind sight it's actually a good thing.  Why? 1) removing part of  the stomach causes a decrease in the ghrelin production in the body.  Ghrelin is the hunger hormone. 2)  Recent studies have linked  suggested that a decrease in ghrelin may actually increase your metabolism rate. 3) blind stomachs of the RNY can ulcerate and cause issues..that cannot be detected until things get bad. 4)  The whole "reversible" surgery argument is kind of moot.  The reality is once WLS is performed .....the only time they are going to reverse anything is if your life is in danger.   The reality of trying to put the stomach back together again.....is sometimes impossible.   Scar tissue, weakened or thinned stoamch tissue, dead spots....all cause pouch to stomach reversals to become very difficult and sometimes impossible. 5) the stomach left behind in the DS is normally 4 to 8 oz depending on your surgeon.  This eventully stretches out...so that you will be able to eat normal sized portions....while you can't eat the same amount as a preop....you can eat enough so that you never have to worry about not having a full stomach. Scott Scott

I'm an almost RNYer, who's now a very happy - no make that ecstatic - DSer. DS plusses: 1.  Lower rate of regain and higher average % of excess weight lost.  See this recent study:  http://www.uchospitals.edu/news/2006/20060922-weight-loss.ht ml 2.  More normal eating long-term, both in amount and types of food. 3.  Pyloric valve is intact, so no "dumping" syndrome. (There are about 4 or 5 more, but I'll stick to 3.) DS negatives: 1.  I do have a bit more gas, and if I overindulge in carbs, it gets stinkier. Ummmmm.....  hard to think of anything else. 2.  Except, I had to go to San Francisco for the DS (the only doc in LA wasn't on my insurance), which meant extra expenses and hassle for travel. One of the best suggestions I have for you is to spend some time each day just reading the posts on the different surgery boards.  That way, you get a real-time picture of what people are dealing with actually living with each surgery.  You'll come across some DS vs. RNY sniping here and there - just ignore the drama and look for what you need.

On the RNY side... I am/was a "lightweight" like yourself.  I chose the RNY for a number of reasons. 1) I was afraid I'd lose too much with the DS.  Actually, my surgeon was afraid I'd lose too much with the RNY so he made me a larger than average pouch.  I lost ALL my weight in the first 6 months and I've been at goal for a year - at a size 0.  2) I DID want to change my relationship with food.  But contrary to the way it looks from the outside, I'm not 'dieting'.  I'm not hungry.  I eat when I'm hungry, I eat until I'm full.  I eat what I want.  I just don't desire the crap much anymore and when I do, a bit is all I want and then putting it down is not a struggle.  I eat like a thin person. 3) Not many doctors in my area do the DS surgery. Cons: 1) First couple of months are awkward as you adjust. 2) People are weird as you start to be able to eat as a normal thin person. 3) Falling  clothing  sizes  gets  VERY  expensive  Either way, EXERCISE, do your research!  Take the advice above and read both the RNY and DS boards.  Take DSer's advice on the DS and RNYer's advice on the RNY.  Like anything else watching it from the outside is very different than living it! Good Luck!

Thank you for all the responses.  They have been great and very informative.  I am reading the boards and individual profiles and have been for about 6mo now.  I guess, I might be one of those indecisiove type.  I really am not, but I have so much fear about this decision.  I just feel like it is my chance at a healthy, fit life and want to ensure I have considered all options and angles and make the BEST decision possible.  There is so much inofrmation, as with everything, but it helps when you hear directly from those living it.  No one seems to try to convince you to do one or the other, but simple give their opinion on what each of the surgeries has done for them.  That is so greatly appreciated.  Thank you all agin for taking a sec to reply to my post.  I think I have made a decision.  I am checking out a few more sites, I 've been advised of.  God Bless! Happy Holiday's!!!!!!!!

I had lap RNY in December of 2005 and have lost 115 lbs. and have been at goal for about a year.  I chose the RNY because I did want to change my relationship with food.  I never could eat normally and that's what got me in trouble.  I ate way too much.  I want the restrictions that the RNY gives me.  I have a friend who wanted to eat more and she had the DS and loves it.  It is all in what you want out of the surgery.  I like eating small meals and not being able to overeat, so it's working for me.  I hope it continues to work for me.  I understand that the DS has better long-term results but again, I don't want to be able to eat a lot.  Don't know if this helps. 

It does.  Thanks!

Some other boards you should read would be the revison boards.