Greetings from South Africa!

[Dana Mills]

hi all,

I had my DS on 25 May 2015, best decision I have ever made in my life! Feel like a new person, and have been given a second chance

 

[southernlady]

Welcome, @Dana Mills

 

[Larra]

Dana hi and welcome!
You are the second person from So. Africa in the last 2-3 days to join us, and with the same surgeon. I had never heard of him before (nor surprising as I have never heard of any surgeons in So. Africa by name) so I tried to get a little info on him. Would you happen to know if he does the DS, or does he do the BPD? All the (admittedly few) diagrams of surgeries from South African websites that I found show the BPD and not the DS. Here in the USA the BPD is considered outdated and not a standard of care bariatric surgery, but I know that it is still done in some other countries.
Also, would you happen to have an email address for your surgeon? We are working to compile an accurate list of DS surgeons as a reference for pre-ops, and if he does do the DS he might want to be included (you can send me any info in a pm if you prefer, esp anyone's email address).
thanks, congrats on your surgery, and wishing you much success.

 

[Pacifica]

Hi Dana! So glad you are pleased with your surgery.

 

[Bagaof4]

So glad you joined us, Dana!

 

[hilary1617]

Hi Dana! Welcome.

 

[Will2014]

Welcome Dana!! Great having you....care to share your story? We wanna hear all about it! Where you started from, where you are at now, and all the stuff in between! Any problems along the way? How are ya labs,etc? Talk to us girl!!

 

[newanatomy]

Hello and welcome! I am thrilled for you that you are doing so well.

 

[aaa]

Welcome.

 

[Whit]

.to the Family

 

[JackieOnLine]

hello, glad you found us

 

[Dana Mills]

Dana hi and welcome!
You are the second person from So. Africa in the last 2-3 days to join us, and with the same surgeon. I had never heard of him before (nor surprising as I have never heard of any surgeons in So. Africa by name) so I tried to get a little info on him. Would you happen to know if he does the DS, or does he do the BPD? All the (admittedly few) diagrams of surgeries from South African websites that I found show the BPD and not the DS. Here in the USA the BPD is considered outdated and not a standard of care bariatric surgery, but I know that it is still done in some other countries.
Also, would you happen to have an email address for your surgeon? We are working to compile an accurate list of DS surgeons as a reference for pre-ops, and if he does do the DS he might want to be included (you can send me any info in a pm if you prefer, esp anyone's email address).
thanks, congrats on your surgery, and wishing you much success.

Thank you for the mail.

I had the BPD, and really thought that they were one and the same, but have since researched, and yes, the DS seems to be the more updated version of the BPD. Dr Fetter is probably the top surgeon here to perform the BPD, and works closely with his wife, Professor Tess van der Merwe, who is an Endocrinologist. She does the ground work and follow ups, and he does the "cutting" I was never informed about DS, so assume he only does RNY and BPD.

I don't have his personal email address, but their web address is sasomline dot co dot za

On most of the sites that I have visited, nobody in the States seem to know what a BPD is, so assumed the DS was the other version. Thank you for enlightening me.

Warm regards
Dana

 

[Dana Mills]

Welcome Dana!! Great having you....care to share your story? We wanna hear all about it! Where you started from, where you are at now, and all the stuff in between! Any problems along the way? How are ya labs,etc? Talk to us girl!!

Hi there

My starting weight was 130kg - 286 pounds and currently am at 100Kg - 220 pounds. My issues have been really minimal except for a virus I picked up 2 weeks ago and ended up back at the hospital on a drip for 2 days. But that being said, I was insulin dependent, was on meds for high blood pressure, cholesterol, Fybromyalgia, an insane dependency on codeine for constant chronic pain, and since the day after my op, am off all meds except for my vitamins and stress relievers. I started gym 3 weeks ago, which was a huge victory for me, as I had never stepped foot into a gym before

I feel like a new person, looking at life differently and looking soooo much better physically. Loving this journey!

 

[DSRIGGS]

Welcome

 

[GirlFriday]

Hello and welcome. I am glad that you found us.