DS vs. RNY

Hello all! I am currently seeing a surgeon and taking the steps to undergo WLS. When I first met my surgeon, we breifly discussed the DS but he advised me against it due to issues of maintaing pregnancies afterwards. We then agreed on the RNY. Since I have found the information about maintaing pregnancies not to be too accurate, I am considering the DS again.
I spoke with my insurance today and I am covered to have the RNY at no cost. However, my insurance has not heard of the DS but they advised me to speak with my surgeon about appealing the surgery to have it approved as a benefit exception.

My question to everyone is: Would you change the type of surgery you chose and why? What are the advantages and disadvantages (in your own opinion) of the surgery you chose?

Please and Thank you!

I love my DS for so many reasons.  The first being that I can eat far more "normal" amounts than with the RnY.  Everyone is different in their choices but if I could go back I would choose the same.  I'm 6 months into the DS lifestyle and have already lost 145 lbs.  I was lucky in that I had no ill side effects and have been doing great healthwise. You are your own advocate so learn what you can and perhaps find a more knowledgeable surgeon to help you with this process. Good luck

If I had it to do over again, I would never have had RNY.  Even if I couldn't have had the revision, knowing what I do now, I would have stayed fat rather than have the RNY.

Susan

 Please think twice, cut once.  You may have seen this before but here goes again:  Choose your surgery first, then your surgeon.  If the DS is not part of your surgeon's expertise then he/she will try and discourage you from getting it because they can't help you with it.  

I had RNY done in 2000.  I regained almost all of my weight back and just had a revision to DS on 07/11/2011.  My only regret is that I didn't do the DS first.  I missed out on a lot of years of LIVING as a person of normal weight.  

Just like the poster above, I cannot and will not recommend the RNY to anyone.  Best of luck in your research!

Sandy

I was approved for the RNY for almost a year and could not do it.  I have worked at a bariatric clinic and have seen way too many "behind the scenes" things to ever want it or to recommend it to anyone.

If you want a restrictive only procedure I recommend the sleeve.  If you want the malabsorption benefit go for the DS.  I had the lapband and would not recommend that thing to anyone either.

Go to www.dsfacts.com and read/research.  Follow the links in my signature to show side by side comparisons of the four major WLS out there.  Research the lifestyle you must live AFTER the surgery and see if you can do it.  Both the RNY and DS have vitamin issues to consider during a pregancy, and both can be handled with proper supplimentation.  I have seen alot of post WLS babies on here over the years, so it can be done. ;)

Oh, and I recommend you speak to a surgeon that does all four surgeries.  I was a victim of a "bait and don't switch" doctor that found lots of "reasons" I shouldn't have the DS, but when I got a second opinion from a surgeon that did all four surgeries I found out the truth. 

Take a look at the revision board. How many RNY patients are seeking a revision? How many have regained? How many are miserable due to reactive hypoglycemia, dumping and other symptoms?

How many DS patients talk about needing a revision? Almost none. The very few who do either had an older procedure or they were not compliant.

Don't speak to your surgeon, speak to a DS surgeon. Surgeons who don't do the DS will not advise you to get it.

I had RNY in 2003, I now have a DS and I feel I got my life back.

My provincial health care would have paid fully for an RNY.  (would have taken 2 years for me to get it, but I digress)... Hubs and I sold a business in order to fund the surg.  I paid 20K out of my own pocket instead to get the DS. 

Do NOT make a decision based on what a doctor's favorite surg is.  Make your decision based on what will be the best outcome LONG TERM for you.

When I started my research, I was thinking of just a lap-band. Once I looked at the long-term numbers on weight loss and regain, I changed my plan to a DS. The more I researched, the more it was clear that DS was the best choice for me.  Keep reading the boards and check out DSFacts.com

Your surgeon is clueless. Fire him and move on.

Here's what I tell people about how I chose the DS:

I was originally on track to have RNY back in 2002, but got derailed after preop testing revealed that I had pulmonary hypertension. It's a long story, but it's on my profile if you'd like to read about it.

Even though I was off the track for RNY, I continued to attend the program my then-surgeon required of all his patients. I'd paid for it, so I figured I could benefit from it anyhow :-).

I saw some disturbing trends there. This was a big group, as several surgeons sent patients to it. There was, of course, a cadre of very successful patients (all RNY). They finished their year of program and went on with their lives, and as far as anyone knew/knows, all is well.

There were a surprising number of people, though, who fought and fought and fought to comply with what was expected of them, and the weight didn't come off well. At every meeting, there was word of someone else in the hospital with this or that problem--usually an ulcer or a stricture.

I listened to stories of dumping episodes, of getting food stuck episodes, of the mental/emotional challenges of having to live on highly restricted diets.....and I thought, "There's not a chance in hell I could live with this." (I should add that I have a major vomiting phobia. I'll do just about anything to not vomit. Not a good thing in some cases.)

Well, time passed, I got fatter and sicker, and eventually (again, story in my profile), it came out that the pulmonary hypertension was caused by the fat on my torso squashing my heart and lungs. It went from, "You cannot have any surgery at all," to, "You must have surgery or die."

I came back here to OH, feeling desperate because the lap band wouldn't give me enough weight loss to have any real hope of curing what was ailing me, and the RNY seemed to me like foolish butchery for not enough good results.

Someone told me then about the duodenal switch, invited me over to the DS board, which at the time was pretty much brand new, and the rest was history.

What I like about the DS:

1. 98% cure rate for type II diabetes. This was a major biggie because I had very bad diabetes.
2. Normal stomach anatomy and function is maintained. The stomach is reduced in size, but the normal stomach outlet, the pyloric valve, remains intact and functioning. There is no "stoma" with the DS or the vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG).
3. The intestinal changes that are done in the DS "jump start" the body's metabolism. Mine was shot to hell from a lifetime of PCOS, dieting and other factors.
4. I'd already done many years of low fat, low carb, highly restrictive dieting and I knew I sucked at it. The DS gives an eating quality of life that I find easy to live with: eat a primarily animal protein based diet. I'm a happy carnivore :-). I had to learn to restrict my carb intake, but it was a lot easier to do when I could eat meat, cheese, fish, eggs, etc. with abandon, with little regard for fat content. (DS'ers only absorb about 20% of the fat they eat, so for most of us, fat is almost a "free" food.)

I felt so strongly about the superiority of the DS to any other procedure that I traveled and paid out of pocket to have it done, rather than have the RNY done fifteen minutes from home and covered by insurance. It's been four years, and so far, so good :-).