Intro.....

Hi Ladies and Gents!


I'm Nessa from Orange county.....
Well I'm the new kid in town I guess lol... I been reading up on all the different types of surgeries for a few years now, but didnt really want to make a commitment till now. I recently had gained more weight then should be on this little frame of mine and my health is starting to take a turn for the worse...My fiance is afraid of losing me and so is my mother...but to be honest I'm afraid of losing them both as well... all three of us are big and maybe by me looking into the WLS idea... will possibly get them motivated to change as well...


Just not sure what my next step should be.

 Hi and welcome :)

Have you decided on which surgery you want yet?  And have you been told about and done research on the DS?  I know that its not as well known as the other types . . . I seem to be pushing it lately . . . but if someone hadn't told me . . . well I like the fact that I was kidnapped to the Dark Side 0.~

I'm sure you'll rock whichever surgery you choose!

The next step is 1. Pick surgery
2. call your insurance to see if its covered
3. go get a referral to a bariatric specialist
4. go to your informational meeting
5. follow whatever steps the insurance gives you [and they will make you jump through hoops]
6. surgery -gasp!-
7. recover, take your time, and enjoy shrinking in to your new clothes 0.~

Good luck and we'll be making room for you on the loser's bench :) [with us amazing shrinking men and women, there is always room for more!!]

Nope I haven't decied yet, but I think I should come to a decision already...
I have heard of the DS, but haven't read up on it much....but I think I will do some reading right now on it actually....

Thanks your so sweet..... I actually kind of did things a little out of order lol
I got a referal to see a surgeon in my area a few months ago... just haven't really done anything else. but thanks for giving me some help on what should be next.

 A word of caution: always pick your surgery before you pick your surgeon . . . a doctor who does primarily RNY will try to deter you from having a VSG if it means he would lose your business . . . a doctor who does VSG but not the DS will try to deter you from the DS if it means he would lose your business.  Its a numbers game to them.  So first pick your surgery and then do your research on the board of your surgery type to find a competent doctor who performs that TYPE of surgery.

Otherwise you may hear half truths or have things omitted entirely whether that would be in your best interest or not.

Welcome!

Ditto Kitzy on all of it. I am 5 years post-op DS. Doing fabulous and have the life I always imagined.

Welcome to OH. The ladies below gave you great advice. Please do yourself a favor and learn about the different surgeries before seeking a surgeon. You do not want to be rushed through this process, and you want to make sure you have the surgery that will work best with you. Most surgeons only do lapaband and RNY gastric bypass, which are not the only surgeries that work (nor are they necesserily the best).

I am nearly a year out of gastric bypass. I had a variation of the RNY known as the fobi pouch. If you insist on gastric bypass, then I would highly recommend the fobi pouch over the RNY.

The fobi pouch involves both gastric banding and RNY in one surgery, which significantly improves long term success and prevents patients from having some of the many problems RNY patients have in the long run (such as stretching the pouch). 90-95% of patients have long term success with the fobi pouch. That's much better than the 70% stats for RNY.

A concern with the gastric bypass is that even if you lose the weight, you may have several problems with food intolerations (beef, rice, pasta, dairy, artificial sweetners, sugar, fat, etc).  It severely reduces the amount of fat and sugar you can eat, which may cause problems in the future. I personlly am intolerant of artificial sweeteners. They taste horrible and make me very hungry. I didn't realize this until after surgery and it sucks to not be able to enjoy something sweet here and there.

From my experience almost one year out and from what I have learned about patients who had other surgeries, I would suggest you look into the DS switch over gastric bypass. The DS switch is much more effective than the RNY. Also the diet with the DS switch is 1 million times better than gastric bypass. In the long run DS switch patients tend to be much happier witht their surgery than gastric bypass patients.

Best wishes to you, Yehuda.

Thank you to you all for the welcome and the advice...I am very glad that all of you have shared with me. I am greatful to you all and think I need to do a little more research on the DS and the Fobi pouch.