Newbie needs guidance!

I am really new to all of this. I am wanting to hear from people on here that can offer me some good advice. I have so many questions. When I first started to seriously consider WLS I had the Lap Band in mind. It just seemed to me less risky. Then I thought, what I really need is something that I feel would keep the weight off forever. It looks to me like people with the Roux-en-Y have some pretty good results keeping their weight off. I know that not everyone keeps it off, but most do. Then I heard about the Duodenal Switch. That was new to me. It looks to me like people are having great success with it, and it also seems to address one of my main fears. I LOVE FOOD. I do not eat for security reasons. I just truly love great food. I don't eat very much junk. I'm a good food junkie. I've heard people with the DS can eat whatever they want, and as much as they want. I am scared to death that I will miss food. Almost like losing your dog or something. I am scared that it will affect me to the point where I just won't eat anything, and will just starved to death one day. Tell me which one you have, and why you chose it. Pros? Cons? If you had one type and wished you would have had a differnt type, why so?

Hi there

you are not alone with all your questions.  I think most people have all those and more!  I know I did.  You will also find that you probably get a variety of answers as we each have different opinions.

I had RNY.  The reason at that time for me was:

a. lap band you had a port in your side, which I didn't want, and you have to keep going back for fills, which I didn't want, plus it only worked by restriction and I wanted this to work

b.  I wanted the dumping syndrome you get from rny to force me to avoid certain food, as opposed to the DS.

However, I very rarely dump, so that hasn't really been a plus for me.  Looking back, I wish I had gone for an Extended rny, or DS which bypasses much more to cause more malabsorption.  Sorry I don't have more specific details.  There are several people who have put comparrisions on their profiles which will give more details.

Thanks for the reply. What is an extended RNY? Also, my message above seems like a bunch of jargon, and seems confusing at first. I don't know how when or who, but there are a couple of sentences missing. They dissappeared somehow after I hit save. Sorry. I'll try to go fix it now.

I had the RNY... I chose it not only because its the only procedure my insurance covered but because I have many friends who had the procedure.
With any surgery the amount you lose and keep off is really up to you - each surgery is only a tool... overall the success rates are pretty much the same across the board. (at least as far as I know).

I also love food, I just had to change my relationship with you - you may say you dont eat for 'security reasons' but you may find other reasons later on that you have been overeating... not everybody has a mental addicition to food but I believe the majority do - it can take a lot of soul searching to figure it all out. Personally I ate a lot when I was bored as well as stressed... had to find different outlets to satisify than food.

I am happy with my surgery and wouldnt change it for anything. I can pretty much eat what I want when I want and have no food intolerances. I have learned what it means to be truly satisified from food instead of eating and eating until I felt like exploding. Its been amazing!

being scared is normal

the best thing you can do is read read read and learn.  here on the board is good, but also google the different procedures from independent sources.

then make a list of your questions and talk to your doc, or even to your PCP

then make a decision.

the important thing is that regardless of your decision this will open a wonderful new world for you.

yes life will change for a while but you will eat again, you will function just fine.

but, you do need to understand that surgery provides you a tool for weight loss, you and what you do after the surgery will decide in the long run how successful you will be

hugs be safe and well, jacki

I had rny almost 4yrs ago. At that time, Lap Band was not available in my area (it is now) and DS was not and is not available in my area. I don't think lap band would have worked as well for me~results are slower, I had a considerable amount of weight to lose and I needed a permanent fix to my problem. I don't know enough about DS to comment on it other than to say that I see lots of people around here that are very happy with it and having good results. I am very  happy with my rny and have been successfully maintaining my weightloss for quite some time now. You are SO smart to do your research and make an informed decision and I wish you good luck, whatever you decide!!!!

There is another weight loss surgery that you didn't mention which is the one I have.  It's called the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy and it's where they remove a large portion of your stomach, the stretchy part that houses a lot of the hunger hormone.  When this part of your stomach is removed you have restriction on how much you can eat and a lot of your hunger goes away.  

I was like you, I ate good, healthy food but I just ate too much of it, looking back I see that my portions were out of control.  I didn't feel comfortable with malabsorption long term because I will probably have to have an organ transplant later in life and would need to take anti rejection drugs.  I didn't want to complicate that issue with malabsorption.  Plus, I just wanted to see if this worked; if not, you can always revise to a DS since this surgery is a revised version (they make the stomach smaller for VSG) of the first stage of the DS.  

I've lost past my goal and maintained pretty effortlessly for about 6 months, now.  You might want to jump over to the VSG board and see what they have to say.  It seems to be a good fit for people who need to lose 100 pounds or less.  There are definitely those who have lost 150-200 with VSG, but they have to work their tool hard and be very focused.

GOOD LUCK with whatever you decide!   

I had Distal RNY and had similar questions.  I am a foodie and to this day will seek out a restaurant if I hear they have an awesome Terrine of Rabbit and Foie Gras with Grand Marnier.  In the end, however, I was killing myself.  So, when I went to surgery I was willing to leave my old life behind for the chance at a better life and if that meant eating bread and water for the rest of my life so be it.

The soft phase is no great party but the foodie in me was creating dishes like "Puree pot pie" in little 2oz cups.  Then came eating regular food and somewhere along the line I came to the realization that food wasn't the problem I was the problem.  Now I know: a lot of this WLS thing is mental.

I'm now maintaining eating (about) 2,000 calories a day.  I also run 5K two times a week and go to the YMCA two times a week.  I'm one of the RNY people who don't dump so there aren't really any limits to the foods I eat.  I tell people who ask:  I can eay anything I want; just never all that I want.  I do go to McDonalds for supper.  Last time I did this I got the Cheeseburger Happy Meal for myself.  In a former life I would have gotten TWO double cheeseburgers, a double quarter pounder and a large fry.  To be honest, it is a former life and I barely remember that person.

I eat all the things I used to eat (including Terrine of Foie Gras) just a lot less.  The one thing I will say, is that my life is transformed and many things about it are the same but it is different.  If you are not willing to change, you will not be successful regardless of which surgery you choose.