What made you choose DS over RNY?

Onelastshot

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Aug 21, 2016
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Curious what lead to your final decision and if you had to do it again, would you make the same choice? Any long term people (2+ yrs post op) to weigh in on this too?
 
I like to eat. I like things that work. You can't eat with an RnY and the RnY doesn't work.

Would I make the same choice again? Yes, but I would change my surgeon.
 
I had WLS in 2003 along with 10 of my co-workers. 8 RNY, 1 Band, and 1 DS...me. Fast forward to today. The band person didn't lose anything and the RNY people weigh more than they did preop. And then there's me. Believe me I would still like to lose more but I look like a normal old bat. Slightly fluffy but overall normal.

I chose the DS because it's the only op that works long term. Best results losing the weight and best results keeping it off. Period. There is nothing better out there. And there's another bonus, the DS diet is easier to live with and you do not have to rely on starvation to keep the weight off.
 
Because it works, even if you aren't anal about following the low-carb rules. This is me at age 63, 13 years out, a couple of weeks ago:
13887124_10153853521491173_7498647867234185053_n.jpg
 
I chose DS because I had worsening type 2 diabetes and hypertension and wanted to have the greatest chance they would be cured and not come back. Since 2005, they haven't. Like Munchkin, I have friends and family who have regained after other procedures, including one friend who had the RNY who refuses to see me since she has regained a lot and I have not. Another who regained and had a heart attack at 55 that almost killed her. For the first time in my life, I am not hungry all the time and I can focus on the nutritional content of food and not just the "all you can eat" lifestyle. It isn't hard, I am not suffering, I don't feel deprived. It was about health for me primarily, but it was also about wanting to be normal and not stand out because of my weight. I had a lifetime of failures at losing weight, and I wanted this to be the final, successful effort. And it was.
 
I required NSAIDS and at the time of my surgery my options under Medicare were Lap Band, HELL NO, the RNY, I would have just stayed fat, and the DS.
 
I wanted to:
(1) preserve my pyloric valve,
(2) best odds of successful long term weight loss maintenance
(3) access to NSAIDS
(4) best likelihood of preventing diabetes
(5) eat "normal" portions and food​

I didn't want to:
(1) dump
(2) feel hungry
(3) not lose as much as I possibly could initially
(4) be subject to significant regain
(5) have a "blind" stomach​
 
I usually don't respond to these types of posts because I'm relatively new and still asking more questions than giving answers. Having said that, I had a sleeve which resulted in only 25% EWL after six years. So I had a choice of converting to RNY or DS. I did a lot of research. Anyone that's familiar with me on these boards can attest that I trust nothing and ask a lot of questions (someday I expect to be the most knowledgeable vet on this board!).

After reading every post and stat I could find (to the point where I inadvertently read the same stuff over and over), I came to the simple conclusion that people who had the DS were, in general, happier than those who had the RNY. DSers were more likely to do it again than RNYers. I also noticed more people with RNYs converting to the DS, but few people with the DS converting to anything else. That said a lot to me.

Full disclosure: DS is not for everyone. If you're passive, disorganized or trust too easily what you're told, I'm not sure I would do this. The vitamin regime is serious, time consuming (at least until you're used to it) and can get expensive. But, for me anyway, that's been small price to pay to have the bane of my existence lifted.

Good luck!
 
I am trying to get a revision from an RNY to DS. But I agree with what everyone else said here. When I got my RNY my surgeon did the DS as well. But he sold the RNY as a better surgery for me, which it wasn't. I lost 170 pounds and regained it all back over 10 years.

So now I'm doing the revision to the DS. I know there is no surgery which is a magic pill, but I want the surgery which gives me the greatest chance of success.
 
I knew a "restrictive only" procedure would not be worth it for me. Even if I could get past the idea of a band around my stomach, the thought of countless fills and un-fills to find the right fit would drive me crazy. The RNY sounded horrid. A tiny pouch created by butchering the stomach?* No, thanks. Then there was the liquids rule. I understand about not eating during meals and for 30 minutes afterwards. What's the point of eating if it's going to be flushed out? But no eating 30 minutes before? I don't eat by a rigid time table. With my arthritis, I take NSAIDs which are not compatible with an RNY. Dumping sounds horrible if I were to land in the percentage who actually do dump. And those were just my immediate post-op concerns. That long term results didn't seem promising barely entered the equation due to my repulsion of the immediate factors.

All that said, I understand that the RNY is the best choice for some. I would never condemn a procedure outright. The DS was the best choice for me.

*Yes, the sleeve is technically butchering the stomach. Yet in my opinion, less severe with preservation of the pyloric valve making all the difference.
 
I had a lapband, which didn't work; I was still fat and got the added benefit of throwing up every second bite I ate.

The RNY scared (and still does scare) the shit out of me. My issue wasn't with food volume but with absorption, so the DS seemed to be the right mix of effective, proven and a lifestyle that I could live with.
 
So many good answers! I was on course for gastric bypass but when they were ready to schedule my surgery I didn't schedule. I tried, really tried, to convince myself that I should do it, but I would literally get sick to my stomach thinking about it. I think I might have accepted all the miserable side effects - possible dumping, no NSAIDs, no liquids with meals, etc - if the long term results were better. But they just aren't. So many people never lose enough weight to get even close to a normal weight, and many others regain significantly despite great efforts. I just couldn't accept this.
When I learned more about the DS, I knew it was right for me. Best long term results. No dumping. NSAIDs ok. Eat smaller but otherwise normal meals. No laundry list of foods you can never eat again. So much more normal lifestyle PLUS the best weight loss and maintenance. Once I made that decision a sense of peace came over me. I wasn't even nervous the day of surgery and have never had any regrets in 10 years post-op.
 
And the main reason I decided on WLS was my type 2 diabetes was getting out of control. I would have never considered WLS if a friend at work hadn't had it a year before me. Once I decided to do WLS surgery the DS was the procedure u ever considered. I would have had no procedure if hadnt qualified for the DS.
 
Wow, this is a great thread. I'm 5 days out of surgery, so I can't really say I have a ton of experience with the DS yet. But, I did think about this choice, so I can add to that.

I think most of of the people have covered the core reasons - it works over the long run, it lets you eat food again, you don't have to struggle anymore, dumping scared me, etc. And Diabetes was a key issue for me, so that was another check box.

But, to add another perspective to the thread, it was clear to me that people with the DS were much, much more happy. I did a fast, like optifast and took off 120 pounds about 10 years ago. I loved the guy who ran the program. He has been in this field forever and stay in touch. When I started to really research surgery, I went to him. He knows 100's of people who have done every type of surgery and he said, the only group people who are happy (and also by the way, thin) are the DS people.
 

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