Calling all DS vets: your wisdom is needed...

Marquis Mark

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Joined
Aug 18, 2015
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Dear veteran DSers,

I'm a 37 BMI with mild hypertension and cholesterol. Other than that I'm in pretty good shape for a 285 pound (I'm 6'3") 51-year-old.

I had a sleeve 5 years ago which is somewhat stretched. I only came down from 320 to 260 and have regained 25 pounds. My insurance (Kaiser So Cal) is offering to revise me to an RNY. Kaiser won't cover a DS (unless, I go through a fight, but I'm not sure if I would be approved in the end because of my relatively low BMI).

I can get a DS (and/or sleeve adjustment) in Mexico with Dr. Ungson, however.

I don’t know what to do. I’ve read hundreds of posts. For the most part, people GENERALLY seem pleased with the RNY, but more pleased with the DS. There are, however, always exceptions.

I have some questions for all of you and I would love as many brutally honest opinions as possible, whatever they might be:

  1. My major concern is LONG-TERM results/safety. If I weren’t heavy I think I could make it to my late 80s, as most men in my family have. Has anyone (especially DS pioneers) been suffering from malnutrition, or other complications? And, if so, how likely do you think it is?
  2. Does everyone need to take vitamins 5 times a day? Or is 2-3 times more the norm?
  3. Other than the first few months, how bad are the bathroom issues? How many times a day do you go? How bad, really, is the smell? Are your stools usually firm or more often diarrhea? Any accidents?
  4. Any other advice based on my situation?
I will sincerely appreciate hearing your experience.

Thank you, Mark
 
Hi again, Mark! good to see you here. I'll step back and let everyone else answer, since we've already communicated some, and I want you to get lots of other people's opinions, not just mine.
 
Welcome, @Marquis Mark
Don't give up the fight...you actually need to read here and get with the two ladies listed in this post: http://bariatricfacts.org/threads/to-get-help-with-insurance-denials-for-wls-revisions.1642/
It will take work on your part.

As for the rest of your questions....READ. Most of the questions have been answered before.

I have read A LOT. So much that my eyes are bleary. But picking up info/answers in bits and pieces from other posts doesn't assure me the same way as direct answers to my questions from DS vets, especially those getting up there in age. I assure you I appreciate everyone's time and indulgence!
 
Hi again, Mark! good to see you here. I'll step back and let everyone else answer, since we've already communicated some, and I want you to get lots of other people's opinions, not just mine.
Thanks, Larra. I really appreciate you helpfulness and caring!
 
Welcome. I could have had RNY fifteen minutes from home for FREE. I felt so strongly about the superiority of the DS that I traveled out of state and paid over $19K out of pocket for it. I've never regretted it for a moment.

I'd feel even MORE strongly about the choice between VSG to RNY vs. VSG to DS. You're already halfway there, why on earth get your stomach butchered for an inferior procedure?
 
  • My major concern is LONG-TERM results/safety. If I weren’t heavy I think I could make it to my late 80s, as most men in my family have. Has anyone (especially DS pioneers) been suffering from malnutrition, or other complications? And, if so, how likely do you think it is?
  • Does everyone need to take vitamins 5 times a day? Or is 2-3 times more the norm?
  • Other than the first few months, how bad are the bathroom issues? How many times a day do you go? How bad, really, is the smell? Are your stools usually firm or more often diarrhea? Any accidents?
  • Any other advice based on my situation?
!) To answer that one is individual. Each person comes to the DS from a different place. BUT if you listen to the vets ahead of you about how to eat and get your vitamins and lab work, a long life is very possible. But then again, you could be hit by a bus tomorrow.
2) Vitamin regimes vary. We suggest you start with the Vitalady list and then once you start getting post-op labs, you tweak them based on your particular situation. Already being a VSG'er, you should be taking some already. And yes, there is a list for VSG'ers as well. Me, I take mine in 3 sets...but then again, I DO base it on my personal labs.
3) Again, varies by person but AS A GROUP, DS'ers are much more likely to be constipated. Typical DS poo is like formed pudding. Mine is a bit on the grey side cause I have a healthy amount of fats. :) I go one to two times in the morning and then most days, I'm done. Smell...ALL shit smells. A good ventilation system helps. But pre-ds, my husband could clear a room. Post DS, he can still clear a room. The DS did not change that. But if you indulge in foods that your new guts do not like, you will find it can be much worse. My offenders: Dried fruits, pasteurized milk, ice cream, and most white carbs if overindulged.

Usually if someone complains about diarrhea or the smell, we ask what they are eating. The clue is usually in what went in their mouth. Learn to read labels. Anything ending with -itol is almost guaranteed to be a trip to the bathroom in a hurry for most of us.
 
I had my DS at 60 and am now 63. No malnutrition, no complications.
I take my vites throughout the day because I want to keep my calcium at least two hours away from other vitamins. I am not struggling at all to do this.
I poop twice in the morning before work and that is usually it. Does it smell? Yes. But whose doesn't? I admit, mine is more intense. I had diarrhea more often before my DS.
The DS was the best thing I have ever done for myself and would do it again in a heartbeat. I had it through Kaiser S.California. Dr Gary Belzberg is the only Kaiser surgeon (South Bay- Harbor City) who performed the DS when I had mine done. I am assuming he still is. If you would like more info, feel free to PM me.
 
I'm 68.

Had my DS, a revision from the band, almost ten years ago.

No malnutrition...mostly because I get labs done and take supplements.



(Your desired longevity may change over time. What looks do-able at 51 may look more daunting at 61 or 71. I don't want to last 'til my late 80s because everyone in my family who did was thoroughly senile and dependent on others. I adored my mom, but she was an exhausting PITA and not at all happy most of her last ten years. Dad didn't recognize his children and his surviving siblings hated him by the time he died. Eighty, maybe. But not LATE 80s. And frankly, from time to time, with all the (non-DS-related) stuff going south, 68 sounds like enough. Just sayin'.)

Sue
 
I had my DS at 60 and am now 63. No malnutrition, no complications.
I take my vites throughout the day because I want to keep my calcium at least two hours away from other vitamins. I am not struggling at all to do this.
I poop twice in the morning before work and that is usually it. Does it smell? Yes. But whose doesn't? I admit, mine is more intense. I had diarrhea more often before my DS.
The DS was the best thing I have ever done for myself and would do it again in a heartbeat. I had it through Kaiser S.California. Dr Gary Belzberg is the only Kaiser surgeon (South Bay- Harbor City) who performed the DS when I had mine done. I am assuming he still is. If you would like more info, feel free to PM me.

Hi, I started a "conversation" with you? is that what a PM on this board is? i couldn't figure out any other way.
 
Had my DS 12 days before my 50th birthday - 12 years and 13 days ago. I'm doing fine, managing my DS with food and taking my vites twice a day (plus I take my thyroid pill in the middle of the night away from everything else. If you do the math, yesterday was my 62nd birthday.

If the money is no object, I'd go get the rest of the DS from Ungson, while being very careful to NOT let him talk you into just a SADI. It is likely to be nearly impossible to get Kaiser to cover your conversion from sleeve to DS at a BMI below 40 with no comorbidities.

Or you can wait until your weight goes up to 40, and it still might not be easy.

OR - and you should do this anyway - you should get an appointment with Dr. Belzberg, who does the DS in SoCal for Kaiser, and see what he says first.

And then, self-pay with Ungson and appeal to the DMHC for shits and giggles (which really applies to us DSers), and see if you can get reimbursed. I'd probably prefer an Ungson DS to a Belzberg one, since Ungson has far more experience. But you will probably get an open surgery with Ungson.
 
Thank you for your post. Great to hear you're happy 12 years later.

Actually, I have high mildly blood pressure and high cholesterol. I believe those qualify as comorbidities.

I emailed Ungson for a quote. The quote included the word "laparoscopic."

I've had the same thoughts about Ungson's experience, although everyone who has had a DS with Belzberg is happy.

Is it really possible to get reimbursed after the fact? :sneaky:

Actually, I've been offered a revise to RNY from Kaiser, but, because of the NSAID issue and my arthritis, I think that's a pretty fair argument for the DS. I've been at Kaiser for 18 years and I must say I've found them pretty accommodating. If you really put up a stink, they usually cave, unless the request is really unjustified.
 
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