Trying to decide between DS or RNY

This is a good article/booklet/whatever. http://www.obesityaction.org/news/WLS%20Media%20Kit.pdf

Most of us will only ever have ONE type of WLS surgery, thank goodness, so how could we possibly say that one is better than the other?  And each of us responds differently to the very same type of WLS, so how could we possibly say RNY or DS is better (or worse) or open RNY is better (or worse) than lap?   When I was doing my pre-op research I was, admittedly, convinced that open RNY was the only way to go.  Why wouldn't we want our surgeon in there using his/her own eyes and fingers to check out the insides of this body I had so long abused with food?  Why wouldn't we want the potential side effect of dumping as a reminder to mind our p's and q's?  Why would we want a procedure that made us go to the doc regularly for fill-ups (I hate even stopping to fill up my car!). And on and on. But even before I had my open RNY, I was attending 3 different WLS support groups and began to view it quite differently. Although I never changed my mind and am very happy with my decision, I began to understand this one truth: even in the best of cir****tances, WLS is only as effective as you make it for yourself. And one more truth: every surgery has risks during and afterwards, bar none, and you will never know if those risk will have your name on them or not until it's there. I chose open RNY because: 1. A good friend had it in 1980 and is still doing wonderful! 2.  I interviewed 3 surgeons all spec ializing in a different procedure, and liked my surgeon's skill, experience, pre-op and post-op plan the best (and he works with the doc that did my friend in 1980) 3.  I wanted the most restrictive procedure possible as I felt it would provide the level of impetus I needed to be successful. Has it been a smooth ride?  That all depends on how you look at it. 1. I instantly became lactose intolerant and since I can not tolerate artificial sweeteners, the first year wasn't "sweet". 2.  I dumped easily and violently for the first several months and took another year to calm down, although I stil dump from too much sugar, in particular. 3.  I felt OK but not great for several months. 4.  I recovered very easily from surgery, required no pain pills after coming home, had no infections, no swelling (amazingly). 5.  It's as hard keeping the weight off now as any diet I've ever been on.  WLS does not mean you'll never use the four-letter word again! Our amazing bodies usually learn how to work around even a restrictive surgery like RNY. 6. I didn't quite lose all the weight I had hoped to but I simply adjusted my expectations. Would I change anything? Not a thing. It's all been worth it. This was the right choice for me. Ann

Thank you, thank you. As your board says, it is always good to engage in healthy dialouge.  I appreciate your candidness about your choice in WLS and why.  Thank you again.  Be blessed!

Why are you obese?  This question should be answered first.  Compare that to what you learn about the procedures to find which will give you the best chances of success.  Don't think of how drastic the mechanics are, but instead -- how will those mechanics work for YOU? Take me, for instance.  I started gaining weight at puberty and kept gaining, only to stop gaining with serious diet/exercise.  The problem is that I wouldn't lose much with that diet/exercise at all.  Once I got discouraged and quit, the gaining came back.  I KNEW that malabsorption would be the key to beating my over-efficient body that held on to each and every calorie it could.  For me, the DS was absolutely perfect.